One of the things that you learn pretty quickly when you have taken as many tests as I have is that the question with the word never in it is usually not the right answer. The reason for this is pretty simple; there are very few things in this world that are without exceptions. The English language is rife with them, science is full of them and human emotions seem to be made from them. So when a test writer asks a question, especially in true/false questions, with never (or conversely always) in it you can generally guess false. There are very few things in this world that I would say that you cannot apply this to.
So I guess that it isn’t any real surprise that as I get older, my list of things that I would never do has gotten quite a lot shorter. Most of the items on that list are now things that are grossly illegal or really immoral. For instance, I think that I can safely say that I would never murder a person. Mind you I didn’t say kill as I have ongoing nightmares about hitting a person in a cross walk, but that isn’t on purpose. In the past few years I have done a number of things that I never would have thought that I would do, starting with the person I married. I never thought that I would ever marry, let alone date, someone with hair longer than mine. I never thought that I would be the type of person to crochet, let alone want to learn how to knit socks. I never thought that I would have something like a blog (I tend to be sort of anti-techish, somebody that was tired of trying to get me to get a computer finally made me one and sent it to me so that I would have the e-mail). I never thought that I would move to another country let alone drive in it. I never thought that I would go to a sheep and wool festival. This list could go on for a while, but you get the point. The hubby has been pretty amazed at my restaurant ordering in the past year or so. I have tried to let go of my tendency to order safely, and try something new in each new place that I go. I’ve learned that I’m not fond of some foods while I actually like a much greater variety than I ever thought possible.
So, the next time that you find yourself saying, “I’ll never do ……” just remember that our lives are constantly changing, and hopefully, so are we.
(P.S. Just to let you know, we are experiencing serious internet issues here at Casa Chapel. So if you are trying to get a hold of me via e-mail, I’m sorry. You might have better luck using snail mail at this point!)
Sarah Jane Humke 