Here’s the situation:  “The best is yet to come.”  It’s an adage that gets tossed around all the time, but is the best actually yet to come?

Can you name a movie sequel that was better than the first?  I can only think of one.  Terminator 2.  I might be able to come up with a couple more if I really thought about it, but for the most part, sequels are a let down.  A bad sequel can even cheapen the experience of the first movie.  [And Dear Disney, you need to stop with the straight-to-DVD sequels of some of your best movies.  The Little Mermaid II?  Nobody cares about Ariel’s brunette daughter.]

What about when the series finale of our favorite show sucks?  We all have an opinion of how we want to see it end, but the writer doesn’t often script it our way, leaving us annoyed or disappointed.  I don’t watch Game of Thrones (because I’m a good Christian), but I’ve heard the outrage of fans over the final episode.  And my personal favorite, Dexter, (ok, retract what I said about being a good Christian) had the worst series finale that I’ve seen to date!  A lumberjack?  Really?

The latest trend is to completely remake movies or do TV reboots and as an 80’s/90’s child, I don’t even hate it!  However, there’s no denying they’re not what they once were.  The idea of revisiting the past is comforting, because it’s familiar, but no matter how hard you try, it will never be the same.

Carpe Diem

I have a horrible habit of not living in the moment.  I’ve mentioned before how I like to make plans so that I have something to look forward to in the future while I survive the every day.  Sometimes when I’m in the middle of the very thing I looked forward to, my mind wanders and I’m already thinking about the next thing.  Like, slow your roll Rox – savor this!  Then when the plans have passed, my nostalgic self looks back and wishes she could relive my favorite moments.

The wild nights out in my 20’s.  Traveling with my cousin.  Silly adventures with friends or apartment dance parties.  Even the things that might seem lame to some but meant so much to me.  I want to be able to have those moments again!  I don’t know what the future holds, so what if those were my highlights and nothing ever lives up to them?  I can try to recreate the magic and sometimes I get close, but one thing’s for sure; you can never truly go back.

You’ll Rue the Day!

Have you ever had to make a decision that stressed you out for days or weeks?  Maybe even months.  Then after you finally, definitively, made a choice, you still questioned whether you made the right one or not?  No matter if it was something good or bad that brought you to that place of decision, you obviously had a reason to choose what you did.

It’s interesting how we second guess ourselves or have a selective memory the moment things get uncomfortable.  Ever broke up with someone or been dumped, knowing that it was for the best, but as soon as you felt lonely, you wished you were back together?  Before the break up all you could see was the bad, but suddenly all you can remember is the good.  Sometimes you even get back together and what usually happens?  It doesn’t take long before you remember WHY you broke up in the first place!  (Guilty! On more than one occasion.)

You might’ve even noticed that doing the right thing (the wise thing) doesn’t always yield the right results.  When I decided to go back to church and get my life together at 25, I didn’t realize how depressed I’d feel for months and how much the years before had imprinted on my life and would affect me to this day.  When I broke up with my fiancé, knowing there had to be someone better out there for me, I figured I’d find that person within the next 5 years, at max.  That was plenty of time!  I didn’t realize I’d remain unmarried for what is going on 12 years now.  (He was not a good person guys, I wasn’t doing the very thing I rant about in my blog Triggered, which you can read by clicking on!)  When I invested into my education to switch careers, I never thought it would involve a massive pay cut and that I’d only do that career for a few months before going back to what actually paid the bills.  I had done all the right things, but everything seemed to be turning out wrong.  In those moments, it’s easy to get caught up wondering how things would be different if only I’d __________________.

No Ragrets

Getting a perm in the 80’s.  Living outside of my means.  Entering into relationships that I knew were dead ends from the start.  There are plenty of things I wish I HADN’T done, but I have few actual regrets.  Of course, there are a couple of big ones, but I try not to let my past mistakes plague me into the future.  Some people gotta learn the hard way, I guess I’m the kind of girl that has to find out for myself.  Queue DC Talk.  Besides, my own stupidity is what great stories are made of and has taught me many a valuable lesson!

Cool Guys Don’t Look at Explosions

When we start to long for the good ol’ days, panic in the wake of any decision “what have I done?” or feel like there’s a void in our life from something we had and left behind, we do have the option to (try and) go back to what was.  Unfortunately, what you moved on from, also continued to move.  What was familiar and comfortable then, wouldn’t be the same anymore.  Much like those sequels or TV reboots, it can never be what it once was and I think that’s the point – things will never be as good as they were for the sole purpose of keeping our focus on what’s ahead, rather than what’s behind.  So, is the best actually yet to come?  It just might have to be, because there’s really no other option!

Don’t look back.  You’re not going that way.