When I was 30ish, I had a minor identity crisis. In an effort to be something more than a mother to my children, I put together a list of things I’d always wanted to do but never thought I could. I’m more than halfway to 40, but I’m not quite halfway through my 40×40 list. It’s okay, though, because along the way I’ve finally started figuring out how to be a grownup.

And that was pretty much the point.

Every day of my life tends to be just another to-do list that never gets finished because as soon as it does, I put it on tomorrow’s list. Laundry, dishes, carpool, grocery shopping, cooking dinner—this is my life and it’s time to change that. This list isn’t intended to be much more than a to-do list of things I can actually cross off upon completion. Maybe I’ll get to some of them, maybe I won’t, but everybody’s gotta have a dream. 

I have also created a 40×40 category where I intend to journal my progress, if any.

1. Take a dance class.
2. Complete our wedding scrapbook album.
3. Get a tattoo.
4. Ride a zipline.
5. Write a book.
6. Start roller blading again.
7. Get a college degree.
8. Go on a vacation with just my husband.
9. Take a cruise.
10. Find a way for the hubby to stay at home with us.
11. Finish my girls’ baby albums.
12. Learn to sew.
13. Run an entire 5K.
14. Launch my business on a national level.
15. Learn to ride a motorcycle.
16. Take my kids skiing.
17. Go to the Harvest Moon Festival.
18. Eat a romantic dinner with the hubby at the Melting Pot.
19. Get a passport — and use it.
20. Get a manicure.
21. Participate in a flash mob.
22. Visit Las Vegas.
23. Let my kids eat cotton candy at the fair.
24. Build a snowman with my girls.
25. Kick a field goal and/or shoot a free throw in a profession stadium.
26. Use my homemade compost in the garden.
27. Attend every major sporting event in the Indianapolis area at least once.
28. Ride in a limo.
29. Live in a house that has no permanent marker on the walls, no holes in the carpet, no food messes on the furniture and no handprints on the windows.
30. Dance under a waterfall.
31. Meet a celebrity.
32. Grow (and preserve) enough food to last all winter.
33. Be a bridesmaid.
34. Picnic at the ocean.
35. Renew my wedding vows.
36. Watch a meteor shower.
37. Foster a child.
38. Take a non-conference girls’ trip.
39. Find the perfect Little Black Dress.
40. Learn to walk in heels.