October 7: My Own Milestones

Yesterday, I spoke of Milestones, from the point of view of a mother, which many women are. Not all women are, though. I'm one of them. I have no children and have never desired a child. I live my life with the thought that I would rather regret not having children than regret having one. If I ever found myself feeling like that had left a gaping emptiness in my life, I could become a Big Sister, I could foster, I could do many things to make a difference to the children who were already in existence.

But I don't have the normal milestones that most women in my position are facing. I don't have children to see off to school. I enjoy seeing my friends' children grow and experience new things with each passing year, but they're not my milestones to observe. If I don't make it to see my best friend's youngest start high school, that won't be what's going through my mind as the time comes.

Today, I have a post with a lighter tone. My milestones are pop culture. They are things I enjoy and I fully intend to be around long enough to experience them. They are the targets I aim for.

One of the first on the list is Thor 3. Rumored to be released in the year 2018, it's bringing back Tom Hiddleston as Loki, and we find out what exactly was going on at the end of Thor 2: The Dark World. I've been a Marvel fangirl for years, since the old, old days of the Outside The Lines mailing list and the CFAN website run by the late Kielle. The MCU is entertaining and enthralling, and I want to be able to make it to Thor 3, or even Avengers 3.

But that's still not too far off. It's only four more years, after all. I want more than that. I want to live to a ripe old age and thrive, keeping this beast at bay for years to come. I need another milestone. I have two for the year 2025, 11 years from now.

The first of the two is a really big if. Mars One. Not if I live that long, but rather, if the project doesn't tank, if the project timeline goes as planned, if there aren't any unexpected delays, then we'll be seeing the landing of the first humans on Mars. I want to see this for myself. When I was little, Atari was state of the art, and phones came from Ma Bell and in fleshy beige or avocado green, and had the little rotary dial. In forty years, we've come from that to a feasible, workable plan to put human beings on another planet. We've been to the moon, but no further than that. To see a different sky, to stand on a different planet, there are people selected for this right now, and set to begin training for this mission next year.

The second of the two is far more local. On July 4th, 2025, the world's largest time capsule will be opened, and it's located in Seward, Nebraska. I lived there for a few years, and it's only a 30 minute drive away. Attending it should be interesting, provided the crowd doesn't make me want to scream and go somewhere far away from that many people. If it does, I'm sure there'll be a display up somewhere with the items recovered, and I can just go to that.

That's all I've got for now, but I'm sure more milestones will crop up as time goes on. I'm really hoping that the Mars One project stays solid and on its projected timeline. That's just amazing and brilliant.