44 things to do before you're 44

Which raises the question: what are the 44 things that any man or woman should have done by the time they reach 44?

1) Left home. These days children hang around the family home forever. Time to get your own!
2) Got a proper job. So you don’t like the system, you’re about freedom and not selling out. Yeah, great. Now grow up and earn a living.
3) Gentlemen: Worn the flashest shiny suits and gaudiest Hawaiian shirts, and trousers that hang half-way down your backside and t-shirts with daft slogans and the very snuggest of budgie-smugglers. Because, mate, they’re all off to the charity shop.  Chaps, even if you don't look like Daniel Craig or Tom Daley (above), you really should have worn trunks like these
4) Ladies: Worn the shortest, most belt-like skirts and highest heels and teeny-weeny-est bikinis and scantiest panties and pinkest fripperies. Because, darling, those days are over. Short skirts: wear them before you're 44 or not at all
5) Discovered who and what you are. You’re halfway through your life. If you haven’t worked yourself out by now, you’re leaving it a little late.
6) Got over your childhood. So maybe Larkin was right about your mum and dad. But you’re a grown-up now. Time to accept the past and move on. 'They f*** you up, your mum and dad', wrote Philip Larkin (above). But, hey, get over it.
7) Made a proper family album. No, not a digital collection, but an actual physical book, filled with proper photographs of your past and your memories preserved.
Mastered the mixing of at least one classic cocktail. No one who can make a really good martini or champagne cocktail will ever be without friends.
9) Been in a long-term relationship. Never married (straight or gay) at 44? That’s a bit of an issue. Never been truly committed to another person? That’s a definite problem.
10) Dyed your hair a daft colour, or got a tattoo, or a piercing. None of these are necessarily smart moves. But we should all make at least one dumb mistake. Don't do a David Dimbleby and wait until you're 75 to get your first tattoo
11) Gone to a music festival. Because mud, dubious ethnic food from a van and appalling toilet facilities are part of growing up and being British.
12) Stopped going to music festivals. Because the good ones are all on TV and the plumbing is way, way better at home.
13) Gone on your last drastic diet. Beyond a certain age, thin becomes scrawny, faces become drawn and the overall effect of dramatic weight loss is a haunted look. So tuck in, for heavens’ sakes. Once you're over 44, you might as well pile your plate with food
14) Mastered the art of delegation. Don’t be a stress puppy, just let others take the strain. That’s what young people are there for.
15) Said 'yes’ to proper knitwear. By all means wear sweatshirts while engaged in actual, sweaty activity. But the time has come cosy up to cardis. Get yourself some of this. The joys of knitwear are profound.
16) Accepted that the only person who can solve your problems is you. Don’t expect your partner to do it. They’ve got their own baggage to handle.
17) Stopped sleeping around. Sex can keep getting better with age. But context is everything. Skirt-chasing is not a good look on a 44-year-old man. And, madam – yes, you over there with the boys half your age - call yourself a Cougar, but you’re just a lech in a dress.
18) Discovered the joys of gardening. You’re a hardy perennial yourself these days, so get out there and start digging.
19) Gone to the Chelsea Flower Show. It really is England at its very best.
20) Gentlemen: Accepted that if you have even the slightest hint of a paunch, faded, baggy jeans will give you Clarkson Syndrome: the most deadly style affliction … in the wuuuurld.
21) Ladies: Accepted that there’s no point wearing clothes that make you look great from the back, if you’re a terrible disappointment when seen from the front.
22) Found a masterpiece. It’s that painting or sculpture that you simply have to visit whenever you can, and stand and gaze and bathe in its beauty.
23) Bought an artwork you love. It cost more than you can afford, but you love it. And it’s waiting for you when you get home.
24) Given a proper, smart dinner party. With good china, candles and silver cutlery if you’ve got it. And guests who don’t whine about their diets and allergies. Rafe Spall, Minnie Driver and Stephen Merchant at a dinner party in I Give It a Year
25) Been responsible for someone other than yourself. If the only person you have ever looked after is you, then how can you not become selfish? Then again …
26) Learned to enjoy your own company. Sometimes you’re on your own, but you can still be at ease and enjoy yourself. There’s no shame in a table for one.
