If you could relive one 24 hour period in your life just to experience it again, what would it be and why? And, would you want to make any changes to that day or leave it the same? (See, I'm not always long-winded!)
Well If I could have gotten married and had the same family - I would have gotten married later - got myself together first. Found Sandie sort of speaking...sandie
Oh no, the teacher gave us an essay test! Couldn't it have been multiple choice? (LOL)
My answer, like Sandie's, revolves around my wedding day. I'm referring to the second time around, the day I married the current Mrs. Shady. It was a simple ceremony conducted in our condo with a few family members and our pet finches looking on. The craziest thing happened just minutes before the ceremony. The heel on one of my shoes began to crumble, leaving bits and chunks everywhere I walked! I've heard of being so nervous that you're shaking in your boots but this was ridiculous! Why did I choose this day in June 1995 as one I'd like to relive? Because I still remember it as one of the happiest days of my life and I wouldn't change a thing about it, not even my shoes. I knew then and I know now that I got married for the right reasons. I came from integrity and that's obviously something that's very important to me.
Shady: What a beautiful memory and you said it in such a moving way. Crumbling shoes and all, you both have built a marriage that's on a solid foundation.
Long-winded? No. But you ask really tough questions. I do not wish to do over any part of my life. The good, the bad, the ugly, the sublime, I refuse to live with regrets.
vanilla: Yes, I agree. Living with regrets poisons the future. It is fun, though, to look back from time to time and ponder. I've decided the events of our pasts helps to make us who we are today.
Despite my current blog post on living with and learning from regrets, there isn't anything in my life that I would like to go back and change (except to have been nicer as a young woman).
I would like to just time travel back and relive some days -- some banner days, some perfectly ordinary: a day at the beach with Aunt Molly when I was a child, an evening lying on my grandparents' porch swing in Kansas, listening to the crickets and sounds of train whistles in the distance, the day my college roommates and a former boyfriend conspired to give me a total prom experience (the only one I had ever had), my last conversation with my mother -- so comforting in its ordinariness except...would I embrace her even longer and tell her I loved her more intensely, knowing it would be the last time? I don't think so. Knowing it was the last time would have taken away the wonderful and typical quality of the encounter. So I would love to go back in time just to experience some of the joys of the past, but actually those are still vivid in my memory. And I wouldn't want to risk changing anything.
Dr. Kathy: What lovely, lush descriptions. I was moved at how described your last conversation with your mom.
There are times I'd like to relive just because of the pleasure and goodness of the moments, but I don't think I'd change any of it, as much as I've thought in the past about how I wished I'd done some things differently.
One beautiful June day in 2005, my husband and I took an inpromtu road trip to a wildlife preserve in northern MI. I can't relay all the details of that day in a comment but it was a perfect day in so many ways and I often recall that memory when I'm having a blue day and it helps me get through it. My wedding day and the day my son was born rank up there for me also, but that day I spent with my husband was truly sublime so that's the day I'd relive if I could and I know he'd love to relive it too, so that makes it even more special for me. :)
Jenn June: Your impromptu road trip sounds terrific! I can see why you'd want to relive that one. I think sometimes the spontaneous things we do are so much richer than the things we plan to the hilt. Carpe diem!
I would want to re-live my wedding day. I would want to know what I know now though, because I've fallen in love with my husband 100's of times since that day and love him so much more than I ever imagined. I'd want to live that day knowing and feeling this. I'd change a few things, but with only 24 hours I wouldn't have enough time to change my dress style or the reception place, would I?
(Oh, and I'd like my 27 year old body, with my 42 year old mind)
Jamie Jo: Oh, to have a young body with a mature brain- think of what we could all do! And, how sweet of you to day that about your hubby. I really do feel the same way about mine, and we met all the way back in high school. Good marriages just get better with time.
I have often regretted leaving the Army at the end of my 3 year enlistment and would like to go back and instead of getting out I would re-enlist and make it a career.
