September 25, 2011

cackle with impunity


I'm 50 years old. I'm 50 years old. I'm 50 years old.

Nope, it doesn't matter how many times I say it: it still sounds like I'm talking about someone else. Me, fifty? No way. (Except that I am...)


When I went to Canada in July I bought a copy of their version of More Magazine (it's a lot better that ours, by the way) to read on the plane, and inside found this article: 50 Things to do for Your 50th Birthday

Some of the suggestions made me smile:

3. What did you love to do when you were 10? Draw, ride horses, play piano? Do it again.

4. Give yourself permission to flip the bird to the universe and burn your copy of The Secret.



One made me a little sad:

25. Write your own eulogy and then file it away with your will.

And then I got to this one, and literally laughed out loud:

46. Forget about composing a bucket list and instead draw up a fuck-it list: things I will no longer worry about or bow down to, such as demanding relatives or those last 10 pounds.


I've pretty much lived my life fuck-it list style, which is why my 80 year old mother is currently not speaking to me, and why my ex-husband said of me, after our last conversation,"I put up with her shit for 20 years, and I don't have to put up with it any more!" (Except that sometimes he still does have to...) 

I've never made a list, though, and I love lists! So here, in no particular order, is 

My (Incomplete) Fuck-it List:
·        I will not pretend I'm heterosexual, Republican, or Christian. It's okay with me if you are, I'm just...not.
·        I will speak up against bigotry and hate whenever I encounter it. 
·        If I see you abusing a child or an animal, I'm going to say something to you, and/or call the cops. My definition of those things may be stricter than yours, but if it looks abusive to me, I'm on it.



·        If I see someone doing something nice, or looking like they need a kind word, I will say something. They may think I'm crazy, but it may make their day. That's a chance worth taking.
·        I will address bad customer service. If someone is doing their best and it's still not good, that's one thing. But if they're not really trying? I'm on it.
·        I will Laugh. Out. Loud.


One of the best things about gathering years
is the right to cackle with impunity.
- Clarissa Pinkola-Estes

What would you add to this list?

Next up: My Bucket List, aka "Things to do Before I Go"



http://confessionsofasineater.blogspot.com/

12 comments:

Kate said...

I don't know what, exactly, I would add to the fuck it list. But I love the idea, and will spread it around. I only heard of the bucket list concept fairly recently and it seems pretty strange to me, very consumption oriented. Now maybe I say that with a large helping of hypocrisy because if I'd made a bucket list at 20, it would have been made up of consumption too, and I've had the luxury of doing/getting most of those things. But the point of your post seems to be that age brings a different perspective, and mine certainly has come around as I get older. So I'm all for the fuck it list.

susan said so said...

Kate, my bucket list (which I call my "Before I Go" list) doesn't have any things on it. It's all experiences, and not all of them grand (though some of them seem so to me). I've never seen anyone else's bucket list; I'll try to check some out, now I'm curious!

xox,
Susan

MFAMB said...

you should know that you are one of my favorite people out there in internet land.
really.

Anonymous said...

ah, well. Welcome to the club my dear. It's not so bad, most of the time. Karin/lifeinsmallchunks.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

It hapреns to bе a chef's time period for 'a ԁestіnation for аlmost еverуthing and
рrettу muсh everything in its plaсе'. Hot air balloon rides about the gorge are also surprisingly prominent. * Chinese pizza: Best rated unbaked pizza dough with hoisin sauce, sliced eco-friendly peppers and onions, and sauteed shitake mushrooms.

my website: where to buy pizza stones

Anonymous said...

Thanκ уou for the ausρiсious writeup.
It in fact wаs а amusement account it.

Look aԁvanceԁ to morе added agreеаblе from you!
By the wаy, how could we cоmmunicаte?


Tаκe a look at my page :: Chemietoilette

Anonymous said...

The USDΑ and other fοoԁ safеty
еxρerts reсommenԁ leaving pizza οut at room temрerature for nо moгe than two hours.
That's right, no buying that sorry excuse for pizza dough at your local grocery store; we'rе talking thе гeal deal
here. I don't like pizza sauces, so I opt to use two cans of diced tomatoes as the first layer-one can of plain and the other of Italian.

Here is my weblog: pizza pan ashtabula ohio

Anonymous said...

Just wish to say youг аrticle is as аmazing.
Thе cleaгneѕs іn уour post is
just nice and i can asѕumе you're an expert on this subject. Fine with your permission let me to grab your feed to keep updated with forthcoming post. Thanks a million and please continue the enjoyable work.

Feel free to surf to my blog; Chemietoilette

Anonymous said...

ӏ used to be ablе tо find good іnfo
from уour blog artісleѕ.

My homеpagе augen lasern

Anonymous said...

A real doublet of shoes, dialect mayhap not some of the most marvy, not the highest penalty tagged, neither is the logo reputation, nevertheless it in actuality are able to carry off one to outing the area, Christian Louboutin UK
clarify these questions . sustain the pleasure shoes do not till the end of time occasionally, perhaps sought-after,all the same the injured indeed.Asics Shoes Online
This courteous of situation you pleasure need encountered, walked all approximately working on my showcases in countless categories of shoes the proceeding is overwhelming, quite to clinch. The value is standard is not alluring, like costly, self-satisfied presage mould, feel good-looking folks who think old-fashioned ... to become line satisfied with really difficult. Pick to pick wrong, for all chose a twosome, erosion two or three days to discover foot wear, or not a cave in to allowance their clothes,http://www.mislouboutinaustralia.com
how you can look over this time? Present oneself up'd sort of painful to in perpetuity wear?

Anonymous said...

Necessary Details For shoes Simplified
Outlines For Effective bag Plans
Standards For Uncomplicated Plans Of bag
Outlines For Speedy Plans Of shoes
Realistic Products For bag - Some Insights
Outlines For Fundamental Factors For bag


http://www.sta-por.pl/index.php?option=com_blog&view=comments&pid=10&Itemid=0&lang=pl
http://e9media.com.my/forum/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=1581902
http://nes.6te.net/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=87891&extra=
http://www.chinaxzz.com/bbs/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=1181192
http://www.xn--3dst94c37ky50a.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=2042296

Anonymous said...

buy ambien online side effects ambien sleeping pills - ambien 10 mg pink

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin