In 2010 I started a Life List of items I wanted to accomplish. It took almost five years (and a divorce) for me to mark any of them complete, but as of last August I had crossed five things off. And, as of a couple of weeks ago I’m happy to have made some more progress.

I had to revise the order because some things had to be removed for reasons beyond my control, but that’s okay. I can adapt. Here’s where I stand.

1. Graduate from college. (This is in progress. Also, one of the reasons I never have time to write blog posts anymore.)
2. Run a half marathon.
3. Travel across the United States in an RV.
4. Stand under a Giant Sequoia.

5. Hike into the Grand Canyon. (Two weeks ago I hiked around it, but I’m not counting that.)

6. Get published.
7. Become a Certified Interior Decorator. (#retirementgoals)
8. Paint a picture.
9. Camp in a tent, on a warm beach.
10. Visit all 50 states.
11. Visit the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
12. Get a tattoo.
13. Go skinny dipping.
14. Grow my own tomatoes.
15. Take a dance class.
16. Learn how to properly skip a stone.
17. Sample 100 types of beer.
18. Breed a dog and keep one of the puppies.
19. Learn to play guitar. (I bought a guitar, so I’m one step closer!)
20. Go on a winter campout.
21. Hike in Zion National Park. (This right here? Is why this Life List was created. GO THERE. Trust me.)

22. Learn to golf. (With some accuracy.)
23. Participate in an adventure race.
24. Learn to paddleboard.
25. Visit the Vatican and attend mass at St. Peter’s Basilica.
26. Float in the Dead Sea.
27. Sit in a natural hot spring.
28. Take a photography class.
29. See the Northern Lights.
30. Ride a snowboard.
33. Go whitewater rafting.
34. Learn to play the drums.
35. See a concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater.
36. Ride a Segway.
37. See a Broadway show.
38. Canoe or kayak down the Colorado River. (A couple of weeks ago I saw where they drop the boats in the water. I stood there and cried.)
39. Write a screenplay.
40. Go snowmobiling.

Now for some new additions. Not to be confused with New Edition.

41. Visit Chichén Itzá. (I hear it’s awesome.)

42. Hike in Yosemite National Park. (Zion was just the warm-up.)

43. Do 50 push-ups in a row. (Don’t laugh. I can’t even do five.)

44. Learn to knit.

45. Brew my own beer.

46. Visit Chile. (When I was young I saw pictures of Chile and wanted to move there. That hasn’t changed.)

47. Go sailing.

48. Go whale-watching.

49. Watch a baseball game in Fenway Park.

50. See the sunrise from Acadia National Park’s Cadillac Mountain (the first place the sun rises in the United States).

Had I known how amazing some things would be on a recent trip I took out west, I would have included a lot of them on this list. They will have to be bonus items, I suppose. I will be sharing those details soon.

Have you started your list? What are you waiting for?

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Almost five years ago, I started a Life List on this site. FIVE YEARS, people. That’s practically a lifetime in itself.

I started with 10 not-so-easy items, then added 10 more to the list a couple of months later, then 10 more in 2014. Up until a few months ago, I hadn’t accomplished any of them.

But, lately I’m on a roll! I’ve knocked five items off and I want to add a few more things until I get to the magical 100 mark. Of the original 30, two have been removed so I’ll technically have to come up with 102, but challenges are growing on me. I got this.

To review (with new notations):

1. Graduate from college.
2. Run a half marathon. (Done DID it.)

3. Travel across the United States in an RV.
4. Stand under a Giant Sequoia.
5. Hike into the Grand Canyon.
6. Get published.
7. Become a Certified Interior Decorator.
8. Paint a picture. (It’s not gorgeous, but it’s painted!)

9. Camp in a tent, on a warm beach.
10. Visit all 50 states.
11. Visit the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
12. Get a tattoo.
13. Taste each chocolate in the Intense collection from Richart Chocolates. (Doesn’t count toward my goal anymore, because I think I really just wanted some chocolate that day. Apparently.)
14. Go skinny dipping. (You don’t get a picture of this. Also, when I say “dip”, I mean DIP. Because nighttime, ocean, dark, JAWS. Also, don’t tell anyone. Wait…)
15. Grow my own tomatoes.
16. Take a dance class.
17. Learn how to properly skip a stone.
18. Sample 100 types of beer. (Good golly, that was fun. Thanks to recent trips to four great breweries – Madtree, Landgrant, Lineage and Wolf’s Ridge – as well as an expanding palate, I was able to cross this off!)

19. Renew my wedding vows with my kids present. (Um…yeah. That’s not happening.)
20. Breed a dog and keep one of the puppies.
21. Learn to play guitar.
22. Go on a winter campout.
23. Hike in Zion National Park.
24. Learn to golf. (With some accuracy.)
25. Participate in an adventure race.
26. Learn to paddleboard. (I did it! But, there’s no picture because I needed all the hands. Here’s WHERE I did it though. Then my paddleboard sank and I got stung by a jellyfish, but STILL. Done.)

