The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I --
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

-- Robert Frost

I have always loved this poem by Robert Frost. It is sometimes fun to think about how my life would be different if only . . .

I had gotten an advanced degree in college and gone on to have a career where I saved lives.

I had another baby or two but it was not meant to be.

I had been born rich so I could use that money to help those more needy than I.

I had been born beautiful and without blemish but then I wouldn't be able to see and understand my sisters who aren't.

I had been born a genius so I could solve all the problems under the sun.

I had been born a politician so I could change the world.

I had been born with some special gift so I could invent something useful to help mankind.

I had been born a writer so I could write a book that would be read and cherished by generations to come.

If I had taken that other path many years ago I would not have the husband and children I have now. I might not know and love the people currently in my life. I would not have learned the things I learned over the years and I would not be able to sit here writing all these "what ifs." (I also might not know all the trivia I know to answer all the questions on Jeopardy.)

What if I purchased a lottery ticket today and actually won the $101 million jackpot? What would I do with all that money? What if we sold our house and just went traveling until we got bored? Where would we go then?

It's nice to dream and it's nice to speculate. But, the truth of the matter is that we are destined to live out our lives just as they are no matter which path we decide to take.

We all have regrets about things we have done in our past and the paths we decided to take -- decisions we have made that affect us today. It would be futile to dwell upon these "what ifs." We must accept the here-and-now of our lives because that's all there is, folks.

And yet, it's still fun, as I'm driving down the road, to think about what I would do with all that money if I actually won the lottery. Oh, well. Destiny takes a hand.