#18 Start a Blog

One month from today is my fortieth birthday. I have never really thought much about my age. Turning thirty wasn't particularly significant or traumatic for me. But there is something about turning forty that has me taking stock of my life thus far and thinking about the future.


I have led a charmed life. I live in a country that is (generally) peaceful and prosperous. I have access to clean water, food in abundance and free, quality health care As a female, I have been free to pursue an education and a job in any field; free to marry or not to marry; free to enjoy the same rights as my father, brother, husband and sons. By the simple fate of my birth I am better off than many hundreds of millions of women around the globe. I think about this fact often.



I am fortunate in many other ways. I have never been hungry nor been without a roof over my head or a bed of my own to sleep in. I received an excellent, free elementary and secondary school education, thanks to the government of Ontario. I have a degree from a prestigious university, thanks to the hard work and generosity of my parents. They are approaching 70 and are in good health. I have a husband and three children who, although they are not perfect, are also healthy and happy. I have good friends and a job that is interesting and challenging. In short, life has been good to me.



In my first forty years of life I accomplished many things. I fell in love, I married, I gave birth, I travelled to various places near and far, I learned new skills, both useful and not so useful, I enjoyed many new experiences. In the second forty years of my life I would like to continue to learn new things and have new experiences. I have been inspired, reading Maggie Mason's blog about her Mighty Life List, to create a list of my own.



My list has no timeline and is in no particular order. I expect that it will be added to and changed things as time goes on. Some of the items on it are fun and some will require considerable resources, financial or personal, to accomplish. The purpose of this blog is to record my successes and failures and in doing so continue to lead a vital and interesting life.