40 things to do before you're 40 - a follow-up June 19, 2015 9:01 PM Subscribe
Back in February, I asked the hive mind for their ideas for 40 things to do before you're 40 for a friend of mine. I wanted to say thanks...
... to everyone who contributed. In the end, I printed each of the forty things on a little card with a sketch and put them in a box as a lucky dip. And as several people suggested, I wrote "39 things to love about Friend" in a birthday card.
My friend was really chuffed with the gift and the card, and has been having a great time doing all of the things.
Oh, and the forty things?
1. Pick up the nearest object and see how long you can balance it on your head.
2. Go on a road trip.
3. Bake something and give it away.
4. Call your mum/dad and get the recipe for the dish that they cook better than anyone else.
5. The best face-mask in the world: 1 tbsp yoghurt, 1 tbsp rolled oats, mash it up, slap it on, relax.
6. Put chopsticks in your mouth and pretend you’re a walrus.
7. Walk down a street you’ve never walked down before.
8. Dance around your flat to some loud cheesy pop.
9. Sit very quietly near the water and listen.
10. Walk in the rain without an umbrella.
11. Plant a fruit tree.
12. Go out dancing. Don’t go home till you’re too tired to dance any more.
13. Sit in front of some art for 15 minutes.
14. Borrow a dog for the afternoon.
15. Go see some comedy.
16. Get on the first train leaving the station. Get off at the eighth station.
17. Take your camera for a walk. Every 100 steps, find something to photograph.
18. Go for a long walk with no phone and no money.
19. Eat a mango.
20. Make a list about something that’s important to you.
21. Go for a single solo cocktail in a small bar, early in the evening.
22. Make a play date with someone. Trampolining? Sandcastles? Cooking class?
23. Take all the clothes out of your cupboard and put back only the ones that make you feel joyous.
24. You are enough, you have enough, you do enough. Give yourself the day off.
25. Draw something.
26. Swing as high as you can.
27. Walk down your street like you own the damn place.
28. Get a massage.
29. Buy yourself some flowers.
30. Watch the sunrise.
31. Look at the stars.
32. Leap around in the waves.
33. Find one thing around the house that’s really been bugging you and fix it now.
34. Been to yoga lately?
35. Call someone you haven’t talked to in a while.
36. Tickle your nephew till he laughs hysterically. And again! And again!
37. Get sweaty.
38. Paint your toenails.
39. Float in the ocean and look at the sky.
40. Do a handstand.
... to everyone who contributed. In the end, I printed each of the forty things on a little card with a sketch and put them in a box as a lucky dip. And as several people suggested, I wrote "39 things to love about Friend" in a birthday card.
My friend was really chuffed with the gift and the card, and has been having a great time doing all of the things.
Oh, and the forty things?
1. Pick up the nearest object and see how long you can balance it on your head.
2. Go on a road trip.
3. Bake something and give it away.
4. Call your mum/dad and get the recipe for the dish that they cook better than anyone else.
5. The best face-mask in the world: 1 tbsp yoghurt, 1 tbsp rolled oats, mash it up, slap it on, relax.
6. Put chopsticks in your mouth and pretend you’re a walrus.
7. Walk down a street you’ve never walked down before.
8. Dance around your flat to some loud cheesy pop.
9. Sit very quietly near the water and listen.
10. Walk in the rain without an umbrella.
11. Plant a fruit tree.
12. Go out dancing. Don’t go home till you’re too tired to dance any more.
13. Sit in front of some art for 15 minutes.
14. Borrow a dog for the afternoon.
15. Go see some comedy.
16. Get on the first train leaving the station. Get off at the eighth station.
17. Take your camera for a walk. Every 100 steps, find something to photograph.
18. Go for a long walk with no phone and no money.
19. Eat a mango.
20. Make a list about something that’s important to you.
21. Go for a single solo cocktail in a small bar, early in the evening.
22. Make a play date with someone. Trampolining? Sandcastles? Cooking class?
23. Take all the clothes out of your cupboard and put back only the ones that make you feel joyous.
24. You are enough, you have enough, you do enough. Give yourself the day off.
25. Draw something.
26. Swing as high as you can.
27. Walk down your street like you own the damn place.
28. Get a massage.
29. Buy yourself some flowers.
30. Watch the sunrise.
31. Look at the stars.
32. Leap around in the waves.
33. Find one thing around the house that’s really been bugging you and fix it now.
34. Been to yoga lately?
35. Call someone you haven’t talked to in a while.
36. Tickle your nephew till he laughs hysterically. And again! And again!
37. Get sweaty.
38. Paint your toenails.
39. Float in the ocean and look at the sky.
40. Do a handstand.
Awesome.
