The end of
2018 closed out My 50 List. Twelve months of my life over. The 12 that I
dedicated to doing things I put off for years. It wasn’t so much of a checklist
(I didn’t complete all 50 items on the list) as it was an intentionality list.
I intentionally made the effort to make as many of them happen as I could. For my
family and friends who have been wondering how it all shook out, here’s a quick
summary.
Travel
 |
| On boat to Lilac Festival |
The list
actually started because, for years, I said I wanted to visit or go to certain
places like the Lilac Festival on Mackinac Island and hike on Isle Royale. Each
trip had special significance because of the people I shared each of them with.
I did all but hike Grand Island (Munising, MI). This coming summer, I hope my
husband and I will be able to bike around the island.
Books/Movies
In addition
to travel, reading and watching movies for pleasure were reasons I created the
list. I read every book on the list, along with a couple of extras. I still
have many work-related books on a list. Maybe I’ll get to them this year. ;-}
In addition to reading, I watched more movies this year than I have since my
senior year in high school. I love watching movies and would like to take more
time to do so.
Food/Exercise
 |
| Cold run in April |
I also love
to eat, but this year I made a conscious effort to eat better. Overall, I think
I was pretty successful, even if I didn’t lose any weight (not on the list –
Ha!). I even tried a new food each month, most that I liked. [Pastrami, not a
fan.] I enjoy exercising, but dealing with plantar fasciitis (or something
going on with my foot/ankle) made it a little more difficult this year. I kept
at it the best I could by finding alternative ways to exercise besides running
and walking.
Successes
I completed
46 on the list (sort of…see Struggles). I started volunteering at the homeless
shelter which I continue to do. Even with my foot issue, I was able to
contribute 600 miles to my Run the Year group and completed 50k in running
races. I had to do a cold 5k trail run at the beginning of December just to get
those 50 in, but I finished!
Struggles
The weekly
entries I tried to make for gratitude, positive things about me, and
encouragement/inspire were hard to keep up. Sometimes it felt forced because I
hadn’t done it by the end of the week or couldn’t remember if I did. I like to
think I am grateful, give praise and encouragement, and think positively about
myself, but regularly writing it down made me question that. Two of the four items
on my list didn’t get completed. These were in relation to my heritage. While I
did take an ancestry test, I didn’t learn more about my family history or
Finnish and Italian words.
While I am
still 50 years old until the end of June, the calendar year I turned 50 is over
and with it My 50 List. I am not eager to create a 51 list, but hope to
continue to do more of what I enjoy with family and friends. Thank you all for sharing
in my list last year (or at least for putting up with me as I went through it).