27) Made a difference. It’s good to look at yourself and know you’ve done something that changed even one person’s life a little bit for the better.
28) Broken your heart. It hurt. You wept. You thought you’d never get over it. But you did and now you’re older, wiser and just that bit more human.
29) Ridden a motorbike. Or just hung on to the rider for dear life. Either way you’ll have hit the road in a way no car can match. Provided that you didn’t actually hit the road. Head out on the highway: sound advice from Steppenwolf
30) Done your own laundry. A washing machine, a bit of detergent, read the instructions on the clothes-label. Honestly, it’s not that hard.
31) Learned to cook at least some of these absolute basics passably well: spag bol, macaroni cheese, roast chicken, chilli con carne, grilled fish, a Full English breakfast, a basic stir-fry, a dish of grilled or roasted vegetables and a sponge cake.
32) Gentlemen: Bought lots of proper, good quality shoes. You’re getting too old for trainers.
33) Ladies (who naturally do more shopping!): Bought many pairs of opaque tights, because you can still wear minis when you’re 44, just not with bare legs. And hats: you can’t have too many of those. And Spanx, because if you don’t need a little help to hold you in by the time you’re 44, the chances are you’re too thin. But also acquired tons of comfortable underwear. So it isn’t sexy, but suddenly you can see the point of being comfy.
34) Visited at least three of the following cities: New York, Paris, Amsterdam, Venice, Berlin, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Sydney. And done more than shopping and clubbing.
35) Gone on an adventure. Trek, go on safari, ride the train across Siberia or a boat up the Mekong River, or a truck across the Outback. Just let your inner explorer go walkabout.
36) Said goodbye to the charts. Certainly listen to new music. But beyond a certain age it’s simply wrong to care which nitwitted ditty is this week’s No.1.
37) Learned to drive. It’s amazing, but some people don’t. It's like riding a bike - except without the bike and with a car.
38) Admitted defeat. You were fired, or your marriage failed, you went bust. Overcoming failure is one of the things that makes you a grown-up.
39) Learned a little about wine. No need to be a snob, but you should be able to tell a chardonnay from a sauvignon blanc, or a mellow merlot from a stonking shiraz.
40) Found your fitness routine. Running, walking, going to the gym, playing tennis, doing yoga or pilates. Doesn’t matter what it is. But you should have started it.
41) Learned how to tell people what you like. In bed, at a restaurant, with a decorator, at the hairdresser – it’s much easier for others to please you if you can say what you really, really want.
42) Manned-up to your prostate. Of course you don’t want your backside probed. But it just has to be done. Before it does for you.
43) Understood the point of qualified tradesmen. DIY is all very well when you’re young, broke and foolish. But grown-ups prefer people who actually know what they’re doing.
And finally …
44) Learned to walk away. From a bad marriage, from a lousy job, from a friend who isn’t so friendly - sometimes a graceful exit is the best, or only option.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/11455520/44-things-to-do-before-youre-44.html

..............well some of you still have time

interesting. good list.

I've done all except 23 - the Dutch and French authorities were not helpful when I wanted to take home The Nightwatch or a Monet or 2.

and 35 yet.....When we retire and get the 5 th wheel one of our dreams is to visit the 49 mainland States and hit every national, historical and the downright strange parks, see all the presidential homes/libraries (natch) and be there for local festivals. It will happen.

that is clearly a woman's list... it includes shoes and pointless things about still not valuing yourself beyond appearance.
I know it isn't a man's cause it doesn't say get in a proper fight, a man wont know what kind of man he is until he does

And it's for people already over 44
Housing is triple the cost relative to income in places like London or Sydney, the greed of the ultra rich means you cant afford to do these things... Love gardening Most GenY on would will never own a garden they will be lucky if they have a few pot plants in their rented flat. Especially if they spent their money on overseas trips and professional tradesmen.
And why make something in paper when you have a superior digital album(you can do more with digital) just environmental destructive for no reason. the sentimentality thing is from an pre digital era, so doesn't really apply to digitally native generations.


and is ironic
Learn to love yourself and half this list is pointless

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