30 List… Check.

A few weeks ago I was having dinner with a substantially younger friend of mine. He and I were reflecting on the next biggest milestone in my life, turning 30. He shared with me a series of events that another friend of his sought to accomplish before he turned 30. He called it a “30 list”. It is similar to a “bucket list” but death is not the deadline (pun intended), the deadline is one’s 30th birthday. I instantly became a tiny bit sad because I did not make a 30 list. Due to current financial difficulties I doubt it would be emotionally wise to create a list that I could not complete on account of being one step above an orphan.

In the last few days I have been reading blogs about two other “bloggers’ that have reached this brilliant age this week. One of these bloggers created a modified version of the 30 list. She challenged herself to do something new for thirty days. It is very exciting to read her daily adventures as she reports them on her blog. The other blogger created a list of the most monumental stuff that occurred each year in her 20’s. I really loved that idea. These ideas really put me back to the thirty list idea.

Then, out of the blue it hit me: “How do you NOT have a 30 list. YOU HAVE ALREADY DONE ALMOST EVERYTHING YOU HAVE EVER WANTED TO DO!!! Baby, you have a 30 list:”

Learn how to overcome bullies… check.
Learn how fix my hair by myself… check.
Overcome my fear of talking to people… check.
Jump off of a huge cliff into water… check.
Be on a Student Council… check.
Win a soccer championship… check.
Pass Pre-algebra… check.
Be in a dance recital… check.
Become a Lifeguide… check.
Learn how to snowboard… check.
Be a better snowboarder than the boys in my youth group… check.
Become a leader in my youth group… check.
Overcome fears concerning public speaking… check.
Become a cheerleader… check.
Win ribbons for my photography... check.
Become photography editor for my high school yearbook… check.
Pass Algebra 1… check.
Pass Algebra 2… check.
Get out of high school without earning a C… check.
Get a job working with kids… check.
Learn how to dress for my body type… check.
Pass College Algebra… check.
Win an intermural soccer championship… check.
Get a Bachelor’s degree… check.
Learn how to follow God better… check.
Completely transform every relationship I have… check.
Go camping with my friends… check.
Fly on an airplane… check.
Teach myself the art of decorating cakes… check.
Go canoeing and sleep by a river… check.
Get a cruiser bike and ride it on Riverside… check.
Go to an OSU football game… check.
Rent a perfectly posh little house in Mid-town… check.
Get my own art room… check.
Get a Master’s degree… check.
Sell something I made in a store… check.
Get a job as a therapist… check.

The only things I can think that I have left to do are:

Learn to sew with a machine.
Become Debt free.
Have a booth at Mayfest.
Visit Time Square.
Learn Spanish.
Go surfing.
See if anyone wants to sign up to be a family with me.
Buy a house.

I think I should let the last 8 space themselves out over the next 40-50 years. (smiles)