Ya know, I like the way my life has turned out and I really don't know what I'd want to relive. Everything has fallen into place just the way I like it, even if half of it wasn't planned.
I love the Summer day that I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I loved the handsome young guy I was dating. We were on a picnic and had a wonderful time. I wouldn't change a thing. What a GREAT feeling (and now we've been married for 42 years!)
Aaaw, I loved Shady's reply. Bless his little cotton socks!!! I am very happy and content with my life at the moment, and couldn't want for anything else. But, if I had my time over again, I think I would really try to have a career. I was in Admin for most of my life, before I re-trained at 50 to be a Masseuse. I was always very good at my job and wish now that I had taken it to higher levels so that now I would have a pension
I did not know you were a masseuese- how very interesting! That is really a shame you do not get a pension. Someone who works most of their adult life, no matter what level they take it to, deserves that.
I've just realized that I haven't really answered the question properly. DOH! That will teach me to pay attention in future! You have actually asked us to re-live one 24 hour period in our lives. It would have to be on the 8th December 1997, when I held my first granddaughter in my arms for the first time. Did I get it right this time?!
Wedding day! Definitely!! Just a happy, happy day! My children's births were wonderful too, but painful enough that I'll just enjoy the memory. I could cut and paste, word for word, everything that Jamie Jo said...from not having a clue as to how much I would REALLY love that man, right down to dress and reception venue! Other than that, a perfect day that I would be happy to live again. :)
Nancy: I think that would be the big day for me, too, although I considered carefully the births of my kids. I decided what you did- the wedding was all the joy and not the pain! Jamie did a really good job of saying it, and then you did just as well, too. I love, love, love to hear happy marriage stories!
Hi Dearest Shelly, Oh, my wedding day was also really happy day. But too busy to remember the detail p; For me, "coming of age day"!!! After attending the ceremony at the city hall with Kimono, my mom got the wonderful dinner ready for me. I truly reminisce my parents happy faces and family togather. Oh, thinking back the day, sort of tears in my eyes, my friend, haha.
Dear friend Miyako: Oh, that sounds like such a wonderful, once in a lifetime day! I have read of thos ceremonies, and I know how very meaningful they are. That your mom and family made the effort to make it so special for you makes it even more memorable!
I've had some really good moments that I wouldn't mind experiencing again. I just blogged about one of them: when my husband proposed to me. Of course when my children were born, when they were married. But change anything? Probably not. I wouldn't want to tamper with the memories. And the memories where things were less than perfect? I'd probably just be swapping one mistake for another, knowing me. Sometimes it's best to just leave well enough alone. Relive the good times over and over in your head, and learn from the mistakes and move on.
Karen: Those are really terrific moments. One thing about childbirth, and maybe it's different with you, I'd always heard you'll forget the pain you were in...I haven't! I'm like you- I wouldn't want to change them. I very much agree with your last sentence.
The day my husband proposed was amazing. I was completely surprised and wore the absolute wrong outfit so i would go back a wear something prettier than baggy jeans and a brown t-shirt. BROWN! I would never wear brown close to my face NOW! The feeling of that heavy ring on my finger for the first time and the applause from the entire restaurant was something I'll never forget and would love to relive.
Crystal: I LOVE that it was a complete surprise! My husband proposed on our very first date. Nothing like being caught unaware to make it even more special- that applause also must have been the icing on the cake!
Hi Shelly, Great question! I love that so many of the responses involve weddings...there are a lot of romantics in the room! I would not re-live my wedding day (the first or the second) because both were disasters. The second one involved both sets of parents crashing their cars into one another at high speeds on the highway on the way to the chapel. EMS, Fire Department and a trip to the ER were all involved. What a mess! Thank God I never have to return to that day! The day I would relive was the day I drove my teen to the beach. That day we shared our first hang gliding lessons on the dunes. We also had a bonfire on the beach that same night and ran up and down the shoreline under a full moon. I've never felt such freedom in my entire life. I had also just graduated from college and the relief of that was immense. Under the moon while the waves crash on the beach is my "happy place".
