There’s no going back after it’s too late

“And now it’s too late.”

How many times have you said that sentence that is filled with regret? Maybe you’ve put off picking up a prescription from the pharmacy until it was too late because it closed, or you delayed putting a bid on a house that was sold out from under you.

Muttering “now it’s too late” happens for a number of reasons, from not taking the hamburger out of the freezer in time to cook it for dinner to having your insurance canceled because you didn’t pay the premium.

But sometimes it hurts more than that. My friend since the eighth grade, Bobbie Harris, moved from Wichita to Shell Knob, Mo., a few years ago. She came back to Wichita from time to time, and some of those times I got to see her. Any time we e-mailed, texted, talked on the phone or had lunch, she would insist I come see her. She wanted me to see the improvements on her house that were finally complete. She was obviously proud of her home.

I told her I’d love to come see her and hang out for a few days and I would do it. Soon. I finally went to Shell Knob last week, but it was for Bobbie’s funeral. She was killed in an accident just a few days after she’d been to Wichita. I’m having a difficult time believing I won’t be getting an e-mail soon or sending her birthday card in August.

Now I wonder what I was doing that was so important that I couldn’t go visit her. She had made many friends and wanted me to meet them. I’m sad I met them when she wasn’t there to introduce us. I finally saw her house and wished I could tell her how great it looks.

As my mom got older, she constantly encouraged me to “do it now.” “Do it while you can,” she would say. We may have been talking about travel, doing a good deed, or taking on a new challenge. Regardless, she would tell me to “do it now.”

If I could turn back time, I’d go to Shell Knob, and my friend and I would talk and laugh about the many chapters in our lives we shared. We’d laugh and talk about books, movies, mutual friends and the many changes that come with age. It would be a fun visit that I could reflect on. I know I would have been glad I had taken the time and effort to go.

But instead I am reminded of an important life lesson: Do it now.

My friend wanted me to come for a visit. And now it’s too late.

This story was originally published June 28, 2016 at 5:42 PM with the headline "There’s no going back after it’s too late."