Just curious to hear if anyone else has experienced what I call tickler's remorse. It is having a situation where you have an opportunity to tickle someone whom you have wanted to tickle for some time but ultimately you chicken out and then never find out what it is like to tickle them. Two instances of tickler's remorse for me are with my wife's first roommate after graduating from college and my sister-in-law.
Back before my now wife, Andi, and I were married after she had graduated college and I was in my second year of graduate school Andi decided to get an apartment near my University with one of her friends from college. We had already gotten engaged but decided we wanted to wait until after our wedding before actually living together. Her roommate, Lisa, was a nurse just like Andi and they both got jobs at the same Hospital. On many occasions when I was at their place watching TV her roommate would be there with us and she would be barefoot. She had very good looking feet and I always wondered if they were ticklish. One day I needed to give Andi a ride home from work and when we got to her place she wanted to go shower (spending 8hrs in a hospital around sick people will make you want to do that as soon as you get home). Anyway while she was in the shower Lisa was on the couch watching CNN so I sat on the opposite end of the couch and waited. Lisa was again barefoot and her pink soles were within arms length just waiting a quick tickle. At that time the perfect set up occurred. There was a news piece that came on CNN about research that was being conducted in California on tickling. I couldn't believe my eyes and just sat there quietly. The news clip still exists out there on the net where they were testing college students to see what causes people to laugh when tickled. Anyway, when the clip ends Lisa says "that was interesting research, can't believe they got funding to find out why we laugh when tickled". Being in graduate school for biochemistry I quickly replied "yeah can't believe they were able to get a research grant to study tickling while my advisor is having a hard time getting funding for our research into proteins that could prevent atherosclerosis". Then I nonchalantly said "would you have signed up to be part of that study". Lisa replied "Oh my God No! I'm very ticklish, especially my feet". Now that was the perfect set up for me to just reach over and give her soles a quick tickle to which I could have just laughed off and said something like "just doing some research" but of course I chickened out. For the rest of that year I regretted not taking that opportunity to give her a quick tickling. Many more times I would see her barefoot before Andi and I had our wedding and we got a place together but never again did I have a chance like that and ultimately Lisa and Andi went their separate ways and I never got the chance to hear what her ticklish laughter would have sounded like.
Another case of tickler's remorse has been with my sister-in-law Angela. Not long after Andi and I were married there was a family trip to the Outer Banks. One evening I heard my sister-in-law laughing hysterically from the family room of the house we were all renting. I wanted to get up and run out to see what was going on but didn't want my wife to wonder why I came running into the room at the sound of laughter. After a few minutes Andi came into our room and I said "what was going on out there" and she replied "Ang was getting her feet tickled, she is so ticklish on her feet". The next day I ended up on the couch in the family room with Angela barefoot again within arm's length and I said "heard you laughing your head off last night". She replied "they were tickling my feet, it drives me crazy because I can't stop laughing". Again I had the perfect set up to just reach over and say something like "well since I missed out on the fun last night" and then tickle the hell out of her feet but instead I again failed to make my move and now after 26yrs of marriage and being around my sister-in-law barefoot many times I have never again had such a perfect set up to give her a good tickling and I still wonder what it would be like to have her cracking up under my skillful tickling fingers.
I did also have a situation of tickler's remorse with my wife's cousin Kelli. But thankfully for me in that case a second situation presented itself and I was able to give Kelli a great tickling and surprisingly there was no negative consequences from it. Even now many years later at some family reunion gatherings Kelli will say to me "remember that time you gave my feet a good tickling, wow I haven't been tickled like that since". I'll post that story in a separate post.
I would be interested in hearing others stories of tickler's remorse.
Back before my now wife, Andi, and I were married after she had graduated college and I was in my second year of graduate school Andi decided to get an apartment near my University with one of her friends from college. We had already gotten engaged but decided we wanted to wait until after our wedding before actually living together. Her roommate, Lisa, was a nurse just like Andi and they both got jobs at the same Hospital. On many occasions when I was at their place watching TV her roommate would be there with us and she would be barefoot. She had very good looking feet and I always wondered if they were ticklish. One day I needed to give Andi a ride home from work and when we got to her place she wanted to go shower (spending 8hrs in a hospital around sick people will make you want to do that as soon as you get home). Anyway while she was in the shower Lisa was on the couch watching CNN so I sat on the opposite end of the couch and waited. Lisa was again barefoot and her pink soles were within arms length just waiting a quick tickle. At that time the perfect set up occurred. There was a news piece that came on CNN about research that was being conducted in California on tickling. I couldn't believe my eyes and just sat there quietly. The news clip still exists out there on the net where they were testing college students to see what causes people to laugh when tickled. Anyway, when the clip ends Lisa says "that was interesting research, can't believe they got funding to find out why we laugh when tickled". Being in graduate school for biochemistry I quickly replied "yeah can't believe they were able to get a research grant to study tickling while my advisor is having a hard time getting funding for our research into proteins that could prevent atherosclerosis". Then I nonchalantly said "would you have signed up to be part of that study". Lisa replied "Oh my God No! I'm very ticklish, especially my feet". Now that was the perfect set up for me to just reach over and give her soles a quick tickle to which I could have just laughed off and said something like "just doing some research" but of course I chickened out. For the rest of that year I regretted not taking that opportunity to give her a quick tickling. Many more times I would see her barefoot before Andi and I had our wedding and we got a place together but never again did I have a chance like that and ultimately Lisa and Andi went their separate ways and I never got the chance to hear what her ticklish laughter would have sounded like.
Another case of tickler's remorse has been with my sister-in-law Angela. Not long after Andi and I were married there was a family trip to the Outer Banks. One evening I heard my sister-in-law laughing hysterically from the family room of the house we were all renting. I wanted to get up and run out to see what was going on but didn't want my wife to wonder why I came running into the room at the sound of laughter. After a few minutes Andi came into our room and I said "what was going on out there" and she replied "Ang was getting her feet tickled, she is so ticklish on her feet". The next day I ended up on the couch in the family room with Angela barefoot again within arm's length and I said "heard you laughing your head off last night". She replied "they were tickling my feet, it drives me crazy because I can't stop laughing". Again I had the perfect set up to just reach over and say something like "well since I missed out on the fun last night" and then tickle the hell out of her feet but instead I again failed to make my move and now after 26yrs of marriage and being around my sister-in-law barefoot many times I have never again had such a perfect set up to give her a good tickling and I still wonder what it would be like to have her cracking up under my skillful tickling fingers.
I did also have a situation of tickler's remorse with my wife's cousin Kelli. But thankfully for me in that case a second situation presented itself and I was able to give Kelli a great tickling and surprisingly there was no negative consequences from it. Even now many years later at some family reunion gatherings Kelli will say to me "remember that time you gave my feet a good tickling, wow I haven't been tickled like that since". I'll post that story in a separate post.
I would be interested in hearing others stories of tickler's remorse.