I think I may have to break up with my boyfriend.

It’s not that he’s not a great guy, he is. And it’s not that I don’t love him, I do. He’s very sweet and he treats me well. He gets along great with my friends, and even my cats cuddle up to him. The problem is nothing as simple as any of these things.

The problem is that he keeps introducing me to very expensive sports.

First there was the snowboarding. It all started with a base layer and boots that he slipped under the Christmas tree. He had an extra pair of snowpants and gloves that I could use, and he managed to borrow an extra board from a friend, so with the winter stuff I already had, all I had to do was buy the snowboard bindings and pay for the cost of the lift tickets at the ski hill. While not cheap, it wasn’t so bad. Then the snowboard broke, the snowpants weren’t so waterproof anymore, I whacked my head (requiring the purchase of a helmet), and all of a sudden I’ve spent $650 bucks, and that’s not counting the lift passes two or three times a week.

Then there was the kayaking.

Now truthfully, I started taking kayaking lessons because another friend didn’t want to take them alone and it sounded somewhat fun. But I had no real intentions of making it anything other than a casual sport.

But, conveniently, the boyfriend also happens to kayak. And again, he played it out as if it wouldn’t cost me too much. He wants a new kayak this season, so when he got his new one, I could use his old one. Until then, I could borrow or rent the kayak and other equipment if I needed it.

The problem is, kayaks are all slightly different. Taken separately, these differences seem small and subtle, but when added all together, they make quite a huge difference, especially when you are hanging upside down underwater, trying to flip yourself back upright before you drown¹. So while I was perfectly content using the variety of beat up equipment for my weekly lessons under the watchful eyes of the lifeguards in the somewhat calm pool, when it comes down to the ability to breathe while rushing down a turbulant river, I’m kind of leaning towards knowing the equipment. And since he has already started planning kayaking trips for us for the summer, it sort of makes me want to get a kayak of my own that I can use and get use to before getting out into the rumbling water. Which introduces the second problem: kayaks are expensive little hunks of plastic. I could redo my kitchen for the price of a kayak (keep in mind, I do have a small kitchen, but they are still expensive little things). Add on top of that the cost of the paddle, skirt, life jacket, helmet (yet another sport where I can whack my head. Yay.) and all of a sudden my already thin bank balance is looking rather starved.

Of course, none of this will be a problem if I just broke up with the man. But I just can’t do that.

¹ Which I managed to do by myself for the first time last night. Quite exciting.

Previously (um … yeah …)