OyChicago blog

The big 3-0 is looming ever close. I only have a month and a half left in my 20s. Sad. I’m handling it the best way I know how— running away to a foreign country for the big day. I figure that if I have to enter this next decade of my life, I can do it in gluttonous style. I’ll be drinking good wine, eating gelato, pasta and pizza in beautiful northern Italy! Five pound weight gain and turning 30 here I come!

So with such an auspicious birthday close to the horizon, I thought it was apropos to revisit one of my old blog posts, “My bucket list” and see what accomplishments I can tick of the list and a few new ones.

So let’s see…

Swim with the sharks? Nope.

Perfect my Spanish? Not really.

Write a historical fiction book? Definitely not.

Live in a city other than Chicago for a year? Almost. Jason got offered a job in Honolulu with his old company, but we ended up turning it down. So – no.

Become a bigger risk taker professionally? Yes! I can tick-off one item on my bucket list. While I’m really enjoying my new job, it definitely required a serious amount of risk taking to leave my old job. And this new job has been full of wonderful opportunities to grow and take charge of my work and career.

Two articles this morning really caught my attention for very different reasons. The first I’m sure many of you have read by now was about “The 9 Nanas.” A group of fabulous ladies who have been pooling resources for three plus decades to secretly help people in need in their community. These do-gooders didn’t even tell their husbands about their secret work! They started at 4 a.m. each morning while everyone else was sleeping and only got “caught” in the act of helping when one husband noticed some large withdrawals from the family bank account. Today, the nine nanas have contributed nearly $900,000 to making a difference in their own community. They continue to help unsuspecting individuals while retaining their anonymity— that is till today when they went viral. You can read the full story here.

With so much negative in the news these days, it’s always nice to hear about the good. These women prove that selfless individuals do exist and that everyone can make a difference, especially when we pool our resources and come together as a community. Sounds familiar … JUF … the power of collective giving … ?

The second article was simply a list of islands I’ve never heard of before that I now want to visit. If you share my travel bug, you might be excited about this list.

So in honor of turning 30, I’m inspired to add two more items to my bucket list. Visit a remote island and complete a secret project that helps someone in need. Now if only I can get item No. 11: bake a delicious cake and eating the whole thing myself without feeling guilt.

See you on the other side of 20-30 something!