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We'll Try Anything Once ... Well, Almost Anything

My ridiculous adventures as a member of the Dilettante Club

Like many others, I spent Thanksgiving weekend eating a lot of great food, spending time with friends and family, and even getting in some exercise thanks to the incredibly gorgeous, unseasonable weather we enjoyed in this area. And again, like many others, the exercise consisted of playing in a , going for a couple of long-ish runs, and taking a power stilts class.

(Cue sound effect of scratching needle on record) Power stilts?

I found myself asking the same exact thing. Since getting involved with a band of other short-attention-spanners almost seven years ago, I’ve been doing all kinds of activities I never envisioned and would most certainly not have the courage to try alone. Things like improv, archery, didgeridoo, bartending, Japanese sword fighting, cake decorating, curling, fly fishing, a high ropes challenge course, flamenco dancing and nudist camp. 

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Just seeing if you would make it to the end of the list.                 

You see, in January 2006, three girlfriends and I founded the Dilettante Club, a group organized to promote learning something new every month. The club was based on the commonality that none of us had hobbies because none of us could maintain interest in any one thing long enough for it to become a hobby. (Fortunately, the converse is true for our marriages. So far, so good on that front. Knock wood.)

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We set parameters based on geography, length and cost of activity, and gave each member the responsibility of suggesting and coordinating things to try. And then we took the solemn vow of always recapping the activity over food and drinks.

It’s just like book club, but without all that pesky literature.

For the most part, being a Dilettante has been totally positive. (Other than the Great Segway Debacle of ’06 that resulted in a broken Segway handlebar, a bruised coccyx and the “friendly” advice of the other Dilettantes that I always wear a helmet, no matter what the activity …) Our little group was chronicled in the Washington Post magazine, the Washingtonian, and just recently, Lifetime approached us about developing a television series based on our idea.

Again, a little test to see if you are paying attention. And perhaps a little wishful thinking.

All of us look forward to this every month and so far, it has prompted two other groups of women to form their own Dilettante-esque groups — one near Denver, and one right here in Oakton.

I cannot wait to see what we come up with in 2012, as we find the activities seem to get more random now that we are 72 humiliating experiences into this endeavor and we try to choose things none of us has done before.

I’m also excited that although it took almost seven years, I can now finally spell the word “Dilettante.”

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