Jenny: Oh, what a scrumptious description of that day on the beach- I was living it with you, it felt like! (I'm sorry, low carbs have me talking like Yoda.)
I'm sure that it is one that lives on in your daughter's memory, too, and probably one your grandchildren and great grandchildren will be hearing about.
Mmmm- my mind is going to be on running on the beach all day now. How I would like to be doing that right now!
Hey, and I meant to add- I hope your parents and future in-laws were OK! My goodness- what are the odds? That sounds like a movie! I am glad it all worked out!
Every one was so shook up, but they were okay. They insisted that we go on to the chapel and proceed as planned. The whole ceremony became a celebration of gratitude for God's protection, for family and life! In between the ceremony and the reception, we took my parents to the ER where they were given medication for pain. My father had a cracked knee cap, my mother's ribs were bruised. My brother's back and neck was very sore. But everyone danced at the reception! We celebrated! We will never forget how it brought us all together. Eight months later, my father died. Soon after that, Richard's father died. The accident was like a wake up call to appreciate every moment we have with our parents. The local newspaper in Kansas City wanted to tell our story, but we felt it would be better to protect drivers from blame.
Jenny: This is something you could truly make a movie out of some day. I am glad for the higher purposes in it- the wonderful time together, amplified all the more by the accident. What a memory!
I would have gone straight to college after highschool, as I did, only this time I would STAY THERE rather than return because I was HOMESICK!! Seriously. That one decision changed everything.
Pearl
p.s. Oh, and if possible, I would like to keep my brain but if I could get my old body/face back, that would be acceptable. :-)
Shelly, what a great blog idea! What great comments about some of the wedding mishaps that can be looked back upon with smiles. Just had to add a different twist to the comments about the old body and young mind. I was just the opposite, I got married at 50 and had the mind of a 20 year old! lol Back to the question, I would have to say my best day was when Clint and I got married in June 2003 by a judge in the Gwinnett Co. GA court house. Afterwards, we stopped for a Mexican lunch. I changed into old clothes when we returned home and I resumed my kitchen cabinet restoration and painting. Odd, I know. We were traveling so much at the time, an ordinary day at home was a honeymoon for us.
Cindy: Good to hear from you! I tried to comment on your blog, but it wouldn't let me. I sure am enjoying reading about y'all's recent trip.
Ha! I do love your switch. it still sounds like you had a great wedding day without the traditional stuff. Sometimes that can get really fussy and time consuming. You had quite the productive day anyway!
Nezzy: Out of all my schoolin' years, I think my senior year of college was the best of the best. And you getting engaged just made yours the best it could be! Thank you for the blessings, and may our good God bless you, too!
Well If I could have gotten married and had the same family - I would have gotten married later - got myself together first. Found Sandie sort of speaking...sandie
ReplyDeleteSandie: I've thought of the same thing myself- wishing I could have my 50 year old brain with my 20 year old body, though.
DeleteOh no, the teacher gave us an essay test! Couldn't it have been multiple choice? (LOL)
ReplyDeleteMy answer, like Sandie's, revolves around my wedding day. I'm referring to the second time around, the day I married the current Mrs. Shady. It was a simple ceremony conducted in our condo with a few family members and our pet finches looking on. The craziest thing happened just minutes before the ceremony. The heel on one of my shoes began to crumble, leaving bits and chunks everywhere I walked! I've heard of being so nervous that you're shaking in your boots but this was ridiculous! Why did I choose this day in June 1995 as one I'd like to relive? Because I still remember it as one of the happiest days of my life and I wouldn't change a thing about it, not even my shoes. I knew then and I know now that I got married for the right reasons. I came from integrity and that's obviously something that's very important to me.
