Sunday, August 30, 2009

0 to 60 - Regrets/mistakes

I'm really happy with where I am nearly 60 years after I was born at Castle AFB in Merced, CA. But I coulda done better. So here, not in order of importance, are mistakes I made or regrets I have:
1. I shouldn't have broken up with Cathy Webb in high school. And I DEFINITELY shouldn't have done it in such a mean, immature way. The fact that we are still friends is a testament to her character.
2. I drank WAY too much alcohol from the time I joined the air force to the emergency trip to the hospital in Utrecht. It's ludicrous that it took that kind of wake-up call for me to finally understand that alcohol was killing me. If I had saved just half of what I wasted on drinking, I wouldn't be borrowing money to put my boys through college. I wouldn't mind having some of those brain cells back, either.
3. I wish I could have found a way to be more peaceful about the inevitable divorce in my first marriage. We were polar opposites and couldn't possibly have stayed together, but the only way we could figure that out was by making each other miserable for the last 5 years of our 7-year marriage. We are still friends because we realize it was nobody's fault and we both made huge mistakes.
4. I have been unnecessarily mean to quite a few people in my life. I'm truly sorry for that. It's always been a goal of mine to help other people have a more joyful life, but for some, I made life more miserable. I try to atone by helping people whenever I can.
You know what? I think that's it. I don't have that much to regret. Next up: financial standing.

No comments: