To commemorate my 40th birthday, I had originally planned to write 40 things I've learned in my life. I don't know if it's my pregnancy brain or the fact that 40 isn't really that old, but I couldn't think of 40 insightful things to share. The biggest lesson I've learned is that I'm still learning, all day, every day, so maybe by the time I'm 80, I'll have some true wisdom to impart.
Instead, I decided to go with a bucket list of things I'd like to accomplish from here on out. I started this list about eight or nine years ago when I made it an assignment for my 11th grade English students. It was pretty short back then, and some of the items may have been more suited to a young thirty-something (See #18), but that's okay because others probably shouldn't be attempted until I'm at least 65 (Looking at you, #28).
A few years after I created my original list, my book club read the book The Next Thing on My List by Jill Smolinski, and when we met to discuss the book, we all shared our own bucket lists. That was exactly six years ago in mid-July. It's pretty amazing I can remember that since I almost forgot to go get my haircut on Tuesday, but it was book club on my birthday at Pasta Fresca, and that's pretty much the trifecta of perfection.
Anyway, everybody laughed when I pulled out my bucket list because it was written on a paper towel. Here's the thing you should know about me and paper towels . . . I love them. I serve the boys their English muffins on paper towels every morning, and usually the only napkins we have in the house come from take out. When Alex and I were getting married, my Furman girls hosted a wonderful china shower for me. The menu and decorations were Asian-inspired, and the guests were encouraged to shower me with pieces from my china patterns, prompting my sweet and honest roommate to quip, "I don't know why we're telling everyone to bring her china . . .she eats everything off of a paper towel." She did have a point.
Now that I'm 40, I thought it was high time to upgrade my list to something a little more mature. So here it is, my 40th birthday bucket list, in no particular order. If you'd like to join me in any of these adventures, let me know. The more, the merrier!
1. Ride a mechanical bull
2. Try out for Jeopardy!
3. Hike Machu Picchu
4. Learn how to play the guitar
5. Publish a book of some kind
6. Take the boys on an Alaskan cruise
7. Meet Tim Tebow
8. Run a Disney half-marathon
9. Spend Thanksgiving Day working in a soup kitchen
10. Take a hip hop dance class
11. Own a pair of real, made-for-me cowboy boots
12. Take shag lessons with Alex
13. Cook my way through all the recipes in one cookbook
14. Go to a football game at The Grove
15. Donate my hair to Locks for Love
16. See Bruno Mars, Pink, Little Big Town, Kenny Chesney, and/or Zac Brown Band in concert
17. Sit in the audience for Saturday Night Live
18. Go clubbing in Miami
19. Organize the boys' pictures into albums
20. Go to the Final Four
21. See the "Make Way for Ducklings" statue at Boston Public Garden
22. Take the boys to the San Diego Zoo
23. Go on an overseas mission trip
24. Move to a new house with awesome neighbors, a bigger laundry room, and an outdoor TV
25. Run a mile in under 10 minutes
26. Keep my car clean for one week
27. Maintain a vegetable garden for at least one season
28. Own a St. John knit suit
29. Join a tennis league
30. Eat fresh feta and olives in Greece
31. Catch up on laundry
32. Read the entire Bible
33. Stay at Magnolia House B & B in Waco with Alex and eat all the cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery
34. Listen to live music at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville
35. Go on an African safari
36. Consistently write a weekly note to a friend
37. Go to another Jimmy Buffett show
38. Stay at a dude ranch in Montana
39. Take a paddle board yoga class
And last, but not least . . .
40. Use my good china (and crystal and silver!) at least once a month
What would you put on your birthday bucket list? Or, if you already have a list, what's on it? Share in the comments--I'd love to know!
