Tag Archives: Netherlands

Reflection: Regret is a Funny Thing

Once upon a time… a guy was visiting his family in the States from Europe. He met this girl that caught his attention, but she was with someone else at the time. She agreed to take a few days off from her life and work schedule to introduce him to the city and keep him company and they hit it off well. A few years later after he dated around and she moved on from the previous relationship, they struck up conversation again via email and reconnected. It came off that they were both still single and both were interested in meeting the other, so the guy flew back to the States to visit the girl but the chemistry wasn’t there, the girl had placed her job as more of a priority over the guy.

The girl spent as much time with guy as she thought she was able, but the connection, the chemistry from before and from online just wasn’t there. Guy left the States disheartened and girl knew she made a mistake. Girl vowed that if given the chance she would have guy be more of a priority in her life over work/career, but that chance never came… guy emailed later saying the chemistry just wasn’t there and he didn’t want to make another trip if it just wouldn’t work out. Girl agreed, regretfully and both parties moved on…

Over the years, though girl never heard from guy, she still grew as a result of a mistake she felt she made with guy. She learned to place family, friends and life above her job/career and as a result lived a fuller life, she vowed that in any relationship that she would find herself in down the road would take precedence over her job… She never really thought about guy except in passing and hoped to reconnect with him as a precursor to a possible trip through Europe but that never materialized either. Deep down she always knew that if an opportunity arose or if they had lived closer she would have fought to keep him in her life, because she had always regretted letting him go. So when word came to pass – seven years after their initial meeting – that he was engaged to another she didn’t experience loss as she had expected, but rather happiness and joy. For in her mind, he found someone that he felt he connected with in a way that they were unable to all those years ago.

And so it was… the one guy I ever really regretted in letting go has moved on and found another. And you know what? I’m ok with that, because he deserves all the joy and love in the world. So I suppose in hindsight… I don’t really regret him anymore and in some ways I’ve moved on as well.