Gathering up the Years

By Steve Carr

If you could go back in time three years and give yourself a piece of advice, what would it be?”

The family, ranging in age from one to ninety, had gathered for holiday games. Those of us in the middle, the fifty-somethings, were stumped. Yes, we had lived through cancer, the loss of loved ones, and a couple of toothbrushes each. But what counsel a few years ago would have made our lives better today?

A few years ago, my son was an unattached college student. Today he is a graduate, a husband, and a daddy. He could’ve spent a week writing advice to his past self, knowing what he knows today.

My pencil turned cartwheels between my fingers.