101 Things

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liveuponatime.com

I’ve always wondered why people don’t keep their blogs updated…that is, until I fell into the black hole of life’s other responsibilities.

A friend suggested that I make my own to-do list rather than conforming to a list that was created by someone else.  I want to assure all of you that I’ve fully inspected Richard Horne’s list and wouldn’t want to exclude any of the Things from my list.  I get to add my own personal spin on Horne’s list, and, to me, that is the beauty of it.  BUT just to prove that I have my own unique goals in life, I want to share a couple of my recently accomplished Things.  I like to call them “102″ and “103″.

Thing 102 actually trumped Thing 74, so I had to put flying a plane on hold.  In December 2008, I finally completed my Master of Aeronautical Science in Space Studies from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.  Now, I need to focus on Thing 104 - completing my Ph.D.

Thing 103 trumped Thing 9, so learning piano is put on hold for now.  My husband and I began talking about adoption in January 2007.  That same month, a little girl entered foster care and began her journey through many homes to find her forever family.  Matt and I could not begin the 10-week adoption classes because of his deployment schedule.  My mother and I tossed ideas around about what we would name a little girl, and we always agreed that “Katie” was perfect.  Finally, my husband and I were able to start the class in between two deployments in 2008.  We were even able to complete our home study and all of the paperwork before he left the country again.  Throughout his deployment, we passed the time by looking through profiles and contacting agencies.  When Matt got home in February and we still hadn’t heard from any agencies, we braced ourselves for what everyone said would be a long process.  Only a couple weeks later, we were in for a surprise.  A message on our answering machine said there was an adorable little girl that would be up for adoption soon, but needed a foster home within two weeks.  We called the caseworker back, and asked what the girl’s name was.  “Kaitlyn”, she said.  She moved in around March and became our “Katie” forever in August!

Besides Things that get pushed to the side for other Things, there are also Things we set out to do that end up as ultimate failures.  Case in point, the Endeavour Shuttle launch on June 13th, June 17th, July 11th, July 12th, July 13th, AND July 15th!!  How did we manage to attempt a shuttle launch that would get pushed back five times?  Obviously, we were not destined to see this launch.  The night before the first scheduled launch, we had to drive all night from Georgia to Florida.  Somewhere in BFE, Florida we turned into 2am zombies and had to stop at a hotel.  I was so relieved to hear we didn’t miss anything the next morning because the launch was scrubbed.  We continued to drive to Kennedy Space Center to tour the launch pads and find out when the next launch attempt was scheduled.  We toured Disney World while we waited for the June 17th launch to take place (not a bad Thing).  I watched the NASA Channel until 3:30am on June 17th, only to find out that the launch was scrubbed again due to a gas leak.  I considered going back for the July 11th, 12th, and 13th launch reschedules, but thought better after I heard the thunderstorm forecast.  By July 15th, I had accepted that this was not the launch I was supposed to see and gave up.  The shuttle launched successfully that night.

I can’t complain about the failed attempts to accomplish Things.  I feel more alive during the JOURNEY with my family than while checking off any to-do list.  See our journey here: