I'm doing 40 things
Untitled
1 month ago
went to a comedy night last night. First time in months we’d been on a date. Some great new stand ups. Had such a good time. Both agreed we should do it more often.
cherys's Life List
-
1. Help children with their homework every night instead of ignoring it
1 person -
2. laugh with my children every day
1 person -
3. look ten years younger
5 people -
4. have more fun with my man
1 entry1 person -
5. swim outdoors
1 cheer2 people -
6. go to a concert
997 people -
7. Be honest
586 people -
8. Be a better friend
5,992 people -
9. Meditate
2,764 people -
10. Hang all the paintings in my home
1 entry . 1 cheer1 person -
11. Exercise for 30 minutes each day
2 people -
12. get my short story collection accepted by a publisher
1 person -
13. read more classic novels
23 people -
14. go dancing every month
1 person -
15. turn junk room into laundry room
1 person -
16. Play with my kids every day
1 entry4 people -
17. make spare room into bedroom for my son
1 person -
18. Walk on the Great Wall of China
272 people -
19. write for half an hour a day
1 person -
20. Be in a show again, just for fun
1 person -
21. write a series of adventure stories just for the boys
1 person -
22. Court optimism
1 person -
23. Earn a living not a pittance
1 person -
24. Learn to drive
6,129 people -
25. read more poetry
1 cheer194 people -
26. Look after my nails
4 people -
27. See my sister and brother more often
2 entries1 person -
28. Drink more water
18,989 people -
29. Lose a stone
1 entry354 people -
30. see Flaming Lips live
1 person -
31. Go abroad for the weekend with my husband
1 person -
32. declutter our home
2 people -
33. Eat healthily
256 people -
34. Say yes to all social invitations for a year!
1 person -
35. Love well
1 cheer27 people -
36. Write a novel I'm proud of
1 person -
37. Win a major short fiction award
1 person -
38. Go rock climbing again
14 people -
39. Take the children camping
1 person -
40. teach my kids to swim
11 people
How I did it
It made me 
How I did it: I've never ever run in my life, even at my sportiest but when some running mums at school set up a fun run I realised I wanted my kids to be the kind that would get involved in this sort of thing. We signed up on Friday and ran this morning - no training. I've never run for more than a bus. But it was such fun - running through the woods around our village. And one of my sons who isn't at all sporty and struggled all the way kept on runni… Read how I did it…
Recent entries
Saw my sis
9 months ago
Saw my gorgeous sister last Friday. She was staying with other relatives not far from us and called in. The worst thing was, she’d told me she was coming, and I was so snowed under with work, volunteering, kids’ commitments that I forgot until she rang to say she was at the station. We ran to meet her and made pizzas all night long as all the cousins played hide and seek through the house. It was wonderful to see her, as she lives in Scotland now. Next goal to see my lovely brother and his family this summer.
cutting back on charity work
9 months ago
I love the volunteering I do – it’s all with children at school or at our local church and usually involves making a lot of mess or reading stories. I do it happily for several hours a week. But I also have freelance teaching and editing commitments which add up to a full time job; two small kids and a lovely house to care for. I’m overweight and getting envious of friends who meet to go for a run or to a dance class in the daytime. A sign that I should ease up, for now, while the boys are so young and while I’m (thankfully) so busy with paid work projects. So… will cut right down to two projects a month after this summer (am committed until then.) And in autumn I’ll try none at all just for one academic term and see how it goes. Maybe that way I’ll achieve some more goals.
Am putting this entry because I bet there are many others out there who volunteer on top of full time work, family and home lives. We need a bit of time for ourselves, to enjoy life. I want to have the energy to do more than just slump in front of tv cop series at night, and that means cutting the hours I put in to unpaid work.
