Looking back:Is there anything you would have done differently?

I should have persisted with my piano lessons instead of persuading my Mum to let me drop them as I had "too much school homework".

midgey

I should have left my husband.

That has made me so sad - such a bald statement. How are you, and things, now?

Wish I could have been in an orchestra playing the flute!
Not conducive to family life though, jetting off all over the world.
Plus I have a fear of flying. Feet on the ground, head in the clouds🤔

I should have left my husband.

Sometimes wished I hadn't married who I married but then I wouldn't have my fabulous daughter. (Would still have my son as I had him before I met my ex husband)
Apart from that I met someone whom I let slip through my fingers but hey life is what it is and it's not so bad.

I wish I’d listened to my Mum.

It is easy to regret one decision, but it is the next hundred/thousands of events that ensue from that first change that might have led to a much better life, or might, for reasons uite outside your control, have made your life much worse, or even prematurely ended it.

That is why I have no regrets

I would not have married.

Oh Hilda I do feel for you but don’t beat yourself up for something that is not your fault. Mental illness is a dreadful thing and your parenting would have made little difference . Would you have felt the same if she had died from a physical illness? I think not. I have three adult children . One suffered from severe mental illness, the other two do not. Their parenting was the same as far as I can tell. The illness sadly is beyond our control. Most of us feel we could have done things differently as parents but we did what seemed right at the time. Thinking of you.

I’d have done lots.
But like or perhaps unlike Sliding Doors we make choices and then have to make the best of the outcomes.
Some good, some less so, but that’s life.

I should have joined the RAF at 17 when offered the chance .I should have accepted the job offer at the bank.
Refused both chances because of low self esteem and lack of confidence in myself . Because of those two mistakes my life has been so much harder. Foolish me

Changed my dentist in my mid thirties, I didn’t realise how incompetent mine was, it’s all catching up now.

We got married young and I do wish I’d trained for a better career. I did enjoy 24 years as a nursery teacher but still think I should have done more.

I wish I’d had more self belief.

I regret the way I treated my fiancé. I dumped him and he was heartbroken. I have only really thought of him again in my old age. I have plenty of other regrets. I know we shouldn’t blame other people but I do blame my parents for a lack of guidance. They never gave me any advice. A friend of mine said that people often leave teenagers to their own devices but that’s when they need parents the most. I agree with that and made sure I was always there to advise my own children. I didn’t want them to make the mistakes I made.

I would give anything to have been a better mother to my wonderful, beautiful, beloved daughter and saved her from the hideous mental illness that caused her to take her own precious life.

Wouldn’t it be interesting to do the sliding doors thing and get a glimpse of what our lives would have been like if we’d made different choices?

Yes! Although we might be happy we made the right choices or upset to think the path we didn't choose might have been better for many reasons.

Perhaps it's just as well we don't know.

Wouldn’t it be interesting to do the sliding doors thing and get a glimpse of what our lives would have been like if we’d made different choices? - Not married so young, stayed on at school and gone to university, taken a different job etc. However, I know that if I had made different choices I probably wouldn’t have met my second husband, had my lovely daughter and amazing granddaughter so I’m glad I didn’t.

My only regret in life is that I didn't become a nurse sooner. Got there in the end though and it was what I was meant to do!

Yes, I wish I had had a different groom at the altar.

I would have moved to Gibraltar, being a British territory it would have been so easy. Lived my life in the sun.

Thanks for all your posts, they make interesting reading !
I guess we are all still learning not matter how old we are, life is trial and error it seems ...
and on a silly note...I do regret not purchasing any choc at the shop today.Wanted something to nibble later while watching Apprentice !!!

I regret leaving it until in my late sixties to learn how to love dogs. I was terrified of them (family dog attacked me aged 3 but honestly I have no memory of it, just a scar). I am now so comfortable around them and really love them. I missed out on a lot of pleasure.

No regrets. Things are not perfect but they are pretty good and I feel fortunate to have ended up 'comfortable' when my early prospects were poor. I have an amazing family: DH, DS, DD and lovely SIL and two adorable and delightful DGDs.

I don't want to change the past as all the low points and bad decisions are learning experiences. I just want things to stay on an even keel and not get worse.

I could say a lot of things, but one thing is not persevering with learning to drive. I failed the test twice. Lessons were expensive with a young family, and my husband wanted me to stop. I could have tried again later but lost my nerve.