Is there anything you loved doing as a kid that you would love to do again at this stage in life?

Or, is there something you wish you had done that you would like to take a stab out now?

I just watched a link this women sent me about her surfing camps of which many boomer women attend. It got me thinking about how much I always wanted to try surfing but never did. I loved riding the waves on rafts, but never advanced to a surfboard. Anyway, it's definitely something I can't do at this stage of the game because of my knee surgeries. What a bummer.

I'd still like to go horseback riding. The only time I've done that is with my daughter when we were in Puerto Rico at the beach. It was gorgeous riding through the woods looking out over the water! I wasn't crazy about getting close to the cliff. That totally freaked me out!

Thoughts women?

What I loved to do as a child:
climb trees
do stunts on a swingset
catch fish with my hands

What I wish I'd learn to while I was younger:
me too, on riding horses - without fear
roller and ice skate
water ski
jitterbug

I did and am --cycling. I stopped at 19..and returned to it 31. Now my legs are aching..from lack of exercise. It's raining...and we're doin' something else today.

2nd thing...was art. I had to drop it when university overtook. Then went back into it with evening interest courses for about 10 years. Dropped it again for about 10 years when cycling overtook my evenings (I joyfully allowed it). Then sorta of gettin' back.

Some activities are hard to return to for some people unless one has structured courses with assigments and lots of time. I usually find my evenings are too short to allow my Muse to get into the groove....after a whole workday. Very different mindset from cycling.

Dotsie have you considered kayaking? YOu would do well as a leader of a dragonboat team. Hey...Boomerwomen dragonboat team...Of course it's very popular where we live.

One of sisters won a windsurf board and she didn't know how to swim. So she went winsurfing on lake under watchful eye of hubby. I'm not kiddin. She did this for about 5 years. I thought she was nuts.... She was in her mid-30's.

orchid, how do you get your Muse to get into its groove?
I'd like to tap back into my artsy-fartsy side, but can't seem to. My daughters both gave me art supplies this past Christmas and I haven't even opened them. It might mostly be my TBR pile, and others' interruptions - that's where I lay the blame, but really I think my Muse either passed out or died.

My grandmother had a rocking chair on her patio. This is straight from TEARS: "As I rocked, my mind wandered to the wonders of Mother Nature. Chipmunks scurried across the rocks, and ducks skimmed across the lake. Wind rustled through the trees and stirred the scent of Pocono pine. Oh, this was the life. In that moment, I was content to rock in absentminded bliss." That's what I loved doing at 5, and what I love doing at 50. I love to sit on a glider and experience nature. Nature has literally saved me, giving me a place to return to in my mind when life gets scarey. As for snakes, Anne, no wonder your mother did not approve! I once nursed a bunny rabbit back to health. OMG can you imagine this? The bunny had been hurt, and to protect itself it would not move. So I scooped it up, brought it inside, and it slept on my pillow alongside my head. Surprisingly, my mother did not mind. I also enjoyed watching tadpoles in the creek.

Gimster, you need a creative jump start. I always recommend The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. Dotsie has a similar book that she recommends. I used to lay the blame on creative blocks on cleaning. Another favorite past time of mine before age 5 was to color. I can still see my mother sitting beside me and teaching me how to color in a coloring book. She colored within the lines. But then she had to stop to clean the kitchen. I recall how disappointed I was that coloring was interrupted by cleaning the kitchen. Thus, the long held belief that I could not play until the chores were done. Of course, chores are never done. As an adult, I told myself I could draw, paint, read, relax when my cleaning was done. Cleaning is never done, unless you have a housekeeper. The Artist's Way taught me the opposite: PLAY first. As you play, your muse will come out to play too. You have to invite the muse and give it attention rather than letting the muse know that interruptions are more important. And the more you invite your muse, the more often it will visit you. It's an evolution. Phew! Ask me a question and I give an essay answer.

I was going to list a bunch of games that all the neighborhood used to play together like tag, freeze tag, KICK ball, Hide and seek, skateboarding after we finally got blacktop on our street but then I realized that it didn't really matter what we were playing, what mattered is that the whole neighborhood used to play the game together, no matter how old you were, you got a chance. I miss that kind of commraderie. And I wish I had stayed in contact with some of them! I still have friends from when I was a teen but none are around anymore from when I was really young.

What I remember most is putting a book on a skate and rolling down the hill next to my house. Had a few spills but never broke anything. Since we moved so much I was a solitary child who was always the 'new kid.' I took solace in reading - still love to read. I read everything I could get my hands on. My other joy was dancing. Didn't matter what kind. I took lessons in every kind of dance - ballet, tap, modern, ballroom. I miss that as I seem to partner up with people who don't like to dance. One of these days I intend to get back into ballroom.

I wish I had learned to ride a bike as a kid. Learning to ride a bike in late 40s isn't fun - but I did it. I don't ride very often because I don't feel comfortable and steady, especially if where we ride isn't completely flat.

I was scientific and artistic as a child. I loved my microscope and telescope as much as my brushes and my clay.

Physics turned me off to the scientific endeavors and parents discouraged the artistic side.

Every once in a while, I paint in a manic state, and then drop it for a while.

Every once in a while I explore my scientific self, but most of my interests are outlawed! LOL. Really , just a joke.

I think the thing I miss is would love to do if I could and loved to do is run and run all day we did and jump rope double dutch ( I was not very good at ) play hopscotch again and ride a bike . I did play with my daughter though and skip and skip all day .

Love to do some of these things again.