# 56 Digging in the Dirt

The planting was completed when sixty holes were dug and sixty bulbs were methodically (or haphazardly) placed in the upturned soil.  With any luck, next spring I will be greeted with a host of vibrant red and yellow tulips and a kaleidoscope of colorful wind flowers waving their blossoms in my direction; a souvenir of this memorable sixtieth year.

Cultivating the soil has always been a fall ritual in our family.  My mother loved to dig in the dirt and every spring was blessed with an explosion of color when these former bulbs emerged from their underground dwellings.  Will this tradition continue with the next generation?  Fond memories have kept me digging, however, I do not know if my children share the same sentiment.

I do hope they inherit the desire to sow instead of my inability to keep any type of greenery alive. Possessing a green thumb has not been my strength but I have found that these motivated bulbs are never deterred from surfacing regardless of the color of my pollex.

As the year progresses, I look forward to a new bed of flowers, a renewed outlook on life, and--after this eye-opening goal setting year--a jubilant me waving goodbye to age sixty and embracing the inevitable passage of time.

# 55 Peeking Through the Windows

Photographs of doors and windows--sixty of them--done and recorded.  There are pictures from Arizona to New Hampshire to Massachusetts to New York and DC.  Colorado had a few and now Peru finished up with the last remaining clicks on my camera.  Many are not as fascinating as I had hoped and others brought back fond memories of the places visited this year.  Would I continue this goal? Probably not.  I found that windows and doors are like people--some are open and welcoming to view and others are closed and somewhat aloof in their appearance.  Can I actually use this analogy?  I don't think so.  The goal was simply to take sixty pictures-- not analyze what I was doing.  It is now time to "shut ter" down and focus on the ongoing but dwindling sixty list.

#48 Help for the Homeless

Seventy-five women and children waited patiently in line as I scooped up the carrots, ladled out the gravy, and dished up the rice while the meat was precariously placed on the plates by Loretta, the main cook and clean up gal. Seventy-five young families and single women.  Loretta told me this number was below average--she usually feeds at least a hundred people every night.  It is appalling to me that we have this many homeless in Madison and this is only the tip of the iceberg of the many thousands of people across this grand country of ours who struggle without food and a place to stay.  Are we thinking that it is not our problem?  The Salvation Army and others have done an exemplary job helping but why in the world can't we find a better solution?  Shall we band together and demand permanent housing and support for those in need?  I don't have the answer, but this goal of mine was probably the most frustrating because it left me wanting to do more and not knowing where to begin.

I do know that the appreciative looks and the heartfelt "thank yous" from everyone that night made me determined to find a way to make sure no one sleeps out in the cold this winter.  Donations to the Salvation Army or any homeless shelter in your community will help supply warm beds and healthy meals to a population that needs our help; and I guarantee that you will be the recipient their everlasting gratitude.

# 54 Sink or Swim

Despite the technical problems of a closed pool that almost sunk this swimming goal, I have managed to complete the sixty miles before the end of the year.  On a side note, I have also added 60 new wrinkles, 60 wet towels, and 60 moments of, "What was I thinking?"; but now that it is over, I am pleased with my dedication and willingness to rise at the ungodly hour of 5:25 AM for a 5:45 AM  pool time.  After an hour and half of strenuous swimming twice weekly for the past few months, (workouts and positive encouragement provided by coaches Kelly and Cathy)  I now have a greater respect for Michael --what's his name-- because it is not easy to stay committed to having your face and body submerged in the water for such long periods of time.   The other problem of time in the water was the shriveled prune look was not exactly the appearance I was hoping to achieve in this new decade. Needless to say, I can't blame it all on the chlorine--enough said about that...

 Although I loved the physical aspect of gliding through the water, I struggled with boredom because the scenery does not change at the bottom of the pool with the exception of an occasional (gross) band aid floating carefree in front of my goggles.  Fortunately this was not a frequent occurrence and as a result kept me focused and away from day dreaming which would have led to swimming extra laps due to miscalculating the numerous workout drills.

 Despite the whining sound you hear, swimming still ranks as a highly pleasurable activity and the benefits of this exercise surpass the downside of swimming on dry land.  With that in mind,  I will continue to don the bathing suit and plunge into the chilly waters of the pool but at a more reasonable hour. If I could get rid of the wrinkles and the ever present chlorine smell,  I would label this as the perfect way to stay in shape...for twenty, thirty, forty, fifty and even sixty year olds and beyond.

#53 Removing the Rubbish

Donating, throwing out, removing the rubbish--60 things eliminated from the lower level was accomplished very early on in the purging of unwanted clutter.  The stuff we have kept bordered on the outrageous and needed to be given to another collector willing to enjoy this junk--oops--I mean prized possessions.  I know, one person's trash is another's treasure, but most seemed to be the former instead of the latter.  Now that it has moved on to other places (or land fills), there are no second thoughts on what was kept or what was transferred out of the house.  I would highly recommend doing this every few years because the satisfaction of getting rid of it surpasses the hope that it could possibly be worth keeping for the future.  No regrets and good riddance to it all.

I certainly am not on the level of hoarding, but it amazes me what we have accumulated in such a short time.  It is now my goal to make sure nothing else creeps back into the corners and onto the shelves.  My new philosophy:  Whatever new purchase enters the house, something old must leave.  A very simple concept and I swear I will diligently follow it for the next ten days, I mean, ten years.

