So I was watching Access Hollywood or TMZ (I can't remember, I just know it was mindless and that I had about a 20 minute time slot where I could watch something other than Fox or Wheel of Fortune (which I love but it plays awfully loud in my parents' home), because my dad had stepped away from the television--some of you may know that we are living with my parents until the escrow on our new house closes. Anyway digression over...) and this story comes on about the Miss Universe Pageant and how one of the contestants (I think it was Miss Phillipines who was picked to win) was asked what is the biggest mistake she'd ever made was. Her response to this was basically that she had never really made any mistakes and well you can only imagine how the media jumped all over that the following day. I sort of laughed at it and was like, "Come on. Of course you're perfect. Long legs, clear skin, no grey hairs or fne lines (YET) and definitely no cellulite." Whatever! Anyway, after my dialogue with the TV screen a.k.a. Miss Phillipines, I started thinking about that question. It's kind of an unfair question on the spot, don't you think? I mean, okay--everyone makes mistakes. Umm--would that be the ones I made in the last hour, today, last week, last year. I'm thinking I have so many I can't even process them that quickly on the spot. No way.
In fact, while driving into work today I started by breaking down my mistakes by decades and then I asked myself if mistakes were the same as regrets. I don't think so. Mistakes are kind of like accidents, right? Like when you have a fender bender (raising my hand here) or you buy generic brand macaroni n' cheese and not Kraft (let me tell you BIG mistake when you have a 9 year old who so knows the difference), or when you schedule a lunch with someone and then forget it and go the following day (that one was just plain stupidity). Or how about the night in college when one too many kamakazi shots were had and you wind up on your best guy friend's couch balling your eyes out because your boyfriend cheated on you, and then your bff holds your hair back while you barf in his toilet (he's still one of my best friends)--is that one a mistake or regret? I'm going with regret as my friend has a great memory.
And, I have a multitude of those from college days alone; regrets that is. Like when I called my room mate's parents to let them know that she was spiraling because she had a drug addiction (which I stupidly didn't realize until I found her drugs stashed in my underwear drawer one night when her boyfriend was coming over and she didn't want him to go searching through her things. Long, sad story but true). Anyway, that one back fired on me big time. She moved out (which was good) but I was stuck for the rent in the middle of my junior year (lucky I had a good job). But to top it off, I was accused of stealing her clothes and her parents refused to believe me. There are many, many college days mistakes and regrets. I might be able to write an entire book on those.
I don't even want to get into the mistakes you make as a parent--from infancy into aldulthood. Pretty much make those all day, every day and my kids have convinced me I'm not that smart. It seems as though every year past 13 they become far more intelligent and I become dumber, thus making mistakes right and left. I believe that this reverts back when they are about 25 when they will realize those mistakes I was making in their opinion, was really called "parenting," and that I wasn't that stupid afterall. I'm hoping anyway.
I may not be a perfect beauty queen, but damn it does appear I am human. I'll take the latter. Who needs all that pressure of perfection?
How about you? What is/was your biggest mistake/regret?
Cheers,
Michele
In fact, while driving into work today I started by breaking down my mistakes by decades and then I asked myself if mistakes were the same as regrets. I don't think so. Mistakes are kind of like accidents, right? Like when you have a fender bender (raising my hand here) or you buy generic brand macaroni n' cheese and not Kraft (let me tell you BIG mistake when you have a 9 year old who so knows the difference), or when you schedule a lunch with someone and then forget it and go the following day (that one was just plain stupidity). Or how about the night in college when one too many kamakazi shots were had and you wind up on your best guy friend's couch balling your eyes out because your boyfriend cheated on you, and then your bff holds your hair back while you barf in his toilet (he's still one of my best friends)--is that one a mistake or regret? I'm going with regret as my friend has a great memory.
And, I have a multitude of those from college days alone; regrets that is. Like when I called my room mate's parents to let them know that she was spiraling because she had a drug addiction (which I stupidly didn't realize until I found her drugs stashed in my underwear drawer one night when her boyfriend was coming over and she didn't want him to go searching through her things. Long, sad story but true). Anyway, that one back fired on me big time. She moved out (which was good) but I was stuck for the rent in the middle of my junior year (lucky I had a good job). But to top it off, I was accused of stealing her clothes and her parents refused to believe me. There are many, many college days mistakes and regrets. I might be able to write an entire book on those.
I don't even want to get into the mistakes you make as a parent--from infancy into aldulthood. Pretty much make those all day, every day and my kids have convinced me I'm not that smart. It seems as though every year past 13 they become far more intelligent and I become dumber, thus making mistakes right and left. I believe that this reverts back when they are about 25 when they will realize those mistakes I was making in their opinion, was really called "parenting," and that I wasn't that stupid afterall. I'm hoping anyway.
I may not be a perfect beauty queen, but damn it does appear I am human. I'll take the latter. Who needs all that pressure of perfection?
How about you? What is/was your biggest mistake/regret?
Cheers,
Michele
Comments
There've been lots of mistakes, but regrets are hard for me. If I lived my life over, I wouldn't make the same choices BUT I might end up with a different life than the one I have now, and I LIKE this life. So it's hard to regret the stupid things I've done and said.
Some people think it was a mistake to pick up that hitchhiker when I was 19, but I had just hit him with my car, so giving him a ride seemed only fair.