by Julie Sewell-Schmidt

Created on: February 28, 2008   Last Updated: December 04, 2008

Defining a top 10 list of things I want is more difficult than listing 100 things. A few of the more frivolous "wants" have been set aside and the frustrated cube-farm personality is coming to the surface. Depending on the day, my somewhat trivial desires will jockey for position on this list.

10. I want those wooden squares of death (otherwise known as children's blocks), noise making toys, markers, crayons, and other playthings that could potentially inflict serious pain while walking to the kitchen in the middle of the night, to magically return themselves to their container at the end of the day.

9. It would please me greatly to know if my son is actually my father re-incarnated. Even at a year old, my boy gets the same pursed-lip expression my dad used to have, and I'm required to step back and have a "WHOA" moment.

8. Speaking of Dad, I've taken his cremains on a couple of fun vacations the past two years. I want to know where Dad wants to go next - maybe receive a "wish list" of his desired destinations. I'm always up for a road trip, somewhere nice and warm.

7. I want to continually remember that more often than not, I hear what people are saying, but I don't really listen as I ought to. My children have great ideas that can impact the world around us, and if I slow down and listen, I can better encourage and help cultivate those ideas.

6. I want to free myself from the confines of the corporate America cubicle, its bureaucracy, hypocrisy, and animosity. From "bridge loans" to bailouts, corporate America has made itself a grotesque spectacle of gluttonous and irresponsible behavior.

5. A footnote on corporate America: I'd like the lion's share of the CEOs and senior team members to follow in the footsteps of the automobile manufacturer executives and accept a salary of $1 per year (they did SOMETHING right). Hey, Mr. and Ms. CEO/CFO/CIO/CTO, it's time to sell your corporate jets, forego the elaborate private parties, put your multiple vacation homes on the depressed housing market, and grow a pair without making the rest of the taxpaying public pay for your asinine decisions.

4. For the love of all that's green, I want people to come to the realization that paying professional athletes tens of millions of dollars a year and idolizing them as though they're super-heroes is foolish and reckless. So many of these individuals have displayed their blatant disregard for the law, for their fans, and for the children that adore them. Yet as a society, we continue to revere them, reward them, and place them upon pedestals.

3. I want to write, write, write.

2. Before I leave this earth, I want to know that I contributed something to make this world a better place for my children and grandchildren.

1. Above all, I want an unlimited supply of love from my husband and children, unending support from my friends and the opportunity to reciprocate the same for many, many years.

Learn more about this author, Julie Sewell-Schmidt.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.