If I'd have known then what I know now.....

Yesterday I had the luxury of driving 3 hours round trip, alone. And yes, to those of us with children, driving alone anywhere is a luxury. Am I right? Anyway, given that much alone time in the car with the sunroof open and the music blaring (early 90's, if you must know), I found myself driving through the familiar terrain of my childhood, thinking of the past. When I'm driving home through Auburn, Montgomery, Prattville, all the little towns in between, and finally arriving in Birmingham, little memories come to me and remind me of so many things. I wish I would've known then how fast life really happens and how much we should really treasure our time before we grow up.

I wish I would've spent more time hunting with my dad in Autagaville. I was "so busy" in college and was only able to go down about 6-7 times to hunt, but those were some fun times, just me and my pops, and occasionally my uncle and cousin. Just crazy country fun. My dad is super patient and taught me literally everything I know about guns and shooting and hunting. And driving a 5 speed. And gutting a deer. And just enjoying nature. And growing things, planting things, landscaping, just lots of things that most dads don't know. And he was so patient teaching me how to do it myself. I wish right now that we could go down off highway 14 and get on the land and get in our tree stands and hunt. That would just make my day in a big way.

I wish I would've taken more time in college and as a young married woman to just go spend time with my Grannie Annie. Screw the 4.5 hour drive. She was so damn fun and sweet, and I miss her so much. I could never walk into her house as an adult without her offering me a cocktail and an appetizer, even if it was just goldfish and pretzels. She taught me so much about our family, she loved talking about all of our relatives, telling stories of the past and stories of her early life married to my Pappy. And I really wish I could've gotten to know my Pappy more than 13 years. Because the stories from my mom, dad, and Grannie about him are awesome. It would be great to talk to him about the ATF, his time in the service, and raising four crazy kids!

I wish I would have spent more girl time with my mom and asked her how to smock and knit. Because one day she won't be doing that, and it will be up to me to make my grand kids smocked outfits and lovies.

I wish I would have realized early on that my sister would be my best friend for life. Although we probably would've gotten in way more trouble than we did!!

I wish I would have spent less time fussing at Bart for barking or cleaning up the dog hair, and more time just enjoying his loyalty and company.

I wish I would have enjoyed and appreciated all of the wonderful things my hometown and state have to offer and actually done them. Can't beat Alabama!

I wish I wouldn't have waxed and tweezed my eyebrows into thin lines in college. Because now they are stuck that way, and at 34 years old, I have to fill them in with an eyebrow pencil.

I wish I would've washed my face more and taken better care of it in general. And that goes for the ole body, too. Damn baby weight. It doesn't fall off, BTW.

Oh, and I wish I would have never given my kids a binkie. For the love.

So, if I could go back in time for a redo, these are the things I would want to do.

What about you? What do you wish you would have known then?