Thursday, April 12, 2007

Thursday Thirteen #1: Life begins at forty - 13 things I have done in my forties

A friend introduced me to Thursday Thirteen (hey Dorothy ... what happened to them recently?) and I thought it would be fun to play. The thirteens can be anything you choose. So here goes - 13 things I have done in my forties (so far! still another three-and-a-half years to go).

1. Had a baby - biggest and best! (OK, maybe the baby is more cute and petite than big, but you know what I mean)

2. Driven across the Alps - which petrified me as I do not have a head for heights and it felt like driving along the edge of a mountain. I was too pigheaded to let Tevye take over driving, though.

3. Played in a symphony orchestra - strictly amateur, but still a challenge.

4. Ridden rollercoasters - Angel and I have some big ones lined up for later in the year.

5. Taken up scrapbooking - though I don't think I will ever manage to keep up with just current photos, yet alone catch up on forty years of backlog.

6. Written half a book - can I finish it before I reach fifty?

7. Spent a week on a canal in a narrow boat - steering a sixty foot long boat under a narrow brick bridge immediately followed by a bend is a challenge I'm not sure I would wish to repeat. At least I didn't have any disasters quite on the scale of Tevye, who reversed into a clump of blackberry bushes ... messy and painful.

8. Joined Weight Watchers and lost twenty pounds - but have since put it back on and more. I can't even blame it on the baby, as most of it had come back before she was on the scene.

9. Bought a tent and camped for the first time since I was in my teens - though I am strictly a fair weather camper.

10. Begun learning to play the euphonium - OK, so I have only been learning for four weeks. It still counts.

11. Started wearing skirts - more at some times of year than others, but maybe half the time overall. Quite a revolution for someone who hadn't worn one on anything other than special occasions for years (or would that be decades?)

12. Converted to a Mac - and after my experience with Windows Vista I am never, ever buying a Windows machine again!

13. Discovered I enjoy cooking - and that it is even possible to make something without being totally reliant on a recipe.

4 comments:

Donna. W said...

I have never even so much as sat down at a Mac. I'd love to just once, so I would know if I'd like one.

Anonymous said...

Gosh, Kathryn! I started to make a list of what I've done in my 40's. Things like gained 30 pounds, started turning gray, started wearing glasses! I did have a baby at 42. There's something good!

But no way could I come up with 13 things unless I really want to depress myself!

Karen Edmisten said...

What a great list! I don't think I can come up with 13 things that are that interesting, but I could definitely shout about the baby in my 40s! :-)

Romany said...

LOL, Well done!

My biggie was becoming a christian and 40! Better late than never, eh?