Hi everyone, and welcome back to Life Captured! Today’s post is inspired by this month’s “Share Our Lives” link-up prompt: I Wish I Had Known. Honestly, I catch myself thinking that phrase all the time, but the moment I sat down to write this, my mind went totally blank!
Then I remembered something that happened recently. I actually won a prize, a mini deep freezer! The catch? Kevin isn’t keen on using it since we already have a standalone freezer and a side-by-side fridge/freezer combo. Looking back, if I had known we wouldn’t have a spot for it, I definitely would’ve picked a different prize!
My Children
Now that is a recent, I wish I had known. But the wiser wishes lead me to think about family and friends. Children: I wish the days when my kids were young didn’t go as fast. Back in the day, I ate so many nachos Chile cheese concession stand meals at the kids activities, I began not enjoying them. Now, I think about them often and crave one.
Marriage
About marriage: I love my husband dearly, then and now. Then while working a full day job, rushing to get the kids picked up by 6pm, to getting home to cook dinner, get kids homework and showers done; I was tired. Sometimes too tired to enjoy the, ‘me and husband‘ time let alone having ‘it‘. Now I wish for those nights back. Age is not always kind to the youth stamina at 60. For me and hubby, if you get my drift. 🤔💋
Family
Family: I would have had more family portraits of us. Every. Single. Year.
Friends
I wish I had kept in contact with my friends I had before I met Kevin. At the time, it was all about, ‘Kevin’. Once I had my children, that was my life. I lived through them. I went to all of their school activities. My friends were my kids parents. When my children graduated high school and went off to college, I was lost. I had no other connections to the other kids parents.
It often takes years of living, making mistakes, and shifting priorities to truly see what matters most in life. Wealth, status, and professional achievements can bring temporary satisfaction, but they mean very little without the foundation of good health and the support of a loving family. Your physical and mental well-being dictate how fully you can experience the world, while family provides the emotional anchor, safety net, and shared joy that give life genuine meaning. When everything else fades away, your health determines your capacity to live, and your loved ones give you a reason to.
This post was inspired by the Share Our Lives prompt. Today’s post has encouraged me to pull out my saved tub of negatives, of the pictures I have taken all those years prior to digital! 🤗
Yesterday is today’s memory.
Be sure to capture your memory today!
All the best,.
Debra Ellen
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That same thing happened to me! I know at least a million times this last month I’ve though “gosh I wish I had known that!”… and then when I went to write all those thoughts flew out of my head. I’m pretty sure 95% of them had to do with death/dying/probate etc. as I’m up to my neck in all that and I’m betting at least another 2% had to do with college drop off things that were new this year for the younger that we didn’t have to do for the older son but still… We only have a few family photos too but remember how stressful they were I’m not sure I could have made it a yearly thing. I am thinking of bribing our boys to do one last one before they graduate college and head who knows where but our last family photo my oldest had just turned 18 and he had told me then “no more!” so we shall see if I can persuade him.
Let the guys know this would be the best birthday/Christmas gift wrapped into one 😊
Debra! It’s so easy to look back and wish we had savored those busy, chaotic years a little more! Have fun going through that tub of negatives and revisiting all those wonderful memories.
Oh, I am so looking forward to the time spent reviewing!
Thank you!
That is a shame you don’t have much use for the freezer.
Time did go by so quickly when my girls were little and there are friends I wish I had kept contact with.
Right now it’s just taking up space in our garage. Will most likely see if my daughter and her family can use it.
There is no use in thinking that way….it has happened and cannot be changed again even if one would do it now in an other way…and as a reminder to look at upcoming things and events in a way that you will not think afterwards…if I had known.
Warm greetings from Greece
Violetta
You are right, I know this. However, it does cross my mind. Kind of like writing a letter to my younger self. I appreciate your advice and wise words.
Have continuing fun in Greece!
All the best.
I can relate to so much of this, Debra. You’re so right about how quickly those years with the kids seem to disappear. I love the idea of digging out all those old negatives too. I bet there are some lovely memories in there! 😊
I’ve been looking at a few different products to transfer 35mm negatives to digital. I had read in one of the products review, that a light box would do the job. Once the negative is on the light box, take a picture with camera. Of course, more searching internet will need to be done 🤔