Oh, to be young again...

I'm suffering from a bit of "youth" envy tonight.  My oldest son enjoyed the opening night of the first musical he has had the priviledge to be in.  They have 3 more perfomances before its all over until next year.  I volunteered to help with hair and makeup. All the parents were "encouraged" to volunteer on some type of production crew, and this seemed to be the best fit for me.  I didn't do much - most of it was done before I arrived from work. I did help with some minor touch-up details during the show, so I hope I was useful. 

Being backstage, and seeing all the excitement on the young faces brought back a ton of fond memories.  I never had a major role in any production, but I was involved in several plays/musicals during my high school years.  Definitely some wistful, looking back going on for me tonight.  Oh, I would never, EVER want to repeat high school as a whole - but there were certain things, some unforgettable experiences that I wouldn't mind reliving. If only for a little while. 

If you had the chance to do one thing again, what would it be?  I don't know that this would be my "one thing", but it would certainly be on the short list.  Picking one... thats tough. Its worth some more pondering.  And, I didn't say change one thing, I just said "do it again".  Doing something, EXPERIENCING something again, the exact same way you did the first time, but with the knowledge and experience you have now. I wonder, how different would that "one thing" seem now?

I'm pretty sure, we can't go back and do it all over again (Eddie Money is running through my head now!) for good reasons.  Memories are meant to be enjoyed, sometimes re-lived. But not to be LIVED in. They are meant to be visited occasionally, and then put back on the shelf. We are meant to go on. To look toward the future. To strive for something ahead, not to look behind.

It was fun to see Zak making memories he will have for his lifetime. It was fun re-living my own similar memories. I can't wait to see what memories we still have to make! The future is wide open, the only thing we can be sure of is we never have to face it alone. And, knowing that, means we can go forward even without knowing what is to come. I am so thankful for my family, and friends to make my memories with:)