It is an interesting exercise to consider changing your life - at every turn when a different path taken could change everything. What would change? Family size? Would your kids be the kids you have now? Would your friends still be your friends? Would your relationship with your significant other survive? Is the life you have your destiny?
The first thing I would say to me is "Buckle your seatbelt when they appear - it is going to be an E-ticket ride". For those of you not old enough to get that reference, Disneyland tickets used to be sold in books with gradings from A to E, with E being the fewest in the book but also the best rides - thinkMatterhorn.
Moving on, to my high-school self (that is the middle picture at the top of the page)I would simply say throw as hard as you can but throw to spots and use that damn knuckleball.
Work harder when you are at Chabot - go to Berkeley when you get accepted this time. Pay attention, engage and think. This is an important time. law school is more viable than you think so give it more thought.
The move to Connecticut in the bicentennial year is your chance to do a major reset on yourself. Follow through on that broadcast school dream. You can do that work anywhere you live and you will be happy - even Texas,
It would be interesting to skip the Texas move but the cost would be to great. All of my grandkids are here because we went to Texas - nothing is worth giving them up.
As I said - is the life we have our destiny? What of the things you have will you give up to make a change? While my life may not be one filled with money and excitement, it is uniquely my life - good, bad and indifferent. I would not go back and start over - it is what it is so I actually have very little I'd say to my younger self beyond work hard, play hard, smile often, laugh regularly and try to do no harm, Nobody gets out of here alive.
That's my take on this weeks topic. See ya next week - same bat time, same bat channel.
I am a strong believer in destiny that we call karma here. We have discussed this earlier. Following your comments on my post on the same topic, I am suggesting a related topic for next week and you will have further opportunity to elaborate on your take.
ReplyDeleteAs you will see from my blog's subtext, we are all wiser by hindsight. While events unfold, by and large, we are spectators who are asked to participate to the best of our ability. Beyond that there is no point on regreting anything post event though hopefully, we would have learnt valuable lessons from the experiences. Sometimes, we may have to make the same mistake more than once to learn but, learn we all do eventually.
A great post Shackman. I have learnt more about you.
I just have a problem believing my life is laid out like a script to a movie. A B movie at that.
DeleteLOL! same bat time, same bat channel.
ReplyDeleteyou do not disappoint.
the older I get the less I regret. but I wonder if that is only because of a matter of logistics.
maybe it's because the pains or limitations one feels now color the what ifs.
I feel I would marry the same man. I still love him. I would always therefore be 10 years younger. but knowing now what I know of life I would have spoken up for my own dreams maybe. I just don't know. it's interesting.
I talked of this general subject with the marine about his own life once.
he said "I take no credit. I have just always seemed to be in the right place at the right time. and things worked out."
(and then we argued. LOL). we may delve deeper into it when he returns soon from Florida. but then he is not ever one to "what if" so it may be squelched! :)
still... I think it's a fascinating topic.
looking forward to the next post.
I don't really regret much - I do wish I had entered Broadcast school but that's about it. Any big changes would disrupt too many lives. My entire life really revolved around an ice cream store called Loards that my friend Rick worked at. That led tohim knowning John Daly - the delivery truck driver - who made a delivery to the Alameda store where he met Sharon and invited her to the New Years Eve party - and she brought Lynn with her. That chain could have been broken many ways but it wasn't. I met Rick in the 5th grade. the tapestry began then.
ReplyDeletethe tapestry. a beautiful analogy Shack!
ReplyDeleteand then as they say now... some things are just meant to be.
I wrote a post about my first meeting with Bob. doubt if you were a reader then.
my future husband carried a little 10 year old girl (who'd just had the wind knocked out of her by her bicycle handle bars!) to his front porch. I had come to while he carried me but was so embarrassed I wouldn't let him or his parents call my parents. I got on my bike and rode around to the next block where my own house was! I would go on to live in many states after that incident. ages 10 and 20 were a world apart too.
and he would go on with his life. (he'd been home on leave from the air force.) and he would marry and have his own child and the divorce.
until I met him for what I 'thought' was the first time!
years later in talking about the crazy things kids do... his dad mentioned it at the Thanksgiving table. "remember that time the little girl riding her bike drove smack into the back of my parked truck!" and I realized it was ME!!! it was I! LOLOL.
as Rummy might say... synchronicity! and yes. a tapestry indeed. xo
What a great story - sounds like a Hallmark Movie - LOL- how did the announcement go over? Who woulda thunk we'd be a couple of weavers.
ReplyDeleteSo much unknown had we done anything differently, and might not have turned out for the better as we tend to assume. At least whenever I’ve considered what I call the “If Onlies...” I realized the scenario I envisioned was always very positive, but there could easily have been many pitfalls in that unknown. Some of my “if only” as a child involved adults doing some things differently, too. Guess the perfect life is the one we live.
ReplyDeleteToo bad we couldn’t move into another dimension when we die and get a do-over so we could see what might have happened had we made different choices.
That sounds like a good scifi book that needs to be written....
ReplyDelete