I live less than two hours from the much talked about path of totality of the eclipse here in Ohio. People who are in the know about eclipses will tell you that witnessing a total eclipse is a life changing experience. It sounds amazing for a nature lover and it will be two decades before our country sees another one like it.
And guess what?
I did not go see it.
This would have required taking the day off work, choosing a place to go, maybe fighting some traffic and possibly doing all that only to stand beneath a cloud or a street light that would come on at totality. Plus, I really needed to stay and work.
I didn't have it in me to figure it out. And then when I came up with a plan, it still sounded like too much to deal with.
So I worked from home and saved my lunch break to experience 97 percent totality from the quiet of my own back yard.
First, I watched CBS news coverage of totality moving through Texas where day turned to night and a hush fell over the world. It was pretty cool.
In my yard, the warm, sunny day became overcast and cool. Rather than become quiet, the birds became louder as the moon moved into the sun's path.
When I came back in, totality was hitting Niagara Falls and the correspondent on tv was in tears. I listened as she described this dazzling, awe inspiring experience. In that moment, she and many others were living their very best lives.
And I was at home watching it on tv.
It was then that I remembered that it's not always possible to live our very best life and that being sad about that truth isn't something I want to do.
I will always regret the adventures I don't take. The road not taken, the next room in the museum, the bend in the trail, the eclipse not seen. Unfortunately, regrets will take us nowhere. Instead, it's probably best to use those regrets to fuel the next adventure, the one after that and the one after that.
The good news is that I'm starting to put some adventures on the 2024 calendar and that this unused PTO day will help me go somewhere else. And when you think about it like that, the promise of another day eclipses what was lost on Monday.
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