What do you miss?

happyout

Ok, I'm not sure how popular this will be, but I have to ask. Is there anything you miss from being a dub? Since my family is still in, I miss getting together after assemblies and hanging out. And I also miss some of my old "friends", even though I realize if they were true friends they wouldn't have deserted me. I am not DF'd or DA'd, I just did the slow fade, so really they could talk to me if they wanted to. I miss knowing that when I traveled, there were built in "friends" who would show me around the town just because I was a dub. Anyone else miss anything?

Mulan

My husband says he misses the feeling that you have everything figured out. Also he feels he has no hope now. Remember that? ............the hope?

For me, I don't fear death or something called Armageddon anymore. The fear being gone is better than having a false hope.

No, I don't miss anything. I did at first though...........the friends, and the get togethers. Now we have those again...........different and better.

reubenfine

I miss having to miss things, like football on Sundays, cartoons on Saturdays, R-rated movies, stuff like that.

acsot

I miss knowing that when I traveled, there were built in "friends" who would show me around the town just because I was a dub.

Ditto to that, although I'm still "in", working at the fade. However, from websites I've visited over the past couple of years, i.e. eco-tourism, or specific activity type of travel groups, I guess one could still feel a connection to others in other countries. You'd still have a common cause, or hobby or interest or whatever, just like dubs have common beliefs, supposedly. There are enough regional and national differences (i.e., what's permitted or not in the way of dancing, entertainment, grooming, etc.) to have made me wonder at times about the supposed unity or uniformity of dubdom. I've visited Kingdom Halls in other countries where we weren't even greeted, it was like "big deal, a couple of more people landing in our hall." On the other hand, visited some super friendly congregations, as in Virginia.

happyout

Mulan, yes I understand what your husband means. While I stopped believing in my late teens, before that I did have a peaceful feeling that I knew the "truth". I still have hope, just very undefined. I believe in God, but don't know what the "afterlife" will hold. Reubenfine, funny, I know there are lots of things we don't miss, silly, we talk about that all the time. I really am curious to see if there are things we can acknowledge we enjoyed while being in the borg. Ascot, you are right, there are other groups, but when I was a dub I literally stayed in the homes of people who only knew my religion. At no charge. I don't know if any other group (aside from maybe some other religious ones) that offer that. My sister and her husband are always hosting dubs from around the world, and it's kinda cool to hear how others live. Of course, I guess I could just open my home to a group like Up With People for that experience, huh? Thanks for the responses, this is interesting to me.

Incense_and_Peppermints

absolutely nothing

Edited by - Incense_and_Peppermints on 3 December 2002 16:37:0

freedom96

I miss nothing about the WTS.

I like having true friends, I like believing that God is not going to destroy everyone, I like sleeping in if I wish, I like not going door to door, I like not having to attend 5 meetings a week, I like not having to study the same thing over and over.

happyout

Freedom96, I don't miss not having to study the same things repeatedly, too. When I left, my Mom tried to tell me I only had doubts because I had not studied enough. I couldn't convince her that I had studied over and over, and that it just did not make sense to me. She wanted me to go on blind faith, which, for a time I did, but could not continue. Having "blind faith" is one thing, pretending to believe something you don't is something different entirely, and I couldn't do it anymore. Oh well, I don't miss anything enough to go back, so maybe the point is moot.

Buster

I'm married (2nd time) and am not thinking about stepping out, but - The thing to remember in our hall were the girls!

No, I am not just being generous - they ... were ... gorgeous. A couple of them were the best-looking girls in their high schools. This is a class of girl that wouldn't so much as known my name if they weren't JWs.

Our parents were friends with each others' parents. My sisters used to have them for overnight stays. I used to stay over with their brothers. I went to several proms with girls that were prom princeses.

Oh yeah, and now that I'm a bit older, their mothers were damn superb too.

emancipated

I hate the stigma everyone places on you for leaving.

What do you miss?

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