Regrets

At this point I would like to relate two incidents which, although occurring at two separate times many years apart, taught me the same valuable lesson. I never learned anything about my Father’s life prior to his arriving into the United States in 1914. I know that he came from the Ukraine in Russia and that is about all I know. I do not even know the city or town or village where he was born and lived. I know very little about his family. Did he have aunts and uncles and cousins? What did they do? What kind of people were they? I did not press him for that information and I probably did not ask very much. Today I deeply REGRET this.

Marc decided to move to Reno from Washington D.C. where he had been employed as the locksmith at George Washington University. Momma and I were helping him pack his belongings in a U-Haul trailer when I asked, “Would you like me to drive with you?” It would turn out to be one of the best questions that I ever asked. The experience was a great one for both of us. And surprisingly, I do not remember much about the trip. I remember that the trailer tipped over on the Capitol Beltway minutes after we started the trip. I remember running out of gas at night in Wyoming.(Marc blamed me although he was driving.) I remember checking the trailer hitch on the shores of the Great Salt Lake in Utah. And I remember wrestling that ungodly heavy sofa up the stairs to his second floor apartment in Reno. We left on a Friday night and arrived in Reno on Tuesday afternoon. Those four days had a deep effect on our relationship ever since and for the better. I have no REGRETS about accompanying Marc on his migration to Reno.

If there is something that you want to do or should do and can do, do it! Give it serious consideration (or conserious sideration as Risa used to say) and if the answer is “yes”, do it! There will come a time when you will not be able to do it. Don’t put yourself in the position where you must say, “ I wish I had……” For that time will surely come and you will have REGRETS.