I think it is important at this point to mention again about how my friend INSISTED when she invited me on this trip that she was going to pay for everything, since I told her I couldn’t afford to go on such a trip. She also raved several times about how we were going to eat and party and drink like crazy, all on her dime. She INSISTED over my objections. I did tell her that I would try to save a little spending money to help out, and my husband did manage to put aside some money for me to take. I figured I could use it to pay for one of the hot springs, some camping fees on the way out and back, get a streetcar pass, buy a few postcards, and have a little pocket money for food and beer if I was out by myself. I also thought that I would go ahead and use my credit card to fill her gas tank a couple of times on the trip. I never managed to do that. I did use some of my money to buy a few groceries before we left, so that we would have snack food for the road and food for camping stops.
I really wasn’t that happy with the arrangement, because I don’t like “mooching” off of other people, but I COULD NOT afford the trip otherwise, and my friend absolutely wanted me to go. I knew she didn’t have another friend who was free to go on the trip with her, and I didn’t think she would do the trip alone. So if I didn’t go along, with her footing most of the bill, then she probably would have to cancel. I really agonized over the decision, partly based on my doubts about our compatibility after the San Diego trip, and partly due to the whole “her paying” thing, which made me uncomfortable. Again, in retrospect, I should have gone with my gut and said NO. Since then, I have apologized to my gut for ignoring it and promised not to ignore it in the future.
If we all had foresight instead of hindsight life would probably be smoother, but on the other hand we would probably miss out on a lot of experiences.
Have you been able to start filing this experience in the “Oh well – I won’t make this mistake again file?”
It definitely falls into the “big life lesson” category. I used to be too much of a people pleaser in my younger days. Have been sharpening my curmudgeon skills the last few years, and learning to say NO. I said yes this time, paid the price, lost a less than satisfactory friendship, almost lost my life, had some fun times, saw some new sights, and learned more about myself in a very short period of time.
As they say, “Better to regret something you have done than something you didn’t do.”
Okay now I’m very concerned, almost lost your life? What is this referring to?
I’m almost to that part of the story. I’ll get there soon. No worries. I’m alive and well and survived the incident. But it had a huge effect on me. Let’s just say I’m not sweating the small stuff anymore.