Reflections on Life

My co-worker and her twin just turned twenty-six.  They are young and care-free and I’m a little bit jealous.  They were born just after I graduated high school which means that I’ve been out of high school for twenty-six years!!  How the heck did that happen?  I have lived through so much since then – marriage, two kids, divorce, a few good and not so good jobs – yet I feel like it was just yesterday that I was graduating and looking at a long life ahead of me.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t want to go back to that time.  The experiences that I have lived through since that time have made me who I am today and (for the most part) I rather like who I am today.    I am far more confident, knowledgeable and (hopefully) wise. 

Looking back, I do have regrets, like most people. 

I wish that I had continued my education and that I hadn’t stuck with the “safe” business classes.  I could have had a career that excited me instead of sitting at a desk.  I could have been digging up fossils in Peru right now!  On the plus side, I do have a regular paycheque hitting my bank account every week like clock-work and that is something to be grateful for.  So many people don’t have that.

Of course, if I had gone for a different career path, I may never have met my ex-husband and I would not have my two wonderful kids.  Despite my less than perfect parenting, they have grown into two strong, healthy, intelligent, well-balanced people.  That being said, although they are no more perfect than I am,  I not only love them but I LIKE them as people as well.  That counts for a lot.

With the various twists and turns that my life has taken, people have come and gone.  Some of them were around only for a short while and rightfully so.  When someone stops enriching your life, you know that their purpose in your life is over.  There are those, however, that I do regret losing touch with and who I think could/should have been in my life longer.  That is one thing that I am trying to teach my kids.  If somebody makes your life better, be sure to nurture that relationship.  Don’t let go of a good friendship before its “expiry date” out of laziness or because you take it for granted that the person isn’t going anywhere.

All in all, I really don’t mind being where I am.  There may be a few regrets and “what if’s” but I have also made some pretty good choices too.

It’s amazing how somebody else’s birthday can make you think about your own life.  It makes me wish that I had appreciated my twenties a little bit more.  As they say, hindsight is twenty-twenty.

 

That's the bday girl in the middle (I love my coworkers!)

 

 

Kat