If I knew then.....

My friend and I were talking the other day and she said "If I knew then, what I know now..." "There are so many things I would have done differently..."

We were on our daily walk as we were talking about this and I said to her try not to look at it that way...I feel like if we didn't go through certain things in life we would not be the people we are today. Of course I look back and I think about things I could have handled better or should have done differently but there is not a lot I would erase or totally change.

I believe things I went through are helping me be the parent and wife I am today. I believe if I didn't go through certain things I would really not be as appreciative of Joe and the wonderful husband he is today.

I do look at young girls in my life who I love with all of my heart and I want to spare them some of what I went through - but I know I can't. Instead I just share my stories and let them process them on their own, you see there are truly times you need to live and learn, make your own decisions and grow because of your life experiences.

Someone who I respect very much once told me there are two different types of mistakes young people can make. The kind that is like a "skinned knee" - which are the ones we need to just sit back on - and the kind that is like a "snake bite" - those are the ones we need to step in on and do our best to help prevent.

So tell me how you feel about this...would you really change things...or are you happy with what you learned from them???