The (high) road less taken

"I don’t believe in regrets because every moment in our lives we make choices about everything. Once you pick a road, you’re down it, and you can’t go back, so there’s no sense in regretting."
-- Teri Hatcher, 1999

I know I need to do an update on what I have been up to, and post some new pictures of Collin, but there's an issue that needs to be addressed first. Check back Friday for a more interesting post.

It seems most people are surprised by what I did over the weekend.

Hell, I'm surprised myself.

Some people already know what led up to this auspicious occasion, but since I don't want to rehash Weddingpartygate here, this is all the background that I am going to give:

1. Prior to two days before her wedding, my sister had yet to meet her nephew.

2. Prior to the night before her wedding, I was not planning to see my sister get married.

What most people don't know is what changed.

Here's the thing: I agree with that quote. It's actually one of my favorites. Everything we do, every choice we make, we have to live with the result -- and the consequences. There is no point in regretting our decisions because there's no way to undo the past.

I will openly admit that I don't regret any of the choices I have made in recent months. I wasn't such a fan of the fallout, though -- or the questions that it raised.

And after some intense soul-searching (and some counseling by my wise friends), the conclusion I came to was that I didn't want to regret not going to my sister's wedding. If I opted to go, and it ended up being a bad experience, I could just forget about it. Out of sight, out of mind -- you know, in theory. But if I didn't go, I couldn't wake up six months or a year from now and say hey, I changed my mind; save me a seat in the church. It would be over. The cake would be cut. The photos would be developed. And I wouldn't have been there for the biggest day of her life.

We may have issues, but she's still my sister.

Now, a few days later, I am glad that I took the high road, which, incidentally, led to the church -- just as I am glad that I invited her to meet Collin when the opportunity presented itself two days earlier. Things were awkward at first, but after a while, I knew I had made the right decision. The wedding itself was beautiful, and it was great to see extended family and old friends and introduce them to my son. (We even danced. Go figure.)

And I have to admit that being escorted down the aisle of the church and right to the front pew (where Chris and I were asked to sit, with my mom, aunt and uncle) was a fabulous, unspoken F you to all of the people who had been painting me as the bad guy for two months.

Ha. I win.

But largely, this isn't about winning and losing. It's about family, and about being there for the important moments.

No regrets here.