Over at RevGalBlogPals, I’m hosting this week’s Friday Five…

You may have read David Foster Wallace’s essay “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again” where he notes his lack of enthusiasm for going on a cruise. (That’s putting it in a nutshell. It’s hilarious. Do read it!) However, I think it (perhaps) is just a wee bit of a hyperbole. 😉 Some of our awesome RevGals are heading out on the next BE 6.0 (Big Event) for a cruise. They absolutely will have an amazing time. A very non-DFW cruise. And even the cruise-phobic among us would wish that!

All this is the inspiration for this week’s Friday Five!

Perhaps you have tried something that everyone assured you was SO MUCH FUN!!! and you swore on a stack of Bibles that you would never ever be dragged to said activity ever again. Was it horseback riding? Rappelling? Ballet class when you were 7?

So share with us 5 Supposedly Fun Things You’ll Never EVER Do Again. You may find some commiserating souls among us. A bonus if you share pictures. 

1. “It seemed like a good idea at the time…”

It was supposed to be a “staff bonding” moment for us… The church staff team and some of our spouses got all decked out in a harness and helmets and went on a high wire “confidence” course. It was supposed to be liberating and fun and build a spirit of camaraderie.

I was talked into doing it. Sounded simple. You put on a butt-hugging harness and clip yourself to a verrry thin wire. You go way high in the air and climb around in the trees with the squirrels. It ended with a zip wire back down to the ground. To this day, the memory of it sends chills down my spine.

Fun? Not so much.

2. Sigh… It pains me to admit this, but… Scrapbooking!

I know. I know. I have friends who are just amazing scrapbookers. You have every moment of your life chronicled. OK, not “every” moment. But a lot of them. You have made some beautiful albums. I have my children’s baby pictures sorted into boxes. I know where they are. And… after going to an introductory class, I have 2 pages done. It was just more time and money that I had at my discretion. And now, in the age of digital photography and Facebook albums… I’m not feeling it. But I sure do admire your creativity!

3. Boating. 

My husband and I first met at the wedding of dear friends. Soon after that, we had a “first date” with our newlywed friends, which included a boating adventure on the Chesapeake Bay. In relatively calm waters. On a pretty big boat for fresh water boating. And… it was not glorious. I discovered that I got seasick pretty easily and a that I had phobia for not being able to see the bottom of the Bay. There were  sea nettles that made swimming painful. And the huge wakes from commercial traffic… It kinda did me in.

4. Water skiing/tubing. 

A guy that I dated in college could not get over the fact that I did not like water skiing. We had mutual friends who would go regularly to the lake and ski/board/tube. I never did get the hang of it. After many, many attempts, which resulted in wipeouts, rearranging my bathing suit and force swallowing the water, I decided that perhaps I could pursue other water sports. I’m still a pretty good swimmer/canoer/kayaker. But I don’t think I’ll go get dragged behind a boat any time soon.

5. Crafting for a living.

Let me tell you, I have some amazingly crafty friends. Your Etsy stores are stunning! One of my sisters creates gorgeous jewelry, etched glassware, etc. Another one makes quilts.

One year, when our kids were little, we were short of cash. I tried putting together a craft table with Christmas decorations. Small hand-made ornaments, many of the them cross-stitched. Wreaths. Christmas Stockings. Many hours of work amounted to earning enough to pay for my table. (Back in the day that was $20.)

I will admit that I have recently starting knitting and crocheting again after my daughters helped me learn how. But I don’t know as I’ll be making things to sell. 🙂

The moral of the story:  I don’t have to like everything, but I can learn to sit back and appreciate someone else doing it.