When I started coming up with ideas for my 30-before-30 bucket list, I tried to think of local attractions that I may not have experienced, yet.  I do want to be adventurous, yes, but I also don’t want to break the bank in the process.  Staycations have been popular in the last few years, and that concept prompted the search for Atlanta activities.  I had no idea that Atlanta had a still-functioning drive-in movie theater!  Onto the bucket list!  I had already started thinking about my 30-before-30 bucket list prior to my 29^th birthday last year.  Hubby and I were trying to coordinate a birthday outing with friends when he surprised me with the fact that he “already had plans” for us on the night in question.  Now, hubby has always been good at surprises, but it had been awhile since he had taken it upon himself to plan an all-out surprise date night.  I was not going to miss out on this!  We rescheduled dinner with friends, and I was given a clue of “dress warmly.”  After work on a Friday night, hubby picked me up for our date.  He still wouldn’t give away any hints as we drove along.  And, drove along.  Finally, we reached our destination – the Starlight Drive-In!  He had stopped by Fresh Market and packed us a gourmet picnic, brought blankets (because, yes, my birthday is in December), and even thought to borrow a TV tray table from my mom.  I really wish I had pictures of the setup complete with candelight!  We opted to watch the movie in the warmth of the car, but it was a ton of fun!

Second Bucket List Item:  Go to a drive-in movie.  Check

I’m not freaked out about turning 30.  Really.  At least, not in an “I’m getting SO OLD” kind of way.  Although, sometimes it feels that way when I’m in my pj’s before 9pm.  No, turning 30 is more about realizing how quickly time passes.  There just doesn’t seem to be any break in the monotony of daily life when you’re a grownup.  As a child/adolescent/young adult, there was always a new semester or school holiday that seemed to symbolize a constant cycle of beginnings and endings. Well, maybe not concrete beginnings and endings; more like milestones to commemorate a specific point in time.  Of course, there are still holidays and vacations, but what you lack as an adult is something to distinguish this year’s trip from last year’s.  I’ve found that now I tend to associate events with how old my nieces and nephew were at the time.  So, maybe the monotony is broken up when you have kids; maybe you begin to live through their milestones.  I am still able to place myself when I hear an old hit on the radio.  The song instantly takes me back to what was going on in my life when it came out.  I can tell you exactly what grade I was in until I graduated from college based on a song, but I admit that the years begin to blur after graduation.  Kanye’s “Gold Digger” was popular when I got married, as was Rascal Flatts’ “Bless the Broken Road;”  I remember listening to Taylor Swift’s debut album just after we moved into our first house.  So, maybe now I’m only able to place songs alongside life-changing events.  At any rate, the impending milestone of turning 30 is a gentle nudge to do those things that I’ve put away for “someday.”  Otherwise, someday could just turn into never.  Thus was born the bucket list – the 30-before-30 bucket list to be exact.  Honestly, I have come up with more than double  that, but I figure I’ll just save those for the next milestone.

First Bucket List item: Start a Blog. Check.