There are so many times I’ve missed the boat or taken the wrong boat or jumped off of the boat. I’ve even jumped off the pier.
I’ve given up on waiting for my boat to come in. That ship has indeed sailed. It seems like I’ve spend way too much time standing on the shore watching the mast vanish over the horizon.
When it comes to romance my brother Max definitely took the wrong ship when he ended up on the Titanic and met the wrong woman who broke his heart 100 year later (but that’s another story. She was weird and I’m glad he didn’t end up with her). Max is always looking for an ideal perfection when I know in my heart of hearts that is the imperfect woman who will make him happy.
On the other hand, it is a good thing I’m a strong swimmer because my own romantic history involves a lot of jumping off of wrong boats, back paddling and treading water. Most of all it involves ships that pass in the night. Wrong time, wrong place, maybe right person, but maybe not. I’ll have to check my life in some alternative universe to find out what might have been.
Missing my boat might not have been a bad thing after all. If I’d taken that boat, that one perfect boat I might not be with the man I love, the man I married, the love of my life. And I love my children more than the universe or any alternate universe. I’d jump off of any boat for my kids.
I’ve grown, as I’ve grown up, that the question of “What if?” should only apply to the here and now or the future. It should never apply to the past. The past is great. We share our memories. It made us who we are not, but the burden of regrets is like a cargo hold full of rotten fish. It will only smell bad and make us sick and miserable.
So what ship am I on now? I’m on the first leg of a fantastic journey into the unknown. I’m on a journey where the wonders of the universe will unfold in front of my eyes – I know that because I live with teens! Everything is possible.
I don’t need to wait for a boat. Now is my time.
Juliette aka Vampire Maman
Vampire Maman 
I must be Max. Or, am I Roxanna?
Either way, I love your ending to this post. It works for me. Even without a teenager.
So what ship am I on now? Im on the first leg of a fantastic journey into the unknown. Im on a journey where the wonders of the universe will unfold in front of my eyes I know that because I live with teens! Everything is possible.
I dont need to wait for a boat. Now is my time. You’re right. No boats required. Our time is always now.
On Tue, Feb 12, 2013 at 4:31 PM, Vampire Maman
You are neither Max or Roxanna. Heaven forbid.
But yes, our time is always now.
Great post, J, and you know…, “what if” never was a memory. Most folks really don’t remember what never happened. And don’t get me started on boats…., you really don’t have that much time… (and thanks for the recipe)
Paul
From about 2007 – 2012 I was hanging on to a boat that had a bunch of holes in it. I kept trying to patch up the holes by myself while getting bullied by the crew. (friends, family) In 2012 the boat sunk to the bottom and I swam to the tip of the ocean only to find sturdy land to begin my life journey. New opportunities were granted to me. Life made me hit “ocean” bottom so I could see that I had to let go.
Well said. So glad you made to the place you ought to be.
Thank you, 🙂
Along Paul’s vein of thought, most folks who live with regrets pad their memories with only ‘the good times’. How does that country song go? “Thank God for Unanswered Prayers.”