36 things (or, the good that slipped in through the back door)

I made a different kind of list just after I turned 37. I filled up two whole pages with lovely little (and big) things that snuck up on me from behind and took me completely by surprise. things I never expected to happen, things I had no way of knowing I'd do in the course of a year. these are the things I never really saw coming.


1. went down a slide they call Big Pink.



2. witnessed a public pillow fight.




3. stood silent in a field of tulips.




4. introduced the kids to sushi and the joy of conveyor belt dining. couldn't actually get them to eat sushi but did trick them into eating seaweed.




5. learned to sew. sort of.

6. gained access to more photobooths than I knew what to do with.




7. grew flowers from seed.


8. made two trips to seattle.




9. lived comfortably through the summer months without air conditioning.

10. rode to the top of the st. louis arch without passing out. which, given my enormous fear of heights, is really something.




11. had a perfectly normal conversation with a couple walking on stilts.

12. rode a four-wheeler for the first time ever. I am so not a four-wheeler kind of girl which is why you'll never see pictures of said event. though I will admit to enjoying myself.


13. stood in the cold waters of the pacific ocean.




14. took a soak at the kennedy school.

15. cooked thanksgiving dinner all on my own (well, if you don't count ward peeling potatoes and ava helping with the cherry pie).




16. was featured in this brilliant woman's thesis project-- aka glimpse magazine.

17. took the kids to a roller rink for the first time. was comforted by two undeniable truths: you are never too old for roller skating and you are never too cool for the couples skate.

18. reconnected with a close old friend, the likes of which I thought I might never see again.

19. traveled cross country with two young children, one husband and one 16 year-old cat. saw a good amount of america through the eyes of a little point and shoot camera.




20. planted a vegetable garden.




21. watched two real parades.




22. was featured on the front page of a newspaper.




23. celebrated 13 years of marriage on the 42nd floor of a hotel in downtown seattle.




24. fell in love with a new artist.

25. crossed the continental divide.



26. purchased a new camera.

27. made pasta sauce from tomatoes that came from our garden.




28. had my photographs printed. for the first time in the two years we've owned a digital camera.

29. taught creative movement workshops at a montessori school.




30. made more new friends than I ever imagined possible.

31. spent an afternoon at the coolest library in the world.

32. carved out a sweet new workspace for myself in the basement.

33. flew down city museum's monster slide-- camera in hand, skirt up over my head.




34. wore sweaters in the middle of june. and for the first time in sixteen years, wished for the kind of heat that can only be found in the deep south.

35. averaged 7-8 hours of sleep a night. really, this is a very big deal for me.

36. learned to love coffee. okay yes, that's a lie. but I want to like it, I really do.