Forty Before Forty

"You settle in.  These kids, this husband, this little life you're building...you say amen.  You are slower to tell everyone how wrong they are and quicker to gather your folks and breathe gratitude.  This is your place.  These are your people.  This is your beautiful, precious life."

-Jen Hatmaker, on getting older 

One of my good friends just turned the big 4-0 this summer and created a list of 40 things she wants to do in her 40th year.  Her list was filled with fun, challenging but doable, and inspiring things she's always wanted to do but hasn't had the chance or the courage, things that would push her out of her comfort zone, or creative experiences that would bring some joy and make some memories in her milestone year.  I'm lucky enough to be a part of a few of her 40 goals and have loved following her on her little journey of checking them off.  

And because I love me a good list, it got me thinking about my own milestone year, not yet 40 (sorry, Angie) but five years before turning 40.  I started thinking about the ultimate bucket list - things I daydream about and would love to do with Beau (goodness, we'll be 17 years married), or the kids (Cruz will be a teenager, gasp!), other people I love, or for myself.  And who knows if I'll still be writing on this blog, but I think it'd be fun to document my progress and write about the things I've experienced.  I'm sure I won't cross off all of these things and I'm even more sure this list will evolve and change as the years go by by, but the simple act of dreaming and defining them is maybe more important than the act of doing them.  

Here she goes...

Ashley's 40 Before 40:

1. See the Avett Brothers at Red Rocks
2. Finish the Harry Potter series with Cruz
3. Learn to French braid
4. Go on a trip with my mom
5. Lose those last ten pounds
6. Try a hot yoga class
7. Eat vegetarian for a month
8. Go to Italy with Beau
9. Finish cooking through all the recipes in Magnolia Table
10. Take a hobby workshop of some kind
11. Visit 5 national parks
12. Nail down a skin care routine
13. Finish the kids' "party room" downstairs
14. Catch up on family photo books
15. Go on an all-inclusive resort vacation with the kids
16. Finally visit NYC
17. Start a kindness jar at home and create 40 random acts of kindness a year - document notes and inspire each other
18. Rent a cozy cabin in the woods
19. Go on an extended social media fast
20. Learn to make thee perfect dirty martini and set up a fancy bar cart somewhere in the house
21. Organize a neighborhood block party
22. Start a book club
23. Eyebrow and eyelash makeover
24. Get heirloom quilts made for the kids
25. Donate blood five times
26. Ride at least a day on RAGBRAI
27. Try stand up paddle boarding
28. Tent camp at a music festival
29. In-Depth study of five books of the Bible - at least one as a family
30. Give a Bible teaching at BASIC
31. Get my varicose veins treated 
32. Write and perform a family song together
33. Attend at least one concert a year
34. Redo and expand our garden beds
35. Eat dinner at home, at the table, for two straight weeks
36. Start recycling
37. Buy only locally (aka, no Amazon Prime) for a set amount of time
38. Start taking vitamins
39. Take in a day of pampering
40. Read and participate in the book Seven OR do a Shelftember
41. Go through my entire closet and get closer to a capsule wardrobe
42. Christmas in Chicago 
43. Renew our wedding vows

This list is obviously for fun only, but part of the fun will be documenting what I do and how it's going throughout the year.  I'm going to pick one thing a month to focus on and blog about.  Stay tuned to see what September brings... :)