a mighty life

inspired by my topography who was inspired by mighty girl...

in no particular order, forty things from my life list:

1. Rent out the Round Barn B&B&B for an anniversary party.
2. Publish a full length book of poetry.
3. Complete an MFA program.
4. Become a mother.
5. Travel to Ireland.
6. Spend a summer away somewhere (alone) to write.
7. Stay in the Ice Hotel.
8. Camp and canoe in the Boundary Waters.
9. Own a home with slanting ceilings (note: not sloping, but the attic-slant).
10. Be able to go for a hike and identify bird calls, wildlife, etc.
11. Form some kind of artist organization or collective (or become a vital part of one already in existence).
12. Zip line (again) and this time, be brave about it.
13. Declutter our house to a point where I don't groan and think, "Ugh, I have to clean..."
14. Read all of the books on Vermont College's poetry reading list.
15. Live somewhere surrounded by woods with a sprawling yard.
16. Earn a Ph.D.
17. Complete the chapbook manuscript (and get it published!) in honor of my grandfather.
18. Go on an adventure in Africa.
19. Drive (well, and ride too--that first) a motorcycle.
20. Be featured on the daily click.
21. Slim back down to pre-grad school weight (and stay there).
22. Learn how to make broadsides on a letterpress.
23. Learn to wrestle with that sewing machine upstairs and win. (Or just stop hating bobbins.)
24. Take a digital photography class.
25. Take in more performing arts.
26. Start a scholarship fund.
27. Impact one of my students and not just stop when they are on my class list.
28. Cook outside the box more often (more energy please).
29. Learn French again to the point where I wouldn't fall flat on my face if I visited.
30. Along with a successful vegetable garden, cultivate a flower garden.
31. Be content with daily life. Not quite so exhausted all the time. Not so overwhelmed.
32. Start yoga classes.
33. Beachcomb.
34. Meet Toni Morrison. Because I've already met Margaret Atwood and Sharon Olds.
35. Learn how to manage money. And invest for a safety net.
36. Bake bread from scratch.
37. Spend a morning meditating in the outdoors.
38. Own a canoe.
39. Travel somewhere new every year.
40. Start new traditions and keep them going.



Traditions that have only just begun and I hope will continue:

1. Wine tasting party (usually doubles as another celebration--two years ago, it was a house owning anniversary, this last year it was also my birthday). It's a nice excuse to have friends come for a visit. I wish we could have a wedding every summer just so we could know we'd see everyone at least once a year.
2. Camping every summer at the end of the school year. Last year, it was Frontenac. Jay Cooke is it for this year, it appears. I love the idea of that full throttle into the end of the school year, the slam of the last day, posting grades, locking the classroom for the last time, the intensity of camping, being outdoors, and then the open endedness of summer facing me Sunday night, ready to wash away the grime of a school year completed and a weekend in the dirt.
3. A girlfriend road trip. Last year, I flew to the Carolinas to visit Nikki with Chris; this past spring break I went to New Orleans with Kelly; there has been chatter again with Nikki and Chris about another summer trip.
4. I try to write letters to my paternal grandmother and to Kelly every day. Sometimes it's just a postcard, but I try to put something in the mail to them each day.

What about you? What's on your life list?