Regrets? I Have One for Sure

Like the Frank Sinatra song, My Way…”Regrets, I have a few, but then again too few to mention.”

Except for one in my case—

Thanks to the ignorance of youth there are a number of things I could have made better decisions on, but they also helped me to become the person I am today. To be honest, some were downright stupid, but definitely learning experiences I chose not repeat. Others were major life lessons, but I won't bore you with all of them...just a couple.

Staying in a teenage marriage too long, but I don’t regret the marriage. From that I have two wonderful children who make me proud of the adults they have become. The main thing I learned from the leaving—I was stronger than I gave myself credit for being.

Basking in the sun slathered in baby oil in my early teens (sunblock wasn’t the thing back then) and coming away with major sunburn. I leaned those of us with chalk skin need to be careful about sun exposure, and later developed a passion for sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30.

Yes, I regretted the decision to bake at the time, but a real life learning experience.

 

But the thing I do regret, and probably always, are the times I missed saying three little words…I love you…to the important people in my life. When the young, ignorant me was too busy with foolish things to hang a few minutes longer and listen to a story from a relative or friend, all whose loss I would morn with great regret as time passed. To not be able to hear their laughter again, or feel their arms around me in a tight hug still leaves an ache in my heart. I can only hope they hear my whispered “I love you” when I visit their graves, or can feel the thoughts of love when I pick up a memento they gave me in time past.

So today I tell those important people I love them. When we part, I hug them a little tighter and

longer. I try to stop what I’m caught up in to listen to their need to share, or just talk.

What about you? Is there something you regret?