Some landmark, previously obscured by hazy expectation, is drawing near. So for lots of reasons that seem different than the cliches (but probably aren't) I want to mark this moment - because now is as good a time as any to start the rest of my life.
The Full and Complete List
One
Visit one city I have never been to before
Two
Be by the sea. A lot
(once so far)
Three
Take three friends out to lunch
Four
Join a group I'm passionate about
Five
Walk five miles of country road
Six
Make six beautiful things
Seven
Go seven days completely unplugged and off the grid (in your own house)
Eight
Compliment eight strangers
Nine
Hold a baby
Ten
Do ten cartwheels
Eleven
Read eleven books I've always been curious about
Twelve
Send postcards to twelve people
Thirteen
Grow a wildflower garden
Fourteen
Eat off of pretty things as often as possible (buying cheap mismatched china to make this happen is allowed)
Fifteen
Write a really good short story
Sixteen
Barbecue and picnic sixteen times this summer
(5 down...)
Seventeen
Paint the house a color you love
Eighteen
Bite the bullet, and do that super secret project you are embarrassed to admit
Nineteen
Build a bonfire
Twenty
Learn to make twenty new recipes
(three down, addendum: Beer Butt Chicken was a spectacular start)
Twenty One
Learn to sail
Twenty Two
Play on a swing set and remember how awesome it is
Twenty Three
Sing in public, just once, and see how it goes
Twenty Four
Create twenty four sweets and send them to someone you love
Twenty Five
Wave at twenty five people riding by on the bus
Twenty Six
Get rid of twenty six articles of clothing
Twenty Seven
Go on a road trip
Twenty Eight
Go twenty eight days without sugar or bread of any sort
Twenty Nine
Learn twenty nine words in another language
Thirty
Have a midnight Carpe Diem, just for you
