Do-Overs (From the Archives)

A friend of mine from high school shared an interesting article on Facebook titled, Those Top 37 Things You'll Regret When You're Old. As I skimmed the list, I found myself saying "Amen!" to several of the items, some because I completely believed in the wisdom being shared and to others because they hit close to home.

Regrets... As far as regrets go, I try not to expend much energy thinking about them because, more often than not, the things we consider to be regrets are things that we cannot change. Like Zac Brown sang...

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"Save your strength for things that you can change, forgive the ones you can't.  You gotta let it go."

But, there are some moments from my life that, if given the opportunity, I would definitely do differently the second time around. I'm not necessarily labeling these things as regrets, but things I definitely "do-overs."

1) I would've attended the Kentucky Derby when I was in my 20s, when I had a greater tolerance for crowds and craziness, and could endure the infield. If I ever make it to the Derby, I want a real seat, and by real I mean a chair in the grandstands that is under cover and out of the elements. I simply don't have the tolerance for the atmosphere of the infield anymore.

Photos via Pinterest

2) In lieu of taking that crazy, impractical Russian language satellite course in high school I would've opted for practical Spanish instead. But, hey, it's good to know that if I ever find myself in Moscow, that I can, with confidence, ask someone for the location of the subway! (Understanding their response, well, that's a completely different story.)

Гдеметро ?

3) I would've paid more attention to how my Granny B. made several of her "signature" dishes because she didn't follow or leave a written recipe.  She passed ten years ago and there are still times in which I'd give anything to taste her mac 'n cheese one more time.

4) My Grandpa B. and I didn't talk much because we had a difficult time finding common ground.  Being from different generations and having very strong and opposing views on the roles of women only complicated our relationship.  I do wish, however, that I would've asked him more about his involvement in WWII. He fought in the European Theater under Patton in the final days of the Battle of the Bulge.  That's honestly all that I know and I'm ashamed that I didn't make it a point to learn more while he was alive.

5) I would've abandoned the novel Cold Mountain within the first 50 pages instead of laboriously torturing myself for a month in order to finish it.  No one deserves to be subjected to that kind of torture!  This is what I felt like reading it...

6) I would've seen Aviatar in the theater so I could've enjoyed all the colors of the movie on the BIG screen.

7) I would've tried learning to ski or snowboard earlier in my life. By the time I attempted to learn, I was already in my mid 30s and it was tough. Who knows? Had I started at a younger age, I could've been the female version of Danny Davis...

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8) I wouldn't have wasted my time or my money seeing Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones or Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) in the theater. That's 4 hours and 21 minutes of my life I can never get back!

9) I grew up within 75 miles of some of the finest white water in West Virginia, but never rafted until I was in my mid 30s. Knowing how much I enjoy being on the river and how happy rafting makes me, I wish I would've started a long time ago.

If given the chance to tweak or do-over some things from your past, would you? If so, what are those things? 

As always, thanks for stopping by!

*Periodically, I unearth old blog entries from my first year of blogging that didn't receive many views in order to give them new life.  Any blog entry that is being given a second shot will feature "From the Archives" after the title. This entry was originally published on August 5, 2015.  It has been edited for grammatical errors and updated in terms of dates, accuracy, and personal preferences.

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