Silver Sparkles Playbook

I just got back from a walk.  My first walk this year that hasn't involved gloves, a hat, and a down jacket. I am lucky enough to live four blocks from Lake Michigan, and as I headed down the sidewalk, I could feel the cold breeze from the lake I couldn't yet see.  My feet carried me along a route I could do with my eyes closed.  West towards the football stadium, then down the hill where the lake awaited.   It's been a long, cold, seemingly interminable winter and the bay is still frozen over.  The ice fishing shacks have been pulled off the lake, but the only water visible is at the very edges of the shore.  This fact only barely registered with me, though, as I was wrapped up in my own thoughts.  Our minds are busy places.  At least mine is.  In the twenty minutes it took me to reach the lake I thought about, in no particular order, whether I should have worn a heavier jacket, my daughter's impending college graduation, the water ...

As a parent, I have made a career out of giving advice.  Get good grades.  Don't forget to floss.  Drive carefully.  As a society, we encourage young adults to stay in school, get a good job, be safe.  Always, always be safe.  And these are all good things.  But I would like to propose that we should not forget to tell them to sometimes do something crazy.  Take a risk.  Follow your heart occasionally.  Make sure to seek a little adventure.  I would also like to propose that we look in the mirror and tell our middle aged selves the same thing. I don't think anyone who knows me would describe me as adventurous.  I live a quiet life.  In 1993, I lost my job.  I wasn't fired, but the Congressman I worked for decided to retire and not run in the next election.  I had worked for good grades in college, did an internship with his office and was hired shortly after graduation. I did the right thing, the expected thin...

A few people have mentioned to me that I should have a bucket list now that I'm 50.  As a lover of lists, that makes sense to me. I've already admitted to enjoying a bit of selfishness these days, and a bucket list is All About Me.   So I've been thinking about it, and here is the beginning of my list. Bucket List for Jill's Next 50 Years 1.  See U2 in concert with my favorite U2 friends again 2.  Hike to all the waterfalls in the U.P. 3.  Stay a night at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island 4.  Find the perfect underwear (I laughed when a friend included this on her list, but now that my favorite underwear has been discontinued, I am looking for a perfect replacement!) 5.  Sleep in a yurt 6.  Recreate with my husband our Epic Camping Trip of 1993 through Iowa, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, and Montana 7.  Go to Austria with Abby for the Sound of Music tour 8.  Go backpacking in the Porcupine Mountains again What does your bucket li...