REALIZING YOU SHOULD LIVE WITH NO REGRETS AND THE FREEDOM IT BRINGS

I am sitting here tonight, listening to a lot of lyrics from different artist. A lot of whom have touched places in my heart as I am sure has happened to most of you. If I could sit down and put them in chronological order as to what was happening in my life at the time, they could tell my life's story. One artist in particular made me realize that dwelling on the past, well, he said it best......"There is no such thing as what might have been, that's a waste of time, will just drive you out of your mind" ~ Tim McGraw~ Red Rag Top~ I have loved that song for a very long time and just tonight, I realize why. It has made me realize that my choices in life, starting back when I was 17, was in fact the right choice, I decided to have my daughter. Although, some of the decisions that were made at the time were out of my hands, I knew that keeping her was the one thing that I could control, she was in me and no one could change that but me. She has brought me so much feeling it is hard to put into words. She has made me feel unconditional love as a infant, and toddler, feel frustration in her single digit ages, aggravation as a teenager (is there any parent who hasn't felt that..lol). But most of all the satisfaction of watching her bloom into a beautiful woman and mother of three!! She has brought me full circle, with a lot of life and lessons learned in between. But most importantly, she has made me feel like I did a good job raising her, the values and determination she has towards her own children verify that I had a small part in her mothering skills, be it the good times or some of the trials we went through. I watch her with her own children and see the confidence she has instilled in them, the talent she has helped emerge in them, the personalities that she has let each of them develop. It is because of who she has become, I am bursting with pride to know that I had a some influence in the woman and mother she has become.

I dedicate this post to my oldest daughter, I love you and am so proud of whom you have become!!