I'll turn 29 this month. Despite recently watching the Friends episode where Rachel faces her 30th and realising that this once so distant event will be mine to celebrate next year, I've no problem with my age. I quite look forward to what my thirties might hold.
I've written a "bucket list" of things I'd love to try and places I'd love to visit in the run up to my 30th. I'll share this soon. As I thought about what would be on my list I also realised that there's a whole range of experiences I've enjoyed that could be crossed off an unwritten bucket list. Doing this was such a good exercise! It's made me feel very grateful, encouraged me to revisit some amazing memories and photographs, and
reminded me how fortunate I am to have had these opportunities.
Here is the list of things I may have put on a bucket list and can cross off before I turn 29:
- Fall in love I fell head over heels in love with M when we met in 2004
- Complete a PhD Doctor, doctor...
- Love my own pet My home was made complete by my gorgeous tabby cat, Jacques, who had to be put to sleep last August. We now have two adorable kitten rascals, Lottie and Bruce.
- Dive in the Maldives I learnt to dive at Kuramathi on honeymoon in 2011.
- Ride a camel at sunset in the desert Tunisa 2005. My first holiday with M.
- Love and be loved by my family and friends
- Visit Walt Disney World six times Yes, six times! I'm a Disney girl and a big roller coaster fan.
- Go on a girls only holiday We've been to Amsterdam and Spain and had several UK hen adventures. We're planning another Spanish trip to celebrate our 30th's in Barcelona.
- Cry with happiness at a friend's wedding More than once!
- Watch the sunset over the Grand Canyon A favourite family holiday moment, captured in a treasured photograph of me and my dad.
- Eat Malay street food in a thunderstorm Summer 2013. A perfect memory, even the soaking wet clothes we had to walk around in afterwards
- Camp at a festival Greenman and IndieTracks, but would love to add more to the list.
- Sleep under the stars On the last night at camp, after working for the Summer as a camp counsellor in America in 2004.
- Drive abroad The Mijas road in Costa del Sol is hairy. It wasn't a calm drive.
- Chase the Northern Lights in Iceland During our Iceland trip in January 2012.
- Own a designer handbag At the bottom of my wardrobe, wrapped in their little dustbags, is a very beautiful (but barely ever used for fear of marking) tan Miu Miu handbag and a little sparkly Miu Miu clutch, both bought with a healthy discount while working part time at a flashy designer store. I also treated myself to a beautiful black Marc by Marc Jacobs Too Hot to Handle hobo in Singapore last Summer and I think it's been my most used handbag ever.
- Travel to a Christmas Market I sipped mulled wine and browsed stalls in snowy Nuremberg in 2012.
- Own my own house "Our house, in the middle of the street"
- InterRail around Europe Summer 2005
- Eat at a Michelin starred restaurant We celebrated our first wedding anniversary with a meal at Holbeck Ghyll in the Lake District.
- Ride in the back of a pick up truck down an American highway Summer 2004
- Learn how to cook Thai food in Thailand This was one of the first things we did when we arrived in Bangkok last Summer.
- See a West End show Love a good show! So far, Blood Brothers, Wicked (twice), Lion King, Dirty Dancing, and booked to see Miss Saigon in July.
- Kiss on the top of the Eiffel Tower October 2012
- Have a picnic in Central Park I can remember what we ate, too. A pastrami and pickle sandwich, Lays potato chips, New York cheesecake and a can of Mountain Dew. How cliche...
- Visit the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur Summer 2013
- Watch jazz in New Orleans On two separate visits
- Admire the ruins at Sigiriya We travelled around Sri Lanka as part of our honeymoon and Sigiriya, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was one of my favourite stops.
- Bathe in the Blue Lagoon Another highlight of my trip to Iceland in 2012.
There's countless other things that could have gone on this list, some smaller and others larger. If life's about making memories, this list reminds me how many precious ones I've already made. I shared the list with M before posting and we realised how many of these amazing memories we'd made together. It turns out that reflecting can be just as satisfying as dreaming.
