The 44th anniversary of my birth arrived at 3:40 a.m. while I was sleeping. In my humble opinion, one birthday wish just isn't enough. So, guess what. New rule. You get as many birthday wishes as you want. Me? Well, I'm cool with 44 wishes for my 44th birthday.
I'm only halfway through my wish list. Hence the Part 1. Here's what I've got to share so far, so that you can hold me accountable and stuff:
1) This photo is of Kathy and me. She is my oldest friend ... in terms of duration rather than age. We met in the 4th grade, so I suppose that we were around 9 or 10 years old. We were neighbors, too, and have a lot of happy memories (and photos of embarrassing hairstyles) from growing up through the 70s and into the 80s. This was the two of us at our recent 25th high school reunion. Just love Kath's smile! We lost track of each other for many years. She lives in Texas now. My first birthday wish is to go visit her sometime this year so that we can catch up properly.
2) Launch an e-course. It's all been laid out for me in my noggin. Now I just need to sync it to something that I can distribute. I don't want to give anything away, but I think it's an area where we all can use help and support.
3) Create a labyrinth playbook. The lovely ladies who walk the labyrinth with me a couple of times per month have been receiving playsheets from me. I would like to compile them into a book for next year and make it available to everyone so that they can find a labyrinth near them and see what discoveries there are to be made. It can be very transformational!
4) A week at the beach. We've already made our condo reservations in New Smyrna Beach ... our home away from home. Even found great airfare, so we've got our tickets too. So this wish is well on its way to being granted.
5) Long weekend in Chicago. We had so much fun this year and it is a mere five hour drive from where we reside. There's just no reason not to go at least once a year. Besides, you just never know when you might run into Oprah ... which maybe ought to be a wish on it's own.
6) Sedona????? I add question marks only because there are so many places that I'd love to visit over the next year and my travel budget is a bit limited. I've been twice but it's been five years. I feel it tugging me back. So let's just see what happens, okay?
7) Promotion at the job. Can't say much about this one, due to obvious reasons, but promotions, yeah, they're nice.
8) Find the perfect hairstyle for me. Oh my goodness, words can't describe the longing. I have super thick, super unruly hair. I don't have the arm strength or the endurance to flat iron it into submission, so my options are extremely limited. I keep it long, despite my better judgement, just so that I can put it up and out of my mouth. Yes, the perfect hairstyle for me, that would be a dream come true! Maybe even bigger than running into Oprah in Chicago.
9) Take my writing to the next level. Okay, that's vague, but that's what I wrote down. Maybe the next level is clarity.
10) Go to Blogher and have a blast. Okay, this wish bubbled up out of nowhere and REALLY surprised me. I didn't think I had any interest in ever going to Blogher, but there you go. That's the kind of thing that happens when wishing begins. It takes on a momentum of its own.
11) Ditto for Squam. You know, this wish makes me feel more vulnerable than Wish #10, because it's more intimate. For both events, it would mean a whole lot to me (and make me a whole lot braver) to go with a buddy. So if this is something that you've got on your wish list too, let me know and we can encourage/support each others attendance ... or triple-dog-dare, if that helps even more.
12) Facilitate a retreat. As with the e-course in Wish #2 above, I've got all kinds of ideas for all kinds of retreats. I just need to sort things out and craft a plan. After that, it's a matter of mustering the courage to put it out there and hope that people sign up. Piece of (birthday) cake, right?
13) Write a book of poetry. Didn't say publish it. Just write it. Maybe 44 poems for my 44th year? It all begins with one.
14) Learn a foreign language. I've got two (half-hearted) years of high school French under my belt. I can remember how to ask where the library is. Otherwise, consider me hopelessly lost in Paris. My daughter is in her third year of Spanish and itching to go on the school field trip to either Costa Rica or Spain. *Swoon* I would like to go along as a chaperone, but I would also like to be able to communicate my way back to my lodgings once she and her travel companions ditch me. So, yeah, maybe Spanish is the way to go.
15) Skinny dip. Never done it. Rather ashamed. Not about the wish, silly. I think everyone should skinny dip at least once. But I guess I had better add "Learn to swim" as a prerequisite.
16) Get back to San Francisco, but this time as a tourist. I should probably question mark it like Sedona. Oh, I'll definitely be back. Just don't know if it will be this year.
17) Get a colonic. Too much information? Maybe. I understand the importance of keeping the plumbing clean. Frankly, I'm really curious how it works. Especially about implants. That's all I'm going to say. If you want to learn more, get thee to Google.
18) Teach a Reiki I/Animal Reiki Basics class. I have been working on a manual for months. Just haven't felt like it is the right time to teach. This year I really hope it comes together and happens. Might need one of those triple-dog-dares.
19) Start piano lessons. I was the kid who was jealous of the kids who couldn't play outside because they had piano practice. Maybe this is my year.
20) Get my passport renewed. Just been lazy and haven't really had any need for one. But it's silly not to have one handy these days, because who knows what kind of cool opportunities may present themselves.
21) Salsa dance lessons with my husband. In the summer, they have Salsa on the Square downtown. It looks like so much fun ... so sexy in the heat. Sign. Me. Up. Now I just need to convince Dan.
22) Plant tulip bulbs this fall for spring. This should be easy. But the more appropriate wish may be to successfully thwart the squirrels that will come in behind us and dig them back up. If they leave any behind for blooming, they will be eaten in the spring by hungry deer. Why bother, then? Because it's my birthday and I dream of red tulips in May!
Okay, that's half the list ...
Part 2 will follow once I wish it.
Appreciating ... this week's mandala that I colored after a challenging call on Monday. It helped me to feel so much better. 
