I just updated my 50 before 50 list.  My plan is to complete every item on this list before my 50th birthday.  I’m about half-way through the list.  I have reasons why I put some of the items on my list like I did … like catch a lightning bug and still have it blink.

I’ve never had an interest in catching bugs of any kind, but this particular item harkens back to a story Da told me when I was growing up about how when he was growing up he used to run around his backyard with an empty mayonnaise jar catching lighting bugs.  I remember he was sad because whenever he caught them, they would stop blinking until he released them.

And so I was curious to see if I would be able to catch a lightning bug and still have it blink.

Well, every summer, I sit outside in the early evening hours in the hope of spotting a flash of light in the backyard.  Lightning bugs, like horned toads, have become more rare in my area.  I don’t know if it’s the lack of rain, the incredible heat, more humans encroaching on their habitat … or a combination of the three.  These days, I’m thankful to even see a lightning bug, never mind try to chase it and catch it.

Other items on my 50 before 50 like walking across the Golden Gate Bridge, petting a manta ray, or riding a motorcycle are me being goofy.  They’re things I think would be fun to try once.  Folks who know me in my professional life only know the obsessive-compulsive, anal-retentive, rules-driven me.  It’s fun to see their reaction when they read my list and see that I have a whimsical side, too.

The items on my list that I am most proud of all have to do with endurance races.  It’s not just about finishing the race, it’s about disciplining myself to train for the weeks & months leading up to them.  Crossing the finish line is icing on the cake.  While these are the most demanding, I think they are the most rewarding … physically and mentally.

My 46th birthday is next month.

Four years left to finish my list.

Me fear turning 50?  Nah.

BRING IT!