NO REGRETS
The two anglers sat side by side on the banks of the river. The late summer sun was a hazy golden ball playing peek-a-boo with some fluffy cumulus clouds. The combination of sun and shadow bathed the surrounding hills with a patchwork pattern of light and dark. Some of the trees had patches of red and yellow leaves, a sure sign that the long days of summer were drawing to a close.
What could not be seen was the fact that one of the two anglers sitting on the bank was also in the autumn of his life. Earlier in the year the doctors had told him that it was unlikely that he would see another spring. The cancer that his body had been fighting for several years was winning, and there were no viable options left to continue the battle. He had stopped all treatments and had spent the summer visiting his children, his old friends, and fishing his favorite places. As the days of summer began to wane his strength began to ebb and today as he sat on the bank of his favorite stream with his long time fishing companion he quietly reflected on a life now nearly spent.
“Sitting here today it hardly seems possible that it was over 50 years ago when I first found this place. Somehow it doesn’t seem possible that come another year I will not be coming back here.”
His old friend placed his arm over his shoulders. “Regrets?” he asked
“Regrets?” He paused allowing his mind to savor the flavor of the question; letting it flow through his consciousness like fine wine touching the palate. After several moments of quiet reflection he turned toward his friend, his quiet gray eyes damp at the corners.
“Why yes, I suppose that I have a few, but overall I have enjoyed a good life. My regrets are mostly personal. I’ve enjoyed more than my share of personal accomplishments. I had a successful career; I had a wonderful wife, great kids and more than my share of the good things that life can provide.”
“I have stood waist deep in more famous trout streams than most anglers will ever experience in two lifetimes. I have sat in a duck blind at sunrise and watched wave after wave of ducks turn into my decoy spread, watched a proud strutting tom turkey display his finery before my blind in response to my call, jumped a near record white-tail buck from his hiding place after several hours of painstakingly stalking him on a snowy winter day, and I have stood in rapt awe as a bull elk issued his challenge to an unseen rival.”
However, there are friends that I wish I would have come to know better. I regret not telling those closest to me how important they were to me. I regret not being a better friend, a better father to my kids, and a better husband to my wife. I regret that I spent too little time getting to know my God, too much time complaining and not enough time being thankful for all that He has given me.”
“I regret not spending more time watching the sunrise, marveling at the wonders of the night sky, or just enjoying the wonder of being alive. I regret spending so much time on things that, in the final analysis, don’t really matter. At this time in my life I regret feeling like a college graduate that spent their college years majoring in minors. If I regret anything I regret that I had to get to this place in my life before I became wise enough to finally understand all the things that were really important.”
The old man turned away, his quiet gray eyes taking in the scope of the stream that was flowing passed his feet. Rising to his feet he unhooked the fly from the hook keeper.
“Enough reflection,” he said. “Enough regrets. Let’s make a few more good memories before the time for making memories comes to an end.”
Wiping a tear from his face his friend smiled.
“Yes,” he said. “Let’s make a few more memories.”