My question is.... what one thing would you like to do what would be your biggest regret...imagine sitting in your rocking chair what would you hate to sit there wishing you'd done ......travel to a certain place....write a best selling book? bake a perfect souffle.....climb a mountain? see the Pyramids.......swim with Dolphins....see the Crown Jewels??? - what - something just for you not for the World/your family...just for you?
Karen

Move to Lanzarote.  It's been my dream for a number of years now.  Maybe one day :)

Without a doubt, move to the country, get more dogs, learn to ride and get a horse   So I could spend all my days walking and riding.

Obviously I'd have suddenly won the lottery to fund all this :D

My biggest regret is that, when aged 17, I wrote to a daily newspaper for a job as a junior/trainee reporter, my mother did not give me the letter offering me an interview :(    I might not have got past the interview, I know - but I didn't even know that I had been offered an interview until near her death, some 20 years later.

Margot

That's so sad! :(

The one thing I would regret most would be sitting in my chair regreting what I had not done! Unless I'm still the weight I am now, that would do it for me :D There are lots of things I would like to do, but I wouldn't consider them a regret if I couldnt have done them due to finances etc.

Not becoming a vet is my biggest regret and always will be. I don't think it is possible at 16 to decide the course of the rest of your life. You're too young. Certainly if I knew then what I know now, I'd have studied really hard, continued with studying instead of leaving school as soon as I could, and aimed to be a vet.

had 2 dreams when i was younger! i was in a childrens home and everyone used to say how stupid i was for wanting to be a zookeeper! even the school teachers thought i was stupid!
when i was 30 i became a zookeeper! so dream number 1 acomplished! dream number 2 is to travel to Rwanda to work with mountain gorillas and this will happen in the next 10 years.......watch this space......

gone against my dads wishes and joined the army,
i wish i had
at the time i wanted to join you had to get your parents permission, and my dad would not give it he said a womans place was in the home looking after her husband,
well we lived in a small pit village and that was what you where expected to do.
carolann

Not a huge regret but probably my biggest- -, not joining the senior choir at my grammar school.  Now I find myself wanting to sing professionally but lacking the confidence (and ability, through lack of training mostly) to get out there and do it.  That'd be my one thing to do of course.

Running across a road to catch the bus on the way to school (when I was 13) :D :D Spending almost 4 months in hospital in an adult, female, orthopaedic ward with regular deaths didn't have the best affect on a sheltered teenager :( :( It left me with very low self-esteem and self-confidence :( :( However, if things had been different I'd probably not have met my OH and had my two wonderful children - so, as the song goes - Non je ne regrette rien :) :) :)

Daisy

Not becoming a Vet too :(

At 16 I was all set to become a vet, but I was told my Maths would let me down :rolleyes: there was never any mention of actual Maths teaching to rectify this :rolleyes: - so I was told no chance of ever being a vet, and who was I to know any different?  after all computers and the internet weren't even invented :rolleyes:  I wasn't even aware that I could have gone to FE college to improve any weak areas :(  It was all presented as "all or nothing" in those days :(

Nikita,
You haven't missed the boat as far as singing is concerned :) there should be a church choir local to you which would welcome you (there are loads in Wales :) ) there are also local amateur operatic societies, theatrical societies, and some local authorities arrange taster sessions for singing, choral singing, musicians (even ones who'd only like to learn to play!)  etc.   There was a nationwide session earlier this year, darned if I can remember the details of who was conducting it tho :(  if OH has the details I'll post it.   You may yet fulfil that dream :)

:-)
I am happy with my lot.
If I were to be able to change anything, I would not be who or what I am today. 
I dont want to be anyone else...............
Karen

Fantastic post Karen :)

funny that I fancied being a vet when I was that age too.  Never thought that I was bright enough.  I got 3 A levels in the end - but e grades.  I spoke to my dentist when my own daughter at that age was fancying doing dentistry - he is the same age as me and he got 3 'e's too.  So perhaps I wasn't as dull as I thought I was.  Never had enough confidence in myself.  Went into teaching - there didn't seem much choice in those days - careers advice was rubbish - a cupboard in the corridor with cards in alphabetical order.  Can't say I have real regrets about that though.
My fear is that now we have taken the path of building again after 30 odd years (the only place we said we would ever move to is next door where we now have planning permission) we may live to regret it.  We got permission about 4 years ago now and it has been a very rocky road.  We still haven't got onto stage one by selling our house.  I have spent the last 3 years not doing any improvements to it, feeling as if I am only looking after it for someone else.  My husband kept saying - 'buy a new bed when we move' - 'get a new dog when we move' etc.  Well I put my foot down on both of those - no regrets there!!!!  I still feel we should be doing more with our lives instead of just waiting.  Don't want to be sitting in my rocking chair having any regrets at all.    

When my mother was diagnosed with cancer 12 years ago now, she was given a few months to live. We sat down and made a list of everything that she had ever wanted to do, from tiny little things to outrageous things :) We worked our way throught the entire list in the almost 3 years she had. That time taught me that life is too short to have regrets, live life the way you want - not for someone else :)

Since that time I've done all the things I wanted to do too, of course I'd love to win the lottery and buy a huge field for Tchi to run in peacefully - but failing that I'm happy as I am :D

I've always wanted to go into acting.  Not a confident person but when you are acting your not yourself so it's as though you have got confidence.  I still really fancy this but at not being far from 40 and with no money do wonder if it will ever happen :rolleyes:

How about joining an amateur theatricals company or something similar?  There's bound to be one near you.  In my old home town there was one, and I knew quite a lot of people in it - from kids of 4 up to adults of 60 and beyond!  And the productions they put on were always, without fail, fantastic!