Shady: What a beautiful memory and you said it in such a moving way. Crumbling shoes and all, you both have built a marriage that's on a solid foundation.
DeleteCongratulations to you, my friend!
Long-winded? No. But you ask really tough questions. I do not wish to do over any part of my life. The good, the bad, the ugly, the sublime, I refuse to live with regrets.
ReplyDeletevanilla: Yes, I agree. Living with regrets poisons the future. It is fun, though, to look back from time to time and ponder. I've decided the events of our pasts helps to make us who we are today.
DeleteAh, yes. Nostalgia and reflection on how we became who we are. But no do-overs, thank you.
DeleteDespite my current blog post on living with and learning from regrets, there isn't anything in my life that I would like to go back and change (except to have been nicer as a young woman).
ReplyDeleteI would like to just time travel back and relive some days -- some banner days, some perfectly ordinary: a day at the beach with Aunt Molly when I was a child, an evening lying on my grandparents' porch swing in Kansas, listening to the crickets and sounds of train whistles in the distance, the day my college roommates and a former boyfriend conspired to give me a total prom experience (the only one I had ever had), my last conversation with my mother -- so comforting in its ordinariness except...would I embrace her even longer and tell her I loved her more intensely, knowing it would be the last time? I don't think so. Knowing it was the last time would have taken away the wonderful and typical quality of the encounter. So I would love to go back in time just to experience some of the joys of the past, but actually those are still vivid in my memory. And I wouldn't want to risk changing anything.
Dr. Kathy: What lovely, lush descriptions. I was moved at how described your last conversation with your mom.
DeleteThere are times I'd like to relive just because of the pleasure and goodness of the moments, but I don't think I'd change any of it, as much as I've thought in the past about how I wished I'd done some things differently.
One beautiful June day in 2005, my husband and I took an inpromtu road trip to a wildlife preserve in northern MI. I can't relay all the details of that day in a comment but it was a perfect day in so many ways and I often recall that memory when I'm having a blue day and it helps me get through it. My wedding day and the day my son was born rank up there for me also, but that day I spent with my husband was truly sublime so that's the day I'd relive if I could and I know he'd love to relive it too, so that makes it even more special for me. :)
ReplyDeleteJenn June: Your impromptu road trip sounds terrific! I can see why you'd want to relive that one. I think sometimes the spontaneous things we do are so much richer than the things we plan to the hilt. Carpe diem!
DeleteI would want to re-live my wedding day. I would want to know what I know now though, because I've fallen in love with my husband 100's of times since that day and love him so much more than I ever imagined. I'd want to live that day knowing and feeling this. I'd change a few things, but with only 24 hours I wouldn't have enough time to change my dress style or the reception place, would I?
ReplyDelete(Oh, and I'd like my 27 year old body, with my 42 year old mind)
Jamie Jo: Oh, to have a young body with a mature brain- think of what we could all do! And, how sweet of you to day that about your hubby. I really do feel the same way about mine, and we met all the way back in high school. Good marriages just get better with time.
DeleteI have often regretted leaving the Army at the end of my 3 year enlistment and would like to go back and instead of getting out I would re-enlist and make it a career.
ReplyDeleteYa know, I like the way my life has turned out and I really don't know what I'd want to relive. Everything has fallen into place just the way I like it, even if half of it wasn't planned.
DeleteI'm a moving forward kinda of a gal.....
Odie: That's saying something, because I know you were in during Vietnam. I so appreciate brave folks like you-
DeleteSaimi: That's the sign of a life well lived- no regrets. I really do believe some of the choicest moments in life are the ones not planned at all.
DeleteI love the Summer day that I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I loved the handsome young guy I was dating. We were on a picnic and had a wonderful time. I wouldn't change a thing. What a GREAT feeling (and now we've been married for 42 years!)
ReplyDeleteSweet Tea: What a lovely thing to relive! And, congratulations on 42 great years!
