What If...

I suppose very few seniors have never second-guessed anything. It seems to be an integral part of our lives. The danger as we all know is dwelling on the What Ifs in our lives. Let me illustrate from a couple of my own experiences.

When I turned 18, Uncle Sam had his eye on me. The Draft Board summoned, I took my physical exam, passed, and was ready to be inducted into the Army. However, I heard my name called, and when I responded, it was the Navy Recruiting Office. Apparently they were short of enlistees and I was asked if I wanted to go into the Navy. I was informed about my choices, regular or reserve. I chose the latter. But, what if I had turned the Navy down? Or taken the USN regulars? I’ll never know.

Some years later, I finished an assignment and had two offers. One was to be a college teacher; the other was a pastorate. After some real soul-searching, I chose the pastorate. But what if I had taken the college position? I’ll never know. Today I have no regrets. In fact, I cannot even imagine what might have been. But suppose I had chased my doubts for years, even decades. What a way to live. As they say, better to burn the bridge than looking back longingly.

The potential what ifs in our lives can be numerous, possibly even unending. It is possible and can become one of our agonizing senior moments. What if I had married sooner, or later? Or not at all? What if I had taken more schooling? What if we had sold our home sooner? What if we had switched brokerages earlier? What if . . .

‘Nuff said. If we can’t possibly guess what might have been had we taken another direction, why do we keep on wondering? But we do. Had I taken the college position, I wouldn’t have gone on to become an International Pastor or a Chaplain (Retirement Facilities and Civil Air Patrol). But I might have earned a doctorate and might have been Dr. Dan instead of Rev. Dan. I could have spent 25 more years in Minnesota instead of California, Sweden, Michigan and Mexico. But this is merely supposition.

What if? Better perhaps to remove these two words from our vocabularies.