An exciting day today that involved two separate trips to the airport to pick up two of my sons who are visiting in Calgary before heading on or back to other places. Spending time in the arrival area at airports fascinates me. I love to see the emotions in the waiting crowd; the young children dressed up to the nines to meet grandparents, the large family groups arriving to be greeted with screams, hugs, tears and flowers and, of course, the young couple who stand locked in a long, passionate kiss right at the centre of the arrival area that goes on about a minute too long for the comfort of observers. Far better than the departure gate where the tears are of sadness and there are no flowers.
So tomorrow I start my challenge and I am excited to begin. I promise to write about every task as it is completed and I beg your patience and indulgence if I occasionally head off at a tangent and start to philosophise, dramatise and pontificate about things that have little or nothing to do with my list but are suggested to me by my experiences.
Tomorrow I will share my first of (at least) 6 bottles of Champagne to be drunk in celebration throughout the year and part of the Champagne toast will be to the success of my challenge. My list is still about 6 items short but I have decided that I have to allow some space for opportunities to do new things that did not occur to me in advance, but I will keep track of everything and hope that you will follow me in this adventure.
The countdown begins.
Saturday, 30 July 2011
Saturday, 23 July 2011
Only one week to go...
As my birthday approaches it is beginning to sink in what a huge challenge this is that I have set myself. Even coming up with the 60 new fun items for my list is proving to be more difficult than I thought, but I am getting there. Some of this week's items need some elaboration to explain the challenge.
The COP zipline was suggested to me by Becky Walters who has volunteered to do it with me. This is a HUGE challenge to me as I have a fear of heights, of edges and of falling - all of which are integral parts of a zipline. If I can do this, I can do anything (maybe!). When I did the Inca Trail in Peru a few years back I was forced to overcome those same fears which I was able to do, but only because there was no alternative. The only way out was through. I dug deep inside myself and found strengths that I didn't know I had and hopefully, they will still be there for me when I am standing at the top of COP! Thanks a lot Becky.
The item "Be awake at midnight on New Years Eve in Mexico" was inspired by the fact that last year, thanks to Bill Davis' world renowned recipe for margaritas, I was fast asleep long before midnight and missed it all. This year I will see the new year in somewhere in Mexico unless we get stuck in the snow on the drive down there, in which case I will have a great story to write in this blog!
Keep those suggestions coming.
The COP zipline was suggested to me by Becky Walters who has volunteered to do it with me. This is a HUGE challenge to me as I have a fear of heights, of edges and of falling - all of which are integral parts of a zipline. If I can do this, I can do anything (maybe!). When I did the Inca Trail in Peru a few years back I was forced to overcome those same fears which I was able to do, but only because there was no alternative. The only way out was through. I dug deep inside myself and found strengths that I didn't know I had and hopefully, they will still be there for me when I am standing at the top of COP! Thanks a lot Becky.
The item "Be awake at midnight on New Years Eve in Mexico" was inspired by the fact that last year, thanks to Bill Davis' world renowned recipe for margaritas, I was fast asleep long before midnight and missed it all. This year I will see the new year in somewhere in Mexico unless we get stuck in the snow on the drive down there, in which case I will have a great story to write in this blog!
Keep those suggestions coming.
Wednesday, 13 July 2011
Stampede Week
Today is the middle of Stampede week and hopefully the weather will improve for the rest of the Stampede. I can honestly say that I have never seen so much rain as we have had this spring and summer. If next year follows this same weather trend it could take the edge off some of the fun experiences I have planned. The accompanying plague of mosquitoes does not add to the enjoyment of the many outdoor events that are part of this season. Ah well, bring on the Deet!
I have been diligently adding a few items every day and am up to about 44 on my list. It has occurred to me that some serious scheduling, planning and purchasing of tickets will be required to make this run smoothly and I can see that spontaneity may have to be scheduled in between 3pm and 5pm on Wednesdays...! Hopefully there will be days when I get get several items checked off in one go which will definitely help; for example I should be able to ride on the back of a motorbike to a fabulous new restaurant where I can discover a really good, expensive new wine and celebrate with a bottle of champagne, but it is probably not then a good idea to drive a mercedes sports car home afterwards.
I can see that more planning is required.
I have been diligently adding a few items every day and am up to about 44 on my list. It has occurred to me that some serious scheduling, planning and purchasing of tickets will be required to make this run smoothly and I can see that spontaneity may have to be scheduled in between 3pm and 5pm on Wednesdays...! Hopefully there will be days when I get get several items checked off in one go which will definitely help; for example I should be able to ride on the back of a motorbike to a fabulous new restaurant where I can discover a really good, expensive new wine and celebrate with a bottle of champagne, but it is probably not then a good idea to drive a mercedes sports car home afterwards.