DeleteAaaw, I loved Shady's reply. Bless his little cotton socks!!! I am very happy and content with my life at the moment, and couldn't want for anything else. But, if I had my time over again, I think I would really try to have a career. I was in Admin for most of my life, before I re-trained at 50 to be a Masseuse. I was always very good at my job and wish now that I had taken it to higher levels so that now I would have a pension
ReplyDeleteI did not know you were a masseuese- how very interesting! That is really a shame you do not get a pension. Someone who works most of their adult life, no matter what level they take it to, deserves that.
DeleteI've just realized that I haven't really answered the question properly. DOH! That will teach me to pay attention in future! You have actually asked us to re-live one 24 hour period in our lives. It would have to be on the 8th December 1997, when I held my first granddaughter in my arms for the first time. Did I get it right this time?!
ReplyDeleteYou get an A+, as always! What a wonderful thing to remember. And, she is such a beautiful girl- it's amazing how very fast they grow!
DeleteWedding day! Definitely!! Just a happy, happy day! My children's births were wonderful too, but painful enough that I'll just enjoy the memory. I could cut and paste, word for word, everything that Jamie Jo said...from not having a clue as to how much I would REALLY love that man, right down to dress and reception venue! Other than that, a perfect day that I would be happy to live again. :)
ReplyDeleteNancy: I think that would be the big day for me, too, although I considered carefully the births of my kids. I decided what you did- the wedding was all the joy and not the pain! Jamie did a really good job of saying it, and then you did just as well, too. I love, love, love to hear happy marriage stories!
DeleteHi Dearest Shelly,
ReplyDeleteOh, my wedding day was also really happy day. But too busy to remember the detail p;
For me, "coming of age day"!!! After attending the ceremony at the city hall with Kimono, my mom got the wonderful dinner ready for me. I truly reminisce my parents happy faces and family togather. Oh, thinking back the day, sort of tears in my eyes, my friend, haha.
Dear friend Miyako: Oh, that sounds like such a wonderful, once in a lifetime day! I have read of thos ceremonies, and I know how very meaningful they are. That your mom and family made the effort to make it so special for you makes it even more memorable!
DeleteI would love to relive the night my daughter Sandy and I went to see Elton John and Billy Joel in concert in Vancouver. The most fun night of my life.
ReplyDeleteBelle: Wow- that was doubly amazing! Those two guys never go out of style. Memories of a lifetime for the both of you!
DeleteI've had some really good moments that I wouldn't mind experiencing again. I just blogged about one of them: when my husband proposed to me. Of course when my children were born, when they were married. But change anything? Probably not. I wouldn't want to tamper with the memories. And the memories where things were less than perfect? I'd probably just be swapping one mistake for another, knowing me. Sometimes it's best to just leave well enough alone. Relive the good times over and over in your head, and learn from the mistakes and move on.
ReplyDeleteKaren: Those are really terrific moments. One thing about childbirth, and maybe it's different with you, I'd always heard you'll forget the pain you were in...I haven't! I'm like you- I wouldn't want to change them. I very much agree with your last sentence.
DeleteThe day my husband proposed was amazing. I was completely surprised and wore the absolute wrong outfit so i would go back a wear something prettier than baggy jeans and a brown t-shirt. BROWN! I would never wear brown close to my face NOW! The feeling of that heavy ring on my finger for the first time and the applause from the entire restaurant was something I'll never forget and would love to relive.
ReplyDeleteCrystal: I LOVE that it was a complete surprise! My husband proposed on our very first date. Nothing like being caught unaware to make it even more special- that applause also must have been the icing on the cake!
DeleteHi Shelly,
ReplyDeleteGreat question! I love that so many of the responses involve weddings...there are a lot of romantics in the room! I would not re-live my wedding day (the first or the second) because both were disasters. The second one involved both sets of parents crashing their cars into one another at high speeds on the highway on the way to the chapel. EMS, Fire Department and a trip to the ER were all involved. What a mess! Thank God I never have to return to that day!
