Things to Do Before You Turn 50

Since I turned 50 this year, little gems like this have been appearing in my messages from my children.  I'm taking this in a spirit of fun.  If the kids had anything else in mind, well, I'm going to go ahead and ignore that.

This particular list really struck me on several levels, and I wanted to share it with others.  There are several gems of wisdom in here for anyone, of any age.  The original article appeared here on CBS News. 

1) Be Adventurous: Embark on a New Experience.
I'm not certain that I've actually done this one.  I've gone to graduate school and changed careers, but does that count?  I taught in the inner city schools, in a neighborhood where the most mornings I would see the police cleaning up a crime scene on the playground when I was heading in.  For me, from my very comfortable middle class upbringing, this experience was life changing.  To see how people in our own country live on a daily basis.

Princess Luna

2) Adopt Something.
All of our animals have been adopted.  I LOVE our kitties!

3) Reconnect With a Friend.
This was actually one of my resolutions from this year.  I have gotten back together with old friends and gotten caught up on our lives together. I only have one friend left that I need to get back together with sometime before the end of the year. 

4) Scare Yourself - Take a big chance of some kind. 
Being a parent.  From the moment the first kid was born until now, I have been terrified that I would screw up and totally mess up the lives of these little humans that had been entrusted to me.  I never really felt certain that what I was doing was right, and the sure certainty that one mistake on my part was going to screw them up for life has haunted me for 22 years, 9 months, and 3 weeks now.

5) Realize a Dream.

Owings Mills Library

I went back to Graduate School and earned my Master's in Library Science - a goal I had set for myself when I graduated from college years ago.  I have a job in a library now.  It's not the job I want, but we all have to start somewhere! 

6) Learn Something New.
I've learned a lot of new things, but I've never set out to learn something new in the way it's suggested in the article.  Learning a new language in a new country, taking art classes in Paris.  I think that might be one for the bucket list.  It would definitely be more fun than learning PubMed....

7) Change Your Hair.
In my 40's, I changed my hair style and started coloring it.  My hair was quickly greying, and it was aging me.  I don't feel my age, and I resent people assuming that I'm older than I am, and treating me as a much older person.  The defining moment was when one of daughter's friends asked me if I was her grandmother.  So... new hair style and color.  (I've changed my hair color 3 times since then!  Bwah-hah-hah!) 

8) Keep Your Medical Tests Current.
Yep, I've had them all.  Colonoscopy.  Mammogram.  Dentist.  Blood work.  It's all been done, and it's all been done in the last 6 months.

9) (This one, I'm copying directly from the website)
 
Discover Yourself: Get to know your family as people, not relatives, by writing a letter to your kids (or other family members) telling them the most important things you've learned. And then ask them to write one to you.

I am glad that I got to know my father and his family before they passed.  My Dad and I spent a lot of time getting to know each other as people, and I'm glad we did.  It deepened my understanding of him as a person, and as a result, of me.  As I came to understand him and what drove him and the choices he made, I also found myself understanding some of the forces that drive and shape who I am.

10) Do a Good Deed: Perform a Random Act of Kindness.
This is one I don't believe should be spoken about in detail, but yes.  I will say that last week, someone let me cut in front of them in line at the grocery store because I only had 2 items and she had a full cart.  I have since returned that favor to someone else.