40 Things By Age 40 – So How Did I Do On Completing My List? #becauseIm40

Hi! If you want to witness the progression of my list here ya go:

• My Original Bucket List (published in 2011)
• My 40 by 40 List (published in 2011)
• How Did I Do On Completing My 40 by 40 List? (published May 2016)
• My 50 by 50 List  (published March 2018)

aaaand now back to your regularly scheduled blog post. 🙂

Four and a half years ago I joined a group of other bloggers and published a post listing 40 things I wanted to do before I turned age 40.  If I’m being honest (which I always am), I only did so because it seemed like fun and they asked me to.  Even though age 40 was the next large even-number milestone age, it was not remotely on my mind back then.  Besides, I already had a bucket list that was published earlier that year.  I decided to participate, pulled items from my existing bucket list and added a few new items to spice it up.

40 seemed so far away then.  

It’s so interesting to look back and see what I aspired toward at age 35. Most of it is still reflective of my desires now, but some of the items I’ve definitely outgrown. When I originally published the 40 by 40 post I had just attended my sister-in-law’s wedding, was gearing up to attend my friend’s wedding in Mexico, a different sister-in-law was pregnant with my niece, and I was about to become pregnant with my son (what happens in Mexico stays in Mexico … except Zion *tee*hee*).    Today the 1st SIL mentioned has a daughter and twins on the way, the friend has twin boys, and my niece is 4.  Whoa.

I was also about to embark on THE MOST CHALLENGING experience of my entire life: being a mom to a child with special needs … and I had no clue.

Learning about my son’s diagnosis made me take this list more seriously than I did when I first penned it.  I would come back to this list every once in a while to check in and get ideas for things to do to keep me motivated.   In the chaos of it all, with time sometimes seeming to move slowly and quickly all at once, this list helped me focus and have things to look forward to.

So here we are … my 40th birthday was last Thursday … and I’m feeling more pensive than celebratory.  What an absolutely crazy past 4.5 years!

Let’s see how I actually did on accomplishing the things on my “40 by 40” list. LEGGO!

Here are the things I accomplished from my 40 by 40 list!

🗸 Have a baby

Zion was born in June of 2012.  He was diagnosed with Spina Bifida and other medical issues at my 20-week ultrasound. I  hoped to have at least two children by now, but unfortunately, I doubt that will happen.  This is a complex, personal, and painful subject for me which I had no clue it would become when I first compiled this list almost 5 years ago. Maybe one day  I will be able to explore it more here on the blog.  Now to something much lighter …

🗸See the Jay Leno Show live

Hubby and I were huge fans of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (well hubby was a huge fan, and I became a huge fan via him).  When I composed this list Jay Leno was no longer the host (remember all that drama?).  I can’t recall but Conan O’Brien must have been the host then because I specifically said “The Jay Leno Show” which only became a thing because Conan took over, wasn’t doing well, and they still needed Jay to come back and save the day. Well fast forward to 2016 and Jimmy Fallon is the host of The Tonight Show and killing it (love us some Jimmy), and The Jay Leno Show is no more sooooo, I wasn’t able to make this list item happen. Why do I have a checkmark next to it like it’s completed you ask?  Well, I all but forced my husband to purchase a ticket to see Jay Leno do stand up comedy live in September 2014 so I’m counting that and this one is as completed as it’s gonna get LOL!  

🗸 Make my income independent of a location

This is a thing, a thing I’m trying to build on, but definitely a thing.  February 29, 2012 was my last day working a corporate job and now I can work from anywhere producing online content. My goal in 2016 is to increase my income, if you want a peak into what I’m up to support me on Patreon.  

🗸 See Sarah Mclachlan in concert

Sarah Mclachlan is my favorite musical artist.  In July 2014, my husband purchased a VIP ticket and I saw her in concert, sat in the 3rd row AND met her in person. O_O  What. Is. Life? *faint*

🗸 See Jonatha Brooke in concert {again}

Jonatha Brooke is my 2nd favorite musical artist. I’ve actually seen her in concert twice before I made this original list, both in a hotel meeting room with say 30-50 other people many moons ago. Well in August 2015 I talked 3 friends into driving to Nashville, Tennessee with me JUST so I could see her in concert again (solo, they hung out in the hotel and this time with a much larger audience, go Jonatha!).  I sat in the front row, I sang along, I lay my head on the stage and let the music roll over my like waves. Best. Night. Ever.

🗸 See the Soweto Gospel Choir in concert

In March 2012, I took a group of friends to see the Soweto Gospel Choir during my annual celebration of life, Renevatio.  It was amazing. 

