You have the
choice to erase one incident from your past, as though it never happened. What
would you erase and why?
Wow, this is
a tough one. There are a couple of
things that come to mind, but I do still have a little bit of a line I am not
comfortable crossing yet , even though one of my goals this year is to try and
be more transparent and open about myself and my life through this blog. I want
to be able to put myself all out there, sort of like a “the truth will set you
free” type of deal, but I haven’t quite made it to that age where I really
don’t care at all what anyone thinks of me. Even though there’s a big part of
me that wishes to erase certain missteps in my life, I also realize that these
mistakes have made me a more forgiving, humble, and sympathetic person because
I can understand where people are coming from in the same or similar situations
and right or wrong, not judge them for it because it’s not my place to do it
anyway, and I know I’m capable of making the same mistakes. Regrets and mistakes are part of life, and
as I’ve written before, the most important part is taking those mistakes and
learning from them, which thankfully, I have been able to do.
So, I am a
little reluctant to share some of my more adult mistakes, but I can share about
an incident when I was a young girl at my best friend’s house that I wish I
could take back. My childhood friend,
Aimee, and I basically lived at each other’s homes when we were young. Her
parents were like second parents to me.
Aimee had a beautiful brick patio and pool in her backyard. We were in it all summer long and as often as
possible. One evening we were all outside by the pool (not in our swimsuits if I remember correctly,
but in our regular clothes), and we were playing around. Suddenly, Aimee’s dad
pushed me in the pool with a big smile on his face, just kidding around. I was so shocked by it that when I got out of
the pool, I screamed “I hate you!” at him. Right after I said it, I instantly
regretted it. The look on his face was full of hurt and surprise. I didn’t mean
it at all. I was just so taken aback, and that’s what came out. I never
apologized (that I remember), and it was never spoken of again. Her dad always
treated me kindly and did not treat me any differently after that incident, but
I will forever feel bad about my unkind words towards him.
The one
other incident I remember as a child is the first time I lied to my mom. I had
drawn a nice picture of a horse using a horse stencil that I put in the end
table drawer by the couch in our den. When I showed it to my mom, she was so
impressed and asked if I had drawn it all by hand, and I said, “yes.” She was
so proud, I didn’t want to tell her it was a stencil, but unfortunately for me,
she found the stencil later and was upset with me that I lied to her
(rightfully so). Having my own children
now and working with children every day, I realize that if I had just told her
the truth she still would have been impressed with my drawing and much prouder
of me for being truthful in the first place.
What incident would you take back, if any?
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