The things I regret......

My sentiments too Arry. I've regretted it so much since.

I wish I had kept on driving and not stopped and turned back.

Saying no to the man who was the love of my life, and yes to the man who wasn't

Me too Millierbear. But no regrets really. I was strong and confident right up until I was about 40 when life hit me sideways with a big blow when my only child, my son died of an illness. It knocked the stuffing out of me. Its only now really 20 or so years later that I am feeling true joy again when I see the face of my little grand-daughter next to me. She is the joy of my husband and my life. The sun shines when she calls me Nanny!

Thank you Absent.

Marrying my sons waste of space father
Working full time when my son was a baby
Starting our own business
Not being able to travel
Not becoming a social worker

I think I’ll Have to stop there .

A few things, however life is too short for regrets.. Oh MillieBear!! I do agree with you.

PoppyB - there are other people out there who will appreciate you more. Go out and find them while doing things you always wanted to do but never had time for in the past while you were helping others.....

My own regrets? If I'd had more children I might now have had more grandchildren! And I wish I'd learned to dance properly before my hips and knees became a problem!

I wish I'd taken up my grandmother's offer to pay for me to have piano lessons when I was a girl. Not much else though.

Me too Oldwoman70. I too wish I’d told some badly behaved people to F off.

Thank you all for sharing. I don't dwell on it, I've had a very nice life with so much to be thankful for. Millie Bear - yes indeed! Milkflake, please don't worry over it as it can't be changed xx Peardrop50, you made me laugh ?. PoppyB I am very sorry. DeeWBW thank you for sharing xx

How sad to say that it is a comfort to know that other people made the same mistakes I did. I got pregnant and married at eighteen, instead of going off to polytechnic to do my degree in law. The relationship I had before I met my husband was the one I should have stayed with and I only finished it because I had broken my record of how long I had gone out with someone (we had been together for eight months, which beat the four months of an earlier relationship). It was also because my mam and dad thought her was too old for me (I was seventeen and he was twenty-one and he wasn’t allowed in the house, as we didn’t have a lot of money and my parents didn’t want to feed him, occasionally). Several years and three sons later, someone told me how my real love had gone to visit my nan several times and how he would have loved for us to be together, even though, by then, I had children. Why did no-one tell me? Four disastrous long-term relationships later (but with three gorgeous boys from my first marriage), I still think of Iain, the man who really loved me and I don’t want to one day die and not know if he had a happy life. Every day, I hope that something might appear. I don’t know what this something is going to be, though he did have a Rhodesian accent and had three siblings and so may be able to be traced. Mmm …. . It’s sad … .

I've poured my heart. It's rare I do this but it feels okay.

I’m so sorry PoppyB but maybe try to remember how generous you’ve been and deserving of a pat on the back.

Dear me. In a bad moment I could probably fill a large sheet of paper with a list of regrets - things I've wished I'd not said or done, etc etc. In the end you just have to forgive yourself - we all make mistakes. Who amongst us hasn't?

Esspee,
I tried to get tickets for the 02 but they sold out in 5mins despite being over £100 each!

Not many regrets looking back, but I have regrets looking forward. I see two futures - the one I want and the one that I expect I am going to get. The future I am likely to get will be good, but the future I would like could be heaven on earth to me.

@Loopyloo. Last autumn we went to Catalonia for a sunshine week. Day 1 we saw on a poster that the Rolling Stones were in concert that night in Barcelona so popped in to ask if there were any tickets.
Later that day we were off with a coach load from all over the world. The main conversation starter was "have you seen them before?"
I took great delight in saying that the only time I had seen them before they weren't top of the bill.......until I realised quite how old that made me!
But back to the subject. I regret coming off the pill. Surely I am not the only person who regrets losing the life I could have had if I had never had children. Love mine but in retrospect they controlled my life.

Regret that I never knew my parents as friends - only as a child, then as carer;
Not being friends with my sisters - more like sworn enemies [their choice];
Being so in thrall to my parents that I did what they wanted, and not what my heart told me [to teach];

On the other hand, if I had done the latter, I woul dnever have met DH and had my 3 wonderful, precious DCs...

I so feel like that Nanna M. I don't regret much but somehow feel I have missed a chance to explore "me"!

Being too shy, unconfident and often vunerable in the way I was treated, particularely when I started my first job where I was so used. It's lovely to see my gd so happy and confident now as this is such a good start in life. However, I'm easily pleased and have had a good life on the whole. With the passing years have gained in confidence and contentment so no complaints.

Happysexagenerian the second paragraph of your post could have been written by or for me. That is absolutely how I feel.

Not realising that my daughter suffered from anxiety rather than thinking she was a spoiled brat.

How therapeutic to read these posts. I know few women who would voice their regrets face to face - for fear of losing face. Now I'm 74 I think what the hell, I'll confess most regrets.

I didn't know what I wanted or needed, so I just lived in the moment. Then I had a tiny inkling of what I wanted or needed, but didn't know how to ask for it. So how can I regret my past, because I may have had a niggling feeling that there was something different "out there" but I had no idea how to find it.
I turn 70 next year and I'm still not good at figuring out what I want, and how to ask for it!!

I regret ...
Not growing up with my siblings and my Dad. I hardly got to know him at all before he died when I was eleven, and I have always felt a bit of an outsider in my own family.

Not spending more time playing with my children when they were young. I allowed the daily routines of housework and caring to get in the way. When my AC recall their childhood now they only seem to remember what a strict parent I was. But they have grown into wonderful people who are great parents themselves so I must have got something right.

Not learning to swim - always been terrified of water any deeper than my knees.

Not learning to ride a bike. Always hated falling off so I gave up trying.