Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda,...by Jodi

I could start a list of all 3 of those things at any time...

Things I coulda done...been a college graduate, backpacked in Europe or taken that job instead of staying home. Why didn't I? I thought traveling around America was more fun!  I was right. I have tried to go back to school a few times, always got straight A's but always thought it was so dull to me. Will prolly always have mixed feelings about that. I put my bets on someone else more than I put them on myself...mistake!  I like to romanticize the job factor but the reality is it just sounds like it would have been smart, I wouldn't change spending time with my son in a million years. I would like to give back some the those hours I spent cleaning the bathroom!

Things I woulda done...stayed in Chicagoland, cooked at home more often and stayed being a radio geek. I woulda stayed in Chicago. I adore that city, the food, the museums, the shopping. Think of all the excitement I would have missed? I woulda cooked at home and bonded over brunches and bbq's. I used to cook at home and feed people dinner or baked cookies for them a million times. It lost the allure for me. I realized I could spend my time doing other things. I was a really good cook at one time, now I just don't have the interest that I once did. Maybe it will return one day? I would have kept my career in the radio world but I liked having a family more. It's not like I couldn't have one or the other but I chose to invest in the other one. I have lived a full life and accomplished many things I would have not experienced if I would have chosen other path. Will I think about that one? You bet I will.

I shoulda trusted my intuition, dieted and exercised more and gone zip lining! I shoulda trusted my small, still voice instead of my head or heart. I am smarter than I give myself credit for. I followed things other people expected me to do. I don't do that much anymore and really don't regret it. I shoulda dieted and exercised more by just simply doing so. I don't know about dieting really and I did like working out. I have always been a larger than normal adult. It hasn't really hindered my life but is has hindered my health. I tell people I adore food, my extra weight was rich, real cream ice cream and steaks not Burger King meals. Would I change any of it? Nope, don't think so. Maybe some subtle nuances but that is about it. Just reiterates the fact that, "everything happens for a reason." I should go zip lining! It is something I have never done but is something I will do before I go out of this world! I think it looks like fun and I just want to do it! I will, dammit!

I am sure there are many things I woulda, coulda or shoulda done but this is me now and I am very glad to be ME...the good, the bad and the ugly.

Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda,...by Lisa

Oh, where to begin? Coulda—could I have gone to medical school? I’ve thought about it, sometimes seriously. I wish I had had the seriousness of vision to consider it, plan for it, and try to do it when I was first going off to college, when I was young. Pharmacy has certainly been a great choice for me and has given me a comfortable lifestyle and a lot of flexibility. But I will always wonder if I couldn’t have done something greater….

And on that note, why do people laugh when I say that I wanted to go to art school after high school, but my dad said I wouldn’t be able to support myself on a career in art, so I went to pharmacy school instead. Is that funny? Seriously, art is a fun hobby, and I wish I had more time for it. I still think I’d like to be an art teacher. Maybe someday.  That said, I’ve always told myself that putting things off until Someday is a recipe for never doing them. There’s no time like the present. Time waits for no man. Never put off until tomorrow the things you can do today. Life is uncertain, eat dessert first. You know what I mean.

I noticed a pattern here. The things I coulda done, shoulda done, could still do, are things I didn’t do. I’ve always appreciated the quote, maybe it was by Mae West, who said something about not regretting the things one has done, but rather the things one didn’t do. I was going to go hot air ballooning a few months ago, but I seem to have chickened out. It’s still on my list though, and I’ll let you know if I go.