No regrets
I don’t know, maybe the phrase should be “minimal regrets”.
I have one.
I mean it’s ok as you read you’ll understand I can’t change it now
I just wish I had made the trip
I had a friend, who called me brother and I called him the same.
2009 we met, in a pizza place of all places
It was a time of extreme stress for the both of us
Both with children dealing with life or death circumstances
In Minnesota we met, he was from Virginia and I from NY
We became friends. We had each other’s backs
I have a regret.
We shared stories and our lives of past
Shared our present situations
I went back to New York and he back to Virginia
He came to visit me once in my hometown
We stayed in contact
I had planned, planned to go visit his hometown
I guess I waited too long – and life… it keeps happening
We got time, I think we both thought
I know I thought we had time
Obviously it’s too late now
But I should have just gone
Made the trip and stayed nearby for a night or two
Even if his work schedule was an issue
And he wasn’t able to get a day off
A half hour or even 15 minutes to say
“Hey brother, how you doin? How’ve you been? It’s great seeing you.”
“Yeah lets do this again, maybe next time you can show me around.”
“Yeah man, definitely. Next time you’re down I’ll show you my town.”
There will be no next time.
There was no first time down
It wasn’t for lack of thought and talking about it
We both did, we stayed in contact
I just erased the message thread.
My last words to him “let me know”
He was trying to get time off
I was waiting, I should have just gone
About a year and a half ago my friend, my brother, died unexpectedly
I was in Ireland when I heard, I cried, how could I not. I’ve got tears now writing this.
I spoke to him immediately, I’ll never know if he heard me
Now I have a regret.
I regret never making the trip.
I mean… I still can
But now its to visit a grave instead of my friend.
—
So live the best life you can and aim for the “minimal regrets”. The assumption of “we got time” and “postponed presence”, well it got me. As you read this you may be saying the same thing in regard to something you’ve experienced. We can’t go back and change it but going forward…
I’m going make the trip regardless
