106. Value of Regret
I recently did a one-woman show and it was such fun, once all the preparation was done, and the last minute jitters were over, and I stepped out and did it. There were close to a hundred people; we raised over a thousand dollars for United Methodist Women’s World Thank Offering; and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Then—there came hindsight and a surge of regret. I had almost my entire family present—all four children, three of their four spouses, ten of sixteen grandchildren, my former husband, and his wife—19 out of a family of 26, plus a sister from Canada.
I had intended at the very end to ask my family members to come up and stand with me, because they are such a part of the things I have written and the music I have composed, and I forgot—or I panicked and thought it had lasted too long and I shouldn’t take the time—or…whatever. But I didn’t do it.
Actually the primary reason that I didn’t do it, was that throughout the show, I had made notes to myself about what I was wanting to say in between songs or readings, and I was sure that I had done the same thing for the Thank You’s at the end. When I turned the last page to see those Thank You’s, the page was blank. And I had to wing it.
So, what I have learned from this is to do three things: 1) Plan, plan, and for me that means write it out. 2) Acknowledge the regret and learn from it for the next time. 3) Release it and enjoy the wonder of what I accomplished before the regret set in.
