When I turn 40 this year, I would like to feel ... triumphant. So on November 28th of this year, this whole resolution/goal/to-do list thing will either make me feel terribly accomplished or terribly DEPRESSED. Whee!
I got this idea from Greenstyle Mom: 40 things to do in the year I turn 40. If you click over to her blog, you'll notice that she's going to do a back flip off a diving board and complete a marathon AND a triathalon. Mine are decidedly less impressive.
A lot of the things listed below either scare me, overwhelm me or just get lost in the shuffle. But they're all doable. Hopefully I'll find the impetus to get off my duff and just do them already!
1. Take a hike on the Appalachian Trail. It's close by! I've driven by it! And waved!
2. Submit writing to three different places, web or print.
3. Go out dancing (any kind!) with my husband.
4. Visit an art museum in DC with the girls (I'll be sure to warn all you local folks so you can steer clear).
5. Take the girls on a new hike.
6. Take a new exercise class.
7. Hold a freestanding headstand.
8. Hold a family fire drill.
9. Volunteer my time. Somewhere.
10. Go waterskiing again.
11. Take the girls on a hike to see my favorite waterfalls this summer in Vermont.
12. Start a baby clothes quilt (or just donate the freaking baby clothes already.)
13. Drive to West Virginia. It's so close! I've never been!
14. Show our girls the Atlantic Ocean. They've never seen it from this coast (Jamaica doesn't count in my book!) and that just feels wrong.
15. Take the dog for a hike, just the two of us.
16. Meditate. At least once.
17. Lie in bed until 8 am at least once. Just because.
18. Paint our living room.
19. Learn to love the old rug and curtains in our living room or get new ones.
20. Hang pictures on the walls in the basement.
21. Part my hair on the other side for a day. Just to see.
22. Wear earrings at least once a week.
23. Take a full day media/web fast.
24. Plant a new vegetable in our garden bed.
25. Take out all my camera lenses and remember what they're for.
26. Take at least one decent picture of the girls every week.
27. Tackle our filing cabinet.
28. Get our taxes done without needing an extension. *ahem* CG *ahem*
29. Sit down with CG and take a good, brave, come-to-Jesus look at our finances.
30. Check out the local Unitarian Church. IN PERSON.
31. Pick and freeze blueberries.
32. Make tiramisu, CG's favorite dessert, from scratch.
33. Visit the National Zoo with the girls.
34. Celebrate my tenth wedding anniversary in some exciting way.
35. Take my husband on a surprise date.
36. Take a creative workshop of any kind. Yoga. Writing. Sewing. Photography.
37. Write a 'just because' letter and mail it.
38. Host a Scrabble party, since my husband refuses to play with me.
39. Go on a family bike ride that finishes in a picnic.
40. Post here about these as I accomplish them!
12 comments:
How exciting! I'm sure you'll be able to do them all. Good for you!
How about come to California and see all your friends!? Enjoy 39!
Love this idea, love this list. One of my favorite yoga instructors turned 40 last summer, and to celebrate, she invited any and all to join her in a park the morning of her birthday for 40 sun salutations. It was unique and triumphant and just plain fun. So, you know, if something else gets bumped from this list of 40, now you have an idea for a backup to replace it . . .
Has no one introduced you to the Words with Friends iPhone app?
I love that you are doing this also! Can I be invited to your Scrabble party?
Your list is perfect! I love that they are doable items!
Wait. Hold up. How close are you to DC? If I have a bestie that lives in College Park, MD, and I visit said BFF every year(ish), shouldn't I ALSO be visiting YOU??? (I should warn you though, I'm not very good at Scrabble.)
(Also, maybe CG would play Settlers of Catan with you? We just got it and love it.)
Oh, and great list!
Great list. How about you pick a Sunday in the next month or two to knock the UU, the AT and the WV off your list in a single 4 hour chuck with me. (Only if I am invited to the scrabble party though.)
Thanks for the inspiration! I turn 40 2 weeks before you and also celebrate my tenth wedding anniversary this year, so this is quite relevant. I am going to try to create my own list. I look forward to the postings of what you have accomplished.
i turned the big 40 this past dec. i was depressed, then triumphant, then depressed, then resolved with it, then needed hernia surgery, then felt decrepit and old and panicky and depressed. then the birthday came, and went, and it was fine! i think the anxiety and depression was actually more about the hernia surgery than turning 40 after all. :D HA! who knew! i should make a list to accomplish in my 40th year, since i turned 40 in 2011. i AM feeling a slight tinge of mid life crisis though which i am perpetually trying to sweep under the rug.
some day it would be great to meet up in dc and do the museums.
i play scrabble against my iPhone all the time, so if you ever want to beat me, and feel like the best scrabble player in the world, there's a way we can play online. about 1 in 430 games i get a streak and figure out a brilliant word, which makes it appear as if i know what i'm doing, reality is i just got lucky with one word. i am TERRIBLE yet continue to play.
Kathi- I would love to! We'll see....
Stephanie- What a great idea! I want to think of something like this to celebrate my birthday. Not expensive, not too crazy, but celebratory and noteworthy and fun.
Kevin- Oh yes, I know Words With Friends well. And I think I'm handling my addiction quite well. I've only needed one intervention from CG so far.
Marie Green- We're 45 minutes from DC! So: YES!!
Oh and we just played Settlers of Catan for the first (and second) time a few weeks ago! So fun!
beyond diapers- you're on!
miyoko- I'm hoping to celebrate my 40th without a hernia surgery but if I have one, I'll be calling you up to be sure!
I love this list. And I would totally come to your Scrabble party. My husband also refuses to play. He's dyslexic and says that spelling is his idea of torture. And I would bring brownies to the party too.
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