When Hell Freezes Over

Published on Tuesday, February 4, 2014 by Katherine

Day Four of the WWFC writing challenge brings us the subject, “When Hell Freezes Over.”

Have you ever paused to think, “What have I done in my life that I once said I would only do when hell freezes over?” Maybe it’s time to do just that.

After writing my own list of things I never thought I would do but did, I felt a rush of humor, pride and accomplishment. Sometimes it is hard to step out of the bubble, but when you do you will find a world you didn’t even know was there!

Here is my own list of things I’ve done that I never imagined I would ever do:

Eat a cricket.
Go fishing. Catch a fish. Kill the fish. See what is in the stomach of the fish. Eat the fish raw.
Cook chicken feet!
Lift weights in the guy section. Yup, I did that and looked great. Then someone hit my car from behind and I haven’t been able to since. I take comfort in the fact that YEA, I DID THAT.
Be the one who takes the boys to all the scouting events, to work with them on the Pinewood Derby cars and to take them on weekend scout camping trips. And be told by the troop leader that as one of the only mothers who did that, I rocked it more than most of the men. It was truly one of the proudest moments of my life.
Have two dogs. One dog was a stretch for me. But then I discovered two dogs are better than one. They keep each other company when we are away, enriching their lives as well as ours!
Sneak in to an abandoned building or two that MAY have had No Trespassing signs. All for the sake of art through photography, of course!
Calmly work through situations consisting of bleeding gashes, potential broken bones, frightening hospital stays, vomit, a 911 call when my son couldn’t breathe and everything else you can imagine that involves children and accidents. I didn’t know I had it in me. But I do.
Hold my dying father’s hand and tell him, “It’s OK to go.” Something I never thought I could do, but had to… and did.

If you honor me with a comment, I would love to hear something YOU have done in your life that earlier would have had you exclaim, “When HELL freezes over!”

Tags: dyed hair eat fish raw haunted house ok to go own two dogs

ReformingGeek

Whoa! That’s quite a list. I got a little nauseated at “Eat a cricket.” Burp. That’s better.

I never thought I would run a marathon or do a triathlon, but I did.

I had to tell my dad it was ok to go, too. Ugh. Tears.
frankleemeidere

Driving down a highway at 2:00 in the morning following a coyote for a mile.

You’ve got a good list — although it’s sad about the rear-ender. And my wife wishes she’d had the chance to with her father as you did with yours. We left the hospital knowing he was in bad shape, but with every expectation he would be coming home in a while. We got to the hospital the next morning in time to see them pounding on his chest trying to bring him around, but failing.
- Katherine Murray
  
  You want to know the whole story? The nurse told us, “Don’t be surprised if he dies alone. They usually find a time to die alone.” We laughed. Oh SURE…. he will NEVER be alone! But that morning I raced home to take a shower (I had a baby that was a few weeks old.. had to get him home too) and come right back. Mom said she would stay with him. Then my mom got a strange urge to go to the waiting room and call some teachers he used to work with to tell them what was going on. Five minutes later, she walked in and he had died, all by himself. That was something he chose… and completely healthy he would have told me that. He was very private. So I never got that moment of the final goodbye… but the night before I held his hand and had my talk with him, as the nurse suggested. “Dad, it is OK to go… we will be OK I promise… it is OK to go.” So I understand what your wife feels, and you too!
  
  Now to better topics… the coyote… what a GREAT story. You and your wife sound FASCINATING!
  - frankleemeidere
    
    Actually, we’re very boring people. We like to sit and read or work on our computer. Our idea of excitement is editing a piece and complaining to each other that nobody uses “who” and “whom” properly. Oh, admittedly there are times we cut loose, generally after a glass of wine, and argue over the Oxford comma (I’m a proponent of it; she isn’t), but other than that we’re pretty staid.
    
    And the story of your father sounds quite beautiful. It’s odd about your mother’s sudden compulsion to leave the room to make phone calls. I also imagine that may haunt her.
  - Linda R.
    
    Something similar happened with my mom. The doctor told us it would likely be that day. We stepped out to grab a bite of lunch and when we came back she was gone.
Ron

“Hold my dying father’s hand and tell him, “It’s OK to go.” Something I never thought I could do, but had to… and did.”

Loved that one, Katherine. And you know, I never thought I could/would do that either, but did with my father. And I’ll tell you (which I’m sure you’ll agree) it was the most beautiful and amazing thing because after I did that, he passed away. I think he needed to hear that in order to go.

I always said I would NEVER start a blog because I thought the idea of a blog was stupid and senseless.

Well…was I ever wrong.

Great post, girl!
X
Laughing Mom

Your last one made me cry – but what a gift for him!

me…join another writing challenge…
Nicky

let’s see… have another baby… host another writing challenge… there are probably more, but those are definitely the biggest ones.
Cheryl P.

Wow..your list is very impressive. I haven’t done any of those things. In fact, I was trying to think of pivotal moments that come up to the level of “when hell freezes over”. The only one that comes to mind…years ago, a doctor told me that I probably wouldn’t make it through the night and I didn’t tell him to f&^$ off. I thought that was pretty nice on my part.
meleahrebeccah

Oh, Katherine! I love your spin on this theme! And what an incredible list of accomplishments!

Now I have to think of things I’ve done that I never imagined I would ever do!
Linda R.

My list would include dealing with the passing of my parents and making funeral arrangements (we were very close). Taking my cat to the emergency vet in the middle of the night alone knowing it would likely be our last moments together. What I have learned is that we are always stronger than we think we are.
- Katherine Murray
  
  Linda that instantly brought me to tears…
nonamedufus

Sure, I was reading along blithely until I got to that last one. (sniff) I’m with Nicky. I’ll have another baby when hell freezes over. Wait, that would be my first baby.
Paula Larew Wooters

Dang… you put me to shame, Katherine! I guess when I say “when hell freezes over” that’s my final answer. Because I’m such a wuss! Wait a minute… I did eat tongue once, even though it totally creeped me out. Does that count?
- Katherine Murray
  
  OMG you ate tongue?!? Now THAT is something I would ABSOLUTELY hesitate to eat. OH WOW. What was it like??
  - Paula Larew Wooters
    
    Except for the weird taste buds. it wasn’t bad. Basically tasted like roast beef.
    - Paula Larew Wooters
      
      There’s just something horribly wrong about your taste buds touching dead taste buds!
      - Katherine Murray
        
        But the texture… was it bumpy like you would think a tongue would be like? Hmmm roast beef… that is interesting!
      - Paula Larew Wooters
        
        Totally bumpy… and totally creepy.
Margaret

Oh my gosh, you almost made me cry at the end there. Good on you!
Also…you ate a cricket?? Ack!
KZ

That’s an impressive list of life experiences. That last one about your father hit me right in the heart. My list would include being on the local news in a “Driving and Texting” segment. They had me drive through an obstacle course while I attempted to type a text message. My text message was illegible, and I hit a billion cones.
MsDarkstar

Get married. Have a baby. Those are the two biggies that ended up happening. Why doesn’t “Win the lottery” happen? I mean, it’s a “when Hell freezes over” thing, but so far? NO MONEY!
P.J.

I definitely think everybody has a list like this. Kind of makes you stronger, I think, when you look at those things.