Fifty things

My husband and I had a plan. We called it Fifty things to do before we're Fifty. We originally gave ourselves a budget of 50 x £50 but it soon became obvious when we made the decision to send our daughter to boarding school that the budget would have to be cut (50 x 50p was more realistic!) It was supposed to be an excuse to do crazy things, have adventures, live life to the full and blog all about it. Last week, my husband turned fifty and in a few short months the dials on my age counter will click over to match his. Far from being well under way with our amazing new experiences, we haven't even managed to complete #1 on the list which was, quite usefully,  Think of Fifty Things.

Our plan failed. Fifty Things to do Before We're Fifty was a failure.

Should I let this get me down? Definitely not. Failure is just another teacher with a lesson to deliver. Failure is probably one of the most important teachers we can have.

Why did our plan fail? The simple answer is lack of time and money. Time and money are two things no-one ever seems to have enough of. The lesson learned - never waste either.

Instead of feeling down about the failed plan,  I decided to put a more positive spin on things and make a retrospective list of Fifty things we DID do before we were fifty from the time we got together in our early forties. It is colour coded - black things we did together, blue things are his achievements, pink are mine. Here is the list:

1. Meet up on a romantic trip to Paris
2. Fall in love   (  The beat, beat, beat of my heart  )
3. Ski for the first time

4.  Fly alone to see Coldplay in Barcelona

5.  Get stranded in Barcelona airport with no flights home!

6. Move job and country
7. Buy a house together   (  A tale of two plates  )
8. Make that house a home  (  Home  )
9. Have horse riding lessons
10. Buy a boat    (  Finding sea legs  )
11. Dig a fish pond (not for the boat!)
12. Fall in the fishpond
13. Fly to to Greece
14. Swim in an infinity pool
15. Go snorkelling
16. Announce a pregnancy.
17. Have a baby girl.   (  Addy  )
18. Have a naming day party for all the new Virgos   (  A year of being Virgos  )
19. Learn to dance
20.  Dance in the Blackpool Tower Ballroom   (  Blackpool  )
21. Finalise divorces
22.  Plan a wedding.
23. Get married   (  Remembering a Wedding Day  )
24. Announce another pregnancy.
25. Have a baby boy. (  Dylan's Birth Video - celebrating the children in your life  )
26. Prevent the possibility of any more pregnancy announcements  ( not for the squeamish  )
27. Start writing a blog (  One Year of QWERTY Mum  )
28. Learn to knit  (  Knitting with my mum  )
29. Knit a zombie  (  Knit your own zombie  )
30. Join a running club  (  Running Club  )
31. Run 10K  (  Market Drayton 10K Road Race  )
32 Become regular Parkrunners ( More Parkrunning  )
33. Create a vegetable garden.  (  Why I love my Garden  )
34. Watch shooting stars
35. Taste Paneer Tikka Masala ( A Curry to Remember  )
36. Have a boudoir photo shoot  (  Boudoir Photography )
37. Buy a sports car  ( Mid Life Crisis  )
38. Sell a sports car
39. Cycle to London (not through the lack of a more appropriate vehicle)  ( Men in Lycra  )
40. Alphabet Date  (pull out all the stops for A but never reach the end)  (  Aerial Adventure  )
41. Complete a triathlon  (  A Sporty End to Half Term  )
42. Swim and cycle the distances for an ironman competition.
43. Support four daughters on their journey to independence
44. Keep chickens  (  Here come the girls  )
45. Eat meat (not the chickens)  (  Gloucester Old Spot Piglets and Sausages  )
46. Deal with the loss of a loved one  (  My Mother in Law  )
47. Take part in a Colour Run  (  Color Run  )
48. Complete two Race for Life events, raising money for Cancer Research (  Race for Life  )
49. Discover Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead TV shows
50.

There were plenty of contenders for number 50 - spa days, counting blessings, appreciating the little things, falling out and making up...

I decided to leave 50 blank. There are still a few months before the deadline we set ourselves originally - midnight on 30th April 2014. I am counting on the fact that we can pull one adventure/crazy thing out of the bag before then - one amazing experience to demonstrate our commitment to living life to the full. Number fifty is hope for the future, never knowing what is around the corner, grasping opportunities, being willing to put in the effort or step outside the zone of complacency. Life's plan will unfold before me. I will be ready for it.