The list is life

I've been thinking about that checklist of milestones that's in the back of my mind that I call up every once in a while to check things off. Do other people have that list? I am a total listmaker - I tend to make lots of lists for work, chores, etc. because basically I've learned that I will completely forget to do things when they're not on a list. It's pretty much the only way I can function in the real world. On the other hand, sometimes I completely ignore these lists after I make them. I also have a strange habit of adding things to my lists just so I can cross them off; it gives me a weird sense of accomplishment. I think this applies to my life list too.

I have also been considering the fluidity of this "life list." For one thing "get married" was never on mine, ever. Then, I realized that I did want to get married... to Mike. Circumstances in one's life and the way one one feels about things change. We are not the same people we were in high school or college. People change and no amount of posturing and adamance about how we will always be this way will alter that. So, I've added "get married" to my mental list and then checked it off.

"Have Children" was never on my list and still is not. "Don't have children" isn't on there either, though. At this point in my life, I cannot fathom having to take care of another human being for the next 18 years and, to be completely honest, the thought stresses me out to no end. I can barely get myself out of the house in the morning with my hair done and clean clothes on and I like being able to take random weekend trips, go see movies on a whim, make impulse purchases, and let's not even get started on how much I work during the busy seasons.

"Get a good job I actually like" can be checked off as well. I, like most other CPAs, don't plan to be in public accounting for the rest of my working days, but I do like it a lot right now. I have a career that challenges me and the challenge is why I switched my major to accounting in undergrad and went for the tax masters in the first place. When I first went to college, however, accounting was not where I saw myself ending up (see that... the fluidity again!).

Other things:
Survive wedding planning...check
Pass CPA Exam...check

I used to have things like "write a book" on my list. I think that I'll leave that to Meghan, though. I'll just be that girl - "oh yeah, I used to be friends with that author and then she got famous and stopped talking to me." :-)

Things that are coming up on the list:
1) Move into/build my "dream house" - the house that I actually want to live in for the rest of my life or at least, for the foreseeable future. That is not the house we live in now, though I do like it. The things that the dream house must contain comprise an entirely separate list.

2) Travel...a lot - I have been to Mexico, Japan, and the Caribbean and that's it for travel outside of the states. I didn't even have a passport until after I graduated from college. I love to travel and I'm ready to go! Mike and I want to do a European backpacking trip, maybe with my cousins, Jackie and Liz. My cousin Beth and I plan to go to Prince Edward Island because we are total Anne of Green Gables freaks. Oh yeah, we're doing the Green Gables museum, the Anne Tea, and a tour, the whole shebang. (nerds!). There are a million other places I would love to go, fueled by all the honeymoon research we did.

3) Watch those movies I've always meant to see.

4) Read the books I've always meant to read.

5) Get a dog!

Anyone else out there have a life list? Care to share a few things that are on it?