Today, my prevailing thought is that I don’t want to always do the safe choice because I’m scared. Yes, there is something to say for safety. There is also something to say for exploring what life has to offer though, too.
I talked to a great friend of mine today about childhood experiences I missed. He was surprised to hear that last week was the first time I went sledding. The story of our friendship is rather cool. We met each other on graduate school interviews and kept in touch via email and then later phone calls. It’s been almost two years that we’ve been friends! Anyway. We made a list of things I haven’t done:
- Make a pillow fort. I made a blanket fort, but not a pillow fort.
- Learn to swim. I know. I started classes when I was in Seattle but then life happened. I need to work on this.
- Learn to ride a bike. I need to get a bike first. Then have there not be snow on the ground. Can I have training wheels?
- Go skiing/snowboarding.
- Get my face painted at a state fair. *shrug*
- Have a real, hardcore snowball fight with snow forts. This sounds cold.
- Inhale a helium balloon and talk funny. Wait, I would purposely make my voice even higher pitched?
- Climb a tree for the view. Hope that I’m not afraid of heights when I get up there.
- Watch the sun rise on purpose. As a night owl, especially when writing my thesis, I saw many rises of the sun, but I’ve never stayed up to do it on purpose.
- Watch the sun set with a glass of wine. That sounds like a lovely date night.
- Go star gazing and watch shooting stars. That also seems lovely. I feel like this should have a picnic involved.
- Somersault/cartwheel/handstand. Can I just claim I don’t have those muscles?
- Go rock climbing.
- Successfully roller skate.
- Laser tag. Is this actually fun?
- Paintball at an arena. I’ve shot a paintball gun before… but never actually went out to get potentially hit by a paintball. Sounds painful.
- Sunbathing on a roof or a beach. I’m not sure about that one, I don’t really need more of a tan…
- Learn to juggle. I like to think babies are amused enough with my failing attempts that it’s just wrong if I learn how to do it correctly.
- Underdog on a swingset. He had to explain this one to me.
- Do a double bounce on a trampoline. Oh wait, just get on a trampoline in the first place.
- Ride a horse. But… they’re so big and dusty!
- Watch the entire Matrix trilogy.
- Catch or watch salamanders in the stream. Apparently, I’m failing as a biologist for never having done this.
- Go canoeing or kayaking. I think I should learn to swim first.
- Catch fireflies! That will forever remind me of the Owl City song.
- Jump in a leaf pile. Is it as fun as I think it should be?
- Go in a sauna. :/ I’m unsure of this one. Is it bad that my first thought is aerosolized microbes?
- Burn colored wrapping paper in a fire. Sounds fun!
- Actually break a pinata. Only if there’s candy on the inside and it’s all mine.
- Shoot bottle rockets at targets.
- Read the childhood comics that I missed as a youth like Calvin and Hobbes.
- Go skinny dipping. I need to become a wee bit more daring.
Anyone want to claim a thing to do it with me?
I claim rock climbing. Name the time, I will make time. There is a place in Kalamazoo that will work I think, we just need to rent your equipment and get day passes and I will belay you and help you. I used to teach this! We totally got this!
Deal! I’m excited!
I have pretty much the entire Calvin and Hobbes collection – if you ever feel like borrowing any, just let me know!
Good luck with all of that! I grew up outside of St. Louis – there are lots of good places to find those adventures in the area. I would certainly recommend finding a bicycle when the weather warms up. But don’t use training wheels – they teach you to ride wrong. Just get one where your feet can reach the ground and practice gliding. Cemeteries are a good place to start riding (yes it sounds strange). And keep up with the swimming – it makes the canoeing and kayaking that much more fun.