What I want from life

When I was in high school, my friends and I used to make lists of "requirements" for boyfriends-you know, if you do this, you don't qualify. Yeah, it was juvenile, but what do you want...we were in high school. And although the idea of putting the perfect man down on paper is preposterous, the concept behind it is healthy. Knowing what you can and cannot tolerate, what will make you happy and what will send you to the edge of sanity. I'm no longer of the belief that a list like this can really be compiled about a mate because if I look at the history of men to whom I've been attracted, it follows no rhyme or reason. The same thing that I find completely obnoxious done by one guy can get me completely hot and bothered by another guy. Really all I can honestly write down is that he can't be a smoker or a drug addict.

But there are some things that I've decided I should compose as "requirements" for life. Just a list of the things I don't want to live without. I would like to:

1. be married.
2. go to bed and wake up each day knowing that my husband loves me.
3. have children (number to be negotiated).
4. own a home.
5. be able to see my family (parents and bro) at least three-four times a year.
6. have enough money for the essentials.
7. send my children to college.
8. stay in shape.
9. enjoy my job.
10. make a difference through my job and my service to the community.

This is all I've got so far. Yeah, they all seem really basic, but I think that we sometimes lose sight of some of these points if they aren't staring us in the face. I don't want to say that any of those really hold more weight than the others, but sometimes you can rank importance by the order things come to mind. Maybe by having a list, the little or big decisions at the crossroads will be clearer.