For some reason 37 has always been my favorite number.  I remember thinking it would take forever to get to this ago.  Now it’s upon me and I’m pretty happy with that.  I mean, I couldn’t wait for my 30’s to begin.  I was done living my life and making decisions for other people.  I made sure I would live my 30’s for me.  Fast-forward seven years and I think I’ve done just that.

These seven years have been filled with lots of different types of experiences and challenges.  I’ve been around the world, visited 9 countries, 2 states, changed jobs 4 times and had 2 surgeries.  But, challenges have been welcomed since they propel life forward and always allow for opportunities to grow.

At various points in my adult life, I’ve felt the need to focus on a particular topic or area that I’ve felt I’ve been lacking.  One year I vowed to read more books, ensuring I read at least one each month to work through my stockpile.  At certain times I’ve focused on travel.  One year I decreed was my “year of education” in which I signed up for multiple seminars at the local community center, scoured the internet for online tutorials on many different topics, and even took ballroom dance lessons.

As I’ve been away from my home state for a span of 10 years, I want my 37th year to be filled with experiences that involve getting out of the house and doing things locally.  My hometown, state, and surrounding area have a lot to offer that I’ve either never experienced or don’t remember well.  This area of the US has been untapped from my perspective so I will focus on not being such a homebody for the next year.  I truly love being a homebody most of the time…but with taking care of a house and yard (which I’ve never had to do in my adult life before) can easily suck up all available free time.  I really want to ensure that I make time to stop and smell the roses…on a regular basis.

Using my at-least-once-a-month rule, it should be pretty easy to fill the calendar with at LEAST 12 things I’ve never done in this area I now call “home.”  And…I’m already getting started!