The day I would relive was the day I drove my teen to the beach. That day we shared our first hang gliding lessons on the dunes. We also had a bonfire on the beach that same night and ran up and down the shoreline under a full moon. I've never felt such freedom in my entire life. I had also just graduated from college and the relief of that was immense. Under the moon while the waves crash on the beach is my "happy place".
Jenny: Oh, what a scrumptious description of that day on the beach- I was living it with you, it felt like! (I'm sorry, low carbs have me talking like Yoda.)
DeleteI'm sure that it is one that lives on in your daughter's memory, too, and probably one your grandchildren and great grandchildren will be hearing about.
Mmmm- my mind is going to be on running on the beach all day now. How I would like to be doing that right now!
Hey, and I meant to add- I hope your parents and future in-laws were OK! My goodness- what are the odds? That sounds like a movie! I am glad it all worked out!
DeleteEvery one was so shook up, but they were okay. They insisted that we go on to the chapel and proceed as planned. The whole ceremony became a celebration of gratitude for God's protection, for family and life! In between the ceremony and the reception, we took my parents to the ER where they were given medication for pain. My father had a cracked knee cap, my mother's ribs were bruised. My brother's back and neck was very sore. But everyone danced at the reception! We celebrated! We will never forget how it brought us all together. Eight months later, my father died. Soon after that, Richard's father died. The accident was like a wake up call to appreciate every moment we have with our parents. The local newspaper in Kansas City wanted to tell our story, but we felt it would be better to protect drivers from blame.
DeleteJenny: This is something you could truly make a movie out of some day. I am glad for the higher purposes in it- the wonderful time together, amplified all the more by the accident. What a memory!
DeleteWeird. I was thinking about this when I woke up.
ReplyDeleteI would have gone straight to college after highschool, as I did, only this time I would STAY THERE rather than return because I was HOMESICK!! Seriously. That one decision changed everything.
Pearl
p.s. Oh, and if possible, I would like to keep my brain but if I could get my old body/face back, that would be acceptable. :-)
Pearl: I put in my order for my 20 year old body with my 50 year old brain and it was rejected. Hope you have a better time with it.
DeleteAnd, you could light stuff up in college, even now.
Shelly, what a great blog idea! What great comments about some of the wedding mishaps that can be looked back upon with smiles. Just had to add a different twist to the comments about the old body and young mind. I was just the opposite, I got married at 50 and had the mind of a 20 year old! lol Back to the question, I would have to say my best day was when Clint and I got married in June 2003 by a judge in the Gwinnett Co. GA court house. Afterwards, we stopped for a Mexican lunch. I changed into old clothes when we returned home and I resumed my kitchen cabinet restoration and painting. Odd, I know. We were traveling so much at the time, an ordinary day at home was a honeymoon for us.
ReplyDeleteCindy: Good to hear from you! I tried to comment on your blog, but it wouldn't let me. I sure am enjoying reading about y'all's recent trip.
DeleteHa! I do love your switch. it still sounds like you had a great wedding day without the traditional stuff. Sometimes that can get really fussy and time consuming. You had quite the productive day anyway!
It would be the last year of college when Farm Boy and I were engaged. It was simply the best!!!
ReplyDeleteGod bless ya and have a magnificent day!!! :o)
Nezzy: Out of all my schoolin' years, I think my senior year of college was the best of the best. And you getting engaged just made yours the best it could be! Thank you for the blessings, and may our good God bless you, too!
DeleteAlthough I've had some good days, I've never yet had one that was soooo good I would not want to improve it. And none I really would want to re-live.
ReplyDeleteI'm just a pain that way. Still looking for that perfect day. Maybe one day soon. :)
Marsha: Then there's always something to look forward to each day! I am glad to know you are feeling better.
Delete