ten things i will/would never do again

There are sometimes changes in life's decisions from the past one may want to change or adjust. The old saying of "hindsight is 20/20" is true. It's easy to see all the pathways a little clearer once past them. Not all the chosen pathways of the past are mistakes or regrets, some were just fast and furious rides without a seat belt. Written below are ten "rides" in my past.

1. I will never join the military again. I truly enjoyed my work and responsibility. I enjoyed not having to think about what to wear each day. I have friendships that have continued twenty years later. However, the political ebb and flow of the country is inextricably connected with one's job in the military. For better or worse, whether one's political views swing left or right, the mood and focus of the military is very different now than it was for me at the time.
2. I will never jump into a new job without doing extensive research on the "foundations" that underlie the ethos of the "community" I am thinking of entering.
3. I would never stop at having just one child. Life happens and circumstances played out in the past for a reason that have lead me to where I am now. However, I miss the depth of a larger family unit. I love to watch the "firsts," to teach, to share, to love.
4. I will never perm my hair again. Enough said.
5. I will never again be able to fit into a size 3. Body changes over time. Gravity pulls and readjusts. Hormones change. *sigh*
6. I will never again attempt to climb the Great Wall of China in the summer months of heat and humidity.
7. I will never again (knowingly) swim in a swimming hole infested with leeches. This was a summer "ritual" for us growing up, spending hours in a fresh water spring and peeling leeches off each other afterwards. Now I shiver at the thought.
8. I will never again have a vehicle without air conditioning and a radio (in that order). I can hum to myself but there's only so many clothes one can legally peel off trying to get cool in the breeze of opened windows while driving down the freeway.
9. I will never again hunt with a gun. Now, that is not to say I don't or won't eat meat. I am an omnivore. But I can't hunt down an animal. I wasn't fond of it when I was a youth, and even less fond now. I will not be pulled into a debate on how my meat that I eat is raised or killed. I am an omnivore.
10. I will never again go through an internship which involves two years of my life working full time, going to school full time, and attending several meetings a week.