Halfway to Thirty 11
On my 29th birthday, I created a list of 29 goals I wanted to accomplish before my 30th birthday.
Today, as I mark the halfway-point of my last year of my twenties, I’d like to take a look at that list and see how I’m faring on it.
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I will learn to play Rachmaninoff’s “Prelude in C# Minor” Op. 3 No. 2 again.
Nope, haven’t done that yet. Haven’t even ordered the sheet music.
But I had this thing memorized when I was 17, and I don’t exaggerate when I say that the memories of those notes are still embedded deep in my fingers. I just need some practice (and yes, that darn sheet music) to access those memories.
Oh. And a few hours at my mom’s piano (which will be mine whenever we can hire a piano mover).
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I will go on a vacation with my family, even if we can only afford a long-weekend trip to Indiana or Michigan.
Tim and I talk about this goal a lot. (We also talk about loftier and as-of-yet unattainable vacation goals, such as traipsing off to Paris for a week, or traveling down the California coast, or trekking across Canada for a month.) But we haven’t actually made any plans for such a vacation…yet.
And maybe I can enlist your help here: do any of you have suggestions for small, lakeside Indiana or Michigan towns where a family with small children could enjoy a five-star resort that served free drinks, offered free massages, and placed a Vosges chocolate bar on your pillow each night an affordable weekend getaway?
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I will read at least one more book by Joseph O’Neill because I think that his writing is beautiful and hypnotic and downright sexy. (He’s downright sexy too.)
I haven’t reached this goal either (what I streak of procrastination I have going on here), but it won’t take long for me to reach it once I go to the library and check out one of O’Neill’s books.
And yes, I still think that he’s downright sexy.
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I will do more scrap-booking because I’m good at it and am always thrilled with the books I make for my family.
I’ve done it, but I haven’t blogged about it yet. And oh what a riveting blog post that will be.
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I will not attempt to knit or crochet again because I’m bad at it and am always disappointed each time I try my hand at it.
I’ve tried my hand at knitting and crocheting at least three or four times in my life, and in all of those times, I sucked.
There is simply no polite way to describe how much I sucked.
Hell, my cat wouldn’t even play with any of my failed yarn creations. And cats love yarn.
If I can make it this entire year without picking up any knitting needles or crochet hooks (even when those well-meaning people encourage me to just give it “one more try! this time with patience!“), then I’ll be a happy woman.
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I will go and see a rock show that (fingers crossed) will not be canceled.
I want to go to the Matador Records anniversary party in October (Guided by Voices! Pavement! Sonic Youth! Belle and Sebastian!), but I don’t think it would be a good idea to raid the kids’ college fund in order to see all of the bands with whom I was obsessed when I was in college. Right?
So I think I’m going to hold out for Pavement here in Columbus in October, and then the “classic” Guided by Voices lineup later this year (if they go on tour).
Yes, I am a total indie rock geek.
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I will finish my dissertation and will earn a PhD in Philosophy, and I will make lots of jokes about how you can now call me “Dr. O” (which is what my doctor-dad’s patients call him).
If I had a dollar for every time somebody has asked me “when I’m going to finish my dissertation,” I’d have enough money to go to that Matador show. And the DONA International conference. And the Lamaze/ICEA mega-conference. And to BlogHer ’10.
But I don’t.
And I’m not finished with my dissertation yet either…OKAY?!
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I will use my fancy dishes for not-fancy dinners, and I will remind my mom to bring out my grandmother’s fancy china more often so that we can have fancy tea parties together.
I plan on doing this once my eggplants and tomatoes ripen so that I can make my famous “Provencal Tart” for my sisters, mom, and grandmother.
Sweet, right?
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I will buy all of my groceries from the North Market one week and makes all sorts of delicious (and locally-based) meals for my family.
Why I haven’t accomplished this goal yet, I don’t know.
The North Market is wonderful. It’s a Columbus gem, replete with fresh seafood, meats, cheeses, baked goods, ethnic foods, wine, a Saturday farmers’ market, and Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream.
And I could literally spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars there in just one visit (if I had the hundreds and hundreds of dollars to spend).
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I will obsess over the last season of Lost.
Hey, I accomplished this goal! And I blogged about it (with super-saccharine sentimentality)! Gold star for Kristen!
