30—that’s twenty nine more than my daughter’s age, seven
more than my sister’s, and twenty-seven
less than my mother’s. It’s the exact amount of days in a typical month; and
the exact minutes it takes for my daughter to get sick of a toy. It also totals the amount of birthdays I will have, counting the one this coming Friday.
Ah yes, the milestone birthday. Next to the proverbial 18th
and 21st, this is by far the most significant I’ve had. I’ve
accomplished plenty in my thirty years, but to quote one of my favorite poems,
I still have “miles to go before I sleep.” And in the spirit of motivation, I’ve
decided to come up with a list of 35 things to do before 35. Call it cliché or
simple minded, but these are the things I’d like to accomplish in five years.
It’s not meant to be boastful or arrogant. This list is an incentive; to ensure
that I live out my 30s in the same fervor that I lived my 20s.
So in no particular order of priority here it is…
- Own a piano
- Teach my daughter how to play at least one song (or more) on said piano
- Have at least 2 pieces of my writing published (in a medium other than my blog)
- Ride a hot air balloon
- Continue to grow my blog through writing and building its solid following
- Continue to document my daughter’s growth & my adventures in motherhood
- Finish my novel
- Start looking into publishing possibilities with my novel
- Take a family vacation (a short one—a weekend, or a long one—a week)
- Get a dog
- Get down to my wedding weight
- Go to a concert and have a backstage pass to meet the act
- Stay in a fancy hotel suite for more than a day
- Travel to the West coast (stopover from a flight doesn’t count)
- Cook a meal on the grill
- Host a holiday meal (Christmas or Thanksgiving)
- Bake a cake from scratch (no cake mix!)
- Stratle state lines (like the one in Hoover Dam)
- See Shakespeare in the Park in NYC (Central Park)
- Cook/bake with my daughter
- Sleep under the stars (preferably during the summer)
- Cook a family recipe without help
- Continue to make our house a home
- Read as many books from the 100 books to read in a lifetime
- Watch as many of the AFI top 100 movies
- Go hiking
- Buy a DSLR camera
- Learn how to use said camera
- Watch a sunrise on the beach
- Conquer my fear of the beach
- Do random acts of kindness
- Go on a road trip
- Try ideas I've pinned on Pinterest (at least 5 or more)
- Learn how to balance my time
- Be thankful for all that’s happened
