This past winter, a popular movie, Replay, explored a fantasy we've probably all indulged at least once: what if you could go back in time and make a different choice from the one you made? Most of the choices we make aren't as romantic as the one in the movie, of course. Here, contributor Jill Grimes tells of her own opportunity to look at past mistakes in a new way.
WE'VE ALL HAD the opportunity at some point to look over our lives and to measure and recall the good times—as well as those that weren't so good. Often, along with this recalling of the past, comes the wish that we had done things differently. We take a look at our regrets, and we think about the changes we would make now if we could. Sometimes, we're faced with the frustration that what's past is past—that it's over and done with and that there's nothing we can do about it, so we might as well move on.
But recently I had the opportunity to address my own "past history" in a fresh way. When the invitation to my 40-year high-school reunion came, my first reaction was to put it aside as irrelevant. I hadn't even thought of most of these people, or seen any of them, for decades. Then, when I realized I would be in the area for other reasons at the time of the event, I reconsidered and decided to attend.
