Forty Feats to Forty

My 20's were spent with a lot of questions. What will I do? Where will I go? Who will I meet? There is a ton of uncertainty in that decade and I had a very love/hate relationship with it.  I loved the mystery, not knowing how your life is going to shape up is very exciting when you're young and pretty fearless.  I also seemed to be naively confident in everything just figuring itself out.  I thought with hard work and a stubborn rebellion against mediocrity, I would certaintly end up with a life filled with happiness, excitement, and love.  But, I was also experiencing a low level, constant anxiety that I'm sure I shared with the majority of people my age.  The fear of the real world and how we would not only exist, but find happiness in it.  

I am so fortunate to say that by the end of my 20's, I had not only answered those huge questions, but I was thrilled with the outcomes.  I married the man of my dreams, built a house in the woods near a place I love dearly, became a mom to two amazing kids and two hysterical dogs, have a healthy body and the knowledge and dedication to not only keep it but to challenge it, and I have 3 (!) jobs that keep me inspired.  Seriously, things are that good.  

You would think that from here, I would just settle in.  Take deep breaths and revel in the hard work and choices that got me to this point.  Unfortunately, I'm not really built that way.  :)  We're officially coming up for air from the baby years and I find myself looking around, happy, content, and wondering...  now what?  I certainly don't want to change anything major.  Quite the opposite, I love everything major about my life (see above.).  More so I feel like I have a little more energy and time to get back to the things that I felt proud of and excited about before the major questions became my focus.  I want to stay interested, and interestING, to myself and those around me.  But the thought of taking on anything else was exhausting and I didn't even know I was missing anything really, or even where to start once I realized it.  Then came a random Facebook post from my dear friend Sam.

Samantha and I became friends 5 years ago this summer.  She is currently living in Germany with her adorable son and husband and is one of the more creative and interesting people I know.  I was not surprised at all to see her new website, entitled Forty Feats to Forty:  A Pledge to Relish our Thirties.  Her and another friend had each compiled a list of 40 things they wanted to do before they turned 40.  Perfect.  This was exactly what I wanted.  An mini bucket list filled with goals that will keep me intrigued and talking about things other than potty training.  

I decided that items on my list needed to fall into two criterea:  attainable and fun.  I wanted it to be motivating but not stressful.  And not a boring to-do list like "organize the pantry" but rather items that I look forward to, have never done before, feel will make me a better person, or am intrigued by.  I will have a larger, LIFE bucket list for sure but for now, with the busy lives and smaller budgets we have, this will be a way to remind myself of what is important outside of the daily grind, healthy dinners, swim lessons, baby sitters, vet appointments, conference calls, 8 hours of sleep that I NEVER get, and everything else that is constantly on our minds.  I wrote her, said "I'm in" and immediately started my own list.

I turn 33 tomorrow. I plan to check off all the items on this list by sunset of my 40th birthday. So I'm a little behind the other youngsters taking part in this life task but I consider that a challenge. Here's to staying interesting, intrigued, and excited about life and to becoming the person I always hoped along the way.

1. Finish a crossword puzzle.
2. Brew a batch of beer.
3. Take a cooking class.
4. Build a piece of furniture.
5. Visit Asheville, NC.
6. Go to a Steelers game at Heinz Field.
7. See 7 new bands in concert.
8. Check off 5 marathon states.
9. Set off fireworks.
10. Play a round of frisbee golf.
11. Go on a dinner cruise with friends.
12. Eat a salad with 5 ingredients grown in my own garden.
13. Take part (or start!) a huge food fight.
14. Send a message in a bottle.
15. Taste at all of the wineries on the Monticello Wine Trail.
16. Watch 75 of the Best Picture Oscar winning movies.
17. Learn basic, conversational Portuguese.
18. Hike/run/bike in 10 new state/national parks.
19. Watch the sunrise and sunset over a different body of water in the same day.
20. Volunteer 20 hours each for 5 different charities.
21. Run NYC marathon.
22. Plant 30 trees.
23. Take a cheese making course.
24. Ride a century (not BGC).
25. Go skinny dipping.
26. Attend a black tie event with Dave.
27. Paint a painting.
28. Be an extra in a film.
29. Ride a zip line.
30. Fry a pickle.
31. Race all events of a running or biking series.
32. Learn to play tennis.
33. See a show at Austin City Limits.
34. Read 10 books from the New York Times best seller list.
35. Create a joke from scratch.
36. Host a "lazy" adventure race.
37. Be an audience member for the taping of a live show.
38. Spend the day at a spa resort.
39. Host a rooftop dinner party.
40. Complete a photographic series and display somewhere.

         

                                             Happy Birthday to me.