Some songs and movies don’t just entertain—they linger. They stir something profound inside, calling us to revisit the past and wonder what might have been. Cher’s If I Could Turn Back Time is more than a power ballad—it’s a longing for a second chance. Darius Rucker’s This reminds us that every twist and turn, even the painful ones, lead us to where we’re meant to be. Garth Brooks’ Unanswered Prayers gently teaches that sometimes, not getting what we want is the greatest gift of all. And in The Family Man, Nicolas Cage’s character wakes up in a life he could’ve had—if only he’d made one different choice.
Then there’s The Best of Times, a lesser-known gem starring Robin Williams and Kurt Russell. It’s about reliving a high school football game that went wrong—and the chance to rewrite history. It’s funny, heartfelt, and deeply human. Like many of us, the characters are haunted by a single moment they wish they could redo.
But not every alternate path leads to peace. The Butterfly Effect warns us that even the slightest change can have far-reaching consequences.
As I look back on my own life, I find myself asking: If I could go back and change one thing, would I? Would my life be better? Different? Or would I lose something precious in the process?
There’s a quote by Mitch Albom, author of The Five People You Meet in Heaven, that captures this perfectly: “Time is not something you can control. Time is a river, and we are all swept along by its current.”
This blog entry is a reflection on those moments—the ones that shaped me, haunted me, and ultimately taught me something.
Lately, I’ve found myself wondering: What if I hadn’t grown up in such a dysfunctional household? What if my parents had followed a more traditional path—gotten married before having children, built a stable home? I grew up with two half-sisters, each of us with a different father. And then, at age 63, I discovered I didn’t have just two siblings—I had seven.
What would it have been like to grow up in a household like The Waltons? What if I had been raised in Eastern Kentucky or Hays, Kansas, instead of Kansas City? Would I have had the same opportunities, like a private school education? Would I have been raised Catholic or Baptist? Would I still have become an educational administrator, or would I have followed my brothers into the coal mines or oil fields?
These questions don’t come with easy answers. But they do invite reflection.
If you could go back in time and change one thing, what would it be? And what might you risk losing in the process?
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