things to do before 60
Posted on by Debbie

An update on my list of 12 things to do before turning 60

A reminder of why I chose only 12 things, and not 60

As I’m now 59 and fast approaching my 60th birthday (at the end of this year), I am keen to tick off a few things from my list. I can’t believe it’s less than 3 months away!

You may be wondering why I didn’t go the whole hog and list 60 things to do before turning 60, as most people would do.

For one thing I’m not most people!!!

Here’s the link to my original post back in January – 12 things to do before turning 60

Well to be honest, there are a few reasons why:

  • my birthday is in the 12th month – so 12 is always a favourite number
  • 60 things sounded like waaaayyy too many things to think of 🤣 (and I’m basically a lazy person)
  • there are 12 months in the year so that works out at 1 thing each month = doable
  • I didn’t want to overwhelm myself and then end up failing in my quest
things to do before 60
Photo by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels.com

But then COVID-19 happened

I had rough plans to travel to England with my daughters and their families for my 60th, spend my birthday and Christmas together, catch up with my eldest daughter and my littlest granddaughter Dottie, see friends and family and enjoy some quality family time.

But no. That’s not going to happen!

Quite a few of my things on my list involved travel, international and domestic.

But no. That’s not going to happen either!

So without further ado I give you my list:

  1. ✅ Celebrate 40th wedding anniversary in London and buy myself something ‘Ruby’ nice
  2. ✅ Be there when E and S bring their baby boy home from hospital – he was due in early March but arrived in late February by caesarian due to being a breech baby – and yes I was there when he came home!!
  3. Investigate taking the Mathematician to Darwin – I have been there before but the Mathematician hasn’t – still a work in progress as all travel is on hold due to the global pandemic 🚦
  4. Make plans to visit Western Australia – still a work in progress as all travel is on hold due to the global pandemic 🚦
  5. Make a list of 60 things that make me happy – still a work in progress 🚦
  6. ✅ Donate at least $60 to charity
  7. Make a playlist with 60 favourite songs – still a work in progress 🚦
  8. ✅ Read at least 60 books in the year and write/share reviews of some of them
  9. Visit Tiny and Lea Rosser in Sydney with mum – see my post What has been the most unusual, unexpected or just plain weird connection you’ve made as a blogger? This was planned for April but due to COVID it unfortunately had to be postponed. In the meantime Tiny has turned 92! 🚦
  10. ✅ Ride on the Tumbarumba to Rosewood Rail Trail as many times as possible in the year  – it was opened in early April 2020 (by video on Facebook due to COVID-19) and we are frequent users. I even wrote a comprehensive Guide to Riding The Tumbarumba to Rosewood Rail Trail, which I’m very proud of!
  11. Investigate a trip to Canada for 2021? still a work in progress as all travel is on hold due to the global pandemic 🚦
  12. ✅ Jump at all opportunities that come my way and get photos wherever possible
  13. ✅ Investigate getting my book Dottie and the Wombat published properly – I sent my copy off to be looked at but got a rejection letter. I have since started a course in Writing Picture Books and am learning a great deal – there is so much involved in it and I am now ashamed of sending in such a rough manuscript in the first place!

Progress so far

So far I have managed to tick off numbers 1, 2, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13 – not too bad!!

Some of these I won’t be able to complete by the time I’m 60, due to COVID-19. But I’ll keep them on my list for when travel is back on the agenda.

I’ve made a good start on #12, jumping at every opportunity – quite literally – and will be updating my WOTY progress at the beginning of each month. I plan to share all my monthly Jump photos in a post at the end of the year. So far I’ve missed jumping in only one month – June as that wasn’t too good a month!

jump in August 3
May jump
Jump in April
Jumping on the rail trail
Jumping in puddles Feb 2020
Debbie jumping at the beach

Eagle eyed readers might also notice that I have actually listed 13 things – I am not as mathematically challenged as you may think!

So that’s my 12 things to do before turning 60 – something to focus on! I’ll update you on my progress when I actually turn 60. Not long to go, the countdown is really on!

Is there anything else you’d add to my list, or any tips you can offer if you’ve attempted something similar?

Deb xx

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Everyone has a story to tell!

Debbie - mother of a 40 year old

Deb is a young-at-heart & active 60+ blogger/retiree, after being made redundant from her 22-year career managing education programs in a men’s correctional centre (jail). She now spends her time reading, blogging, riding her ebike and travelling. Deb was awarded a Bravery Award from the Queen when she was 17 after a tragic accident – a definite life changing moment! She is married with 3 grown-up daughters & has 4 grandchildren. You can read more of Deb’s story here

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39 Replies to “An update on my list of 12 things to do before turning 60”

  1. I love your list and the admirable amount of goals you have accomplished despite COVID 19. I ws in the midst of reading your Bedian Birthday post and took the bait, so to speak, and “jumped” here to see what your updated list looked like. Great job, great post.

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  2. You’ve done very well – I love the 12 things idea. I am 60 in November and have a few things I want to achieve. Most of them need to happen in non-Covid times. Good luck with the last one, the publishing!

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    1. Thanks for dropping by! I am working on my Spotify playlist and have almost crossed that one off my list now. The travel ones are a bit hard given the state of the world. Happy birthday for next month, we’re both closing in on that 60 number bit by bit 😯

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  5. It’s such a fantastic post…congrats for accomplishing 7 out of 13 thoughts. You still have time to achieve the best results. Looking forward to go through your playlist…I hope you will share it soon. All the best 👍

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  6. Love #12 and can appreciate #13! We get better at understanding about how these things work only through trial and error, good on you for doing a course though – they really help to get an inside understanding on the publishing world. Don’t be worried about sending off first attempt though, do you know how many times J K Rowling was rejected? Try, try again. Good luck and all the best. Glenys

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  10. Great list, Debbie! I’m all about goals. Don’t beat yourself up about sending in your book/manuscript. I’m new at this gig too, and I’m sure you’ve read stories of people getting 99 rejections only to have someone accept it on the next try. One way we learn is by taking some chances. I’m making myself go over my WIP with my writer’s group one more time before taking the plunge.

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    1. Thanks Pete, I hear you! I’m currently learning lots so it’s all good 🙂 I’m glad to hear you’re working through your WIP with your writing group, they will be a great asset to you I’m sure.

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    1. Thanks Alison, I an’t imagine travelling too far from home for the foreseeable future! Bali sounds a nice place to celebrate turning 60 but that too is off the list! I’m sure it will be a good birthday regardless of where I am, I’ll just have to make sure it’s fun.

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  17. I think your list is a great one, and it suits you. 12 rather than 60 is a more manageable number. I am older than you, and one of my favorite books is about growing spiritually in the second half of life. I had to do the math on that, if a person expects to live to be 90, the second half starts at 45! Yikes! Best wishes on making progress in your list.

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  18. You’re doing well on your list. Flipping covid! My eyes opened at the playlist comment – I’m working on a playlist of my own a la Desert Island Discs. I have so many playlists for so many moods with so many songs on them – I do a playlist for every book I write even. But coming up with this playlist? It’s harder than I thought.

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