Could be timing. Folks who stay within their comfort zone tend to make abrupt changes later in life, and a bucket list becomes intriguing. Not knocking it, just making a statement.

So far throughout our 58 years together, my husband and I haven’t changed much and fortunately still neither of us knows where our comfort zone begins or ends. We often refer to ourselves as “Dumb and Dumber.”

Way back when, I left a secretarial job in New York for a front-desk job at a New Hampshire winter resort with the idea of getting in more skiing, and happily changed my life.

Not long after my arrival, two handsome Swiss guys showed up to teach at the nearby ski school. It was the beginning of an incredible friendship. By the time the season closed, the Swiss instructors and I had planned a trip across the country to ski Western areas, and perhaps hit the California coast if we could stretch our pooled money from our winter jobs.

Camping in my old station wagon and cooking meals on a camp stove allowed us to ski every area still open and included a few early morning hikes to some already closed. Happily, we arrived at the California coast as dreamed. My companions discussed the endless possibilities of hauling one of the giant redwood trees back to their hometown.

Traveling 15,000 miles was an adventure of a lifetime that none of us would ever forget. Their visas were up, and they headed back to Switzerland (without the redwood tree) after many hugs and tears.

The following winter, when my fiancé returned, we were married and off to winter jobs at the same resort where we met. New husband was a ski teacher during the day and operating snowmaking equipment most of the night; new wife was back on front-office duty 7 a.m. to midnight. We didn’t see much of each other, but we knew there would be situations that we couldn’t control. When you are young, you can laugh off many things. We were definitely OK.

The following winter, we headed to Maine to start our own ski school. If you think we had backing, forget it! While cashing my unemployment check at the bank, I asked the manager about a loan as we had an opportunity to take over the ski shop at the local ski area. He patiently explained about collateral.

After operating the ski school and shop for nine years while our family increased with two wonderful boys, we moved on to the wild business of Maine summer inn-keeping. Imagine working together all those years. Were we crazy? Possibly.

Fifty-eight years of “going for it” has given us an extraordinary life. One that neither of us could have ever imagined or accomplished without the other.

Being busy living outside our comfort zones didn’t give us much time to worry about a bucket list. We simply lived it.