🗸 Shave a side, the sides, or the back of my hair

This one is done until my hair has grown back! On my 36th birthday I shaved one side off, then a few weeks later I shaved the other side off. The plan was to be bald by the time baby came BUT I feel in love with the mohawk (I have a thing for mohawks), so I kept it until the end of that year, cut the back off, trimmed the top shorter, then eventually shaved the entire thing off. That was 3+ years ago and now my hair is back past my shoulders … because #blackrapunzel.

🗸 Attend a BlogHer Conference

Which I did in July 2013 and plan on doing again this August! 

🗸 Swim naked

 Which I did in October 2011 *tee*hee*.  Ok, guess what happened in Mexico stays in Mexico except Zion AND this ha!! 

🗸 Get eyelash extensions

This was probably the 1st thing I checked off the list after it was written. I got the eyelash extensions in October 2011, and wore them for a few months. I loved the look but once pregnancy really kicked in I couldn’t deal with the maintenance. 

🗸 Model in real runway show

I modeled in the Onyx Bridal Affair Bridal Showcase as well as did photo and video modeling for them for promotional material and a television segment … #becauseglamazini.

🗸 Go on a long road trip through U.S.A.

I’ve done several road trips in the past half a decade … the longest being two trips from St. Louis to North Carolina which is a 12-hour drive one way. The other trips included Kansas City several times (3 hours), Chicago a couple times (5 hours), Oklahoma City (8 hours), and Nashville (5 hours). We’re most likely purchasing a minivan in the near future so that will make the road trip life even easier!

:::

That’s 12 things out of 40 completed!

I could lament that I didn’t complete the entire list of 40 things BUT WHY?  I mean have you seen how CRAZY my life has been the past 5 years?! I became a mother and primary daily caretaker of a child with severe medical issues having no experience with children before that, AND I completed 30% of the things on my list? Gurl I did gooooooood! Not bad at all Roshini, not bad at flippin all! *pats self on back and does celebratory dance because #ismashedthislist*

:::

Anyhoodles, here are the remaining items:

1. Live a portion of the year in the Virgin Islands and a portion in the states 
   – This one may not happen because of my son’s special needs. 
2. See the Winchester Mystery House
   – because it’s just weird and I love history and curious stories.
   
3. Learn to ride a bike 
   – I’m gonna make hubby teach me … I mean we have a bike that I can fit on. #prayyall
4. Stay at a Ritz Carlton Hotel 
   – I stay in hotels all the time, stayed in one last weekend … I need to plan, budget, and prioritize this. 
5. Meet Alton Brown
   – again … met him years ago right before Good Eats took off and did not know who he was #womp
6. Ride a segway 
   – Totally doable in the upcoming months, I just need to prioritize, plan and make it happen.
7. Read the Bible from beginning to end 
   – Started via audio Bible because it absorbs much better into my cranium, but still not completed. 
8. Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge
9. See the Statue of Liberty
   – up close … seen it in the distance a zillion times
10. Take walks 
    – I *could* count this  as completed … I mean yo girl has taken walks since then … BUT … I meant on a consistent basis so I’m leaving this as a goal.
11. Start baking {again} 
    – This will now shift to gluten-free baking because I suspect le gluten is making me want to jump off the deck. 
12. Finish the  basement 
    – Over the years, many other things have taken priority over spending money on this (I dunno … like wheelchairs)
13. Visit Las Vegas, NV
14. Visit Pheonix, AZ
15. Spend the night on a private island
16. See the ball drop in Times Square
    – which I had a chance to do pre-9/11, decided to stay home when everyone else went, and now 100% regret
17. Drive across the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway
18. Learn to drive a stick shift
19. Be on the cover of a national magazine
20. Get hair removed from everywhere I need hair removed {case in point}
21. Go camping 
    – Might change this to glamping because that’s a thing now lol
22. Ride in a hot air balloon 
    – Why would I write this?! I would probably pass out and/or pee on myself. This may have to come off the new list #whatintheworld
23. Learn to play chess
24. Maintain my flyness
    – I’m actually quite ok for a 40-year-old if I do say so myself *blows on knuckles* … but I’ll keep this as not completed because the way my stomach is set up … 
25. Go on a Disney Cruise
26. Take a train ride up the California coast
27. Loc my hair 
    – Ironically I *always* said this would start the moment I found out I was pregnant. So yeah … that didn’t happen … and now I just want to grow my loose natural hair to obnoxious heights that scare small children so this may not happen just yet.
28. Get a pet {a yorkie and or a cat} 
    – Hubby’s not a pet person but we’ll see

:::

So there you have it, I completed 12 out of 40. Not. Bad. At. All.  *slow claps for self*

Do you have a goal/bucket list? How are you doing on completing it? Let me know in the comments below!

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