How Becoming a Mom Changed My Life List

When I wrote some of my first posts on this blog back in 2010, one of the things I posted was my life list. There were only 20 things on it so it definitely was not an all inclusive list. However, now that I’m a mom I figured it was a good time to look back at the 20 things I wanted to do in my life to see what’s changed.

  1. Learn a foreign language
    • Still on my list. My spanish is still rusty even though we have travelled to 4 spanish speaking countries.
  2. Travel to 6 continents
    • Back in 2010 I still had 4 to go. Since then I checked Europe off the list (twice!) but, I still have Asia, Australia, and Africa left to visit.
  3. Grow veggies
    • Now that I’m in a house, I have easily grown tomatoes and herbs. I guess I can say that I checked this off the list, but I am sure this will be a staple as long as I have a yard.
  4. Hike the Grand Canyon & a 14er
    • Never did complete either one of these and I’ll admit they are probably no longer on my top 20. Maybe someday I’ll get the urge to do this again.
  5. Have a food fight
    • Not completed yet. Maybe we can do this with Eleanor some day.
  6. Ride a motorcycle up the California coast
    • I so wish we would have done this before Eleanor was born. There is still plenty of time though.
  7. Go white water rafting
    • Shoot. We didn’t do this while in Colorado either.
  8. Learn to fly a plane
    • I now no longer wish to do this. How about just flying business or first class everywhere?
  9. Live in a foreign country
    • Check! We lived in Europe for 6 months so I am checking this off the list.
  10. Find a signature drink
    • Does knowing which wines I like count?
  11. Read one non-fiction and one fiction book each month
    • Reading has become so much harder now that we have a toddler. I actually read a ton during her first 6 months when I was nursing all the time. My tablet was a huge helper there. But, Brett and I have committed to reading more and I am in the process of reading 2 books right now - Yay!
  12. Learn to be comfortable by myself
    • I can say that being alone is not really an issue for me anymore. Kids make you realize how nice it is to be with your own thoughts every now and again.
  13. Break the rules sometimes
    • I’ve gotten better at this as I’ve become more comfortable with myself and don’t care what other people think as much, but it’s still an issue for me. Trying to live in the gray area a bit more and walk to the beat of my own drummer. We've done a lot of this, but I want to be more comfortable with it.
  14. Own my own company
    • Check! RentMonitor is still up and running and we are continuing to build it up.
  15. Go on a yoga retreat
    • Maybe someday, but a beach vacation would be ok too.
  16. Get in really good shape
    • Ha ha! Really must work on this. Regular exercise would probably help, right?
  17. Be quiet each day
    • Meditation, quiet time or whatever else you want to call it, I want to sit and quiet my mind for at least 10 minutes each day. Still on the list.
  18. Learn how to defend myself
    • I should ask Brett for Jeet Kun Do lessons. You never know when that might come in handy.
  19. Find the good in everyone
    • I think I have gotten better at this, but it’s always a work in progress.
  20. Learn how to ask for help
    • Getting better, but I think I will always be a DIY’er at heart, which makes me want to do pretty much anything on my own.

So what’s changed the most? The need for adrenaline fueled by extreme adventure. There will be a time and a place for motorcycle rides, white water rafting, and flying, but now that I have an amazing daughter my goals trend toward self improvement and enjoying life with her. I guess you can say that I have less tolerance for risk now and have a better appreciation for what’s really important in life.What about you? Any of these things on your “Life List”? Have something different on yours? Let me know in the comments and help inspire us all to be our best selves!How Becoming a Mom Changed My Life List