If Only (To My Daughter)

Rooch, some day -- maybe in forty years, maybe tomorrow -- you will have these thoughts.

If only I could go back.

If only I could go back, I would know how blessed I really was back then..
If only I could go back, I would still have Tyler and Serenity in their bedrooms at night.
If only I could go back, I would still have Mom and Dad a couple of miles away.
If only I could go back, I would have my church, where my family owned a pew and ate lunch together after the sermon.
If only I could go back, I would still have Terry.
If only I could go back, I would appreciate how blessed I really was.
If only I could go back, I wouldn't waste a precious moment being depressed, unhappy, or dissatisfied.
If only I could go back, I would laugh with my family every day.
If only I could go back, I wouldn't sweat the small stuff -- and most of it was small stuff.

But, I can't go back, no matter how many tears I shed. My Dad knew, and now I do too -- what we wish we could change today, is often what we wish we had back tomorrow.

If only I knew today what I'll know tomorrow:

I would cherish today with Tyler and Serenity.
I would cherish today with Mom and Dad.
I would cherish today with Terry.
I would cherish today with Jesse..
I would cherish today, even with all its warts -- because it's a blessed time.
I would cherish today, because it so quickly becomes tomorrow.
I would cherish today, because tomorrow I will say,
If only I could go back.