I'm reaching a certain...ahem...age milestone in less than a week. So I figured it was time to take an assessment of some of the things I've accomplished (before I figure out what I need to do next. Here's my list. What's yours?
- Met the love of my life (though I don’t remember meeting him).
- Became a mom—and loved it so much I did it again.
- Learned to surf in Hawaii.
- Joined a rock band.
- Walked on the Great Wall of China.
- Attended an L.A. movie premiere.
- Spent the day with Anne Rice.
- Survived a Lifetime-movie-of-the-week-bad relationship.
- Built up a massive tolerance to alcohol (and then lost it).
- Snorkeled two of the best reefs in the world.
- Lived through a kitchen remodel.
- Survived layoffs (sure wish that wasn’t plural).
- Wrote a (horrendously bad) screenplay.
- Lost too many people I love.
- Survived a lousy high-school social life.
- Made friends that feel like family.
- Went vegetarian—and then went back again.
- Spent more on a single meal than I spend on my wardrobe.
- Ate animals I never thought I would.
- Glutted myself on press swag.
- Stood on a Broadway stage (three times!)—and resisted the temptation to launch into “New York, New York.”
- Cooked an entire Thanksgiving dinner.
- Took my parents to DisneyWorld.
- Was someone’s boss (a good one, I hope).
- Was my own boss.
- Wrote a book.
- Learned to speak Mandarin.
- Partied in Vegas.
- Gave a commencement address.
- Swam with sea turtles.
- Petted a whale.
- Learned how to make marshmallows.
- Was the voice of Betty Crocker.
- Learned (the hard way) that semi-permanent black hair dye is actually permanent.
- Switched sides in the perennial pop/soda debate.
- Started giving my kids that old-person, “when I was a kid, we didn’t have…” spiel.
- Went over to the dark side because it pays better.
- Bought a ridiculously large TV.
- Experimented enough that I don’t feel like I squandered my youth, but not enough to leave permanent scarring.
- Still haven’t quite figured out what I want to do when I grow up.
