99 Things

I am so happy that Mon started this list of 99 Things. I love hearing others’ unique stories, and remembering that my life, too, is pretty amazing. It pulled me out of my doldrums (which is quite a feat). I mean, really, look at that face! Since all this joy was bubbling up, I decided to honor it and share it—my very personal list of 99 Things.

Things I’ve already done: bolded.
Things I want to do: italicized.

1. I was born to an amazing mom.
2. I’ve been loved by an amazing family.
3. I’ve met wonder-full people.
4. Walk across America.
5. I had a summer job helping a photographer map Montana from a small Cessna.
6. I gave birth to a daughter, who has taught me much.
7. I witnessed death.
8. I opened myself to love.
9. I saw my teen idol in a café but had since found true love.
10. Three words someone said to me that I’ll never forget, “Love takes time.”
11. Commune with nature.
12. I’ve paddled a canoe.
13. I have snow-shoed.
14. I helped build a snow fort.
15. I’ve attended rendezvous and powwows.
16. I stepped on and set off a series of poacher’s traps.
17. I’ve watched salmon spawn.
18. I’ve witnessed a decline in the salmon populations.
19. I learned to love a place that used to make me cry.
20. Advocate for nature.
21. I have caught fish and crawdads (and ate them).
22. Learn wilderness awareness skills.
23. Been caught stealing (once when I was 10).
24. Falsely arrested for stealing when I was 21 in a police training exercise.
25. I kicked a posse of carjackers out of my car.
26. Get to know my town on bike.
27. I have hitchhiked in a group and alone.
28. Travel with my family.
29. Ride a train through Glacier National Park in the winter.
30. Hike the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada.
31. Visit the Pacific Northwest.
32. Visit the American Southwest.
33. I’ve slept on the beach and next to the river.
34. Regularly swim in the river.
35. Skinny dip.
36. Cliff dive.
37. I chose to be homeless.
38. I refused to remove a nose ring for a job.
39. I dyed my hair (purple, red, blue), but now watch it turn silver.
40. I harbor two three un-amendable regrets.
41. Choose awareness.
42. Increase my capacity to sit with others' grief.
43. Practice communicating better.
44. Stop thinking you have people figured out.
45. Be present.
46. In high school, I won competitions for flute performance.
47. I also ran 12 miles a day for cross-country.
48. My knees turned to jelly during a piano recital.
49. My knees turned to jelly when facing a bear in the mountains.
50. I broke my collarbone skiing.
51. I was sexually harassed as a teen.
52. I stopped a light rail security guard from sexually harassing two teens.
53. Take a model mugging class.
54. I cheered as my husband fought in the Thunderdome.
55. I protested wars.
56. I wrestled my own dragons.
57. I experienced sleep paralysis.
58. I have experienced techno-paralysis and actively resist cell phones and Facebook.
59. I learned to say no.
60. Learn to say yes.
61. Learn more about democracy, anarchy, and personal/social responsibility.
62. Create community.
63. Host parties with singing, dancing, costuming, and play.
64. Explore creativity.
65. I discovered Native American artifacts.
66. I went on a night forest hike with friends.
67. I experienced the supernatural.
68. Go on a Vision Quest.
69. I have felt completely empty.
70. I have felt enlightened.
71. I have splashed barefoot in rain puddles.
72. Learn to love my body.
73. Learn African drumming.
74. Learn juggling.
75. Learn fire poi.
76. I sang in two operas (Bach Mass in b minor and The Carmina Burana).
77. Find my voice.
78. I carved a lyre.
79. I hammered a copper bowl.
80. I want to learn woodworking.
81. I serendipitously encountered anthropology, linguistics, and Waldorf Education.
82. Learn to take baby steps.
83. Become self-employed.
84. Become a journalist.
85. Write and publish a book.
86. Learn the art of oral storytelling.
87. Become a librarian.
88. Visit The Library of Congress.
89. I studied herbalism and naturopathy.
90. I smoked cigarettes for seven years.
91. I was a vegetarian for seven years.
92. I ate a chocolate-covered cricket.
93. Grow my own food.
94. Raise chickens, goats, and bees.
95. Learn how to preserve foods.
96. Let go of ‘scarcity’.
97. Embrace possibility.
98. Remember what is essential.
99. Love.

Happy New Year, everyone!