Gimme' Five

The blogging well has been drying out much like the lakes around here, so I turned to my old friend Google for some inspiration. I told Google to find me topics related to "Blog Memes" and I came across this blog. Every Monday she posts a new "Gimme Five" topic, so I'm going to tackle this week's subject:

Give Me Five things you haven't done in a long time that you would like to do again.

The blog owner says, "I love thinking back to old times and every time I do, I always end up with the same question, 'Why has it been so long since I've done that?' So let's make a list and then *maybe* think about doing them!"

Gotcha.

Ahem.

(1) I haven't jumped on a trampoline since I was a little kid. We had a round one in the backyard, and I loved jumping on it. I loved everything about it: the feeling of temporary weightlessnes, the ability to turn flips, the up and down and up and down, and the soaring. Nowadays I cringe when I think of how badly I could've gotten hurt on that trampoline. That was in the 80s, before there were nets and safety measures for trampolines. I don't know where I lost my sense of daring, but it's gone. I would never even consider buying a trampoline for my children, but I sure would love to jump on one again. In private, of course, 'cause who wants to see all my flabby bits fly up in my face?

(2) I used to be a roller skating fool. My dad used to back the cars out of the garage so my sister and I could skate in the shade on the smooth floor. Round and round and round and round. LOVED it. Loved the skating rink, too. I've been to our local skating rink a handful of times, and although it's not the same rink I went to as a kid, it could be. It looks (AND SMELLS!) exactly the same. It's a time capsule, with the swirly 70s carpet, Disco ball and the same old brown skates with red toe stops. Good times, good times.

(3) I used to spend my summer days beside the pool. I'd go out early in the day with a radio, a towel and a good book, and I usually wouldn't go back inside until the book was finished (or if it started raining or got darker...) I still love going out to the pool, but now I rarely get to read. Between refereeing the kids' arguments and fulfilling their requests to play with them in the water, I can't read. They get tired of swimming after 2 hours or so, and there is the sun factor, too, so we just can't be outside all day anymore. I miss that.

(4) Before I became a scrapbooker I was a cross stitcher. I have several cross stitched pieces framed and hung around my home. It was a soothing hobby, and I really enjoyed it, but I just don't have time for it anymore. I have lots of unfinished projects in a bin in the basement. I'll probably have diminished eyesight by the time my schedule is open enough to pursue that hobby again.

(5) I used to enjoy the company of women. I still do, for the most part, but I can't say I trust a whole lot of women anymore. I'm always wondering what they're thinking of me and what they will say behind my back. I didn't used to be that way, but experience has taught me that a lot of women have a hidden agenda.

I have my sister, my husband, my children, my college roommate and my parents. That's the entire list of people I can trust 100%. I'm very guarded with other folks because I've been burned so many times by people (WOMEN) I THOUGHT were my friends. Catty, judgmental, controlling, narcissistic, shallow, insecure (!),cliquish, self-inflated women that will turn on you in the blink of an eye and have no problems tearing you apart or even inventing stories about you to turn people against you. Sounds like high school, no? Ha. The immaturity doesn't end there. Some women never grow up.

In the past few years, the word "bitch" has come out of hiding. It used to be a slur, but now most women wear it like a badge of honor. Women are proud to be bitches. I don't get it.

"And she'll promise you more
Than the Garden of Eden
Then she'll carelessly cut you
And laugh while you're bleedin'"

Billy Joel hit the nail on the head, 'cause that's women for you. Sad, but true. I'm so sick of it. Sorry, ladies, but there needs to be an anti-bitch movement. We need an infusion of gentility, kindness, HUMILITY. You can be strong without being mean. It does work.

(And I'm not saying that all women I've met are like that... I have a handful of lovely female acquaintances about whom I think very highly. They're a very rare bunch, though...and I'm sorry if the B-word offends you. There's just no better way to put it, unfortunately.)