I'm 42, though. Can I still do some of them? (The handstand is out of the question.)
posted by Joseph Gurl at 11:48 PM on June 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'm 42, though. Can I still do some of them? (The handstand is out of the question.)
posted by Joseph Gurl at 11:48 PM on June 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
Wish that I lived somewhere with eight train stations.
posted by octothorpe at 6:19 AM on June 20, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 6:19 AM on June 20, 2015 [4 favorites]
Great list, and a great idea for a gift. I've done all of these except the yogurt facemask, planting a fruit tree (although I have planted strawberries-- maybe close enough?), borrowing a dog, going to yoga and painting my toenails. I'm 41, although maybe it's not too late to paint my toenails and ride a borrowed dog to yoga while wearing a yogurt facemask. What the heck-- yogurt facemask for the dog, too.
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 6:47 AM on June 20, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 6:47 AM on June 20, 2015 [7 favorites]
I absolutely love this list. When I clicked I was expecting something like "Go to France and spend a gazillion dollars" or "Go skydiving" or "Go skydiving in France" but instead it was this gentle, life-affirming list that made me happy just to read it! Going to steal this and use it for non-birthday purposes.
posted by rogerrogerwhatsyourrvectorvicto at 9:41 AM on June 20, 2015 [10 favorites]
posted by rogerrogerwhatsyourrvectorvicto at 9:41 AM on June 20, 2015 [10 favorites]
Taking pictures every 100 steps...I love that idea!
posted by Andrew Thewes at 11:12 AM on June 20, 2015
posted by Andrew Thewes at 11:12 AM on June 20, 2015
in case anyone else was wondering what rolled means in rolled oats, I finally looked it up: Rolled oats are traditionally oat groats that have been de-husked, steamed and then rolled into flat flakes under heavy rollers before being stabilized by being lightly toasted.
posted by biffa at 1:11 PM on June 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by biffa at 1:11 PM on June 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
I need this list for 56. You have three weeks.
posted by Namlit at 3:07 PM on June 20, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by Namlit at 3:07 PM on June 20, 2015 [5 favorites]
I'll give #4 a go. Does anyone know if they still make Ouija boards?
posted by Wolfdog at 4:13 PM on June 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Wolfdog at 4:13 PM on June 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
Wolfdog: Yes, they still make Ouija boards. You can get them on Amazon. But they're not made by William Fuld anymore, they're made by Hasbro. Your comment made me think of that Sun article.
posted by Rob Rockets at 4:48 PM on June 20, 2015
posted by Rob Rockets at 4:48 PM on June 20, 2015
Thank you for fixing my typo in the walrus suggestion, that has plagued me since I wrote it. :)
posted by Mizu at 4:48 PM on June 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Mizu at 4:48 PM on June 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
This is a great list. I will be 47 in September and think will add some of these to a "Things to do before 50" non-obligatory list.
This one:
9. Sit very quietly near the water and listen.
...cannot recommend highly enough. Do it as often as you can.
posted by Wordshore at 6:42 PM on June 20, 2015 [2 favorites]
This one:
9. Sit very quietly near the water and listen.
...cannot recommend highly enough. Do it as often as you can.
posted by Wordshore at 6:42 PM on June 20, 2015 [2 favorites]
(Alternately, if the water is inconvenient--for example, if you live in California circa now--you can substitute a well-selected Jeph Jerman recording...)
posted by Joseph Gurl at 8:01 PM on June 20, 2015
posted by Joseph Gurl at 8:01 PM on June 20, 2015
This is a really fantastic list. I'm in my very late twenties, and I often reference the "Things To Do Before You're 30" list that was on Ask MeFi, as well as the "Things To Do Before You're 40." I feel like these lists' most important lesson is not just to do these things before X age-milestone in your life, but to do these things often, and over and over again. Thank you for posting.
posted by nightrecordings at 10:33 AM on June 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by nightrecordings at 10:33 AM on June 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
in case anyone else was wondering what rolled means in rolled oats, I finally looked it up: Rolled oats are traditionally oat groats that have been de-husked, steamed and then rolled into flat flakes under heavy rollers before being stabilized by being lightly toasted.
posted by biffa at 6:11 AM on June 21
I don't think rolled oats are usually toasted. In Australia and New Zealand we use "rolled oats" as the generic term for what I think Americans call oatmeal (uncooked). I don't know how Americans distinguish between cooked and uncooked oatmeal. We call the uncooked stuff rolled oats and the cooked stuff porridge.
posted by lollusc at 2:02 AM on June 22, 2015
posted by biffa at 6:11 AM on June 21
I don't think rolled oats are usually toasted. In Australia and New Zealand we use "rolled oats" as the generic term for what I think Americans call oatmeal (uncooked). I don't know how Americans distinguish between cooked and uncooked oatmeal. We call the uncooked stuff rolled oats and the cooked stuff porridge.
posted by lollusc at 2:02 AM on June 22, 2015
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posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 10:07 PM on June 19, 2015