We are 1/6th into 2017, and although I knew The Number was coming up, and I was preparing for The Number, I just realized within the past week that I am already in my 40th year. Dun dun dunnnnnnnnnn.
And I am feeling so many, many things.
As many do, I struggle with loving my life where it is, and knowing that it could be so much better. So much more fulfilling, giving, returning, loving. I look back at my adult years, and although there are few things I regret in them, I feel so much younger than I recall myself feeling in my 20’s. (I guess that’s what quitting smoking and a daily multiple bottle of Mt. Dew habit can do for you!)
A great amount of information has been put out lately about self care, and it’s something I’ve been striving to do for myself. To be a better wife, a better mother, a better child of God, a better friend, a better artist, a better Melissa. So, with that – I’m claiming
#40in40MLP
I’ve started a list of 40 things I want to do in my 40th year. Some of them I know won’t be completed because of timing, but I can start them. Some are simple and easy and some will be complicated and hard. But I can do hard. And so can you, my lovely friend. Because, if you’re reading this – you’re a friend.
So, here’s my list. And I would love your help. If you have any ideas for me, or can help me with some of these – please reach out. I will accept them with open arms.
-
Get a new tattoo.
-
Attend a paint night
-
Skydive
-
Give 40 gifts #1
-
Watch the solar eclipse. (if you have contacts along the southern corridor of Nebraska that we could pitch a tent in their yard on Sunday, August 20th, I would love to connect)
-
Run an obstacle course (Tough Mudder, DirtyGirl MudRun, Warrior Dash, etc)
-
Visit my sister in St. Croix, VI
-
Join a book club
-
Take an adult girls’ weekend away
-
Volunteer 40 hours at kids’ school
-
Volunteer 40 hours in photography – of some kind or another.
-
Hike 40 miles.
-
Run 40 race miles (in multiple races, not all at once – I’m not that crazy!)
-
Photograph a twin or more multiple birth.
-
Learn to snowboard switch aka goofy foot first.
-
Learn to ride a rope tow. Yes, in 20 years of riding, I have never once grabbed a tow rope. Although I haven’t mastered it, I certainly tried it at Trollhaugen on the last Saturday of Blizzard Ski School. Man, did my arms hurt that day!
-
Read 40 books
-
Plant 40 trees.
-
Learn to ride a motorcycle
-
Earn the designation Certified Professional Photographer. I have to pass a written test and enter images that follow certain guidelines for critique.
-
Create images to enter into PPA’s print competitions for 2018.
-
Pay off personal and business debt.
-
Become healthier. I originally had lose a specific # of pounds listed, but I don’t want that to be my end goal. I want to learn to love my body the way it is, and although I don’t right now, I’m not sure that losing weight will necessarily be the answer. And I don’t want my kids to think that a person can’t be healthy or happy until they reach a certain number on the scale.
-
Read 40 books in the Bible. Ruth
-
I would love to do a Portrait Project of photographing forty people who are also “In Their 40th Year”
-
Return to Big Sky and celebrate our 20th anniversary of Jon asking me to be his wife, and our 18th wedding anniversary. Super hard, I know, but it’s already planned! 😉
-
And best yet…. all portrait sessions (with some exceptions)….. will be $40!!!! This is only for the session fee. This does not include any product, printed or otherwise. It does include the pre-session consultation, the photography session, and the viewing/ordering session after. All the regular mumbo jumbo applies. (I reserve the right to discontinue this one at my own discretion…. self care and all yo.)
- Run a 5K. Yes, this is the start of my 3rd year of running – and although I have completed 5K distances and longer, I’ve only done run/walk cycles to make it.
- Drive the entire way around Lake Superior.
- Visit the Apostle Islands. I can’t decide between summer and kayaking or hiking to the ice caves in the winter – husband said “why not both?!” But I’m just going to leave it as one item for now.