27. Visit the Vatican and attend mass at St. Peter’s Basilica.
28. Float in the Dead Sea.
29. Sit in a natural hot spring.
30. Take a photography class.

Now for some new meat!

31. See the Northern Lights. They try to tell us we can see these from Ohio sometimes. That doesn’t count.

32. Ride a snowboard. I’ve skied plenty, but I understand this is entirely different. I’m going to need a helmet.

33. Go whitewater rafting.

34. Learn to play the drums. Together with #21, I can be my own band.

35. See a concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater. I love live music. I love the outdoors. Enough said.

36. Ride a Segway. Because, Paul Blart wants me to.

37. See a Broadway show.

38. Canoe or kayak down the Colorado River.

39. Write a screenplay. I’ve told one other person this in my entire life. She wrote me a note that I carry in my wallet. It says I will. I believe her.

40. Go snowmobiling. The only thing better than bitter cold, is bitter cold wind in your face.

Have you started your Life List? What are you waiting for?

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I have no explanation for my absence other than the fact that May is kind of a jerk.

It rolled in with me crossing a half marathon off my life-list on a beautiful morning, then the sun appeared and flowers bloomed, there were weekend getaways, fresh air, laughter, and friends started coming out of their homes like spring-struck zombies carrying grilled hamburgers and coolers of beer. See? May is a jerk because it makes all the other months look bad.

There are a lot of things going on my life that I can’t discuss here; like, my bangs for instance. We really shouldn’t talk about my bangs. They are in that awkward, growing-out stage where I have to apologize for them a lot. I’m sorry for my bangs.

My whole life is like my bangs, really. Everything is in that awkward, growing stage where you aren’t sure of your footing or where your next step will lead. That is why I almost packed a bag and flew out to Utah on a whim to hike in Zion National Park (another life-list item). Because I’ve heard there’s no better time to walk up the side of a cliff than when you aren’t sure of your footing. Wait…maybe it was my estranged husband who told me that.

But, despite being unsure of the road ahead, I am eager to see where it leads. Facing so many unknowns – facing fears I never thought I would need to face…EVER – well, it’s resulted in me being a lot more fearLESS. I guess some people would call it an awakening. Either that, or stupid. Whatever you call it, I think it’s pretty grand.

Let me see if I can break it down into something everyone can understand. Beef.

Let’s say you always order chicken. Occasionally, when you’re feeling a little crazy, you get yourself a piece of salmon, but most of the time it’s just chicken. You always get chicken, because you don’t like steak. Plus, steak is expensive.

But, everyone keeps telling you how delicious steak is and you’re really missing out by not ordering it. So, one day you think I’m going to try this ONE MORE TIME and you order a ribeye that’s been marinating for, what tastes like, a million years. It’s tender, it’s delicious, it melts in your mouth. You really have been missing out. You hate it when your friends are right!

It turns out that all this time you were just ordering the wrong cut of meat. And, this is not a metaphor for my relationship, it’s really about steak. And, life. Steak IS life. Take that, chicken.

So, that’s what I’m trying to do. I’m trying all the steaks. I’m noticing how blue the sky is, how beautiful the music sounds, how joyous my children are, how cold the beer is, how soft my bed feels, and I’m letting it all marinate and enjoying it on a big, fat, life platter.

And May has been a LOT of that. I guess she’s not so bad after all.

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It’s been over four years since I added items to my Life List. FOUR YEARS. That’s just sad.

Life List 1-10

Life List 11-20

I revisited numbers 1-20 today and can actually cross off #8 – Paint a picture. Yay, me! Also, I’m closing in on #18 – Sample 100 types of beer. There is only one that I would remove from the original list. Let’s just say I must have really been craving chocolate that day.

I just posted about numbers 3, 4 and 5 yesterday, so clearly those are still in the top five and I registered for my first half-marathon today and that’s number 2. Baby steps, people. Baby steps.

Some of the things will probably never be accomplished, but a girl can dream. That’s the beauty of a Life List. It’s time to make some additions and progress! Let’s get to work, shall we?

21. Learn to play guitar. I can’t sing, though, so I’m not pretending I’ll be like Joni Mitchell. I’m attracted to the soothing strum of the strings.

22. Go on a winter campout. I don’t even like winter, but this has always appealed to me. Maybe because of all the forced snuggling.

23. Hike in Zion National Park. Pictures never do the locale justice, but every picture of this place is so gorgeous, I can’t imagine what it must look like in person.

24. Learn to golf.

25. Participate in an adventure race. Something over 24 hours long. Not in the jungle, or anything, but one that tests the mind as much as the body.

26. Learn to paddleboard. Then practice over some clear, blue, ocean water.

27. Visit the Vatican and attend mass at St. Peter’s Basilica. That place is, like, the Catholic mothership.

28. Float in the Dead Sea.

29. Sit in a natural hot spring. Preferably in a cold place, because hot springs in Mexico don’t sound very appealing.

30. Take a photography class. So I can take beautiful pictures of my adventures.

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