If I knew then what I know now...
 

I would not have planned my 6-month backpacking trip in Europe for retirement,

I would have dumped him sooner and got on with my education faster,

I would have played more softball, skied more mountains, and finished my SCUBA cert,

I would have taken that 1-year contract in China,

I would have stopped her from marrying that %$#*@&^&9,

I would NOT have invested in K-Mart!

If I knew then what I know now...............

I would have listened a little better.........

I would have voiced my opinion more often.........

I would have read the car manual............:rolleyes:

I would have spent more time with my Dad and sister.....

I would not have bought so many high heeled shoes.....

I would have learned to never, ever depend on anyone but myself........:(

I would've INSISTED on the tubal ligation.

I would've told my mom how I felt about her *%#* boyfriend.

I wouldn't've loaned 10k to my baby sister.

I would've spent my gap year in Europe.

:cool:

If I knew then what I know now,

I would have finished school earlier and had more years in my career.

I wouldn't have been so hard on my kids. (they grew up faster than most)

I would have cherished those walks with Jim and not taken them for granted.

I wouldn't have sweated the small things like that guy once said.

I would have went to Nashville as a young girl to try the country music scene.

I wouldn't have called Jim's brother in to see him when we thought Jim was going to die. (long story)

If I knew then what I know now,

in 1979, I would not of quit working with early PC gaming cartridges transferring info from those quarter game arcade machines at 7-11's, to cartridges for early commodore 64's and Atari system pc, :Bang-Head: I was so smart i quit saying this is never going to go anywhere, again i reiterate :Bang-Head:

I would not of quit being a goalie for hockey just to work so i could have a car in high school I was real good

lot of times i would say i wouldn't of married that sob i first married b4 Debbie, but then I would not of had the pleasure of my kids, or deb and her kids,

as for gluttony well im not sure cause i had a lot of fun:rolleyes:

I wouldn't have neglected my mom after I got married...

I would have watched her make her special recipes...

I would have written down those recipes...

I would have kept myself at a healthier weight...

I would have spent more quality time with my kids...

I would have spent more quality time with my older children...

I would have been a bit more accepting of my weaknesses and imperfections.

I wouldn't have spent money on stupid things, thinking the future would never come, and I'd always have plenty.

I would have asked my parents all the questions that it's too late to ask them now.

I would have stayed at 125 pounds, no matter what it took, even if I had to sew my lips shut.

I wouldn't have built a raised ranch, even if I'd had to settle for less space.

I would have started listening to God (and obeying) before I did things that would affect my life, and the lives of others.

I would have bought a Mac.

But there's good stuff too!- -

- I would have married who I did.
- I would have has my kids.
- I would buy the same houses at the times also that I did.
- I would have had the adventures I had, mistakes or not
- I"d choose the same dog at the pound

But:
_ I would have cherished my brother (gone now) more) my sister is coming, will I realize I need to cherish our moments?)

IF I KNEW THEN, WHAT I KNOW NOW!!!

1. I would have never went back to eating BAD after I lose 87 lbs at the age of 24.

2. I would have continued going to Ballys Jack La Lanne

3. I would have married into a Greek Family with 5 sons.
One son would have been a mechanic
Second son would have been a plumber
Third son would have been an electrician
Fourth son would have been a Real Estate Agent
Fifth son would have been a contractor

So that would cover car repairs, leaky stuff in the house, bad electrical stuff, buying a home at a good price, and getting whatever I needed BUILT in the home, at a REALLY GOOD PRICE.

Not to mention I would have had FAMILY. In-laws, nieces and nephews. PEOPLE!!!
I could have learned Greek in five minutes flat (I once dated a greek guy who didn't speak one word of English ....we didn't need language to communicate, BELIEVE ME ON THAT ONE!!!

And if I could really change one thing, (well two things actually), I would have started saying NO to my son when he was 2 years old, instead of giving him whatever he wanted.

And the first day Alan got diagnosed with Neuropathy, if I could go back in time, I would have bought him Methyl B-12, taken him to Dr. Theirl (the chiropractic neurologist) and things just might have turned out differently.

But since we can't go back in time, we have to deal with with we have.

So we laugh, we love, we hug and we tell funny stories.

Either that or bash our brains in!!

And I refuse to do that!!

lol

What a great thread!

I would have gotten a college education

I would have put my career aside to be with my only child more

I would have found better ways to spend my free time as a teenager

I would have bit my tounge more often and said less

I would have planned a better retirement


On a postive note

Moving to Alaska was one of my best decisions

If I knew then what I know now . . .

I would have said no more instead of trying to please everyone.

I would have listened more closely both to my intuition and others and followed some of the advice I was given.

