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Love the life you're in; the ride's too short to imagine a different path

Subhead
On Second Thought
Lead Summary
By
Lori Sorenson

Our sports reporter is leaving the Star Herald to move with his wife to Portland, Oregon.
It’s a beautiful part of the country where they met each other and where their close friends live. And, he said, “We’d like to do some things while we’re still young and before we have children.”
He assured me he’s not leaving because his editor got after him about missing box scores and photos with feet cropped off.
Since his announcement Wednesday, I’ve pondered my own adventures “while I was still young and before I had children.”
My first was born when I was 27, so I had adequate time to “do some things while I was still young and before I had children.”
They were the usual post-college, 20-something experiences, but looking back, my real adventures started when children arrived.
My already busy and fulfilling life suddenly became a closed chapter titled, “Before Children.”
The new chapter, “With Children,” made me wonder what I was so busy doing before I was put in charge of two little humans.
The baby and toddler stages became tooth fairy and preschool stages, which then turned into soccer, little league, piano lessons, tae kwon do and other life stages of growing children.
And one day the high school sports, music and prom stage turned into the graduation and college stage, and here we are, wondering why time seems to be going so fast.
These, my friends, are adventures — at least that’s how they feel to me, both thrilling and terrifying at the same time. … Mostly because there’s no way to put the brakes on the roller coaster.
There’s no getting off; you hang on tight and enjoy the ride until it’s over. We’re all heading to the same place; some of us will just get there sooner.
And if we’re paying attention, we’ll learn from the highs and lows. We’ll stop anticipating what’s around the next bend and we’ll enjoy today.
It’s fun to look back at the tracks we’ve made and wonder how life would be different if we’d turned left rather than right.
What if I’d accepted the job offer that required travel? Or, what if I’d followed a career path to a larger metro news outlet?
Would I be happy? Probably. But it’s hard to imagine the might-have-beens.
I hardly remember life before children, and I’ll never know where the path without them may have led.
But I’m acutely aware that this is the only earthly life I get, and do-overs aren’t an option.
So I can either dwell on regrets (yes, there are a few), or be grateful for my blessings (which are too many to count).
I wish you well, Brennen and Maddi, regardless of the adventures that lie ahead. Enjoy the ride wherever it takes you.
 

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