Having it the 50 milestone this year, I thought it was time to update my “bucket list” into more concrete desires. Here are 50 dreams/goals I intend to accomplish in the next 25 years. Not letting anyone or anything stop me and if you’d like to join me on one of these – let me know!!
The List – to complete by March 14, 2047 [that doesn’t even seem like a real year!]
= COMPLETED | = IN PROGRESSADVENTURER | TRAVEL AND EXPERIENCES
- Horseback ride over the hills of Ireland and then stop in a pub for a Guinness pint.
- Extended travel with CJ along the West Coast – from San Fran to Seattle. The redwoods and the wild roars of the Pacific here are both part of my spirit.
- Take an overnight train ride with CJ to cool destination.
- Take a two-week trip with CJ through the Midwest sharing the special places of Minnesota, Chicago and Michigan that shaped me. Hopefully a few of the lovely people too. Go near the time of Minnesota State Fair to not miss out!!
- Stay in a Tuscan Villa and the Towns of Cinque Terre in Italy.
- See the Northern Lights from a fabulous northern hotel.
- Visit all the US National Parks.
- Head to Graceland and see where the King lived. Go hear music on Beale.
- The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta held each October.
- Spend two weeks in New England – immerse myself.
- Spend serious time in Lake Tahoe.
- Behold the Awe-inspiring Havasupai Falls in Arizona.
- Experience Portugal from Madeira to Lisbon.
ARTISAN
- Join a choir or sing with a band as a weekly outlet.
- Become part of community theater – backstage or spotlight.
- Sew myself something to wear or something for the house.
- Be able to play 5 songs on an instrument.
- Grand Old Opry – sing on that stage in front of an audience of one or more.
- Complete our family yearbooks so CJ has the good times.
ATHLETE | HEALTH AND FITNESS
- Walk / Run in five 5ks.
- Learn self defense.
- Try paddleboarding.
- Hike the 20-mile John Muir National Recreation Trail in Eastern Tennessee.
- Hike the West Coast Trail in British Columbia.
- Find a fitness routine that works for me and stick to it.
TORCHBEARER | HOME, CULTURE
- Learn beekeeping – make my own honey with my own lovely bees and pollinator garden.
- Be able to cook one traditional savory and one sweet dish from each of my ancestral/DNA regions. Get as specific as I can like South Dakotan Germans, Irish in Waterford, to feel that deeper “thruline” of tradition keeping – they may have eaten this dish too.
- Have professional pictures taken – both career and family.
SAGE | WISDOM SEEKING AND SHARING
- Earn my Master’s Degree – MFA?
- Become a MacArthur Fellow.
- Give a Ted or Ted(x) talk using the expertise I’ve gained during my career.
- Enter a competition (county or state fair or photo/essay contest).
- Become a New York Times Bestselling author.
- $2 million for retirement in savings by 62.
SENSUALIST
- Join a CSA.
- High Tea at the Ritz in London. Actually whenever in a city with a Ritz, try and get there for high tea or martinis (another strong tie from my 20s in Chicago. A trio of us would go and drink Cosmos and talk about our futures – very aspirational)
- Cook every dish in a cookbook – thinking rustic French or Mediterranean so it’s also positive for healthly living.
- Attend (or organize) a masquerade ball.
- Participate in a paranormal investigation.
- Buy the car I’ve always wanted — or at least test drive it.
WORLD CHANGER | ACTIVISM, PHILANTHROPY
- Participate in Voluntary work abroad for a 3rd world country.
- Stay at Giraffe Manor and visit the animal sanctuaries.
- Visit Bear Sanctuary in Minnesota.
- Run for local office – School Board?
- Visit the White House (and not just on a tour).
SOULFIRE KEEPER | SPIRITUAL VENTURES
- Meet the Dalai Lama (or at least be present at one of his lectures).
- Spend a week at a Silence Retreat (or long weekend).
- Drink or bathe in Lourdes – water flows from a spring in the Grotto of Massabielle in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, France.
- Purchase a rosary in Rome which has been blessed by the Pope.
- Goddess tour of Greece and Malta.