If You Had Your Life to Live Over

"If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. I would go to more dances. I would ride more merry-go-rounds. I would pick more daisies." (Nadine Stair)

Have you ever thought about what you might do differently if you had your life to live over? Or maybe what you want to do in the days you have left? 

One time at a writers' retreat we were challenged to dream big and set goals for ourselves. What did we want to happen in the year ahead in our writing careers? I came up with a couple of big dreams. Neither thing happened that year or since. They are still dreams. 

Then, when I think about having over twenty-five of my books published, that would have been a really big dream for me when I started writing many years ago. But now sometimes I look back and wonder if I could have done this or that differently. Perhaps written more books or better books. At the same time, I feel blessed that I have been able to write some stories that have kept people reading. To have created some characters readers have invited into their hearts. 

We lost one of our church people this week. He had a good long life, but his family will miss him. Attending a funeral can make a person think about her own numbered days and wonder. Am I taking advantage of the blessings the Lord has showered down on me? What would I go back in time and do differently if I could? Would I lie in the grass and not worry about chiggers while I celebrated spring? Would I plant more flowers and eat more strawberries straight from the vine? Would I make more time away from my keyboard for family and friends? Would I take more time to listen and use less time talking? Would I cherish the moments and not rush the days? 

Regrets are useless. We can't go back. We can only live forward. Perhaps the thing we all need to do most is look around and enjoy the journey. 

What would you do differently if you could live your life over?

Home Sweet Home

It's a long way from Kentucky to California and a long way back. Glad I wasn't walking the way the pioneers did or perhaps jogging along on a horse or in a covered wagon. One thing though, I'd have gotten a lot better look at the country that way. I watched out the planes' windows (I had window seats all but once) when we weren't above the clouds. I saw snow-covered mountains. I saw rivers snaking across the countryside. I saw shadows of the clouds on the ground. I saw lots of brown looking earth and mountains and cars that looked like ants trundling along strips of black.

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I also saw a beautiful sunset, but didn't attempt to take a picture. Once you're in one of those plane seats next to a big guy, you don't have room to shift your arm enough to turn a page in your book much less wrestle your bag out from under the seat in front of you to find your camera. Guess that's why Kindles are getting so popular with travelers. They don't require more than a whisk of the thumb or finger to get to the next page, or so they tell me. I'm still in the book age, the feel-it-in-your-hands and paper pages age. One good thing, you don't have to turn off a hard copy book when a plane is taking off.

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Monterey Bay was beautiful and it was fabulous meeting other Books & Such writers. Pictures are popping up all over Facebook. Laughing, smiling faces. Or very intense faces as we all tried to learn how to play Bocce. I had never even heard of Bocce before last week. It's sort of like horseshoes with rolling balls and no dirt. I played and promptly lost.

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Oh well, I had the ocean vistas to make up for any Bocce disappointments. The water was a beautiful blue and on the last day we were there the waves were crashing into the shore. Because of the rocky coastline, the waves can be fierce. We had thought about going out whale watching, but the boats wouldn't go out because of the high waves. So we drove down the coastline instead. Just as well. I wouldn't have been able to spot any whales if I was leaning over the rail losing my breakfast. What I really wanted to see was an eagle, but no such luck. That's on my bucket list. To see an eagle flying free in the sky.

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But now back home to reality. Books don't get written by thinking about writing them or talking about writing them. Books only get written by fingers pressing down keys on a keyboard. Still it was great having a little one on one time with my agent and with my editor. They both asked me what next. I said a Shaker book, but they were meaning after the Shaker books. I'm thinking a new historical novel. But that's what the Shaker books are too - historical novels. So who knows? Now I'll just remember the ocean and the sound of the waves crashing and think about how each wave made its own new mark on the sandy beach or did its best to wear down the rocks. That's the way it'll be with my books. Each one will have to mark out its own path.

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Hope you're having a great week with lots of paths open to you. Good paths that lead you to happiness. I'm happy to be home and putting me fingers on that keyboard.