This isn’t a bucket list. These aren’t things I need to cross off before I die. Will I ever accomplish everything here? Probably not, but that’s not the goal. This list exists simply as a collection of things I would like to do in my lifetime. If writing them down helps me focus, and in turn helps me achieve some of them, the list has served its purpose.
A life list should never make you feel guilty for not accomplishing something! It should serve as a compass, opening you up to experiences that you may have discounted otherwise. A few items have been crossed off (and a few new ones have been added) because I started this list last year, inspired by Maggie. I hadn’t shared it until now, but my hope is that by sharing this publicly, I may hold myself more accountable and achieve more. I tend to do well with public lists.
Experiences
- Live in another city for a year
- Take an extended vacation
- Host a traditional Thanksgiving dinner
- Shake the President’s hand
Have a completely natural labor and childbirthGo sightseeing on a Vespa- Teach a craft project to a group of kids
- Karaoke in front of a crowd
- Attend a costume party in a costume I’ve made myself
- Raise chickens
- Spend a week without electricity
- Host a baby shower
- Organize an event
- Surprise someone in a big way
- See a tree that I’ve planted grow to maturity
- Keep a houseplant alive for at least a year
- Grow tomatoes from seed
- Try fencing, complete with the proper gear
- Be completely debt-free (mortgage included)
- Help build a home for charity
- Take belly dancing lessons
- Hit a home run
Sights
- Look out over Paris from the Eiffel Tower
- Cross the Brooklyn Bridge
Cross the Golden Gate BridgeVisit The Farnsworth House (Mies van der Rohe)- Visit the Robie House, Fallingwater, and revisit Frank Lloyd Wright’s home and studio here in Oak Park
- Take the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s River Cruise
- Step out on the ledge of the Willis Tower Skydeck
- Cross the Canadian border, eh
- Visit Brunelleschi’s dome
- Visit Japan when it’s pink with cherry blossoms
- Have a cheesy photo taken of me holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa
- Tour the country in an RV
Just Plain Fun
Make a dollhouse for Eleanor- Picnic in the park
- Finish a paint-by-numbers painting
- Ride a roller-coaster with my hands up
- Wear a ridiculous hat to an event
- Dress up with friends for a showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show
- Experience weightlessness
- Drive a school bus
- Write a song
- Beat the classic Super Mario Bros. game
- Learn how to solve a Rubik’s cube
- Wear a sequined dress to a party
- Serve homemade cheesecake to guests
- Coin a phrase
- Turn a perfect cartwheel
- Have the Thriller dance in my repertoire
Family
Have another baby- And another
Make a video montage of Eleanor’s first year- Make a video montage of August’s first year
Hear Eleanor say “I love you”- Hear August say “I love you”
- Take Eleanor to pick a doll and spend the day at American Girl Place
- Take Eleanor to high tea at the Drake
- Take August to some equally “boy” events (rodeo? demolition derby? monster truck rally? I’ve gone to all three.)
- Take the kids sledding
- Visit a state fair as a family
- Give the kids a tour of my favorite paintings at the Art Institute of Chicago
- Cart the kids around town in a cargo bike
- Take the family to Disney World
- Go roller skating with Eleanor and August
Have an adorable family photo taken- Have a new adorable family photo taken (the family has expanded since the last one)
- Celebrate my 50th wedding anniversary
- Read Charlotte’s Web with Eleanor and August
Home
- Paint every room in my house
- Paint all of the trim in our house
- Live in a house with a lovely entryway
- Make every room in our house exactly as I’d like
- Gut an old fixer-upper house and completely remodel it
- Make the outside of our house as cute as the inside
- Make a fairy garden for the kids
- Have a library with a rolling ladder
- Hang a real painting above the sofa (not a print)
Style
- Only wear lovely undergarments
- Ruthlessly edit my closet down to only my favorite things
- Determine a wardrobe’s essentials, then buy them in the best quality I can
Find my perfect shade of lipstick- Sew a dress for myself that I would actually wear
- Wear perfume regularly again
Skills
- Learn how to yodel
- Identify twenty constellations
Learn how to use my camera in manual mode- Earn a belt in a martial art
- Perfect my turn stop on skates
- Play the guitar
- Drums
- Ukulele
- Learn to swim
- Read 100 classics
- Have a conversation in French
Professional / Career
- Publish a book
- Be a keynote speaker
- Have a monthly column in a magazine
- Collaborate with someone on a kick-ass creative project
- Start a charitable creative movement (like a chain letter but more fulfilling)
- Do/create something worthy of being nominated as a MacArthur Fellow
- Meet Martha Stewart
Meet Jonathan AdlerRedesign Making it Lovely- Launch a magazine
- Sell my designs through a nationwide store
- Art direct a photo shoot
- Name paint colors
- Design wallpaper
- Judge a design competition
- Create a proper portfolio for myself
- Mentor somebody
- Launch a decorating service
- Decorate someone else’s home from top to bottom
- Make enough money to support my family
- Make an appearance in five forms of media (
book,magazine,television, radio,internet) - Have my home featured in a Domino-like magazine
Projects
- Take a photo every day for a year
- Start a tradition
- Choose a good cookbook and cook every recipe in it
- Give only handmade gifts for a year
I fully expect this list to change as time goes on.
