I stumbled across another woman's blogpost today. It was entitled Journey to 30, and was a list of 30 things she wanted to accomplish by the time she turned 30 later that year. I thought, 'Cool! I should do that!' except that 30 is past already, and my list would have to be called Journey to 33. It doesn't have the same ring to it, and considering it is only 3 weeks to my birthday, it would be totally unrealistic to get 33 things done, even normal things, before May 9th.
And, then, I realized I am not turning 33 this year. It's 2014, so I should be turning 32. Well, that's one less thing and a little pressure off.
1. Remember what year it is, at all times.
I was big into bucket lists as a teen. I had lists upon lists of things I needed to do before I croaked. There were the normal things - get a tattoo (done), sky dive (check), learn a new language (si? Me hables un poco de espagnol.), go on a plane (underrated), sing in public (nearly wet myself) and all that. Then there were the other things that I think were sort of foolish like live in a house with 10 plus rooms (oh my gracious, the cleaning involved!), earn more than $20 per hour (why? so I can spend it on gas getting to work?) and other stuff.
So, what now? Do I really want to make another bucket list? The pressure! The stress of trying to tick extra things off the list when getting through the day is already a big success. And, what if the time runs out and there are still things to do? Is that a failure? Am I? What happens to the really important things that just aren't that important in a couple months (see living in 10 rooms)?
Foolish. Or, at least that's what the dreamer-turned-realist-tired-of-being-disappointed-mature-adult in me says.
But why not? Let's throw a few things out there and see where it gets us.
2. Be happy with what I have and gentle with myself when I don't meet my own expectations.
Done.