I was in one many, many moons ago.  Actually lied about my age said that I was 16 and I was only 12 but very tall for my age :d  I bet they wondered why I was so shy at the time!!

I've done a lot of things I wanted to do - mostly visit far away places :)  However, one thing I will always regret is coming home from Australia when I first visited in 1988.  I was young then, I could have changed my visa and stayed - and I had a family sponsor.

But what did I do???  Let the man I had left behind change my mind and I came back to the UK, having been unable to persuade him to join me in Oz.  Doh!

Now its too late as I'm a lot older and suffer ill health.  And the man in question is long gone :rolleyes:  If you get a chance girls, grab it for yourself.  Don't let it pass by.

But now my one thing for me would be to move out of the city eventually - nice place in the country and keep dogs :) :)

CG

Through all the problems I have I wouldn't change my children for anything and have never regretted having them, they are my life.  My biggest regret is not becoming a midwife.  I still know I would have loved to do that.  My education began when I began paying for it at the age of 30+. But proves it's never too late I suppose.  I just wish I'd had the encouragement to study and go to uni or even just college. x

Have you thought of Open University Leslie?  I did my degree that way.  It didn't do much for my job but gave me the satisfaction of doing it.  However when I finished work I did a Ceramic Restoration course - and really enjoyed that.  When we do build again one room will be my workroom so I can continue with my restoration work.  Sometime in the future.............. 

I do course after course here at the minute to update all my skills as I'm an IT tutor, bit different from being a midwife eh??

Everything in IT changes so fast we're constantly learning and do not feel I would have the time to commit to a OU Degree but it's something I would definately consider in the future.  I left school with nothing and now have lots of IT based qualification along with Adult Numeracy and Literacy Level 2, so I just got on the wagon a bit late x

You can still become a midwife if you wanted to!

My only regret is coming out of the Navy when I was pregnant.  Knowing what I do now, I wish I had stayed in but transferred to the Nursing branch which would have been easier juggling with the children etc.  I still have a dream that I will qualify as a nurse and go back in as a Nursing Officer but I know my age is definitely against me (even though I can count any previous time served towards it).  I also wish I went to Uni.  I was a typical child who hated school, could have got really good grades but didn't really try.  Went to college to do secretarial course because its what my mum was and thought it was the right thing to do. 

Since being with my OH who is still in the Navy, I have supported him all throughout his courses, promotions, being kicked out, being reinstated and promotions again and although I will always support him, there is a tiny wincy bit of me that is a little bit jealous I suppose that I could have been in his shoes .............. ;)

I started with the Open University in 2000 and have been doing courses on and off ever since - which has just reminded me that I have 2 assignments due next week  

which has just reminded me that I have 2 assignments due next week
Me too and I haven't even started yet.

My dream is to set foot on every continent in the world (including antartica). Only done three so far

My biggest dream just for me is to.......get married and have my special day !! marry the man I love and make my mom the proudest women alive. However somehow I am not sure it will ever happen so that would be my biggest regret.

I'd love to be able to afford to go out the Borneo orangutan orphanage with medical supplies and money to help them buy what they need, and spend some time with those gorgeous babies.

Oh save a place for me please JG, love to do that, love any monkeys, at 45 years old I got a fur real chimp for christmas!

I've been :)

How fantastic, envious to say the least, maybe one day who knows, I have always told my children I would like to go so maybe they'll become wealthy and treat me! 

Must be a fantastic experience and although I've never actually handled a monkey of any description except my fur real chimp!  (I love him.....gosh I'm so sad)

You don't get to handle these :)  I must admit I was rather glad of that fact as they may be orphans but they are rather big and scarey   You are not allowed to touch them but if you go too close, as they are lounging on the walkways, they sometimes grab peoples ankles for a larf!  I'm actually very scared of apes because I suffered a nasty baboon bite but that is another story :)
Borneo is a beautiful country though full of absolutely facinating creatures although mostly of the lesser orders :) and amazing geography, the vast bat caves managing to combine those two at their best,
and out of all of my travels it is definately my favourite.  Not that expensive if you are prepared to rough it, well you have to rough it actually :), I have seen more expensive packages to Disneyworld :)

Oh ner! :p ;) :D
hums "Any dream will do"

I had some photos last month from my cousin who lives in Malaysia - they had just had a 4 day trip to Borneo and one of the photos was of her holding a young orang utan and her daughter holding a bigger one!  They visited a sanctuary but mentioned the zoo with this photo.  I was quite surprised when I saw it because I would not have thought that one was allowed to touch these animals.

It's a few years ago since I went and I think there might have been some smaller ones that you could hold but that would not be for me :)  It was the sanctuary that we went to.
Really you don't need to visit to help them as they are not short of food for the orphans, it is the logging that leads to them being orphaned in the first place so it's support for conservation that is needed, we can all do our bit there :)

ahhhh this post is great - i am about to quite my job and go back to college - i have another 33 years of work and cannot bear my current job for another 3 year let alone 33 years .... I have a degree but it isnt my true passion......

Someone to love and care for me as much as my own mum did.