So,
while we were on our road trip, we went ziplining. And while we were ziplining,
there was a woman in our group that had created (kind of) a bucket list. It was
a “50 before 50” list. She was turning 50 and she had made a list of 50 things
she wanted to do before turning 50. Ziplining was one of the items on her list.
Also on the list? Skydiving. She was doing that the next day. And,
let.me.tell.you. She wasn’t just doing these things to check the box. Like, she
was LIVING every moment. She was taking it ALLLLL in. She wasn’t letting one
minute of fun pass her by in her quest to do. things. Her fearlessness and
desire to live life fully was contagious.
It
inspired me to encourage a friend of mine (who shall remain nameless) who was
turning 50 to do the same. It was a little short notice to do 50 things BEFORE
turning 50, so we altered it and did 50 WHILE 50. I don’t know that she ever
came up with 50 things – despite my incessant nagging – but she DID start a
list. And once my life settles down a bit, my goal is to help her knock them
out.
THEN,
while I was mentioning all of this to my friend Ashley (who was soon turning
30), she, out of the blue, sent me her list of “30 while 30”. And then, I got
slightly bummed that I hadn’t done it for my 30th birthday and that
with work’s crazy season right around the corner, I wouldn’t have much time to
quick squeeze 30 things in. However, I WILL say that with my 30th
year being deemed my “summer of adventure” it WAS one of the most fun and
fulfilling years of my life – even without a list.
ANYWAY,
while I was wallowing in self-pity that I missed a milestone birthday to do
something like this, Ashley, ever the optimist and out-of-the-box thinker,
suggested I just do 31 while 31. Genius!
And then
I got to thinking. How FULL would our lives be if EVERY YEAR we did something
like this? 32 while 32. 33 while 33. 34 while 34. Why does it have to be JUST a
milestone birthday thing? OR a ‘whoops I missed my milestone birthday’ thing?
Think of all the adventures you could have. All the things you could learn
about yourself. About your abilities. About your interest. About other people.
And about what this world has to offer. The possibilities are endless. And with
interests that expand and change as you get older, the list could end up
drastically different.
SO, what
are the rules? (As completely made up by me).
1.
Must be things that are ATTAINABLE. We want to
have the ability to actually finish the list, after all.
2.
I won’t say it has to be all things you’ve never
done before, but I think it should be things that are out of the ordinary for
what you’d normally do. One or two “responsible” things are okay if they will
make your life fuller in some way.
3.
At least one thing that scares you.
That’s it. Those three rules.
Everything else is completely open. You can do anything, anywhere, with anyone.
Curious about my list? Keep scrolling.
Full disclosure: This list was MUCH
more difficult to come up with than I anticipated it to be. I honestly thought
that I would breeze right through it. The first 10, I did. After that, it got
more challenging.
Also full disclosure: I’m pretty
sure a good chunk of the reason it was difficult had everything to do with the
fact that it is tax season and I’m exhausted and right now I don’t want to do
anything except sleep. Perhaps I will have to start on next year’s list before
tax season and just stash it away until my birthday rolls around.
So, without further ado, here it
is. My list:
1.
Go to a Backstreet Boys concert.
2. Go to a Vikings game.
3.
Watch roller derby with Ashley.
4.
Hike 3 new parks.
5.
Bike a Minnesota State Trail with Steve and/or
Allison.
6.
Have Allison teach me something new
(paddleboarding, cross-country skiing, rock climbing, kickboxing).
7. Go on a road trip with Steve and Indy.
8.
Edit #1 of Book #2.
9.
Go on a solo weekend.
10.
Take a cheap flight to anywhere with Allison.
11.
Repair relationships.
12.
Learn to drive the lawn mower.
13.
Be more observant and intentional in my
friendships.
14.
Do a ropes course.
15.
Have a bonfire/yard party with friends.
16.
Do a lazy river (either an actual river, or at a
waterpark).
17.
Go to a Mystery Dinner Theater.
18.
Find a dog park with Indy.
20.
Read 12 books.
21.
Wine-tasting.
22.
Get donuts from the Clearwater Truck Stop.
23.
Purge my house.
24.
Paint my bedroom.
25.
Create a travel list.
26.
Go to the horse races at Canterbury Park.
27.
Say YES to more invitations.
28.
Put 100+ miles on the bike.
29.
Kayaking!
30.
Learn how to make grandma’s slippers.
31.
Slow. Down. (Take time to enjoy the things
around me instead of trying to rush through everything).
