I feel it's too easy to talk yourself into not only feeling, but also behaving, 'old'. Why? I'm not going to change dramatically overnight, not going to become someone who only listens to music from my youth, or watches comfy TV repeats from the same era. On the other hand, I think that we all, no matter our age, have a tendency to settle into routines and familiar patterns, from favourite comfort food, to the programmes we watch on TV, the music we listen to, even the way we dress.
As regular readers of this blog will know, I'm refusing to accept age as an excuse for cutting back, and I feel that if I don't challenge myself now I never will! So, when I saw someone* blogging about celebrating a big birthday with new experiences spread throughout the year, I thought it was an excellent plan.
Therefore, instead of sitting feeling sad about my age, I've decided to copy the idea, and treat this year as a sort of combined challenge and celebration, finding 60 new things to try.
That works out as quite a lot! Five each month!! But most of them will be fairly (very) easy - for example, I've never eaten squid, had a meal in a tapas restaurant or tried mint and choc chip ice cream ( I'd like to thank an FB friend's daughter for that last suggestion). Some, though, will hopefully be more daring - going somewhere new, or doing something a little out of my comfort zone. There'll still be no trekking up Everest, or zorbing down a hillside, and nothing that would petrify me, like handling snakes, or going on a fairground Big Wheel; I know my limitations!
Obviously I'll be blogging, and also tweeting with a #60things tag, so you can follow my progress. I'm hoping things will spread out fairly evenly across the year, but there could be a big rush come next November/December.
I'd been expecting that my first 'new thing' would be becoming a grandmother, but that happened rather earlier than planned, so the honour of Number 1 goes to making spaghetti carbonara for dinner. It's not very exciting as new experiences go, but, although I've eaten carbonara in restaurants, it's something I've never tried to cook before, so challenges the comfort food idea, and it turned out to be quite easy. It's a small step, but a start.I wonder where this challenge might lead - even if it's only simple things it should prove to be fun - so I'll be keeping track here
* Lisa Cherrett at the Poised Moon blog certainly had a similar idea - read her 50 New Things here
Carbonara is always a favourite!!
ReplyDelete... and, it turns out, surprisingly easy to cook!
DeleteBrilliant idea Mary. A bucket list with the added bonus of doing things because you want to. Excited to hear about your special birthday. The celebration is important and the joy - not the age. I don't hold in with the acting old lark. You certainly don't. My sister was 60 last year and she took redundancy, paid her mortgage off and has just started a new job. What's not to like. Thanks for sharing with us at #tweensteensbeyond
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Nicky. Your sister certainly has the right idea - it's time to start something new (while we still can!)
DeleteI will be one of your most avid followers Mary and will probably shamelessly copy some of your ideas. I am so looking forward to reading more. I have already made and eaten spaghetti carbonara though! Thanks so much for joining us at #TweensTeensBeyond
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting Sharon. I'm hoping it will be an exciting year to follow. So far I'm off to a good start by adding a couple of new live bands, and a new music festival held at a new-to-me venue to my adventures :)
DeleteThis is a great idea! I think that no matter our age, this would be inspirational for all of us. I wish you the best of luck in trying your 60 new things this year:) #TweensTeensBeyond
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting, Michelle.It's too easy to get stuck in a rut at any age, isn't it? But by my age, it's getting late to put things off and think 'I'll do it some other time'.
DeleteHi Mary, I loved this idea...I may have to copy. I will be 58 this year. I will also share it as your idea in my YOuTube channel. We have a wonderful community of mature women on YT. I invite you to watch. My profile name is WOW50plus. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XQraQPG8ck
ReplyDeleteFeel free to copy but it's not quite my idea as I've seen it elsewhere. It's a better way to mark a 'big' birthday than moaning about how old I am :) I'll pop over and check your Youtube channel x
DeleteHi Mary to celebrate my 60th this year I planned to try and do something for the first time every week. When I saw your tweets I pinched your idea and upped it 60. Hope thats ok with you.
ReplyDeleteOf course that's ok. It's not as original idea as I'd thought, as since embarking on this I've seen lots of other people trying 50/60 things to mark 'big' birthdays. We should maybe swap notes, and see how well we're doing :)
Delete* Was it me? ;)
ReplyDeletehttps://lisannie44.wordpress.com/2016/01/01/50-new-things/
Best of luck with your 60 things - take your time, and enjoy them!
Ooh it may have been (though I've seen lots of similar ideas after I posted this!) Added your link :)
DeleteI love your simple and easy ideas, Mary. It's so easy to get into a bit of a rut without even realising, often because life is busy and the known option is the quickest. I believe a little change here and there can lead to exciting ideas popping up!
ReplyDeleteExactly! To be honest some of these things seem so simple and easy that I don't know why I didn't try them before. Still, I've now tried squid, and it's not for me!
Delete