40 before 40: A List
I'll be celebrating my 40th birthday in less than a year. Eleven months and six days to be exact. I go back an fourth between feeling anxiety and excitement. I never, ever thought
I'd actually be 40. When I was a kid, 40 seemed SO old. Now I'm almost there and I feel a mixture of "I'm really old" and "I'm not old at all." Does that make sense? My body is really the part that's feeling old. I have arthritis and that makes for lots of aches and pains. But in my mind, I don't feel 40. Having relatively young kids helps. Having a full and bust life helps.
Anyway. I decided since 40 is a pretty significant birthday, I'd make a list of 40 Before 40: 40 things to do before my 40th birthday.
- Read 50 books
- Walk/Run 400 miles
- Take my family on a fun/exotic trip
- Complete a photography project
- Take an in-person spanish class
- Take an in-person painting class
- Buy something at a thrift shop and refurbish it for our home
- Take Shelby on a girls only trip
- Drag Mike to a ballet/musical
- Sew a dress/skirt from scratch
- Make a quilt
- Draw 100 faces
- Get a new tattoo designed by KB
- Take my family horseback riding
- Camp at Yellowstone
- Volunteer at Pregnancy or Literacy Center
- Start my book
- Add some fun art pieces to our home decor by local artists
- Take up yoga or pilates…and stick to it
- Bury a time capsule…and dig it up when Cooper graduates high school.
- Take dancing lessons
- Complete an embroidery project
- Throw a party
- Watch the sunrise on the beach
- Go on a fun road trip
- Be debt free (minus our house)
- Plant a garden
- Lose 10 pounds and keep it off all year
- Write letters to the five people who have impacted me the most in my life
- Make French Macarons
- Take a cooking class
- Write to someone I admire, and ask how they’ve achieved their goals
- Plan and execute a “girls” trip
- Walk on the Golden Gate Bridge
- Stay in a non-chain hotel
- Take a tour of the White House
- Run a Disney Half Marathon
- Paint a series of paintings
- Do a gallery show
- Sit in the audience of a live TV show
Personally, I love having a list of things to do. I make lists all the time, so it feels natural to make a life list like this. I need a goal. I don't do well when I don't have a plan, so this should give me a good kick in the pants.
I'll check in the next 11 months and let you know how I'm doing.