#52 Sharing Books

                                                               Read a Book, Share a Book
I love reading. I love sharing a good book.  I love ridding my house of extra stuff.  With all that love going around, donating books to charity seemed an appropriate goal for this sixtieth year.  Looking at my bulging book shelf, I realized that I would have to live to be 160 if I were to reread all these cherished titles; it was now time to carefully place them into bags and send them off on a journey to various charitable agencies.  Some of my children's books have been loved a little too much to be able to give to another reader, but there were a few that hadn't endured all the embraces and picture turning, therefore, a trip to the donation location was in store for the salvageable ones.  Ahhh!  Sixty books donated, sixty readers reading, and sixty smiles for everyone--what a sensational goal! One more thing to love... and to check off my list.

#51 Time is Marching On

October is here and I can see the end of this test for me trying to prove that I can...what?  Stick to something for sixty days, keep accurate records of my daily activities, or prove that sixty isn't as old as it sounds.   I suppose it is something in between or possibly all of the above.   Am I growing weary of  the daily thoughts of what to do next on the list?  Most definitely.  However, doing sixty things of sixty things is not quite as daunting as it may seem especially when I have had 365 days to accomplish footle (one of my new words).  Gratefully, after agonizing and moaning over a few of the more difficult ones, the remaining fourteen do seem to be obtainable by year end.

The last of the list...

Swimming, learning new words, dancing, serving food, planting, baking, drinking, sewing, blogging, memorizing a few foreign phrases, piano playing, picture taking, cooking, and lifting weights.

It almost sounds like I should be celebrating. Not so fast.  The tiresome cookie baking is finally coming to a close; this one ranks at the higher end for being the most whined about goal.  And after the rough beginning with the closed pool due to some chlorine malfunction, I have a mere five miles of swimming to complete.   As far as the others, well, time is marching on but I am confident that the final few will also march off the "to do" list.

  Persevere and never quit is my motto until December 31st as the last goals will slowly slide into the done pile.   On a side note, since Wisconsin is experiencing an explosion of winning teams, I will use these last three months as a springboard to launch me and my list over the surmountable goal post!  (Could the over saturation of sport's terminology have anything to do with the number of games watched this weekend?)  She scores again with a home run blog!  Me-- 51 Blogs to complete-- 9

# 50 Espanol

Hola!  Coma esta?  Mi espanol es mejor than sixty sessions ago.  It is still not perfect by any means but step by step I am slowly learning the language.  Unfortunately it seems that fluency will not be the end result.  If I can get the basic question or answer across without too many mistakes, I consider it a small victory.

 Did I have fun with this one?  Absolutely, especially while visiting Peru I practiced with the locals as they encouraged my attempt at the language. My goal for the next ten years is to continue my quest for mastery. I will rev up the brain cells, engage the tongue, and experiment putting sentences together that won't offend or confuse the listener.   I will make sure I say I have three children instead of three eyes (hijo versus ojo--a mistake Senor Rob made), and allow time to practice, practice, practice.  Besides all the studying, I will need patience galore since my sixty year old brain seems to take a tad longer retaining these still foreign phrases. Never fear, in the distant future when I am riding off into the sunset I hope my last words will be, "hasta luego", and someone will actually understand me!

The Scarf

The Scarf           

Knitting row by row

Counting the stitches

The question was asked if I like to knit

“Not yet,” I reply struggling with each turn

Click clack with the needles

Am I done yet?

Grab the tape measure

Nope, keep knitting

Another row, another row

Do I like to knit

Hmm, it's getting easier

Twirl, swoop, flip goes the yarn

Measure again

Sixty inches in length

Done, finished, kaput!

Do I like to knit?

Maybe yes, maybe no

Actually, I don't think so.

A Ditty about Birdies

Bird Goal # 34

           

Sixty Birds

Green, black, blue, red, and brown,

Screeching, tweeting, singing, and calling,

Swooping, flying, soaring, gliding.
The Birders

Reading, searching, inquiring, recording

Debating on who was who,

One by one they were counted,

Scored on the sheet.

Tails, feathers, wings,

Colors, songs, and flights.

All noted and checked.

Sixty birds

Labeled one by one 

And now I am done
with my
sixty birds.

Goal # 6--Volunteer 60 hours

V ast variety of
O pportunities for
L asting memories while
U nderstanding self and others
N uturing ambitions for the
T eachable moments
E mbracing the unexpected that leads to
E nlightenment and gives one
R ewards, returns, and respect.


                      Yes! Volunteering 
                Giving, belonging, helping
                      Makes it all worth it.

# 46 Goal # 32 Revisited

#32 Share 60 list with 6 people born in 1951

Sixty

Bill and Tubby

Author and coach

Sally and Robin

Astronaut and comedian

Harry and Mary

Newsman and “Prez”

Ben and Jerry

Funky Ice Cream

Sixty!

Born in the year of ‘51

When Truman was finishing his reign

Gas was 19 cents and bread was 16

Who would have thought

That we would enter this world

When Yul became famous

In his King and I debut

And the 22^nd amendment was born.

Turning sixty

Not so bad.