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I will attend more births and continue to be amazed by the strength of the mothers I meet and awed by the power of the births I am privileged to witness.
I have definitely accomplished this goal, many times over. What a lucky doula I am.
(And after the birth I attended this past Saturday, I think that I have a blog post brewing on this topic!)
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I will find a way (practically and financially) to attend the NIH Consensus Development Conference on VBAC in March.
I did it. I rocked it. And I came away with all sorts of lofty goals inspired by it.
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I will complete my DONA International doula certification (only one childbirth education class attendance to go!).
Hey, another accomplishment! I’m not feeling like such a procrastinator after all!
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I will complete my CAPPA lactation educator certification (okay, lots more to go there…).
What if I replace this goal with the goal of beginning my certification as a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator?
(Goals are allowed to evolve into new goals, right? Especially when they are such admirable goals?)
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I will finally create doula business cards and advertise my services more prominently in the Columbus, OH area.
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I will send birthday cards on time, from January all the way through December.
And the goal will thusly be changed to “I will send birthday cards relatively on time, from January all the way through December, and I will accept my weaknesses for the quirky character traits that they are.”
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I will train for a marathon. Or perhaps a half-marathon. Or even a 10k. Or maybe just a jog-down-the-street-without-tripping-over-my-own-feet.
Does it count that I walked three blocks really, really fast with a 33 lb. toddler in my arms so that we wouldn’t miss our town’s July 4th parade this past weekend?
No?
Damn, I better get running. (And no, not for the marathon. Or the half-marathon.)
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I will try to find an adjunct position in a local philosophy department so that I can teach part-time.
This goal has slowly dissipated, and I will blog about my own ever-changing career goals soon.
In the mean time, know that this evolution has been absolutely liberating.
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I will take my kids on more sled rides and on more trips to the library and the museum and on more visits to their favorite restaurants and parks and bookstores than I did last year.
I accomplished part one of this goal all the way back in January, and I’ve probably accomplished a few others since then.
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I will make more batches of chorizo gumbo for my husband, who considers it to be his favorite meal.
Oh hell yeah, this stuff is good.
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I will teach myself and my children how to garden.
We’re doing it! We have zucchini, eggplant, grape tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, basil, tarragon, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, parsley, bell peppers, jalapenos, cilantro, and fennel out in the backyard right now. And while we’ve harvested a few things here and there, I’ll wait for the big gardening blog post once we get a bigger harvest.
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I will use a power drill and a broom and a hammer and a make-up brush and a screwdriver and a ladle and allow my children to see me doing all sorts of (traditionally gendered) work.
I generally do all of these things all within the course of one day!
(Well, okay. I don’t use a power drill that often. But my two-year-old does–with his toy power drill, that is. He also has an obsession with the broom, which I’ll have to write about one day.)
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I will make a 100% transition to cloth diapers OR to a completely potty-trained house. Both are admirable goals, in my opinion.
We’re on our way. Oh yes, we’re on our way.
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I will finally make my great-aunt’s recipe for challah bread.
I haven’t done this yet, but oh it’s the best!
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I will continue (and love) teaching my four-year-old how to read.
He’s reading. I wrote a letter about it, and just writing it (let alone re-reading it) made me cry.
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I will continue (and love) teaching my almost-two-year-old to identify colors and numbers and letters and animals.
Some day, I’ll write a post about the different learning styles that M (4) and A (2) have.
Whereas M (like me) prefers what I would consider to be more “classroom” learning techniques, A is more of an organic and kinesthetic learner–he learns things like colors and numbers and letters and animals by doing, and being, and acting in the world.
And I love helping to fashion that world for him.
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I will continue (and love) learning all of the amazing things that my children teach me.
Well you know a sweet and sappy letter is coming when I write the blog post on accomplishing this goal.
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I will host another Christmas dinner and relish in the opportunity to watch my grandparents, parents, in-laws, sister(s), brother-in-law(s), nephews, (niece?), husband, and sons gather in my home and celebrate the holiday with food and laughter and warmth.
You’d be worried if I’d already accomplished this goal, right?
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I will write lots, lots more on my blog.
Oh honey, you know how verbose I can get.
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What about you? Did you set out to accomplish any particular goals this year? Have you reached any of them yet? Or are you as much of a procrastinator as I am?
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