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4 at 40
8/27/2015 12:20:20 PM

By Chad Kimberley
Splash Column

In the famous words of Rafiki from the Lion King, "It is time." 

On the eighth day of this month I am turning 40. I have officially crossed over into the second half of my life. While the way I eat and my at-times lack of exercise might indicate I crossed this threshold about five years ago, I have always seen 40 as the halfway point. 

Let me make something clear: I am not about to hit a mid-life crisis. In fact, I would say that I have greatly enjoyed my first 40 years. I married exceptionally above my personal rank. I have three kids who have caused me nothing buy joy and great memories. I have spent the last 20 years serving in nonprofit settings that have granted me extremely fulfilling moments and relationships. 

Yet I am turning 40, and it has caused me to do some soul searching. What is next? What goals should I have? What experiences do I want to pursue? How do I manage to live another 40 years? 

I came up with four. 

No. 1: Use my passport
I am saddened to say I have never used a passport or needed a passport. Through the first 40 years of my life my traveling has been throughout the North American continent which has included stops in Canada and Mexico but never a non-continental location.  

So in this 40th year of life, I plan to travel via passport, although I do not know where I am heading yet. I have always dreamt of visiting a lot of the locations in the world that I have taught about as a history teacher. I would love to walk the grounds of the Roman Colosseum or see with my own eyes the Great Barrier Reef. 

I may not know where I am going, but in this fortieth year I am ready to experience a new culture, a new part of the world, and get my first passport stamp. 

No. 2: Watch the AFI top 40 movies
Movies have been a staple from my earliest memories till now. My dad made me watch "Jaws" before going on our first vacation to California (and, yes, it scarred me greatly). My mom tried to get me and my sister to watch "Gone with the Wind" (still haven't seen the whole thing). "The Lion King" was the first movie I saw with my wife (hence the quote nod at the top of this column). "Field of Dreams" was the first movie I shed a tear while watching. "E.T." gave me a love for Reese's Pieces, and the more recent superhero movies have become a staple in my families DVD collection.

As you can see, a lot of my movies have been your blockbuster hits, your popcorn movies, your family friendly fare, your less-than-artsy type of movies. Going into my 40th year of existence, it is time to become a bit more cultured. Since I love movies, I figure the American Film Institute's top 100 movies would be a great place to start. 

My original idea was to tackle the top 100, but the wife helped me see the folly in that one-year pursuit, so I settled on the Top 40 American movies to watch. This list includes only five movies I have ever seen before, so this should be an enlightening experience, and I have a feeling I am going to get to know the public library's reserve/request system extremely well. 

No. 3: Collect the 2016 Topps set
Baseball cards kept me going as a kid. Some of my greatest joys were buying a wax pack of cards (off the shelf), chewing up the cardboard gum and then going through the cards that followed. I started collecting in 1985 and would get several packs a year for the next couple of years until 1990, when I attempted to collect a full 792-card set by buying tons and tons of packs. 

I came up short. It left these Grand Canyon-sized holes in my official three-ring binder where I kept all my cards. 

Now in my 40th year, my son - who recently got hooked on baseball (yes I am going to raise a glutton-for-punishment Cubs fan) - and I are going to collect the whole 2016 Topps set via buying packs at stores, just like my good ole days. Yes, I realize this is a silly goal, and yes, I realize I could buy a complete set for much, much less than I will spend per pack, but for me it is a chance to connect my childhood to my son's and gives us the opportunity to share those excited moments when you rip open a pack and find either a Cub or a card you are missing. 

No. 4: Run/jog/walk 1,000 miles
I originally had a different plan for No. 4. I wanted to run the half-Ironman next summer. Then I started looking at the times and the costs involved in completing a half-Ironman, and I discovered that I probably a) wouldn't be able to complete the swim in 1 hour, 10 minutes, and b) would hate to spend the money on a road bike to only be disqualified before I could ride it.  Not to mention that I am sure no one out there wants to see me in a wetsuit. 

So instead I decided to set a goal to cover 1,000 miles over the next year. I figure I need to cover an average of roughly 3 miles a day over the course of my 40th year of life. Now, of course, my natural fear is that come next August I am going to have to cover like 7 miles a day, every day, to reach my goal. But by doing this I am confident this will be a nice step along the way toward making it to 80. 

Chad Kimberley is a local teacher and coach. He lives with his family in Liberty Lake.

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