My 16-year-old daughter keeps a list on our computer that she's labeled "Life Goals." On it are things she hopes to accomplish throughout her lifetime.

When her 25-year-old brother talked about the thrill of his first skydiving experience, she added skydiving to her ongoing list of dreams. When her 21-year-old brother shared stories about the SCUBA diving class he took in college, she decided she wanted to try that, too, only her goal is to dive in the ocean, not in swimming pools and ponds, as was her brother's experience.

Elly has been maintaining this list for more than a year now, and when she achieves one of her goals, as she did by running up a "down" escalator and learning to knit, she marks her accomplishment with an "X."

Some of her life goals are routine, like getting a professional manicure, eating a footlong hot dog and learning to tie dye a T-shirt, while others are quite ambitious, like foreign travel to at least 10 different countries and visiting every state in the United States.

Seeing my daughter's goals prompted me to start a list of my own, but with so many more years of life experience than her, I'd say my goals are more … more … what? Practical? Less adventuresome? Philosophical?

I don't know. Just different.

Topping my list of goals is "Living to be 100." Ever since turning 50, (and I won't say how long ago that's been), I've begun thinking of my life in finite numbers, unlike Elly, whose time here on Earth seems to stretch before her in countless years.

By living to be 100, I'm hoping to accomplish all the goals on my list, which also includes foreign travel, writing a book, reading a book every month, winning the lottery and becoming a grandmother (although not too soon, as none of my children are married).

Another one of my goals is "Staying healthy so I can enjoy retirement." When I was younger, my friend and I always promised each other that one day we'd hike the Appalachian Trail together, a 2,174-mile stretch from Georgia to Maine.

At first we aspired to achieve this adventure in one season, but as family obligations increased and physical abilities decreased, we began to reshape our dream, saying we'd walk it in segments over a period of several years.

But even that dream seems to be slipping by the wayside, as long walks aggravate a tendon in my hip. So, instead, I swim laps at a pool where I work and walk shorter distances to stay healthy, no longer with the hope of someday walking the Appalachian Trail, but to preserve my health, so I can write that great American novel and hold those grandbabies.

Although Elly's goals reflect the enthusiasm and energy of youth and mine the understanding that comes with age, it is setting goals for yourself that is most important, as they will keep you young, no matter how old you are.