I would have never have listened to that dr that told me when I was 16 to never run again as it would cause too much damage in my hip.:rolleyes: In hindsight, that was probably my 1st MS related symptom.

On a positive note:

All the things that I did do whether good or bad, has made me who I am today. I would not change that for anything. Those experiences were absolutely necessary for me to learn and grow.

I would have taken my dad flying a whole lot more....

I would have told my first grade teacher I had to go to the bathroom instead of trying to hold it.

Hmmm...I can think of a lot of things that caused misery in my life but then...if I had taken different courses, I wouldn't have my precious daughter and her family and all the friends I've made that I love.

What I would have done differently is not go into debt.

:thud:

Aw, Doody, I honestly have no real regrets. I just put this up when I was thinking about how I had put off a few things thinking I'd always be physically capable of everything. Just a reflection, I've had a pretty fantastic life and I'm still working on it. ;) :hug:

Oh ((Sandy)) I have many regrets!!! Never should have married that awful man who abused me for 5 years until I left and that really got a snowball goin! Never got married again. Then I kept getting involved with men that were 'unavailable'? My biggest downfall in my life was wasting my time on one loser after another.

I know all of that took its toll on my health for sure!

:thud:

But still and all...one of those losers gave me my precious daughter. (buttwad that he is) :D

I should clarify, lest y'all think I'm some heartless 'n' evil spawn of Satan.

I LOVE my 3 kids, but all I have to do is SMILE and I turn up pregnant.

and although I did a most excellent job raising them, it was really rough, especially after the MS came on gang-busters, being a single mom and all.

one kid, maybe two, but three was too much... and I COULDN'T get any docs to do the surgery, they kept saying "You're young, you'll change your mind!"

what? just because I'm FEMALE, I don't know my own mind, and am incapable of making responsible and intelligent ADULT life-decisions?

what I SHOULD have done was keep looking for a doctor who understood...

maybe I had some premonition that I'd end up alone and ill.

:o

Honestly?

I wouldn't have changed a thing that I COULD have changed except that I would have stayed in school and finished.

I am making up for that in spurts now, but it costs a LOT more and takes a larger toll on my sleep time than it did back when I was young and could stay out 'til 5 a.m and still make class! :p

What a crock! You would not have eaten that chicken!

Boy, I've spent the last couple of days thinking on this one.. If I knew then what I know now:
1) I wouldn't have wasted my time on marriage. Oh, I'd still have my kids, who I wouldn't give up for anything, just not all the mind-f*** games that came with dad.
2) I would have traveled more.
But that's about it..I've been blessed with a lot in my life, and I'm grateful for all of it ('cept maybe MS :o).

One more thing I forgot to put in when I made my post.

IF I KNEW THEN WHAT KNOW NOW!!

And this is an important one.

When I walked into my home and saw my mother at the kitchen table with a glass of scotch (I was 13 years old, and I thought EVERYBODY's mom was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a glass of scotch, I THOUGHT THIS WAS PERFECTLY NORMAL!!!, Every day.

Well, because of what I know NOW about alcohol abuse, I would have told my father "Dad, you have to realize that mom has a drinking problem, we must try and get her help".

I know that people have to help themselves, but give me a break, when one does absolutely nothing, and just sits there and watches while a person destroys themselves with booze and pills, and they have such personality and mood changes because of drinking....well, If I had known THEN what I know now.... perhaps if I had told someone, then that someone might have driven her to an AA meeting.

But back then (almost 48 years ago), no one knew about AA and people had social drinks in the evening with their dinners.

but honestly, coming home at 3 p.m. and seeing my mother just sitting there with that glass of scotch, well, no one did anything, nor said anything.

Life would have been a whole lot better if that issue had been addressed and dealt with.

But we can't go back, can we??

If I knew what I know now

I wouldn't have gotten married right out of high school.

I would have gone to college sooner than I did ( I started at 45)

I would have gotten out of my marriage sooner than I did (but not before I had my 3 wonderful sons)

I would have taken more time to play and less time to work

I would have traveled and explored more places.

Thats my list of things I would change, but my list of things that I would not change one bit, goes on forever! Life has been good!!

Something right along the same lines that a friend of mine and I were talking about the other day. She is going through the diagnosing process for some sort of condition and is morning her old self. So . . .

I do wish I had the physical agility and body I had when I was younger but with the wisdom I have today.

Ah, the wisdom we have today!!

If I had HAD that particular wisdom way back when I was 24, I would have not fallen in love with a certain Italian Thug who thought it was okay to use me as his personal punching bag. Oh I fell MADLY in love. I had just lost 87 lbs, and a whole new me, BUT I NEVER CHANGED MY THOUGHT PROCESS, I had no self esteem, so even though I looked like Elizabeth Taylor, my thought process was

"this guy LOVES me???

