Things Worth Doing, 51-75

51. Standing in the room where Keats died.
52. Holding my grandmother's hand when she died.
53. Eating the mashed up frozen red kool-aid snow-cones my other grandmother would make for us.
54. Riding the gondola across the river at the '84 World's Fair and thinking the gondola shadows on the water were giant turtles.
55. Singing songs in the camp dining hall before a meal.
56. The way Dove dishwashing soap still smells like the bubbles on the camp slide.
57. Walking around Lake Derwentwater in the rain with my sister.
58. Finding the Singing Machine hidden in the closet right before Christmas.
59. Walking along the Chesapeake Bay beach looking for shark's teeth.
60. Going to a concert at Red Rocks.
61. Hearing our voices echo by candlelight at Christmas choral concerts in the cathedral.
62. Sitting around the piano belting out showtunes with the siblings.
63. Standing in the Sistene Chapel first thing in the morning and realizing it's both a lot smaller and a lot more awesome than anticipated.
64. Riding the funiculare up to the overlook over Lake Como.
65. Staring out at the Pacific Ocean from the California cliffs with my family.
66. Staining our fingers with red Jell-o powder at swim meets.
67. Doing my first 5K in Cambridge on a drizzly morning.
68. Finding out that the sellers accepted my offer on the house.
69. That one time I got up on water skis.
70. Visiting Boston's Public Gardens and feeling the presence of Cynthia & Tom Terrific.
71. Ice skating at Rockefeller Center.
72. Hearing my 30-something older brother speak baby talk to his cocker spaniel.
73. Seeing the Indigo Girls and Mary Chapin Carpenter at Chastain Park.
74. Hearing the Avett Brothers sing "Murder in the City" live with my little brother by my side.
75. Falling in love with B.

(1-25, 26-50.)

Things Worth Doing, 26-50

26. Watching my older brother shoot free throws.
27. Tubing down Boulder Creek.
28. Canoeing down Green River in North Carolina.
29. Lying on the new Pier One throw rug in the living room of my first apartment on the first night.
30. Walking the dogs after work around my neighborhood with my mom.
31. Sparklers and toasts to new beginnings with friends in the backyard.
32. Sneaking out to Sliding Rock at night to bid a new friend farewell.
33. Riding on the back of a motorcycle through New Orleans City Park.
34. Moonlight canoe trips in the swamp.
35. The first time I saw the Indigo Girls in concert, skipping school with friends one Jazz Fest afternoon in 1993.
36. Floating on rafts in the Gulf of Mexico with friends one spring break, counting the fish.
37. Going to Thursday gumbo lunches at Piccadilly with my grandfather.
38. Riding home with Daisy on a towel in my lap after deciding on the spot that she was the dog I was taking home.
39. Seeing the egrets on the trees at sunset while running around the lakes.
40. Watching a flock of big white pelicans take flight.
41. Drinking sazeracs on the porch of the Columns Hotel in New Orleans.
42. Seeing my little brother take second place on ESPN 2.
43. Reading what my students wrote in my yearbook.
44. Hearing my sister sing to me from an iPod on speakers from across the country at my karaoke birthday party.
45. Watching my friend's four-year-old daughter belt out "Tomorrow," arms flung wide, while standing on top of her backyard slide.
46. Hearing Better Things in the middle of the night in a sweaty French Quarter Bar at the last "secret" Counting Crows Shim Sham show and feeling like it was being sung directly to me.
47. Putting my head down on my desk and laughing when one of my favorite students called out, "Stick a fork in him! He's done," when Romeo killed himself.
48. Sitting in the booth with my dad.
49. Replanting my front flower bed with my mom.
50. Driving down River Road at night in high school with cigarettes, friends, and songs.

(Inspired by Maggie of Mighty Girl.)

100 Things Worth Doing: 1-25

This entry and others like it to come = 100% inspired by Maggie of Mighty Girl. I loved her idea of making a list of some of life's most special and memorable moments, and I like the idea of holding onto these memories when life seems mundane, hard, or sad. Andrea wrote recently that she heard Elizabeth Gilbert tell a story whose moral was not the message we usually hear -- that we should live in the moment -- but that "the key to a happy life is about having great memories to look back on and great things to look forward to. So take lots of pictures and make lots of plans!" I loved reading that, and it tied into the idea of making this list. So thanks and all credit to Maggie & Andrea for the inspiration.

1. Sledding down a wildflower-covered hill on the Sound of Music tour in Austria.
2. Wandering around Boboli Gardens in Florence.
3. Seeing Paris at night from the top of the Eiffel Tower with my sister.
4. Running the last mile of the half-marathon knowing I would make it to the finish.
5. Walking along the Seine all by myself eating a pain au chocolat on my first day in Paris.
6. Hiking up to the top of Black Balsam and seeing the cloudshadows floating over the hilltops.
7. Hiking through Rocky Mountain National Park.
8. Walking a golden retriever through Chatauqua Park in Boulder.
9. Seeing the view of the snow-covered Alps from the fortress in Salzburg.
10. Walking along the pastel rainbow-colored buildings in Campeche.
11. Braving the bumpy roads to Monteverde.
12. Sitting a hot springs mineral pool in Arenal.
13. Walking through the butterfly garden at the Peace Lodge in Costa Rica.
14. Stirring the makings of peanut butter fudge under my grandmother's watchful eye.
15. Spending the night on a freezing sidewalk in New York and seeing Rent in its first year from the front row.
16. Piling on the bed for a nighttime song with the girls in my cabin at summer camp in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
17. Attending national championship college football games and being a part of a joyful crowd upon winning.
18. Dipping beignet fingers in mugs of half hot chocolate / half cafe au lait.
19. Riding a horse around the base of a volcano in the rainforest.
20. Hearing Anne Lamott speak at a Baptist church on St. Charles Avenue.
21. Driving an empty Friendship Boat across Epcot's World Showcase Lagoon at midnight.
22. Singing with my high school choir in Carnegie Hall.
23. Seeing the protesters lining the sidewalk in front of the White House during the first Gulf War.
24. Building drip sand castles on the beach.
25. Watching my friend's babies being born.