Photo: Thinkstock

My daughter is obsessed with learning when she can do what and seems to have come to the conclusion, as she often reports to complete strangers, that when she turns 18 she will be able to drive a car, splash her brother in the pool, and -- finally! -- chew gum. When she is 4 she gets to play with Barbies and drink beer. Confused details aside, I have to confess that I share her fixation on milestones. Yes, I used to have one of those goofy lists of Things To Do Before I Turned 30. And 40 -- well! As a culture we love to freak out about turning 40. There's nothing sexy, it seems, about turning 40. So how is a thoughtful, non-age-obsessed-but-milestone-intrigued lady supposed to handle this birthday?

Poet Maya Stein has got this birthday on lockdown. Look at her plan: she's going to spend 40 days biking to 40 destinations, with her turquoise typewriter in tow. At every location she will stop and set up a typewriting station and invite people to contribute to a collaborative work of writing. Her goal, as she explains on her Kickstarter site, is "to bring people together through the written word, and to do so in a way that's collaborative yet personal, free-form yet structured." She goes on to explain that "by taking the time to do this all by bicycle, I want to encourage people to nurture the art -- and vital importance! -- of slowing down to engage more deeply with our physical environments, to connect to the movement and power of our bodies, and to connect with others through our words."

Now if that doesn't beat the pants off of drinking too much and getting teary over the List Of Things I Was Supposed To Do By Age 40, I don't know what does. What noble goals for all of us -- to make a milestone goal a crazy and dreamy one, to connect with others, to connect with our physical and creative selves. Preferably with a really cute bicycle and typewriter.

Check out Maya Stein's Kickstarter site to watch a video explaining the project and, if you want, to donate some money (and, awesomely, get the bike named after you).

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