Stubborn Things

Don't forget to name the three things you've always wanted to do but haven't tried yet.

Today is the last day I will actively try getting people to name their as-yet-untried dreams (see link above). I had thought an open exchange of hopes and dreams might be fun. Actually, I still do. But apparently only my daughter agrees with me.

(A point of clarification, because the question has been raised: Yes, my daughter did indeed get "married" at the age of five-ish. All seven of the cousins (counting my kids) were at our house for Thanksgiving. Three are the same age--my daughter and 2 boys--three are older of varying ages, and the seventh is younger. So they held a wedding, with my daughter and one of the boys her age as the bride and groom, the youngest as the flower girl, the oldest as the preacher, and the others as the witnesses. It was a lovely ceremony, held in the back yard under the trees. My son was going to be part of the next wedding, but it was time to eat, and they never got back to holding weddings.)

Anyway, on the Name Three Things thing, I figured three was a much easier number than five, and that it wouldn't be hard to come up with something you've always wanted to do. I mean, the dancing-lid-on-the-plume-of-water-after-you-shoot-the-paint-can idea is always right there whenever people mention or write about guns. And then, just to make it as unstressful as possible, I said you didn't have to come up with three. One or two was fine.

But facts are stubborn things, and answering questions looks like it's more frightening than just commenting that I'm all wrong about something. Hmm.

I suppose if I asked what creeps people out the most, I might get a lot of responses (see the comments about ladybugs). But I don't really want to know that, because I might get bad dreams about crawling, flying, stinking stuff.

Or maybe it's too embarrassing to think, "I've been wanting to do that for thirty years, and I haven't done it yet?!?" Who wants to come face-to-face with that?

Or maybe dreams are too personal, too closely held, like a birthday wish that won't come true if it's told. Maybe other people aren't like me, the way I spill so much of myself onto a public forum that I risk ridicule.

Facts may be stubborn things, but obviously dreams are too. I guess I'll stick to politics and pulling weeds and silly stories about animals for a while. But I haven't given up just yet. I'm stubborn that way.