40 By 40 Bucket List

I turn 40 in about 40 weeks, so I started making a list of things I want to do before I turn my 40th birthday.

1. See a bald eagle.
2. Get a Brazilian wax.
3. Go on a ghost hunt.
4. Visit Navy Pier.
5. Play a round of golf.
6. Get a chiropractic adjustment.
7. Go to a tea house.
8. Go to a casino.
9. Donate blood/plasma.
10. Zip line.

11. Hire a maid for a day.
12. Visit Wrigley Field.
13. Learn to juggle.
14. Go to the Philharmonic.
15. Visit a planetarium.
16. Smoke a cigar.
17. Stay at a bed and breakfast.
18. Get my passport.
19. Visit IMS.
20. Get a hot stone massage.

21. Make a balloon animal.
22. Go stargazing.
23. Drink whiskey at a distillery.
24. Get ordained.
25. Attend a painting lesson.
26. See the Northern Lights.
27. Learn to paddle board.
28. See a waterfall.
29. Explore a cave.
30. Go to a drag show.

31. Attend the ballet.
32. Try acupuncture.
33. Visit a fortune teller.
34. Go to a sensory deprivation tank.
35. Wear a wig for a day.
36. Eat fondue.
37. Fillet a fish.
38. Go axe throwing.
39. Treasure hunt with a metal detector.
40. Shoot at a range.

41. Drive a Tesla.
42. Visit a lighthouse.
43. Host a wine tasting.
44. Go to a musical.
45. Visit a National Park.
46. Have drinks on a rooftop.
47. Learn to write my name in fancy calligraphy.
48. Jump at a trampoline park.
49. Eat at Powers.
50. Eat a Vegemite sandwich.

51. Ride a toboggan.

These are in no particular order. I just wrote them down as I thought of them.

Six Months: Half a Year Without Dad

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Six months. Half a year.

Some days are okay. Most days are okay.
Then, I feel guilty for being okay.
Then, I’m not okay.

Grief is weird. I can be perfectly content, then a thought will pop in my head. A memory. Something about that last day he was alive.

I still have a lot of things I wish I would have said over the years. Funny how the last three months that we had, they didn’t seem like important things to say. Now, I wish I would have said thing. Asked questions that are pulling at my heart.

But, yeah, most days are okay.

Happy Birthday Dad

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Dad’s 75th Birthday

Forever 83.

Today would have been Dad’s 84th birthday. He’s not here to celebrate with us, so I thought today would be a good time to reflect on the last 3 months.

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Six Weeks: Ramblings of a Grieving Daughter

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It’s been 6 weeks since Dad passed away.

We’re cleaning out his house to get it ready to sell. That’s hard. He’s lived there my entire life. It’s his house. The thought of someone else living there, and it not being Dad’s house, it kind of hard to grasp. It’s always been his.

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