<p>Marry my husband. Slam dunk.</p>
<p>Divorce my husband. Slam dunk. :D</p>
<p>I was going to say “Marry my best friend, who is to this day convinced that he’s lucky to have me”, but that’s been covered.
So has “had my kids” .
Looking back much farther, listening to my dad one day in second grade.
My teacher would give the names of the students who scored highest on each test. She always phrased it as “The top student was xxxxx, and the top girl was xxxxx.”. I went home one night and said “I got the third highest grade on the math test, and the ones above me were boys, so they don’t count.”. My father sat down and explained that girls were just as smart at math as boys. I remember being quite shocked at that idea, because it was so contrary to what was communicated at school.
I didn’t exactly go on to major in math, but I had no qualms being one of the few female students in my major.</p>
<p>Stay married to my husband.
:)</p>
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<p>Gotta love this place.</p>
<p>I am really inspired. Thanks for making a really hard day better. Some of the ideas seem to be ‘being in the right place at the right time’ and then doing something out of the comfort zone.</p>
<p>Aside from the obvious marry my husband and have my kids…</p>
<p>Chose to attend a college that none of my friends attended. I had to leave my comfort zone and meet new people.</p>
<p>Left I career I disliked and started over in one that I still like.</p>
<p>Husband kids are on the list.</p>
<p>But two travel opportunities as well.</p>
<p>A friend of mine asked me if I’d like to be her partner on trying to get a grant to travel across the country photographing fire stations and researching why they look the way they do, how they developed etc. It was a life changing experience. We traveled to every corner of the continental US, met firemen everywhere, spent the night in a few firehouses, spent the night with relatives, friends of relatives and relatives of friends, ate local specialties (thanks Calvin Trillin!), read the two volume American anthology of literature cover to cover, listened to country music, visited a number of National Parks and generally got to know our nation in a way I never would have otherwise.</p>
<p>Going off to Munich with dh when he was interested in doing a post-doc there was another amazing experience. We ended up staying for five years and really got to know Europe and to both appreciate the good stuff (universal health care, good beer, taking advantage of any good weather, never ever working weekends) and the bad stuff (control freaks!) We were able to do quite a bit of traveling in the adjoining countries as well, but being really immersed in a culture was fascinating. Quite different from my gap year in France even though I lived with a French family and felt immersed at the time.</p>
<p>I wonder how many times a right opportunity passes by in life, and how many times people have regretted not taking it. My mother regretted during WW2 not going to nursing school and it would have been free, she said she was afraid to try. I did not get those genes. If she were answering this thread she would say marrying my father. It really was the best thing she ever did. </p>
<p>Tony your story is amazing.</p>
<p>mathmom- wow, having a friend and a partner with adventurous spirits.</p>
<p>I am going to remember this thread when my kids come up with seize the moment ideas I think are, I don’t know, unusual.</p>
<p>Never say no when faced with a challenge. I have been offered so many opportunities in my life that a lot of people would have thought were crazy, and I just thought “why not, what’s the worst could happen.” </p>
<p>The best thing I ever did (a single event) is when I asked my colleagues if they would mind to change our company meeting in NYC from Sep 11 to Sep 10. It was for a very selfish reason - I couldn’t get a hair cut appt on Sep 11 and I didn’t want to make two trips into NYC. Our meeting place was down at Broad St and we usually met around 10am. It was a close call.</p>
<p>^^^OMG oldfort. See alittle vanity does pay off sometimes.</p>
<p>Locked myself out of my girlfriend’s apartment who was not going to come home from work till after 12. The only person I knew who lived close to her was my not yet husband who I really did not know well. We went out to a British pub for dinner and beer and fell in love.</p>
<p>Marrying DH at a young age when everyone I knew( including my entire family) thought it would never last. That was 31 years ago. I was 19 and with his support continued to go to college full time and graduated. Of course having our two sons is a given.</p>
<p>Now, what I’m hoping will be the next best thing ever is retiring, moving across the state next spring and starting a whole new chapter of our life while we’re young enough to enjoy it. Scary and exciting at the same time.</p>
<p>I am sure marrying my wife and having my 2 boys are by far the best things I have ever done, but in a different category, I guess discretionary things, I often think that buying my 68 Corvette (14 years ago) was one of the best things I ever did because it has been a lot of fun and gotten me involved in many activities that I never would have dreamed of doing.</p>
<p>Taking risks and doing things people said couldn’t be done was also pretty fun and amazing. I was the first to travel to the continental US among us kids. I was chosen to represent my state riding bikes across KY! I was also the first in our large family allowed to transfer out of our state flagship U. It is too tough to have one best thing–I have already posted another as well, so that makes three. </p>
<p>Leaving our flagship U was very important because it helped me get out of an awkward relationship that I really wanted to end but was happy to let distance help make the end final. It also allowed me to finally find myself as an individual and not just a daughter, GF, or dribbling.</p>
<p>Marry my husband (although there are times…). A life changer, I benefited from his personality for the better. Without him there would be no son. I am proud of becoming an MD and often lament how it takes no skills to be married or have/raise kids. However, I could have found a different career but not likely another man to compliment me as well.</p>
<p>I posted before but want to add two things:</p>
<p>Having open heart surgery to repair a congenital defect, when I was 29. I was told that if I didn’t do it, I would probably be disabled by the time I was 65. I was terrified of the surgery, but DH (we married six months after the surgery) held me up and I got through it. I’m 65 now and healthy as a horse.</p>
<p>Starting to exercise regularly and seriously around eight years ago. It’s done wonderful things for my health, my weight, my bones, and my self-confidence.</p>
<p>Marrying my husband came immediately to mind. There were dozens of various decisions that led me to him though and for those I am thankful. We sometimes look back at how certains decisions shaped our family path. I guess I am the sort who feels “it’s meant to be”. Perhaps I would have met dh even if I had not taken the particular path I did! Who knows? Did y’all ever see the movie “Sliders” with Gwyneth Paltrow? Great movie that got little attention. Dh and I were very surprised when we stumbled upon it and watched it.</p>
<p>Sure - the really big things are marrying DH, having kids.</p>
<p>On smaller scale, the recent best thing I did was arrange for a 3 generation family vacation. We splurged to have a house along a harbor with its own beach. We bought tons of food and hardly left the place. Even with mediocre weather we had a great time on the outdoor deck or indoors looking through the big glass doors. DS is usually away at class or working, so it was a treat to be with him all week. Also flew in my daughter and my sister for a few of the days. My 86 year old dad claims it was “best vacation ever”.</p>
<p>Husband and kids, of course.</p>
<p>Being with my mom for the last five days of her life. It was difficult, but I am so grateful to have been there.</p>