Our daughter’s taking her driving test next month.
Like most tests she takes, most of the preparation is done pretty close to the actual test.

But we insist on logging the 50 practice hours, so she’s cramming. A lot has improved. A long drive in traffic to Santa Barbara helped. But a month ago, it was a lot of jerky acceleration, then braking.

Accelerate.
Brake.
Accelerate.
Brake.

Life’s like that sometimes. This year has been like that for me. Excited about new business, new opportunities, lots of forward acceleration. And then BRAKE. Colon Cancer scare. Then my surgery went fine.
ACCELERATE.
Then my mom’s cancer worsened.
Life slammed on the BRAKES.
Everything became about my mom.
And then her death.
And then our son came home from college.
He’s decided to switch schools in the fall.
But for now, he’s a camp counselor and loving his time at Huntington Lake.

Life is beginning to accelerate again.

And I’m enjoying that. Yes, I still get emotional about missing my mom. But I have no regrets about the time I spent at her bedside. And the feelings I expressed.

I listened to an author discuss “The 5 Regrets of the Dying” and, according to this palliative care worker, they are this:

I wish I’d lived a life that was true to myself—not a life others expected of me.
I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.
I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
I wish I’d stayed in touch with friends.
I wish I’d let myself be happier.

Sending you wishes for courage, and a very happy week of living true to yourself.