What-If?
This morning I went out for breakfast with my mother, my aunt/Godmother, my cousin, and my grammy. Yesterday was my grammy's birthday and since I couldn't drag myself out of bed at 7:00 on a Saturday morning, we went later today. I'd never tried that restaurant before and thoroughly enjoyed my bacon cheese omelette.
We talked about a variety of things, but one story stuck out in my mind. I love it when my grammy tells stories. We started off talking about who had cameras back in the 1930s and my grammy started talking about a girl she was friends with growing up. My aunt and my mom both knew this girl's mother but couldn't remember my grammy's friend. They started asking about the girl's married name, and each time my grammy would try to get back to the story, they would jump in and say, "Well, come on, Mom, don't you remember her married name? Maybe we knew her!"
Finally, my grammy said, "Well, let me finish the story. When I was in 8th grade, Geniveve came over on a Sunday afternoon and brought her camera. She wanted me to go down to the canal by our house to swim and take pictures. She kept bugging me to go, but I told her no, that my mother wouldn't let me. She told me to go and just not tell my mom. But I didn't go with her."
My aunt gasped and said, "She drowned, didn't she?"
Yes, the little girl did drown. My grammy said, "Now look what would've happened if I had gone with her."
"None of us might be here right now," my aunt said. But I was thinking about it differently.
After a few seconds of silence, my aunt added, "But what if I you had gone with her? You might have saved her!" That was exactly what I thought. I can't imagine how guilty I would have felt if I hadn't gone swimming with a friend and that friend later went alone and drowned. Had I been there, I might have been able to save her.
Grammy laughed and shook her head. "I couldn't swim. If I had gone with her that day, we both would have drowned."
It's funny how one little choice that we make could impact the rest of our lives. I've always been intrigued by that "what-if" concept. That one little event alone, had it transpired any differently, would have wiped out every one of my grammy's descendants. I'm sure there are plenty of little accidents in one's life that could do that. I've had a few near-death experiences in my 19 years. But this one struck me as more profound because this would have affected far more people than just myself.
My latest "what-if": What if I hadn't extended an invitation last weekend? I probably wouldn't be in this little mess right now.
¤Mary¤
Quote of the Day: "Can't remember what went wrong last September though I'm sure you'd remind me if you had to." ~ from the song Comfortable, performed by John Mayer
We talked about a variety of things, but one story stuck out in my mind. I love it when my grammy tells stories. We started off talking about who had cameras back in the 1930s and my grammy started talking about a girl she was friends with growing up. My aunt and my mom both knew this girl's mother but couldn't remember my grammy's friend. They started asking about the girl's married name, and each time my grammy would try to get back to the story, they would jump in and say, "Well, come on, Mom, don't you remember her married name? Maybe we knew her!"
Finally, my grammy said, "Well, let me finish the story. When I was in 8th grade, Geniveve came over on a Sunday afternoon and brought her camera. She wanted me to go down to the canal by our house to swim and take pictures. She kept bugging me to go, but I told her no, that my mother wouldn't let me. She told me to go and just not tell my mom. But I didn't go with her."
My aunt gasped and said, "She drowned, didn't she?"
Yes, the little girl did drown. My grammy said, "Now look what would've happened if I had gone with her."
"None of us might be here right now," my aunt said. But I was thinking about it differently.
After a few seconds of silence, my aunt added, "But what if I you had gone with her? You might have saved her!" That was exactly what I thought. I can't imagine how guilty I would have felt if I hadn't gone swimming with a friend and that friend later went alone and drowned. Had I been there, I might have been able to save her.
Grammy laughed and shook her head. "I couldn't swim. If I had gone with her that day, we both would have drowned."
It's funny how one little choice that we make could impact the rest of our lives. I've always been intrigued by that "what-if" concept. That one little event alone, had it transpired any differently, would have wiped out every one of my grammy's descendants. I'm sure there are plenty of little accidents in one's life that could do that. I've had a few near-death experiences in my 19 years. But this one struck me as more profound because this would have affected far more people than just myself.
My latest "what-if": What if I hadn't extended an invitation last weekend? I probably wouldn't be in this little mess right now.
¤Mary¤
Quote of the Day: "Can't remember what went wrong last September though I'm sure you'd remind me if you had to." ~ from the song Comfortable, performed by John Mayer