I Wish I Had ...

I thought it was kind of funny that today, when I couldn't think of anything to write about, I looked back and found this from 2024, same month. I've fiddled with it a little, but mostly, it still stands.

I have been trying to think of something to write about, and not doing very well. So I started thinking about regrets. I'm lucky that I don't have many big ones. I'm sorry I never lived outside of Miami County, that I never lived in a new house, that I wasn't a better mom, and that I haven't traveled more than I have. Other than that...

I'm sorry I never saw the Beatles or the Eagles perform live. 

That I ever worried about how my kids wore their hair.

That I didn't smoke pot at least once.

That I never learned to swim.

That I never wrote a political column. (I could do that or I could do this one--I had more faith in my ability to do this one.)

That I ever smoked cigarettes, although I enjoyed every one I ever smoked.

That I've wasted so much time on anger, on having my feelings hurt, on worrying because I'm not a good housekeeper. 

That I've never kept off the 35 pounds I've lost at least 10 times, but who's counting? (As of 2026, the 35 pounds are gone--we'll see how long it lasts.)

That I don't see my grandkids enough.

That I ever bought my 2006 Pontiac Torrent.

That I can neither sing nor dance in ways anyone else should have to hear or see.

That I've watched as much TV as I have. It's time I can never get back, and I'd have had a lot more fun doing other things.

That I didn't stick to my guns on things that mattered and, conversely, that I did stick to them a few times when they didn't.

That I haven't read more books and that I've finished ones I hated.

That I can't roller skate. Or ski. Or do my hair the way other people can.

That I haven't been more helpful in my life. Kinder. Funnier.

That I haven't traveled more. (This needed repeating.)

That traffic circles, gas and grocery prices, and politics have become what they have.

What about you? Regrets? Have a great week. Be nice to somebody.

P. S. PIECES OF BLUE, re-released a few weeks ago, is 99 cents for the ebook for the time being. PATCHES OF RED will be out in June ... https://a.co/d/08cEozC1