Regret Oddity

Regret is not a word of success.

Regret is not a word of joy.

Regret is not a word of peace.

Regret is not a word I would choose in describing my life.

At least not typically or usually.

But this morning during my meditations and self-reflections I choose REGRET.

I regret not having my daughters when I was a young teenager. I regret that my daughters did not have children when they were teenagers.

WHY?

I could have seen more generations of my offspring living life during my expected lifespan.

In less than a month I will celebrate my 75^th birthday. Reflecting on the future, I can hope for ten to fifteen years of life left. Six of seven grandchildren are still teenagers. If I am fortunate to live another ten years they will be in their twenties. They will be starting their careers and their families. They will think they know everything about life they need to know. They will not yet understand the meaning of life. The things I find to be trivial in my old age will be of significance to my grandchildren. My oldest grandson will be in his thirties or early forties. My daughters will be learning to be grandparents as they move closer to retirement and old age.

REGRETS? Seriously, I have no regrets. Having my children when I was a teenager may not have resulted in such beautiful, talented, loving, caring, generous, intelligent, spiritually minded daughters. My daughters birthing their babies when they were teenagers may not have resulted in the amazing grandchildren I have or the gift of “sons.” My life of family blessings is my gift to the world.

REGRETS? Seriously, I have no regrets. I have been loved, I am loved, and I have loved. I know inside my heart, spirit, and body the experiences of living life through expectations and the wounds of guilt, abuse, depression, inadequacy, failure, success, performance, loneliness in a crowded room, disappointment, loss, suffering, and more painful secrets kept to myself.

I know inside of my heart, spirit and body the experiences of living life abundantly through forgiveness, mercy, grace, humor, solitude, connection with my creator in mothering, daughtering, sister-ing, wife-ing, friending, adventure-ing, working and more exciting secrets kept to myself.

Life goes on. In your absence or departure from this earth, life goes on. One day my children and my grandchildren will be in this phase of life. The phase where they reflect and recognize their life is as it should be. All their experiences are their very own experiences. There are no real problems in life. What we call problems are simply opportunities to find solutions, resolutions, and strength for the day of reflection. Spiritually speaking it is all connected! Our pre-conceived notions of right and wrong taught us as kids somehow changes as we enter our mature years. Those important “fight for” issues become trivial and a serious waste of time and energy. Why would I say that? Because “Life goes on.” As I reflect…

REGRETS? Seriously, I have ONE REGRET. I regret that I did not sing “All You Need Is Love” every day of my life now that I think I know what life is all about.

Just another Funny Gram for you to enjoy!

Janie Roberts Davis 03/23/2025