A Time For New Goals

This August I’m going to be thirty. As you can imagine, I have some mixed feelings about this.  For one, over the past five years I’ve been hearing that the world was going to end in December 2012, so part of me never thought I’d actually live to see 30. When the New Year began, the reality began to hit me. The world was still turning, and I was going to have to face the fact that I will officially become old. 

Of course, age is blessing, while at the same time, a total curse. My stomach has been giving me problems when I eat certain foods, that never affected me before. My eyes are suddenly not as sharp at night. I’m starting to sleep less and wake up earlier on vacation. I worry about flossing. What can I say? The only way to stop aging is to die, and since I like being alive, it’s something I’m going to have to deal with.

Another thing about turning thirty: it really makes you wonder about your accomplishments and your place in the world. In my twenties, I really only had two goals. I wanted to write a novel and buy an apartment that could be my very own in every possible way.

I can’t complain, I have accomplished both goals. I’ve written, not one, but five novels. My husband and I were lucky enough to buy a decent sized two bedroom apartment with a little garden, and a view of a mature mango tree, which we intend to totally gut and renovate over the next few months. Goals accomplished!

Now that that’s done, I’ve started to think about setting some new goals for this next chapter in my life. What is it I really want to learn going forward? What is it that I want to accomplish? I’ve come up with a list (since list-making is kind of my thing):

Now without further ado, I give you: Amanda Hanna’s List of Things to Accomplish After Thirty:

1. Gardening: Okay, I know you were hoping for a little more excitement than gardening, but hey, I am now the owner of a lovely garden space. I might as well fill it with yummy vegetables, and gorgeous, fragrant flowers! I don’t know a single thing about gardening (my cactus died and I still don’t know how come), but I have an entire decade to learn!

2. Cooking. So far I am capable of making 2 dishes that my husband categorizes as “edible”: chicken mince pasta in tomato sauce with garlic bread and chicken tacos. I’ve accumulated all these cookbooks recently, and once my kitchen is built, I plan to put them to good use.

3. Meditation. Ever since “Eat, Pray, Love” (the book, not the movie), I have been curious about meditation. Yoga, I could do without, but the actual act of sitting still and being transported to a far away place, emotionally and mentally, really peaks my fancy. In the new apartment, the second bedroom is going to be my gym/ sewing/ recreational space. (Matt can recreate in the rest of the house), so I think I’m going to spend some time trying to meditate. 

4. Raise Money For St. Jude’s Children Hospital: Have you ever seen those commercials about St. Jude’s? They are so sad. Really, the saddest thing on Earth has got to be kids with cancer, or other life-threatening illnesses. At St. Jude’s, all children get treated, even if they don’t have health insurance or enough money to pay for treatment. It’s such a great place and I would really like to send them a lot of money. Maybe I’ll donate all proceeds from my books to St. Jude’s for a year? I dunno, I’ll have to think about it. The good thing is, I have ten years to donate, so even if the individual amounts are small, they should add up to something by then.

5. Have a kid. Although I am ardently against procreation for those who are not stable (financially or emotionally), I think by the time I’m thirty-three we might be ready to take on a kid. Whether that means adoption or C-Section, it remains to be seen, but I think I could deal with one kid. It might even be fun! We will see. Adoption is my number one choice, but the little I’ve looked into it, it seems like it could be a pain in the neck and take a really long time.

In my twenties, I had only two big goals, so I thought for my thirties, it would be nice to have some smaller goals, and maybe one really big goal (number 5). All in all, I am a little sad about turning thirty. My twenties were SO AWESOME! In fact, my default age is twenty-two. That’s how old I want to say I am, when people ask. 

Alas, thirty could be fun. And on the up-side, Joseph is already thirty, so at least I’m still younger than him :)-

 

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