Bucket Lists: My 'Someday' Dreams Are Getting Impatient

I imagine eating pasta and drinking wine in Italy!

Okay, so the name "bucket list" is a little dramatic, but let's be honest—hitting fifty makes you think about all those "someday I'll..." dreams that have been gathering dust on the mental shelf. You know the ones. They've been sitting there next to your good intentions and that exercise equipment you swore you'd use.

Suddenly, "someday" feels both more urgent and more possible. Maybe it's the wisdom that comes with age, or maybe it's just that I finally have the nerve (and the time) to actually pursue the things that make my heart skip a beat instead of just making my to-do list longer.

So here I am—fifty and seasoned—diving headfirst into my bucket list like it's a personal challenge. And honestly? I'm having a blast with it.

Things I Can Actually Cross Off (Yes, Really!)

Here's what I've managed to accomplish just this year, much to my own surprise:

• I traveled with my husband and family to Ireland and Central and South America. Turns out, international travel with family is equal parts magical and chaotic. Who knew you could accidentally order way too much food in Panama due to language issues?

• I left my corporate job to pursue my passions. That's definitely the Significance and INFP in me showing up (see my September 9th blog post if you want the full personality breakdown). Scary? Absolutely. Liberating? You bet.

• I submitted entries to the Minnesota State Fair baking competition. Didn't win anything, but my banana bread put up a respectable fight. Plus, I can now say I'm officially a "competitor," which sounds way cooler than "person who stress-bakes during deadlines."

• I started this blog and website. Finally doing something that combines my love of writing, food, and general enthusiasm for this beautifully messy stage of life. Turns out, having opinions about sourdough starters is apparently content worth sharing.

• I created a farmer's market business. Hand-made crafts, home-baked goods (yes, including that temperamental sourdough), and hand-poured candles. My daughters think I've lost my mind, but I prefer to think I've found my creative soul. Check out my 'Events' page if you want to see what happens when hobbies get delusions of grandeur!

What's Still Percolating in This Curious Brain

But wait, there's more! (I know, I sound like an infomercial for midlife ambitions.) My future bucket list isn't full of sky-diving (which I did in my 20's!)—my goals are wonderfully ordinary, and I'm perfectly fine with that. Everyone's list means something personal to them, and mine happens to revolve around home, family, and finding ways to keep growing.

Here's what's still brewing:

• Pay off all our debt and live debt-free. Because nothing says "living your best life" like not owing anyone money. Revolutionary concept, I know.

• Visit places that make my heart happy—Italy for the pasta and wine research (obviously), Hungary because Budapest has always made me curious, Thailand because the food and scenery looks incredible, and maybe some RV trips so that I can finally see Mt. Rushmore!

• Take at least one cruise every year with my husband. It's my favorite type of vacation—someone else does the cooking, cleaning, and navigation while I focus on the important stuff like perfecting my shuffleboard technique.

• Publish a book and/or cookbook. Because apparently, I have opinions about more than just sourdough, and the world might actually want to hear them.

• Downsize our home without losing our cozy nest feeling. Something that doesn't require a GPS to find the guest bathroom, but still feels like the place where family naturally gravitates during holidays.

• Live closer to my sister and (hopefully) my children. And someday, those theoretical grandchildren who will undoubtedly think "Gigi" is wonderfully weird but love me anyway.

• Be available to babysit future grandchildren. The freedom to drop everything and help when my kids need me? That's the real luxury right there.

• Take classes in things that intrigue me—cooking, arts, history, whatever catches my fancy. At fifty, I figure I've earned the right to be a professional student of life.

• Do meaningful work or volunteer in ways that actually make a difference. Because making an impact doesn't have to mean changing the world—sometimes it means changing someone's day.

  
  

The Beauty of Staying Curious

My daughters give me gentle grief about my constant stream of new ideas. Apparently, "Mom's having another epiphany" is a running joke in our house. But I love that I'm still curious about life, still dreaming up possibilities, still believing I have more to give—even if my back occasionally disagrees with my ambitious spirit (like it did this past week!).

The truth is, when the world feels overwhelming or discouraging, that's exactly when we need to lean into wonder. We need to look around and say, "I want more joy, more connection, more learning, more living." Because at fifty, we're not winding down—we're just getting started on the good stuff.

Your Turn to Dream

So here's my question for you: What's been sitting on your "someday" shelf, quietly waiting for attention? That dusty guitar begging to be restrung? The pottery class you keep bookmarking? A trip to see the Northern Lights? The novel you've been writing in your head for fifteen years?

I want to hear about the dreams that make you smile just thinking about them—the perfectly ordinary, wonderfully personal goals that are uniquely yours. Because at this stage of life, "someday" is really just another word for "why not now?"

Drop a comment and tell me: What's on your bucket list? I promise not to judge if yours involves learning TikTok dances or finally organizing that junk drawer. We're all just figuring out how to make the most of this beautiful, messy adventure.