Thursday, March 29, 2012

40 Things I've Done Before Turning 40

I've been making a list of all the things I would like to have done, or have accomplished, by the time I turn 40 later this year.

Frankly, I've been struggling with things that are actually realistic to achieve in the next six and a half months.

Then I started thinking about all the things I HAVE done in the first half of my life. When I think about it, I've done a lot. And I'm so thankful for, and blessed by, all the opportunities life has afforded me. So I made a list, first, of just 40 of the things I've already done BEFORE turning 40. This list was difficult to LIMIT to 40. And that makes me happy.


  1. Climbed and summited a 14er (multiple 14ers, actually)
Mt. Democrat, Colorado


  1. Took a cruise

Horseshoe Bay, Bermuda

  1. Lived in a foreign country
Idar-Oberstein, Germany


  1. Traveled around Europe

  1. White water rafted
Taxenbach, Austria


  1. Skiied the highest mountain in Europe
Zugspitze-Garmish, Germany


  1. Parasailed

  1. Flew a helicopter

  1. Fired a gun

  1. Got multiple piercings (Only in my ears, though!)

  1. Gave birth, twice

  1. Met four Presidents of the United States







  1. Had lunch with a rock star (and a President’s daughter)



  1. Drove a military Humvee

  1. Earned my master’s degree

  1. Drove more than 100 mph on the Autobahn

  1. Waterskiied

  1. Attended the opera – in Budapest

  1. Saw “Cats” on Drury Lane in London (and sat next to Val Kilmer)

  1. Learned rudimentary German and  French

  1. Delved into the world of autism


  1. Owned my own house

  1. Drove across country – alone

  1. Started a magazine, or two.


  1. Attended a Papal audience

  1. Ice skated in the Olympic arena in Innsbruck, Austria
One of my early icons, Dorothy Hammill, took gold in the winter Olympics in 1976 in Innsbruck


  1. Served on the PTA

  1. Published a book

  1. Taught pre-school

  1. Cruised Bourbon Street in Nola, stone cold sober

  1. Interviewed a jazz legend


  1. Designed a website from the ground up

  1. Lived in four states (that’s not very many!)

  1. Snowboarded

  1. Road on the back of a Harley

  1. Jumped off a cliff

  1. Camped in a primitive site and in a camper

  1. Made homemade pasta

  1. Appeared on TV

  1. Zip-lined! (this will actually happen for the first time approximately 24 hours AFTER this post, but it was also on my list of things to do BEFORE I turn 40).

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