In My Other Life...

Sometimes the hubby and I lay in bed at night
and we play the what if game...

Or as I like to call it,
the what would we do in another life game.

What if we had made different choices?
Taken a different path?
Gone into different industries?
Waited longer to have kids?
Lived in a different part of the country?
Or in another country entirely?
What if...

And it's not that we don't love the life we're leading,
because we do--very mucho mucho, in fact.
It's just fun to sometimes say,
in another life I totally would have done ___________.

And here are MY other lives:

NY City Girl
You know, like the life Andy Sach's lives in The Devil Wears Prada.  Where I live in a small studio apartment, with brick walls and a murphy bed.  I walk to work in 5 inch heels with my Starbucks hot chocolate and seemingly effortless style.  I dine with important and philosophical people every evening, and we discuss current affairs and the state of the union--because in this life, I read the newspaper.  I collect art, wear vintage shoes, and carry a worn out copy of Pride and Prejudice in my satchel.  I am a columnist for a national woman's magazine {perhaps Lucky or Glamour}, with dreams of writing the next great American novel.  On weekends I relax in cafe window seats with my feet propped up on my hubby's lap, as we watch the passersby and try to guess the types of lives they lead.

Small Town Girl
I live in a quaint town on the coast of North Carolina--the ones you read about in Nicholas Sparks novels or see on the Gilmore Girls. My house has a wraparound front porch, fireflies and a tire swing.  It's safe enough for my kids to walk to school, swim in the creek, and sleep on the porch in the summertime.  My hubby owns an insurance agency {like he does now} and I own a local book store on Main Street.  There are festivals, parades, bingo nights, and bake sales {picture Sweet Home Alabama}. We eat at the same diner every Saturday morning and take the same afternoon stroll down the beach every Sunday.  I collect sea shells, read good books and have kiddos who enjoy playing outside with sticks and rocks. We where plaid, like country music and drink lemonade. Life is simple, and we like it that way.

The Traveling Nomad
With nothing but our REI backpacks, fancy camera and leather journals the hubby and I embark across the globe without a plan.  A month in a small Italian village, hopping the Greek Islands, sitting in the same cafe as Hemingway, walking the Great Wall, running my fingers through the sand on the beaches of Normandy, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, surfing in Maui, hiking through ruins in Mexico, breaking bread with the locals until 3 in the morning--and I suppose having a few Eat, Pray, Love moments along the way.  Not a care in the world, living life from day to day.

So that's it.
These are my other lives.
Pretty glamorous, if you ask me.
But you know what?
Even on my worst day,
I wouldn't trade the life I have.

Because, while I am a dreamer and an optimist,
I am also a realist.
And I know that I can't have it all.
I can't be a world traveler, career woman,
small town girl and mother of the year.

When I was 19,
I thought I could have it all.

And then, when I was 20, I spotted a dimple faced,
bright eyed Midwestern boy from across the room at UCSB,
and I made my choice.

Him,
And wherever that journey would take us.

What would be YOUR other life?

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