40x40

years ago one of my favorite friends told eric (I love having friends that talk about me to my husband, by the way. it is like a whole extra layer of friendship: the friend they are to me and then the friend they are to eric. double the fun!) that I was a very "goal-oriented person." I love this turn of phrase and I toss it around whenever someone accuses me of a less-than-flattering character trait where "goal-oriented" can be substituted. I'm not bossy, I am "goal-oriented." it's not that I am competitive, I'm just very "goal-oriented." see how nicely that works? it is a resume-ready phrase and I love it.

so being that I am very goal-oriented, I've decided I need a big ol' list to be working from. and to keep my life interesting and to make birthdays with a zero at the end a little less scary, I've settled in on 40x40: forty things I want to do by the time I turn forty (june 5, 2020 for those of you keeping score at home). and because I am not only goal-oreineted but a sucker for an audience, (what is the nice turn of phrase for THAT?) I've decided to share most of that list here.

when I am forty, eric will be 42. jamin will be 12. cora will be 10. I will have been married for 14 years. other than that, I am taking suggestions. mostly I think it'll look a lot like these photos, only with taller children.

so here is my list. I can't share everything on in because a girl has to keep some things just for herself. but here is most of it, all in no particular order.

1-get paid to write
2-get published by something people actually read
3-travel outside the US with my kids
4-learn the fiddle with jamin
5-have my own garden bed
6-backpack with eric
7-weekend with just my mom
8-weekend with just my dad
9-visit all fifty states (I only have the hard ones and the boring ones left)
10-create a piece of art I am willing to display in my home
11-write thank you notes to five people I have never met who have impacted my life
12-solo camping trip
13-learn to can
14-go a whole month without buying anything
15-ride a roller coaster with eric
16-sew something I am willing to wear in public
17-30 day bikram challenge
18-run up becky mountain
19-take a trip with just cora
20-take a trip with just jamin
21-get married again (to the same lucky guy, of course)
22-consolidate all of our photos and music
23-make photo albums for my kids
24-work with teenagers
25-blog every day for a month
26-get a really dramatic haircut
27-take a humanitarian service trip
28-work at a camp
29-take a silent retreat
30- bust out the trumpet
31-one month internet fast
32-build something useful
33-spend a week at john c. campbell folk school
34-10 day juice fast

you'll just have to guess on the last six.

there is a lot I want to say about each of these things, but I think I'll save it until I've checked them off the list or they are at least in progress. especially if I'm going to blog for a whole month. I'll need lots of fodder for that.

what have I missed? what else do I need to accomplish before my next decade birthday? what's on YOUR list?