Turning 49



During these strange times, which seem impossible to describe without a cliché, another birthday approaches.  I will be 49 on the 21st of January but there will be no parties or get-togethers this year; no boozy brunches or civilized afternoon teas. Like everyone else who has celebrated in the past ten months it will be a birthday of compromises - enjoyable but not exactly what I might have chosen in normal circumstances.

So here I am, on the cusp of my half century. On the same date my mum would have been 73 years old. Before she had reached her own 49th birthday she had suffered an aneurysm and stroke which permanently changed the final twelve years of her life. So the big five - oh  fills me with gratitude rather than dread, because not everyone has made it this far. 


It is in that spirit of seizing the day that I decided to make a list of 50 things that I would like to achieve before I'm 50. I do love a good to-do list! It's a strange hotchpotch really, made up of ideas of my own and suggestions from friends. There are things that I have always wanted to do and things I just haven't done for a  long time. There are a few tasks to improve my physical or mental well-being and some which will help me to be kinder to others. There are even some which are quite random and a bit silly. 


Here is my full list. I look forward to sharing my attempts to complete it.


(P.S. Consider #41 ticked off.)


  1. Buy a stranger a coffee

  2. Paddle barefoot in the sea

  3. Write and post a proper handwritten letter

  4. Read a classic novel that I've never read before

  5. Update my will

  6. Save £1000

  7. Bake and ice a Christmas cake

  8. Grow my own salad

  9. Try IKEA meatballs

  10. Buy someone flowers for no reason at all

  11. Plant a tree

  12. Nominate someone for an honour or award

  13. Bake my grandmother's Cornish Pasties

  14. Learn to crochet a granny Square

  15. Raise £150 for charity

  16. Watch a film at the cinema, chosen by someone else.

  17. Play Dungeons and Dragons

  18. Declutter my messy bedroom

  19. Write a poem or a story

  20. Get a mention on the radio

  21. Fill the house with plants

  22. Have a go at cross stitch

  23. Go on holiday

  24. Hold a bird of prey

  25. Apply to be on a TV game show

  26. Meditate 

  27. Write to a member of Parliament

  28. Visit an historic building that I have never been to before

  29. Organise a piss up in a brewery

  30. Hug a tree

  31. Read a Sunday paper from cover to cover

  32. Visit the Victoria and Albert Museum.

  33. Have a meal in a Michelin starred restaurant

  34. Purge my wardrobe of all clothes that I no longer wear and donate them to charity

  35. Watch a ballet

  36. Go 48 hours with no screen time

  37. Eat breakfast on the beach

  38. Buy a lottery ticket

  39. Run!

  40. Spend time looking at the stars

  41. Write a blog

  42. Donate blood

  43. Watch the sun rise over my city

  44. Draw a picture

  45. Arrange gravestones for my Mum and Grandmother

  46. Attend a gin tasting

  47. Begin to learn a new language

  48. Have a photo shoot

  49. Enter a competition

  50. Catch up with somebody who I haven't spoken to in more than a year

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

#39 Run!

Image
It was our school sports day last Friday, and as I went through the day's itinerary with my tutor group, I mentioned the staff races. One of my lovely students piped up “Miss, are you going to race?” and I answered flippantly, as I often do, “Do I look like I run? If you ever see me running, you should run too, there’s probably something scary chasing me!” Humour is such a commonly used defence mechanism, and those of us  who are fat, physically unfit or disabled (and I fit into all three of those categories) often make light of things by telling a joke rather than make anyone feel uncomfortable. I don't think there's anything wrong with that, in fact many comedians have made a career out of it, but perhaps there are alternative responses. I am fabulously fat - and  before anyone tells me not to put myself down that's really not what I am doing. I am fat. I have always been fat despite decades of diets and exercise plans and at almost fifty years old I have finally le...
Read more

#21 Fill the house with plants

Image
  There are times when, even at 50 years old, I still don't feel like a real adult. Often this is when I see photos on social media of other adults I know who have matching tableware in the shot, art that they actually got around to putting in a frame, coordinated bedding or, in particular, an arrangement of  houseplants. Owning multiple thriving houseplants is just showing off in my opinion. I have proved that I can succeed in keeping humans and pets alive but I wonder if that's largely because they would protest if I forgot to feed them or if they became too hot or cold. Neglect a plant and it wilts and dies, I have no patience with this kind of martyrdom. Nonetheless I decided to give it another shot. I bought a cheap selection of low maintenance potted plants from a well known Swedish furniture and meatball emporium. I also received a couple of plants from friends: the first a cactus (this person knows my limitations) and the second an orchid (these friends have grossly ov...
Read more

#23 Go on holiday

Image
In the spirit of post-Covid abandon I went on two holidays! Both were to Northumberland, an area of the country that I feel so drawn to, that I am considering retiring there. Perhaps that goal will make it onto the 60 list. My first trip was at Christmas, to a static caravan with stunning sea views at Newbiggin-By-The-Sea. The caravan was cosy and comfortable, just big enough for me, the dog and the excessive amount of festive food and drink that I had transported up with us. I had found the accommodation on Airbnb and our host had thought of everything: a Christmas tree all lit up for our arrival, extra blankets, dog treats, a hamper of Prosecco and sweet and savoury treats, everything needed for breakfast and even binoculars for a closer look at the sea life right outside our window. As it turned out these luxuries were needed as the weather did not cooperate. It was wet and stormy for most of the week and besides the daily, blustery dog walk on the beach I spent the majori...
Read more