How did THAT happen?
I have a swirling mix of feelings about it. Pride at what I've accomplished, sure. But it seems SO CLOSE to thirty all of a sudden. I used to think thirty was so old. I got married when I was 22 (we were too young, for the record), and I though I would wait a year or so and be done having babies by 25. By thirty I'd be up to elementary school and be making cupcakes for PTA while working the perfect 50 hour week.
Yeah, that'll happen.
So, several years later and I'm so glad that none of that transpired. Life and mental illness put any plans on hold, but it also helped us realize what a strong marriage is, how lucky we are with what we have, and how much we love each other. We've also had a lot of fun that probably wouldn't have happened if we'd had a couple of kids running around.
So. We're still not ready for babies. Or to be full fledged grown ups. But I'm ready to face the fact that I'm 36 months away from 3-0 and get some stuff out of my system before it hits.
I have three years. Some of this stuff will be hard. Some of it will be REALLY hard. Hopefully I can make it.
personal fulfillment
1. write a letter to my grandmother every month
2. make a quilt
3. make a beautiful piece of art
4. have a bedroom that makes me happy
Louisiana experiences
5. go to a baseball game
6. ride a horse
7. visit the Global Wildlife Center in Folsom
8. pick berries at a you-pick farm
9. go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans
travel opportunities
10. climb a mountain trail
11. see Lady Gaga in concert
12. canoe a river with Brett
13. travel somewhere with my mom
14. go camping
15. go whitewater rafting with my brother, dad, and cousins
16. take a quick trip by myself - for play, not work!
beautiful objects
17. own a piece made by Heath Ceramics (or by another ceramic studio I find equally beautiful)
18. own an original painting by a "real" artist (I get to define real artist)
19. frame family photos in a beautiful way
20. learn to take beautiful pictures
dropping bad habits
21. streamline and improve the quality of my wardrobe (mainly streamline)
22. get rid of the clutter
23. stop biting my nails - for good!
career fulfillment
24. get my Six Sigma Green Belt certification
25. mentor a young engineer
getting involved locally
26. give time to a local charity
27. donate $1000 to charity
the big ones
28. get happy with my body
29. have a baby (yep, apparently I didn't learn from anything I wrote above)
30. buy our dream house - probably the hardest one on the list
So that's it. It's pretty daunting. Brett said I shouldn't have anything I've already done on here (5, 6, 7, 9 and 10). But I disagree. It's important that I have those experiences again, either because it's been SO long, like with the horse and the mountain, or because I want to replace a bad experience with a good one, like with Mardi Gras (don't ask).
Let's hope I can do this. I'm already working on #22 and I bett have #24 done by the end of this year. Oh look, I picked the two most boring ones on the list for first!
