13 goals for the next 13 years

Last night it dawned on me that I'm actually closer in age to 40 years old than 12 years old. I'll be 27 in December, so I'm obviously jumping the gun a little bit by thinking about turning 40. Honestly, most of the time I walk around feeling like I just got my driver's license. That's a great way to feel - free and happy. Occasionally I feel like I'm 12, extremely confused by life and what it's throwing at me, worried about whether I fit in or the cool kids like me. Sometimes I feel like I'm five, a little scared by the world and the prospect of meeting new people. Luckily, I don't feel like I'm 5 or 12 most of the time.

While the thought of being 13 years away from 40 was kind of scary at first, when I really thought about it, I'm right where I want to be. No, I don't feel like I'm in the job I'd like to be at 5 years from now. But my career has never been as important to me as the relationships in my life. I look at what is important to me - my wonderful family, my amazing friends, my incredible husband, my healthy baby, my beautiful home - and that is what brings me joy. I'm a lucky duck and I'm grateful to have the life I lead.

But looking at things from this perspective, I also have goals for myself - things I would like to accomplish sometime in the next 13 years. Hopefully all of these dreams will come true, and I would love it if I could make some of these things happen with the people around me that I love. So without further ado, in no particular order, here is my list.

Thirteen Goals for the Next Thirteen Years:

1) I want to go to Europe. Hopefully with my husband and my baby (and maybe even future babies). This one is most likely still a little ways off, but I have never been to Europe and I've always wanted to go. The main hot spots I'd like to hit? The entire United Kingdom - I really want to go to England and Ireland and Scotland and Wales. I would like to spend a few months there, but I will take as much as I can get (even if it's just a few days). I'd also LOVE to go to the French Countryside and Paris, of course. While in Paris, I would want to go to the Louvre, and I want to eat lots and lots of bread products and pastries. Finally, Italy. I must go. I must eat. This HAS to happen. Obviously, I most likely would not be able to go to all of these places. But if I make it to one, I will consider myself having met my goal!

2) I want to learn how to play guitar. I'm married to an excellent musician and he has offered to teach me and even tried at time, but I'm easily discouraged and distracted. I would love to learn how to play guitar. Maybe Corey can teach me an Lil Buns at the same time?

3) I really want to learn how to knit or crochet. I've tried this two or three times. I always give up. But I'm going to make it happen by the time I'm 40. I want to be able to make a blanket or a pair of booties or a scarf - something!

4) I want to be a stay at home mom. This is dependant on a lot of things going right (including the world economy turning around). It probably isn't something we could do forever, but as we've established, relationships are much more important to me than my career. So if I could have some time at home with my babies, that would mean the world to me. I'm hoping we can make this happen!

5) I want to become a better photographer. I'm expecting to get lots of practice with baby, and I have a great camera. I might need to take a class. That would be fun!

6) I want to stop stressing about things I have no control over. I want to learn how ignore the unimportant things and stop caring what other people think.

7) I would like to have a dog join our family. This is a big step as I have never owned a dog and I know they are a lot more responsibility than a cat. I think it will be a good thing for me and Corey, good for the cats, and great for Lil Granstrand. This is something a little way down the road when our child is in school.

8) I'd like to sell our home in better condition than we bought it (we've already done a lot of upgrades) and buy a bigger home. This is probably going to take awhile because it's dependant on the economy turning around, but I definitely want this to happen eventually. We have a three bedroom house and eventually we will probably need more room if we ever want to have people stay with us.

9) I want us to have another bambino. I think two is going to be the magic number for us, but we will see. I feel SO lucky to have this baby, but it's a wonderful thing to have a sibling (I love my sister!), and I want that for Lil Buns. I don't know how far down the road it will be, but it's something we want.

10) I want to post a video on youtube that goes viral. I think my best bet for this will be our cats. They are adorable and do funny things all the time. There is no real reason for this, I just think it would be awesome!

11) I really want to go to Nairobi, Kenya and meet my foster elephant, Naipoki. Because she is adorable and she makes me happy and I want to meet her in person. I would also love to the see the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage in person, since they do such great work!

12) I want to solve a mystery, Nancy Drew style. I'm a pretty good detective. It runs in the family, and I have a best friend who is awesome at it, too. I've gotten really good at researching things online (it's a major part of my job) and I think I could totally solve a mystery. Maybe it will be the mystery of the missing socks, but that would be enough for me :) It would feel so awesome!

13) I want to start our own business. Corey has great business ideas all the time. He comes up with them constantly. I think his ultimate goal would be to open his own business (probably a restaurant or a drive-thru coffee stand) and have us work together as a family there. I would love it if we could do that and make his dream come true--I think so many people dream of working for themselves, and I have to admit, it sounds pretty nice (although it also sounds like a TON of work). My one condition: we have to have some kind of health insurance plan. Preferably a good one.

That's it for now!

Elizabeth