Like most humans, I try not to have a lot of regrets. I am truly happy with the way things have gone in my life thus far (knock on wood) and am convinced that every experience I've had has helped shape the person I am today.
That being said, I'm not going to lie and say I'm 100 percent happy with the way I've handled certain things in my life. Although there are not situations I necessarily wish I'd avoided, or wish hadn't been thrust upon me, there are situations I wish I had responded to differently. I may not be able to travel back in time (though Amy Poehler's book tells me otherwise), I can, upon reflection, respond differently now.
In retrospect, here is a definitive list of the things I wish I'd said:
- "You owe me an apology." When I was 5, I was on a T-ball team and a little boy spit in my face. I don't know why, or why he was not reprimanded, or who told him this was appropriate behavior, but it happened. Instead of expressing my right to function in a T-ball community free of spit, I remember wiping my face off and moving to the other side of the bench. Kid should've gotten in trouble, or at least apologized.
I say these things here not only as a quasi-redemption for the missed opportunities that often arise in times of reflection, but also as a way to hold myself accountable from this point on. I may have not said these things in the past, but I sure as hell plan on saying them in the future -- and really, that's the whole point, isn't it?