no regrets... do you?

Do you live your life every day so that you have no regrets? Tell your friends and family how much they mean to you (hopefully it’s good). Why do we put off doing things until… we have the time or money, lose those last 10 pounds, wait until the children are older or when we retire?

I’m not a ‘live in the moment’ kinda gal I’m a planner. As a single person I must say I do what I want when I want. It has its perks but also its drawbacks. People always tell me that I was brave that I took a trip by myself to Italy in 2004 for 3 weeks with just a plane ticket, a very heavy backpack, and my first two night’s hotel reservations in Rome. Brave? Nah, not brave. I did a ton of research and knew what I was doing. But I digress; I’ll post on my Italy trips and my love for the country later.

Why is it that something tragic, shocking, or earth shattering has to happen before one takes stock of their life and hopefully learns from it and makes changes for the positive?

This past week the sudden death of a co-worker brought to the surface many feelings, thoughts, and ponderings. These are some questions that have crossed my mind these past few days…

-Have I told those that I care about how much they mean to me?

-Have I apologized to anyone that I’ve done wrong to?

-If I left this earth this instance would I have any regrets? (other then this post being half finished?)

-Are all my finances in order?

-Is my Will, Living Trust, etc. in order? Do I have a Will and Living Trust?

-Have I traveled to the places that I REALLY want to visit?

-Is there a dream that has been left unfulfilled?

-Have I made a difference in this world?

I’d have to answer ‘no’ to some of the above questions but putting it in writing makes me start to think and hopefully take action.

I do know that when there is a loss it makes people reflect of their own mortality and their loved ones. I hope that we remember to spend more time with our kids, they won’t stay young long and the dishes & laundry can wait. Stop and enjoy a sunrise/sunset and the amazing colors that are displayed each and every day. Listen to the birds’ sing, what a great way to start out the day. Visit someone you haven’t seen in a while. Have you met your neighbors? The gift of time is precious; it seems we have so little of it left at the end of our busy days. There will always be office work, house work, yard work, etc. but that is not what we’ll be remembered by when we leave this earth. We will be remembered for the time we spent with our friends and family.

How do you end a blog on such a serious topic? All I can say is go out and smell the roses – literally and figuratively. Here’s a photo I took in Cortona, Italia.

Ciao