7 p.m…

Do you have any “woulda, coulda, shoulda’s…?

Ask yourself the following questions to measure your “woulda, coulda, shoulda” quotient…

• What would I attempt right now if I knew that I wasn’t going to fail?
• What could I do today that I have not yet taken advantage of?
• What have I always thought that I should be doing, but haven’t done so for whatever reason?
• Am I more concerned about being a “people pleaser” or truly pursuing what I know to be the “right thing” and that which is consistent with my core belief system…even at the expense of the criticism which will come my way?

Ultimately, the question is this: “Am I living my life without any regrets?”

Irene certainly is…and has. She is someone who has a gentle spirit but strong convictions. She has lived her adult Christian life based upon priority and principle…even when it wasn’t popular to do so.

Irene would especially apply the “woulda, coulda, shoulda” principle in her first priority as a mom. For years she would give up certain privileges and opportunities because she didn’t want to compromise her FIRST commitment to Jocelyn and JoAnna. When confronted with various choices she would often tell me, “I am going to do “X’ because I don’t want to have any regrets”.

Here’s just one small example: When our girls were growing up 20+ years ago it was in vogue to send kids to the day care center. In fact, there was “evidence” that your children wouldn’t be “socially balanced” and able to “compete” and “succeed” if they didn’t attend day care. Irene wasn’t “cool” as the only “non-working” mom in the neighborhood…but it didn’t mater to her. When other moms were dropping their kids off and going to work, Irene did the “stay at home” thing… And when certain people would share with her very condescendingly, “Oh, is that all you do…I would be so bored..” she would graciously acknowledge to them what was most important to her…which was maintaining our home and being available for the girls…and to this day she has no regret for that decision. I guess it’s unfortunate that Irene didn’t listen to those other voices because today our daughters are unsuccessful, anti-social, unintelligent and unable to communicate effectively…just check out their “journals” yourself…

…and, on a serious note, I credit Jocelyn and JoAnna’s brilliant minds and sensitive “HEARTS” to Irene’s influence in their lives.

Sue Martinez picked Irene up from the dialysis treatment this morning and spent some quality time with her this afternoon. Later, the dialysis center called Irene indicating that the blood tests taken this morning revealed the following:

• Red blood count is low
• Blood platelets are low
• Protein counts in the blood are also low

I will take Irene to the dialysis center tomorrow to “cross-check” her blood type (standard procedure) and she will probably receive two units of blood on Monday. Combining this new learning with what we were told on Wednesday is all the more reason we look forward to the UCSF out patient clinic next Tuesday.

Hopefully you’re living your life without any regrets…setting and maintaining those life priorities and enjoying God’s peace and blessing because of it. I have certainly learned from Irene and hope to minimize my own ‘woulda-coulda-shoulda’s” so that I, too, can live without any regrets.

Caminando con Fé
Dave