I can see that more planning is required.
Monday, 11 July 2011
For Kayleigh
It is Monday after a busy working weekend and I am wondering when I am ever going to find the time to complete my list, let alone do all 60 items when my year starts, but then I remember the way to eat an elephant: one bite at a time. I am working on the basis that if I get enough people following my progress and supporting me with ideas, suggestions and even volunteering to do things with me, I can't possibly fail; in fact, failure is not an option because my pride simply won't let me!
On a sad note, Merv flew to Brandon to attend his great niece Kayleigh's funeral on Saturday. Her untimely death on the Canada Day weekend in a car accident was part of my motivation to start this quest and make my own affirmation of life. Her funeral was apparently an amazing tribute to this young, talented 17 year old and over 1700 people were there to support the family and express their love and sorrow at her loss. I cannot help thinking how special a person she was to have touched so many people in such a short life span and hopefully her family can take comfort from knowing that. She will be missed.
So my list is growing slowly but surely. I have had many suggestions from friends and some I have adopted and others I have declined or put aside for another year. When I go through my list I am struck by some of the things I have not yet done in my (almost) 60 years. I have never been on a motorbike - even my 89 year old mother had been on a bike as a teenager! I have never climbed a tree, not even as a child. I have never made a Playlist for my Ipod. Why not? Because I don't know how! I refuse to be embarrassed by my failure to do these things because I am proving that I am still willing and able to try and besides, making this list has also shown me how much I have already done because it is so hard to come up with 60 new things!
So keep those ideas coming. I need lots of smaller, non life-threatening suggestions that can be done without huge investments of time or cash and that will bring fun and laughter to me and to those sharing the moments. Above all, I need your support and your participation to help make this a year to remember.
Stay tuned!
On a sad note, Merv flew to Brandon to attend his great niece Kayleigh's funeral on Saturday. Her untimely death on the Canada Day weekend in a car accident was part of my motivation to start this quest and make my own affirmation of life. Her funeral was apparently an amazing tribute to this young, talented 17 year old and over 1700 people were there to support the family and express their love and sorrow at her loss. I cannot help thinking how special a person she was to have touched so many people in such a short life span and hopefully her family can take comfort from knowing that. She will be missed.
So my list is growing slowly but surely. I have had many suggestions from friends and some I have adopted and others I have declined or put aside for another year. When I go through my list I am struck by some of the things I have not yet done in my (almost) 60 years. I have never been on a motorbike - even my 89 year old mother had been on a bike as a teenager! I have never climbed a tree, not even as a child. I have never made a Playlist for my Ipod. Why not? Because I don't know how! I refuse to be embarrassed by my failure to do these things because I am proving that I am still willing and able to try and besides, making this list has also shown me how much I have already done because it is so hard to come up with 60 new things!
So keep those ideas coming. I need lots of smaller, non life-threatening suggestions that can be done without huge investments of time or cash and that will bring fun and laughter to me and to those sharing the moments. Above all, I need your support and your participation to help make this a year to remember.
Stay tuned!
Wednesday, 6 July 2011
Halfway through making my list.
July 6th; This afternoon I attended Brent's funeral. It was held at Christ Church in Calgary, a beautiful old Anglican Church by the Elbow River and being there brought back memories of my dear friend Barbara Sherringtons funeral in 2009, one of the people that I am honouring with this quest.
Brent's funeral was amazing; positive, powerful and a true tribute to the man that he was. The church was packed to overflowing and I heard many people say how proud they were to have known him and how he had filled his life and those around him with energy and fun. It made me think of one of my father's favourite poems, "If" by Rudyard Kipling:
"If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds worth of distance run
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And -more than this - you'll be a man my son"
Goodbye Brent, it was a privilege.
So back to my list:
There are only 25 days to go before I start working on my 60 fun things so as you can see, I have been diligently writing down ideas. Already I have been getting emails and phone calls from people offering their support and suggestions. I am including my List-so-far in today's blog so that anyone out there can make suggestions for new ideas or offer me help in completing some that I have already written.
The list will undoubtedly change before the deadline and it is not, and may never be, in any order of precedence, but some items are starred because they are location dependant. I plan to visit both Mexico and the UK during this year so I will be looking for more ideas for those locations. Not everything on the list is high on the Wow and Omigod factors but hey, I only have a year and I am still working, but there are some biggies in there and I am looking for more. Keep those ideas coming!
