Looking back over the years of my life, I am struck by the lack of wisdom that followed me into adulthood.

What would I do differently if I knew then what I know now?

I would certainly not have delayed going back to school. Adding it up, and percentages are one math function that has stayed with me, I have been in school 35% of my lifetime. But now I find that my processes are slow and my discipline fleeting. Papers that may have taken a couple of weeks to research and write now take eight weeks (fortunately, the eight weeks are allotted for this activity, not because the other students are my age but because they all have full-time positions outside the home).

I would not have taken myself so seriously. It is embarrassing to think back at some of the confrontations I began or continued because I was stubborn when in reality not much many of these were worth the effort or consequence.

I would have stepped back and concluded "Such is life" more often than I did, if I ever did.

I would have traveled earlier and not waited until I had saved the time and money.

I would have kept a few of my jobs longer and quit others sooner.

I would have learned a second language. And been 'gooder' at English.

And that's what I'm thinking about.