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

2. Took a cruise

Horseshoe Bay, Bermuda

3. Lived in a foreign country

Idar-Oberstein, Germany

4. Traveled around Europe

5. White water rafted

Taxenbach, Austria

6. Skiied the highest mountain in Europe

Zugspitze-Garmish, Germany

7. Parasailed

8. Flew a helicopter

9. Fired a gun

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

11. Gave birth, twice

12. Met four Presidents of the United States

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

14. Drove a military Humvee

15. Earned my master’s degree

16. Drove more than 100 mph on the Autobahn

17. Waterskiied

18. Attended the opera – in Budapest

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

20. Learned rudimentary German and  French

21. Delved into the world of autism

22. Owned my own house

23. Drove across country – alone

24. Started a magazine, or two.

25. Attended a Papal audience

26. 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

27. Served on the PTA

28. Published a book

29. Taught pre-school

30. Cruised Bourbon Street in Nola, stone cold sober

31. Interviewed a jazz legend

32. Designed a website from the ground up

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

34. Snowboarded

35. Road on the back of a Harley

36. Jumped off a cliff

37. Camped in a primitive site and in a camper

38. Made homemade pasta

39. Appeared on TV

40. 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).