Of course, a few of those adventures ended badly, like the one and only time I ever tried tequila and got lost in the bathroom.
The time I bought a thong, thinking that I needed to see for myself what all the fuss was about … well that didn’t work out too well, either. Like a thrill-seeking trooper, I wore it under my jeans and went grocery shopping. But I couldn’t stop worrying that other people assumed I just didn’t care to wear panties like a woman with some sense. On the way home I drove 11 miles an hour, scared to death of being in a car accident … which would lead to emergency workers seeing the thong thing on my lily white, 40-something-year-old hind end.
Then there was the time that I climbed a big rocky hill at Monroe Lake, swung on a rope and dropped into the water. When I surfaced I was pretty darn sure that I would find my last ovary (named Helen) floating on top of the water.
I also can’t forget the time I drove in the demolition derby. It was supposed to be fun, or at least that’s what I thought, until those other women turned into rabid dogs. Good thing I had my Kentucky temper with me that day. It was a nice stress reliever, throwing the car in reverse, smashing cars. But the next day I felt like I had been run over by a tractor.
I probably should also mention snow skiing. I didn’t want to waste time on the bunny hill. I’ve always been a do-it-or-die type … I fell maybe 17 times, trying to get on the ski lift. And my life flashed before my eyes a few times on the way down the slope since I neglected to learn how to stop the skis. Definitely not an activity I could win a common sense award for doing.
One of my biggest weaknesses in life is that I just cannot turn down a dare. And that is exactly why I backed through the drive-through window of an unnamed restaurant, just because I was dared to do it and just because I was curious to see how the employee would react.
I’m not a whole lot different these days, but I do occasionally try to weigh the pros and cons … such as asking myself, “Could this activity maim or kill me?” But that doesn’t always mean the answer to the question will work as a deterrent.
I have always been in love with taking big bites of every something that sent a chill down my back or made me laugh or made me think or cry. Now that I’ve gone through the pink stuff of breast cancer, I am even more interested in just wallowing in all things joyful, exciting and funny. It doesn’t hurt me if you think I’m right there on the edge of nut cake. I already know that is where all the good stuff of life will always be.