It all started when an old school friend mentioned her plans to fly from our hometown in England to celebrate her 40th birthday in Las Vegas. Her birthday is next April, just a few days before mine, and Vegas is a short hop from my home, so I said I’d meet her there for a celebratory cocktail. But it got me thinking about how I want to celebrate my own birthday. I really don’t want spend it getting plastered on cheap cocktails in a dingy casino. It’s something about that whole “Life begins at 40” thing that makes me want to do something, accomplish something, be able to tell people I did something amazing. But what? I compiled a list of all the things I want to do-- see the pyramids at Giza, gaze at the Taj Mahal, etc. They’re good ideas, but I want a goal, something to aim for, something I’d be proud to tell people I’ve accomplished.
The thing I really want to do most of all is to trek to the Base Camp of Mount Everest. I can imagine scrambling out of my tent on my birthday morning to the sight of the mountain glistening in the distance. The trouble is, I don’t want my 40th birthday to be my last, nor do I want my 40th birthday to be my husband’s last. The truth of the matter is that neither of us is in good enough physical shape to take on a challenge like that.
It’s a sobering thought. I ought to be fit enough to make that climb, but I’m not, and there’s no good reason I shouldn’t be. I’m healthy and have no injuries or conditions, I’m just a little too heavy, a little too lazy, a little too inconsistent with exercising.
So, it’s time to take stock of my life. I’ve got 9 months to pull myself together and get in shape. Maybe I won’t get to see Everest this birthday, but I want to do something I can be proud to tell people I did in celebration of turning 40.
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