No Regrets

(Rose Mossa and baby Grace)

No Regrets

 "talkin' 'bout sweet time." ~Tim McGraw, Live Like You Were Dying

 

I spent last weekend at a virtual 3-day business event. On Friday afternoon, our host invited us to take stock of our last decade, to rewind the reel 10 years to 2011, to journal about our wins, our struggles, to capture our lives in the rearview mirror, as we prepared to vision for our next 10 years. At 66 years old, it's a strange and surreal exercise to imagine the next 10 years, knowing that sweet time is indeed sweeping me towards that final act. 

Two thousand eleven into early 2021 was a BIG decade for this solopreneur and mother of three. I embraced a life of sobriety. I spread my wings as a newly divorced woman. My oldest daughter graduated early from UConn, while her younger siblings attended private school in Providence. I graduated from massage school in Worcester and began my private practice. My creative life began to evolve once I moved into a Soho-style condominium in the heart of downtown East Greenwich. In 2014, my 60-year-old gypsy soul caught fire, and I embarked on an epic, solo, 30-day cross country trip. Upon returning, I found a publisher for my third book, Linger Longer: Lessons from a Contemplative Life, and in 2015, hit the open road again for a whirlwind, 60-day cross country book tour. Once an agoraphobic child, scared of my own shadow, I returned with a fearless spirit and fierce determination to live my no-strings-attached-single-by-choice-debt-free-life with vigor, passion, and purpose. 

On top of all these musings, my 29-year-old middle, my daughter Lindsey, got engaged on Sunday. Her older sister, Katie, who is already a fabulous mother to three beautiful humans, chided, "Kids, kids! My babies need cousins." I was 33, 37 and 38 when I birthed my children--a late bloomer by most accounts. My mom was 30 when she had me. When she died in 2016 at 92 years old, she'd had the pleasure of watching me and my younger brother grow up, marry, and raise children of our own. Blessedly, she got to meet and hold her first great grandchild. 

With time on my mind lately, I began to wonder. How many more miracles and priceless moments await me? Will I see my grandchildren marry, have and raise children of their own? Will the baby of the family, my only son, marry and discover the joys of fatherhood? Will I achieve my dream of owning a private retreat center for all who wish to pursue their creative visions? I want to look back in 2031 and know that I lived and loved this decade to the fullest with no fear, no regrets. Full steam ahead, baby!