Brent's funeral was amazing; positive, powerful and a true tribute to the man that he was. The church was packed to overflowing and I heard many people say how proud they were to have known him and how he had filled his life and those around him with energy and fun. It made me think of one of my father's favourite poems, "If" by Rudyard Kipling:
"If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds worth of distance run
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And -more than this - you'll be a man my son"
Goodbye Brent, it was a privilege.
So back to my list:
There are only 25 days to go before I start working on my 60 fun things so as you can see, I have been diligently writing down ideas. Already I have been getting emails and phone calls from people offering their support and suggestions. I am including my List-so-far in today's blog so that anyone out there can make suggestions for new ideas or offer me help in completing some that I have already written.
The list will undoubtedly change before the deadline and it is not, and may never be, in any order of precedence, but some items are starred because they are location dependant. I plan to visit both Mexico and the UK during this year so I will be looking for more ideas for those locations. Not everything on the list is high on the Wow and Omigod factors but hey, I only have a year and I am still working, but there are some biggies in there and I am looking for more. Keep those ideas coming!
Tuesday, 5 July 2011
How it all began...
First of all, let me introduce myself: My name is Lesley Fleming and I am a long time resident of Bearspaw, near Calgary, Alberta. I was born in 1952 in London , England on July 31st, thus sharing a birthday with Harry Potter amongst others less famous. I am married to Merv, have 3 sons, 1 grandson, 2 granddaughters and a large extended family all of whom live far, far away. I hope they will all follow this, my first attempt at writing a blog.
Today is Tuesday, July 5th 2011 and I am recovering from a difficult long weekend. On Friday we learned that Merv's 17 year old niece Kayleigh had died in a car accident in Manitoba and on the same day I learned that a dear man, Brent Brown, 56, had died from a massive coronary. Both wonderful people, both taken too young and both with so much more life to live. They leave behind devastated families and mourning friends but in both cases, they left behind a world that was better for their having lived in it.
I read Brent's obituary yesterday and was struck by the quotation, "The shame is not how short life is but how long it takes some people to start living". This set me thinking and I realised that as we get older we do more things for the last time than we do for the first time and an idea began to form in my mind... I would set myself a challenge and I would dedicate this challenge to all the dear friends that I have lost over the last few years before they had had time to do all the things they had dreamed of doing. I would make myself a list.
In one month's time I will turn 59, thus entering my 60th year. I have decided that during this month of July I will compile a list of 60 fun things that I have never done before, I will publish the list on this blog and I will spend my 60th year doing those things and crossing them off my list. I will write about each event and maybe do a little philosophizing, ruminating and pontificating as well - wherever my e-pen takes me.
So at this early stage I ask for your help in compiling my list. My criteria are that the events are things I have never done before, that they are fun (or why bother), that they are printable (this is a family blog) and that they are acheivable and measurable. I also reserve the right to choose the events that I add to my list (I will not skydive, feed sharks or eat goldfish). This whole exercise is an affirmation of life and in 30 years time I want to be able to look back on this coming year and say "now that was a great year!
Stay tuned...
Today is Tuesday, July 5th 2011 and I am recovering from a difficult long weekend. On Friday we learned that Merv's 17 year old niece Kayleigh had died in a car accident in Manitoba and on the same day I learned that a dear man, Brent Brown, 56, had died from a massive coronary. Both wonderful people, both taken too young and both with so much more life to live. They leave behind devastated families and mourning friends but in both cases, they left behind a world that was better for their having lived in it.
I read Brent's obituary yesterday and was struck by the quotation, "The shame is not how short life is but how long it takes some people to start living". This set me thinking and I realised that as we get older we do more things for the last time than we do for the first time and an idea began to form in my mind... I would set myself a challenge and I would dedicate this challenge to all the dear friends that I have lost over the last few years before they had had time to do all the things they had dreamed of doing. I would make myself a list.
In one month's time I will turn 59, thus entering my 60th year. I have decided that during this month of July I will compile a list of 60 fun things that I have never done before, I will publish the list on this blog and I will spend my 60th year doing those things and crossing them off my list. I will write about each event and maybe do a little philosophizing, ruminating and pontificating as well - wherever my e-pen takes me.
So at this early stage I ask for your help in compiling my list. My criteria are that the events are things I have never done before, that they are fun (or why bother), that they are printable (this is a family blog) and that they are acheivable and measurable. I also reserve the right to choose the events that I add to my list (I will not skydive, feed sharks or eat goldfish). This whole exercise is an affirmation of life and in 30 years time I want to be able to look back on this coming year and say "now that was a great year!
Stay tuned...
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