If I Had Only Known Then What I Know Now

As long as I can remember I've heard people utter, "If only I knew then what I know now, I'd have done things differently." Let's face it, in the grand scheme of things, most of us wouldn't have fared much better.

Take gas, for instance. Even if I had known back when gas was $.35 a gallon that someday I would be paying close to $4.00 a gallon for it, it's not like I would have found a way to save it for the future. If I had saved that old Chevy because it got so many more miles to the gallon, it used that old type gas, and by the time I had to put all that anti-pollution junk on it to make it legal, I would have been riding around in a car worth the price of a new Cadillac. That's assuming it didn't fall apart all around me.

So what would I have done differently if back then I had known what today would be like? Well, one thing is that I would have paid more attention in Spanish class. Sometimes I think it's a shame that out of two years of high school Spanish, I can only remember a few trinkets of the language. I guess if you throw in taco, burrito and salsa, that's a few more, but trust me, you don't want me interpreting anything for you.

I think I might have gotten to know a few of those smart kids in high school better, too, since most of them became doctors, lawyers or millionaire business entrepreneurs. That might have come in handy at this point in life.

Then again, I probably should have taken a closer look at some of my older relatives to see how I would look at this age. Instead, I saw them through the eyes of immortal youth, never imagining that someday I would look in the mirror to see Aunt Shirley's drooping eyes, gray hair and skin wrinkles staring back at me. How was I to realize that laugh lines wear much better than frown lines?

I would have paid much more attention to those wise old ones telling everyone that our country was headed down a slippery slope and been a little more careful when voting to make sure that my representatives truly had our country's best interest at heart.

Another thing is that I would have kept all those clothes that seemed so outdated at the time and worn them again when they came back in style. Foolish me, I thought shoes with thick souls, fringed vests and mini-skirts would never be seen in public again.

And maybe if I'd known then what I know now, I would have dreamed more of possibilities and listened less to the people who said it can't be done. I would have laughed more at the absurdity of life and cared less about the trivial. I would have danced in the rain more often and found more delight in the small miracles of life. I would have worried less about tomorrow and enjoyed the moments of each day.

Well, since I now know, pardon me while I go dance for a while in the rain. But first, I'm going to see if I might still have one of those fringed vests in the closet.