Yeah, and he put my head down the toilet bowl.

The stuff we put up with when we are young and stupid. Thank god I wised up, broke up and moved away from my neighborhood. Do you know he came looking for me a whole year later, dressed in a tux, and wanted to marry me. My friend who lived across the street, well, he knocked on her door begging her to tell him where I moved to. I had moved 6 blocks away.

Oh my god, thank god he never found me.

This type of thread is good for making us realize how much we learn by growing and educating ourselves.

Thanks.

If I knew then what I know now......

I wouldn't of done so much bad stuff in high school and actually graduated with my class instead of three month later.

I wouldn't of listen to the devil in me and listen more to the angel that was telling me "no don't do it".

I would of hiked / climed more mountains when I could

Saved the money I spent on drugs and alcohol when I was younger (wow I could be traveling now :eek:)

Spent more time with my *girl* friends in high school instead of listening to the loser boyfriend I had - but that loser boyfriend gave me a beautiful daughter that I wouldn't change for anything in this world!!!!!!!!!!

Gone to college out of high school instead of now at 40

Spent more time with Gram and listened to more of what she had to say. I miss her stories now.

but I agree with Tkrik - all the experiences I have done has made me who I am today - good, bad or indifferent. And with AMN - I just wish I had done more when I was younger.

My MIL has a plaque on the wall, suppose to be german-like speech:


We get too old soon
And too smart late.

Kids don't listen, every next generation makes the same mistakes. Like Billy Joel sang "We didn't start the fire, the worlds been burning since it started turning."

If I knew then what I know now......

1. I would have gone to graduate school soon after college. I loved college, so continuing basically made sense. I think many folks wish for more education. And BTW, I am at an "untraditional" age with grown kids, and I have finally made it back not too long ago.
2. I would have spent more time with my mother before she died (she died young).
3. Even though I have a really nice husband and we get along well, I would not have been so willing to let him "call the shots" so often and would have asked to see a family counselor if things could not be resolved.
4. I would be more consistent with managing my finances, saving and not allowing myself to get into debt. I'm working on this stuff now.
5. I would have taken better care/respect of my physical, spiritual and emotional health consistently.
( I am also working on this currently).


I am grateful for my decision early on to marry a very special man in my life whom I love dearly. We have been married for over 25 years. I'm also grateful that a few years ago, I took the time to work on some things that I had been neglecting (see 1, 4 and 5) and it has really made a positive change in my life.

If I knew then what I know now...

1. I would have taken that legal receptionist/secretary job offer and not minded the commute

2. I would have gone to Bates instead of Bentley where the v-ball coach wanted me to play for her and not given a rat's behind that my hs xbf was at that school nor that I really wanted to be an accountant..shucks, I ended up changing majors anyways...(I was good at that sport)

3. I would have dumped my now-dh(then bf) that first May as a couple....

4. I would have followed up with the neuro that second bout of ON

5. I wouldn't have been so dependent on a relationship to make me feel complete...I now know that comes from within...

One more: I would have saturated myself in Anti-mwa spray!:p

Well, I guess if I had known then what I know now I wouldn't have smoked and probably would've cut back on the beer...

And I would NOT have tried riding that snowmobile while standing on the seat and drinking a beer at the same time in 1987.

Tom

Yeah, I have one more too.

I wouldn't have jumped roofs as a teenager and flipped over that power line or rode in the back of a cop car with a cop asking if I ever walked on water.

...I wouldn't have tawked about the sun block or reporting seeing AMN and yeah butt and Frank at the nude beach...;)

but seriously before I get tempted to hijack...

I would've taken more classes on philosophy and world culture and world history...

I would've found out what a bidet was before I went to Europe and not thinking that at first it was a funny looking water fountain next to the toilet than thinking that it was a out of this world toilet for use on number 2 and I would've buy a big bag and cut holes in it and put over my head when the attendant came up...

I would've learn more about knowledge of the older generation...

I would've tried harder with my father even though I had thought I tried my hardest...

I would've been more positive instead of living in the negativity...

however, I am with most of the folks...no regrets...it's shaped me to be who I am today...OK, stop rolling your eyes, I know it ain't much...but it was a long journey to like myself...

since I lived the first half in such negativity, I plan on balancing it out and living the other half as positive as I can and try to give back as much as I can...been given so much...was too blind to see them at the time...(Tai-Chi :) )

and because of all those trials....I got to marry someone very special that I wouldn't have known if it weren't for the fork in the roads...:)

thats how I see it Moi perhaps i was to travel the rougher road first, so I would appreciate the road I am now traveling