How many times have we all said “I sure wish we had done this or that?" Most of us have probably put off doing or seeing something for a varienty of reasons. I did that very thing and this week I learned an important lesson and that is simply unfortunately, sometimes you just don’t get a second chance to do it.My dad was a true outdoorsman. He loved hunting (although not for several years because of his age), camping, fishing and just being outside. As a young boy, my dad and I hiked and camped in some of the remotest areas of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. While he was the ever patient fisherman, I was the easily bored one who would get in trouble for trying to skip rocks across the lake where he was trying to fish.
For several years, my Dad always talked about how he wanted to go to Alaska and see the great land. He didn’t really want to cruise there. He wanted to go by motor home up the ALCAN Highwayand just take his time to enjoy the sights and sounds. As he got older, I kept trying to convince him to cruise with me and then do a land extension into the heart of Alaska. I could never quite get him to commit. In spite of being retired for over 30 years, he always had too much to do to be gone that long or just didn’t want to be away from home at that particular time. I never quite figured out what all those things were he had to do, but according to him he always had something that just couldn’t wait to be done. Over the past few years, as his health began to deteriorate I tried harder to convince him to go and when he finally agreed, I was really pleased. Unfortunately, a work related conflict came up for me and I couldn’t go. My dad’s dream trip to Alaska got put on hold.
Last week I was in New York for a business meeting. On Monday night my brother called and told me my Dad was in pretty bad shape and that the end was probably near. On Tuesday afternoon, he called again to say that my Dad had only been given hours to live. I diverted my flight back to Seattle to Denver. My dad passed away while I was in the air trying to get there. I missed him by just a few hours. I had seen him in late January and knew that may be the last time I would see him alive as he was in pretty bad shape. Hard as it is to let go, I know in my own heart it is for the best because he was not enjoying a quality of life that the robust outdoorsman I had grown up with had.
As my brother and I went through all the arrangements for the funeral and taking care of things at his house, I couldn’t help but think about all the good times and the things about his love of the outdoors. I know he would have enjoyed that trip to Alaska immensely and it would have meant a lot to him. Now, because we didn’t make it a high enough priority, I only have regrets for not having done it instead of fond memories of what may have been one of the highlights of his life.
My advice to people who have always wanted to see or do something is to try to figure out a way to get it done so that you’re not the one saying “Boy, I wish we had done that.” Remember, sometimes there are no second chances..