Things I Want to Do Before I Die

Seven years ago I started a Goals Album - a scrapbook chronicling "The 100 Things I Want to Do Before I Die." As it turns out though, I might end up far more ambitious than just 100 things. When I started my album, I realized there were already lots of things I had already fulfilled on a Lifetime Achievements List. I had already gone to a Mardi Gras Ball (something I had wanted to do since I was a little girl and saw the women at the parades in their ball gowns). I had already visited the White House, seen the inside of the Pentagon, and toured many other historical places in Washington DC, Gettysburg, Jamestown, Williamsburg, Baltimore, etc. I had gone to New York City. I had gone white water rafting, stayed in more than one 4-star hotel, visited England, and many more. There were four things that I opted to put on my list despite already completing them because they were big to me and I'll cover that in a moment.

I think it is so fascinating to see what people put on a Life List like this. When you ask people what their goals are, are they specific or general? I find myself getting much more specific over the years. Seven years ago I listed "visit Germany" but now I find myself adding specific destinations within that country. Additionally, I always am curious how many things people will list. In about 30 minutes I wrote down 44 items for my first list. When I asked Doug for his list, he named about three. That doesn't make one list better than the other - just different and interesting. In my opinion though, everyone needs a list. Below is the entry page I put in my scrapbook to explain why I started this book.

"I sat down to make my list of 100 Things to Do in My Lifetime in the Spring of 2000. When I stopped writing, I had 44 things on my list. The first four items were already accomplished but they were important enough to me that I wanted to include them. The remaining 40 are for me to look forward to. My plan is to add to the list every 5 years (in 2005, 2010, etc.) as I anticipate some of my goals and dreams will change that often as I get older.
Some may be easy to achieve. Others may never be accomplished. However, just putting them into writing makes them more realistic. Now I have a list instead of just thinking "Some day I would like to..." If there are things I never get to do, just wanting to do them still says something about who I am now."

With that intro I listed my first 44 items. In 2005, I added an additional 32 items. I already have 16 items on my list I've started for 2010. At this rate I will far exceed 100 items and that is just fine as well. I decided to list them all here so I can keep up with my ongoing list because I have a tendency to write new ones on tiny slips of paper when I think of them then can't locate those papers later. This way they will all be together. The first list and all lists that follow were never meant to be in any kind of order. Keeping them listed randomly allows me to be equally excited for each and every one completed rather than focusing on how they fall within the list. I will also use this space to keep up with any progress and/or completion dates for different goals. I have listed the completed goals in green.

Original list from 2000:
1. Graduate from college (completed December 17, 1993)
2. Marry my Prince Charming (wedding date August 10, 1996)
3. Take an Alaskan cruise (dream vacation started August 11, 1996 - honeymoon!)
4. Buy a new home (contract signed to start construction on November 19, 1999)
5. Get all of my photos into scrapbooks (completed in August 2002 - I stayed caught up for three days until I started a new roll of film and haven't been caught up again since. The 17 rolls of film in Las Vegas, the Hoover Dam, and the Grand Canyon one month later certainly didn't help!)
6. Finish at least 20 scrapbooks (currently have 13 complete and 4 in process)
7. Pay off all bills and buy something fun
8. Lose 25 pounds (now I need to modify this to lose at least 40 pounds but 25 would be a start!)
9. See the Grand Canyon (completed September 2002)
10. Go to a weekend scrapbooking retreat or convention (first one was in May of 2001 and I've been to several since)
11. Have a child (My beautiful little J arrived on April 3, 2004)
12. See another Broadway show (saw my first one while in high school and saw the equivalent of one in London but am always up for another)
13. Adopt a puppy (This one would probably fall off my list now as I've seen the trouble they are for people who like to travel even for a weekend.)
14. Be a Stay at Home Mom (I would love this so much more now than I ever thought possible when I wrote this.)
15. Take Doug to the Smithsonian Museums (Although I've been 4 or 5 times, Doug hasn't been yet and I think that is a tragedy as much as he likes history and museums.)
16. See all 50 US states (29 down, 21 to go! Airports or just driving through don't count - I have to stay the night and/or see at least one "site.")
17. Buy a new car (not "previously owned" - I know this is extremely wasteful and frivolous but just once it would be nice to own a car that has never belonged to anyone else.)
18.Take a photography course
19. Learn to paint
20. See Mt. Rushmore
21. Visit a volcano
22. Ride in a hot air balloon
23. Visit Yellowstone National Park
24. Ride in a helicopter
25. Take a cooking course
26. Watch a sunset from Central Park (I've been to Central Park but would just like to stop the frantic sight-seeing and enjoy the sun setting over the city's impressive skyline.)
27. Have three months' salary in savings
28. Take a vacation with Doug, Mom, Dad, Sam, and Sandra (completed in September 2002 with our trip to Las Vegas, the Hoover Dam, and the Grand Canyon and again in May 2007 with J's first trip to Gulf Shores, AL to see the beach)
29. Visit Russia
30. See the Hollywood sign
31. Visit New England in the Fall
32. Celebrate 10 years of marriage (completed August 10, 2006)
33. Spend a whole week at a Bed and Breakfast (Doug and I spent a weekend at one years ago and it whet my appetite for sure.)
34. Ride a train through Europe
35. Smile and laugh more often (Someone asked me, "How will you document this one in a scrapbook." I have no idea but it is a wonderful goal to have each and every day.)
36. Snow ski
37. Visit Ireland
38. Go on another cruise (anywhere!)
39. Visit Vancouver again (Doug and I only had one night in Vancouver on our honeymoon and we really want to see more of it.)
40. Visit Germany (my dream vacation destination)
41. Own a piano
42. Celebrate 25 years of marriage (only 14 more to go!)
43. Celebrate 50 years of marriage (only 39 more to go!)
44. Retire while I am still young and healthy enough to travel and enjoy myself

