I was talking to the co-owner of a furniture store in town, and he told me he planned to run the Little Rock Marathon two days before his 40th birthday.
It was a goal of his as he hit his big birthday milestone.
It made me start thinking about things I want to accomplish before I turn 50 (gulp!) in August.
I’ve got a few months, so surely I can do something noteworthy or make some changes in my life.
Here are a few of the personal goals I’ve come up with:
• Stop a decades-long habit of leaving my empty Splenda/Sweet-n-Low/sugar packets on the counter. This has annoyed my husband and countless members of my extended family. I use the little packets as spoon rests until I finish drinking my tea or coffee, but I think it’s a habit I can break.
• Put up my shoes when I take them off. My husband once counted five pairs of my shoes in various rooms of the house. I’ve tripped over them. He’s tripped over them. My black house shoes scare the cat. I do have a closet with an over-the-door shoe holder. I may start using it consistently before I turn 50.
• Get up and go to the gym before work. I’ve been saying it for several years. I’m a morning person, so I keep thinking I’ll be there at 6 a.m. I read a tip from a woman who said she sleeps in her workout clothes so she can get ready faster. Hmmm. I think that might work only if I slept in the car. In the gym parking lot.
• Find the perfect red lipstick. My sister-in-law commented once that as long as she’s known me, I’ve been looking for one. I’m not sure it exists, but it’s the Holy Grail for me.
• Find the perfect wrinkle cream. I am a sucker for any magazine article that claims it has tested products and found the PERFECT ones. I buy them. I don’t look a bit different, but if I’d taken the money I spent on all those tubes of cream and had a facelift, I might look a lot better.
• Get organized. OK, this is a lifetime goal. Maybe I should break it down. Organize my family photos. Too overwhelming. Organize my closet. Tried and failed. Organize my desk. Lost cause. Maybe I can organize my purse before I turn 50.
My lifetime goals are loftier, like go on a mission trip, learn Spanish and sign language.
I’m not going to accomplish those things by August, though.
For now, I’ll look at immediate goals. I’m not going to run a marathon, or run anywhere that I can walk. I’m going to appreciate that I have a wonderful family, accept that I am not perfect, but I’m alive and healthy and happy.
Ta-da. Accomplished.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.