Cheers to Fifty! #50firstsby50

There is so much wonder in our world. We just need to open the eyes of our hearts to see it.

I’ve experienced so many amazing wonders in my almost 50 years of life. Wonders right in my backyard and around the globe that I could never have dreamed of. I often think of what undiscovered wonders await me.

To name a few of the wonders so far…

*I’ve seen an original copy of the Magna Carta

*I drank water from a waterfall in Milford Sound

*I survived car rides in the mountains of Nepal and taxi rides in Asia

*I sang in a choir in St. Paul’s Cathedral

*I danced on a stage in Kenya

*I’ve seen a red fox and a hedgehog in my backyard

*I’ve lived in an English cottage

*I’ve enjoyed a smoked salmon picnic while sitting on a glacier in Alaska

*I dined at an outdoor Michelin Star restaurant overlooking the Matterhorn

*I have been to emerald and amethyst mines in Brazil

*I’ve climbed on the Great Wall of China

*I have taken tea at Great Fosters (Henry VIII’s hunting lodge)

*I have loved on orphan babies in Cambodia and Brazil

*I stood on Hadrian’s Wall where Roman soldiers stood in AD 200(ish)

*I’ve walked where some of the Disciples walked in Rome

*I’ve eaten durian

The list goes on and on. If it sounds like I’m bragging, I don’t mean to. But if I am, I’m bragging on God’s goodness and I don’t think that’s a bad thing.

For months, I’ve been thinking about what I want to do to ring in the beginning of the second “half a hunnert” of my life. As I thought more about what birthdays are about, life and the living of it, I landed on the idea of doing one new thing, something that is a first for me, each day for the next 50 days.

Because 50 new things is a lot, my husband was helping me brainstorm some ideas. He asked me if this would be when I finally ride my first Ferris wheel. The answer to that is no. I’ve vowed that I will have “She did many things but she never rode a Ferris wheel” on my tombstone. I aim to keep that vow. A few of his other ideas included to smoke a cigar and have my hair braided into corn rows. Ummm…. nope. But if I did, I think I would have to do those at the same time. Can you picture me with corn rows smoking a cigar? Haha!!!

My firsts might be simple or they might be grand. I don’t have them all planned out. I want to be mindful each day that my life is to be lived. I want to remember that there are new things to experience and enjoy even though age tries to dictate otherwise. I want to live in a mindset of wonder and see where it takes me.

Life is so much better when it’s lived. (click to tweet)

I will post my firsts each day on social media (Twitter, Instagram and Facebook) with the #50firstsby50 if you’d like to follow along. On my birthday, I will come back here to the blog and share them all in one post.

Stay tuned and feel free to join my party. Over the next 50 days do something new, post it and be sure to use the hashtag #50firstsby50 so I can cheer you on as well.

Cheers to 50!

Photo credit: Pixabay Efes – no attribution required