Birthdays are occasions that should be celebrated. Whether it’s a party, small intimate dinner or just a group of the people closest to you singing the obligatory, “Happy Birthday”, I think it’s an honor for people to acknowledge the day God gifted you to your loved ones.

Sunday, I celebrated my 45th birthday. And while it did not consist of a typical birthday celebration for our household, my family tried their best to make sure I had an opportunity to relax.

This year I decided to do something totally different in recognizing my 45 years. Since I’ve accomplished most of my goals set at the beginning of the year, I decided to establish 45 goals for MY NEW YEAR in celebration of my 45 trips around the sun.

1. Read 45 books.
2. Complete my graduate program.
3. Celebrate/Acknowledge an accomplishment of an immediate family member at least once a month.
4. Become more intentional in telling people, “Thank you” and “I love you”.
5. Cherish every moment with my son as he moves into his senior year. The beginning of the end of this chapter…
6. Take the time to make others feel important.
7. Exercise more often.
8. Go to a professional football game.
9. Become more involved in volunteer/service projects.
10. Rid myself of things that serve no purpose in my life (this includes people).
11. Blog consistently.
12. Start/Join a book club.
13. Learn how to swim.
14. Clean out every closet in my house.
15. Pay off credit card debt.
16. Spend more time with my parents.
17. Take family portraits before the time comes and my son can tell me he’s not going to do it.
18. Get a massage.
19. Take one trip every season.
20. Create a photo gallery/room in my house.
21. Worry less (God is in control).
22. Take my youngest Goddaughter on a trip.
23. Carve a pumpkin.
24. Go roller skating.
25. Learn to really love my flaws.
26. Go on a picnic.
27. Create albums of family vacations.
28. Host a garage sale.
29. Go to the beach.
30. Color
31. Host a game night.
32. Take a cooking class.
33. Go to the gun range.
34. Go to an open mic night.
35. Try yoga.
36. Go on a family bike ride.
37. Go to the rodeo.
38. Pick strawberries.
39. Make homemade popsicles/cool cups.
40. Go to the movies.
41. Create a senior year scrapbook for the kiddo.
42. Be the loudest parent at my son’s sporting events.
43. Learn how to cook pancakes and waffles.
44. Attend a dance class/session
45. Laugh more.

Whew! That’s a lot to do in 365 days. I need an accountability partner to see how well I’m doing on this journey of appreciating life. What are some of your goals or things on your bucket list to do?