The Dirty 30
I turned 30 yesterday. I'll write an update later on, for right now I'll just say that the last month of my twenties has been one of the hardest, most surprising, and transformational times of my life. Growth is never easy. I hope I never go back.
I want to share something I've been working on for the last 6 months. It's sort of a birthday present to myself. I'm hoping that sharing it can keep me accountable. I'm counting on it, actually.
50 Things Before I'm 50 (or a To Do list for my next 20 years)
1) Build a house/cottage/bunkhouse/hobbityhole with my own hands
2) Sing (when I'm not drunk) in front of 20+ people
3) Publish (publicly or privately) my novel
4) Write at least 3 more novels
5) Visit every continent on earth (give or take Antarctica)
6) Stand on the coast at both sides of Canada (Not at the same time)
7) Go White Water Rafting
8) Learn to acknowledge and be grateful for compliments that I receive, rather than deflecting them.
9) See a mountain
10) Climb a mountain (who sees a mountain and doesn't want to climb it?)
11) Visit every Province in Canada
12) Learn to meditate
13) Remember what it means to have a personal relationship with God
14) Adopt a child
15) Have an honest conversation with each of my parents about who I am and how I feel about their role in my life
16) Find something special to do with each of my children, something only we can share
17) Go rock climbing again
18) Go a whole summer without using a T.V. or a computer
19) Go to DisneyWorld.
20) Run a 10km race
21) Finally learn to play the guitar well enough to play with my dad and brother
22) Buy my very own saxophone
23) Learn to play the piano well enough to teach my children
24) Act in a theatre production that has a paying audience
25) Run a zip-line course
26) Learn a foreign language
27) Volunteer overseas
28) Volunteer somewhere on Christmas day
29) Re-Learn & perfect the art of cursive writing
30) Experience the Opera
31) Take my children to the Symphony
32) Renew my marriage vows
33) Commit to a continued understanding of the courses my children are taking, at the level they are expected to understand them
34) Run a half marathon
35) Camp on Manitoulin Island
36) See the Grand Canyon
37) Take my children on a Canoe trip that spans a number of days
38) Visit Cathedral Grove
39) Own a Cottage
40) Visit Machu Picchu
41) Tour the Ancient City of Petra
42) See the Pyramid of Giza & the Citadel of Qaitbay
43) Tour Caerlaverock Castle, Château de Vincennes, and the Tower of London
44) Visit Segovia
45) Tour the Paris Catacombs
46) Take singing lessons
47) Learn to ride a horse
48) Donate Blood as often as I am medically able
49) Visit Stonehenge
50) Work towards affording myself the same level of compassion and understanding that I give to others
51) Make a list for the next 20. ;)
If anyone is interested in doing anything on this list with me, or can point me in the right direction for getting one of them checked off, let me know!
I want to share something I've been working on for the last 6 months. It's sort of a birthday present to myself. I'm hoping that sharing it can keep me accountable. I'm counting on it, actually.
50 Things Before I'm 50 (or a To Do list for my next 20 years)
1) Build a house/cottage/bunkhouse/hobbityhole with my own hands
2) Sing (when I'm not drunk) in front of 20+ people
3) Publish (publicly or privately) my novel
4) Write at least 3 more novels
5) Visit every continent on earth (give or take Antarctica)
6) Stand on the coast at both sides of Canada (Not at the same time)
7) Go White Water Rafting
8) Learn to acknowledge and be grateful for compliments that I receive, rather than deflecting them.
9) See a mountain
10) Climb a mountain (who sees a mountain and doesn't want to climb it?)
11) Visit every Province in Canada
12) Learn to meditate
13) Remember what it means to have a personal relationship with God
14) Adopt a child
15) Have an honest conversation with each of my parents about who I am and how I feel about their role in my life
16) Find something special to do with each of my children, something only we can share
17) Go rock climbing again
18) Go a whole summer without using a T.V. or a computer
19) Go to DisneyWorld.
20) Run a 10km race
21) Finally learn to play the guitar well enough to play with my dad and brother
22) Buy my very own saxophone
23) Learn to play the piano well enough to teach my children
24) Act in a theatre production that has a paying audience
25) Run a zip-line course
26) Learn a foreign language
27) Volunteer overseas
28) Volunteer somewhere on Christmas day
29) Re-Learn & perfect the art of cursive writing
30) Experience the Opera
31) Take my children to the Symphony
32) Renew my marriage vows
33) Commit to a continued understanding of the courses my children are taking, at the level they are expected to understand them
34) Run a half marathon
35) Camp on Manitoulin Island
36) See the Grand Canyon
37) Take my children on a Canoe trip that spans a number of days
38) Visit Cathedral Grove
39) Own a Cottage
40) Visit Machu Picchu
41) Tour the Ancient City of Petra
42) See the Pyramid of Giza & the Citadel of Qaitbay
43) Tour Caerlaverock Castle, Château de Vincennes, and the Tower of London
44) Visit Segovia
45) Tour the Paris Catacombs
46) Take singing lessons
47) Learn to ride a horse
48) Donate Blood as often as I am medically able
49) Visit Stonehenge
50) Work towards affording myself the same level of compassion and understanding that I give to others
51) Make a list for the next 20. ;)
If anyone is interested in doing anything on this list with me, or can point me in the right direction for getting one of them checked off, let me know!