Items added in 2005:
45. Ride the hills of San Francisco on a streetcar
46. Attend a TV show taping
47. Go white water rafting on a level 4 rapid (the most difficult one I've been on is a 3)
48. Meet someone famous
49. Go sailing (I went once on a little catamaran but neither me nor the other person aboard knew what we were doing and generally just fell off the thing a lot.)
50. Swim with the dolphins
51. Ride in a go cart
52. Go scuba diving or snorkeling
53. Visit a spa for a massage (Completed with Doug in Memphis in the Summer of 2006 and again at the Marriott in Florence, AL in August 2006.)
54. See the lights of Christmas in Manhattan
55. Go horse back riding (I haven't ridden a horse since I was a teenager.)
56. See the Great Pyramid in Giza, Egypt
57. See the Aurora Borealis
58. Ride on the Orient Express
59. Learn to dance
60. Learn to fire a gun (I haven't fired a gun since I was a kid at my grandfather's house.)
61. Learn a martial art
62. Go to Australia
63. Learn to knit (I tried this once already and failed miserably so I'll have to give it another go sometime.)
64. See the Great Wall of China
65. Take the Sound of Music Tour in Salzburg
66. Drive or ride on US 1 - the Pacific Coast Highway - in California
67. Get my kicks on Route 66 (While I've been on parts of Route 66, I would love to drive the length of it from Chicago to Los Angeles/Santa Monica.)
68. Enjoy every moment with J
69. Be serenaded by a Venetian gondolier (Unfortunately the gondolier in the Venetian casino in Las Vegas just didn't satisfy this desire.)
70. Ride a mule to the bottom of the Grand Canyon (I traded a ride in a Cessna over the Grand Canyon for this the last time. I won't make that trade off next time.)
71. Gaze upon a magnificent waterfall. (I've seen several waterfalls but none that seem to qualify for this awe-inspiring goal. I guess I'll know the right one when I see it.)
72. Eat a hot dog at Nathan's original Coney Island location
73. Visit Seattle
74. Attend Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues
75. Visit the Art Institute of Chicago (completed September 2006 - our favorite place on our Chicago Anniversary trip)
76. Ride a mechanical bull
77. Stay in a teepee at the Wigwam Village in Cave City, KY

The beginnings of my list for 2010:
78. Shop Munich's Christkindlmarkt
79. See the Neuschwanstein Castle in Füssen
80. Go to Oktoberfest in Munich
81. Eat at Mrs. Wilkes' Boarding House in Savannah, GA
82. Stay at Gravetye Manor in Grinstead
83. Stay at the Kinloch Lodge on the Isle of Skye
84. Kiss the Blarney Stone
85. Drive the Grossglockner Road in Austria
86. Eat a chocolate at Mary Chocolatier in Brussels, Belgium - the premier shop for chocolate in the world
87. Travel the Romantic Road in Bavaria
88. Take Doug to the Sopporo Snow Festival and the Tsukiji Fish Market
89. Stay at Mackinac Island's Grand Hotel
90. See the trail one of my ancestors trekked - The Lewis and Clark Trail
91. Go to Carnival in Rio de Janeiro
92. See the Acropolis in Athens, Greece
93. Visit Santa's Village in Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland

So, as is obvious, my main goals involve traveling and spending time with my family. A whopping 61 of my 93 goals so far include traveling to a specific destination or traveling somewhere to do something that isn't available where I currently live. It is true that I love to do nothing more than I love to travel. I rarely like to vacation somewhere I've already been because I believe there are just so many other great destinations waiting to be discovered. I can't imagine opting to see the same city over and over when I could see a place I've not yet seen. The exception to this is taking someone else to see a great location. We took J to the beach recently. I am not a huge beach fanatic despite growing up just an hour or so from a beautiful beach but I wanted to be there the first time he laid eyes on that beautiful expanse - water as far as the eye can see and bright, white sand for miles. I want to take Doug places I've been but he hasn't to share those experiences with him. Otherwise, I want to see everything everywhere I possibly can.

As of today - twelve goals completed out of 93. A measly 13%. Surely I can step it up in the next few years. Maybe I can at least complete three more for a total of fifteen before I turn 40. Twenty-five completed before I turn 50? Possible? Sure!