We are often asked what we would do over if we could, or what we would avoid if we had known how it would end. Today’s prompt was about the movies, books, and TV shows I would love to experience again for the first time. I sat with that question for a bit, and honestly, my mind just couldn’t…

I have answered prompts like that before. If a story is good, I treasure it. With streaming TV, a zillion channels, libraries, thrift stores full of DVDs and books, and all the ways we can find old favorites again, I simply re-enjoy the things I love. Those stories touch us, move us, give us emotion, warm fuzzy feelings, and sometimes even shock, disbelief, or a good scare.

But at this stage of life, it is not really movies, books, or TV shows that I wish I could experience again for the first time. It is moments… Moments from my life. The kind that sneak up on you years later and make your heart ache in the sweetest way.

I would like to experience the freedom of a summer day spent at the creek, building a treehouse like Tarzan had. I grew up in the 60s and 70s, when a child could wander, imagine, climb, splash, and come home dirty and happy. I would love to feel that kind of freedom again, just once, with bare feet, sunshine, and no clock telling me where I needed to be.

I would like to experience seeing my children born again. That first sight. That instant joy. That rush of love so strong it changes who you are in one breath. There is nothing else quite like looking at your baby for the first time and knowing your heart will never again belong only to you.

I would like to experience Christmas when I was a kid, with the whole family there. They are all gone now except my kid sister and me, and I did not know then how precious that crowded house was. I would like to experience Christmas baking with Mama again. That was our thing. The smells, the laughter, the messes we made, and the grand results at the end. I would give a lot to stand beside her in that kitchen one more time.

I would like to experience fishing with my daddy again, rowing the boat on Scotts Lake, and seeing his alligator for the first time. I can still feel the wonder of it, the way ordinary days could suddenly become stories you carried for the rest of your life.

I would like to see my grandkids born again and watch the look on my sons’ faces as they saw their babies for the first time. There is something powerful about seeing your child become a parent. It is love folding over on itself, one generation into the next.

I would like to experience the first time I saw my Michael. That smile he gave me. That soft voice telling me I was his honey, and he knew it. Some moments are small to the outside world, but inside your own heart they become landmarks.

I would also like to experience that summer when my grandkids and sons were all here. There was never a quiet moment, and there was so much laughter and fun. Back then, the noise could feel endless. Now, I would give anything to hear it again. They are grown now, building their own lives, and visits are rare. That is how life is supposed to go, I know, but knowing that does not stop you from missing what used to fill your house.

I never knew how much I would miss it all until now. The creek days. The babies. The Christmas kitchen. The fishing trips. The laughter. The people who were here, and the people who are still here but farther away than they used to be.

So for me, it is not TV shows, books, or movies that I would most want to experience again for the first time. It is moments in life. My life. The good stuff. The ordinary, beautiful, gone-too-fast stuff.