If I Had My Life to Live over Again
When asked “How would you have lived your life differently if you had a chance?” Nadine Stair, an 85-year-old woman, from
Louisville, Kentucky, provided these poetic words as her response…
If I had my life to live over,
I’d try to make more mistakes next time.
I would relax.
I would be sillier than I have been this
trip.
I know of very few things I would take
seriously.
I would take more chances.
I would take more trips.
I would climb more mountains, swim
more rivers and watch more sunsets.
I would eat more ice cream and less
beans.
I would have more actual troubles and
fewer imaginary ones.
You see, I’m one of those people who live
prophylactically and sanely and sensibly,
hour after hour,
day after day.
Oh, I have had my moments and
if I had to do it over again,
I’d have more of them.
In fact, I’d try to have nothing else- just
moments, one after another.
I’ve been one of those persons who
never goes anywhere without a
thermometer, a hot-water bottle, a
raincoat, and a parachute.
If I could do it again, I would travel
lighter than I have.
If I had to live my life over,
I would start barefooted earlier in the
spring
and stay that way later in the fall.
I would go to more dances,
I would play hooky more.
I would ride on more merry-go-rounds,
I’d pick more daisies.
– Nadine Stair
Read and listen to the poem and decide if
you can learn something from the poem.
Grammar: wishes and regrets
We use I wish + past to refer to the
present
fact
regret
I can’t swim
I wish I could
swim
We use I wish + past perfect to refer to the
past
fact
regret
I took a wrong
I wish I had taken
decision
the right decision
Look back at the poem and complete the
sentences for the woman expressing her
regrets. Use the words in the box.
adventurous
anxious
enjoy
fun
over
risks
sensible
seriously
I wish I had been less anxious.
I wish I’d been more _______________ .
I wish I’d taken more _______________ .
I wish I had had more _______________ .
I wish I hadn’t been so ______________ .
I wish I hadn’t taken life so __________ .
I wish I’d done more of the things I ____ .
I wish I had my live to live ___________ .
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