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 PROGRESS
 

ADVENTURER | TRAVEL AND EXPERIENCES

  1. Horseback ride over the hills of Ireland and then stop in a pub for a Guinness pint.
  2. 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.
  3. Take an overnight train ride with CJ to cool destination.
  4. 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!!
  5. Stay in a Tuscan Villa and the Towns of Cinque Terre in Italy.
  6. See the Northern Lights from a fabulous northern hotel.
  7. Visit all the US National Parks.
  8. Head to Graceland and see where the King lived. Go hear music on Beale.
  9. The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta held each October.
  10. Spend two weeks in New England – immerse myself.
  11. Spend serious time in Lake Tahoe.
  12. Behold the Awe-inspiring Havasupai Falls in Arizona.
  13. Experience Portugal from Madeira to Lisbon.

ARTISAN

  1. Join a choir or sing with a band as a weekly outlet.
  2. Become part of community theater – backstage or spotlight.
  3. Sew myself something to wear or something for the house.
  4. Be able to play 5 songs on an instrument.
  5. Grand Old Opry – sing on that stage in front of an audience of one or more.
  6. Complete our family yearbooks so CJ has the good times.

ATHLETE | HEALTH AND FITNESS

  1. Walk / Run in five 5ks.
  2. Learn self defense.
  3. Try paddleboarding.
  4. Hike the 20-mile John Muir National Recreation Trail in Eastern Tennessee.
  5. Hike the West Coast Trail in British Columbia.
  6. Find a fitness routine that works for me and stick to it.

TORCHBEARER | HOME, CULTURE

  1. Learn beekeeping – make my own honey with my own lovely bees and pollinator garden.
  2. 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.
  3. Have professional pictures taken – both career and family.

SAGE | WISDOM SEEKING AND SHARING

  1. Earn my Master’s Degree – MFA?
  2. Become a MacArthur Fellow.
  3. Give a Ted or Ted(x) talk using the expertise I’ve gained during my career.
  4. Enter a competition (county or state fair or photo/essay contest).
  5. Become a New York Times Bestselling author.
  6. $2 million for retirement in savings by 62.

SENSUALIST

  1. Join a CSA.
  2. 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)
  3. Cook every dish in a cookbook – thinking rustic French or Mediterranean so it’s also positive for healthly living.
  4. Attend (or organize) a masquerade ball.
  5. Participate in a paranormal investigation.
  6. Buy the car I’ve always wanted — or at least test drive it.

WORLD CHANGER | ACTIVISM, PHILANTHROPY

  1. Participate in Voluntary work abroad for a 3rd world country.
  2. Stay at Giraffe Manor and visit the animal sanctuaries.
  3. Visit Bear Sanctuary in Minnesota.
  4. Run for local office – School Board?
  5. Visit the White House (and not just on a tour).

SOULFIRE KEEPER | SPIRITUAL VENTURES

  1. Meet the Dalai Lama (or at least be present at one of his lectures).
  2. Spend a week at a Silence Retreat (or long weekend).
  3. Drink or bathe in Lourdes – water flows from a spring in the Grotto of Massabielle in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, France.
  4. Purchase a rosary in Rome which has been blessed by the Pope.
  5. Goddess tour of Greece and Malta.