Where did Sixteen Go??

Oh to be 16 again but know what I know now:

• First of all I would realize that ninety eight pounds is certainly not fat, and to treasure every second that you weigh that amount.  
• I would go back and become a nerd, study hard, chase boys less and pay attention to that really smart shy boy on the annual staff, not only because he would one day be my future but I might just end up in the yearbook a little more.  
• I would not be so jealous of that beauty queen and realize that she is just as beautiful on the inside and would later in life become someone you admire with all your heart. 
• I would know that the boy that was so popular, that did not give you the time of day, would become a lifesaver and a treasured friend.  
• I would realize that my Mother is not my enemy but in reality my biggest fan. 
• I would spend a few more Saturdays watching college football with my Dad and not be in such a hurry to leave the house. 
• I would not be so afraid of my own shadow. 
• I would say Thank You a lot more and I would pray not just when I had a crisis.  
• I would realize that I looked darn good in that bikini and I certainly would not cover myself in baby oil and fry in the sun.  
• I would be in the school chorus and I would try out for the school play.
• I would listen to my Mom and not put so much in writing....well maybe. 
• I would treasure every time my Dad kissed my sleepy forehead as he left for work and not think it was corny. 
• I would spend more time playing with my baby brother and less time fighting with my sister. 
• I would start wearing high heels and never take them off.  
• I would be a giver and not so much of a taker. 
• I would not be embarrassed that I was madly in love with Donny Osmond. 
• I would not lie and say that I was already 17 just because everyone else already was. 
• I would go to the Prom with that goofy, nerdy boy. 
• I would spend some time with my Grandparents and learn my history. 
• I would not worry so much about being short and instead be proud to be petite.
• I would ride that roller coaster and throw my hands up in the air screaming with delight as I did it.....NOT.

Oh, to be sixteen again. I lived through it, I guess the things we would do different really do not matter, we are who we are because of the people we were. We live, we learn, we hopefully grow. We can  learn from all our stupid  mistakes and we can rejoice in surviving them in spite of ourselves. If we are really lucky we can say we have a friend from every decade of our lives.  Some of my greatest friends at sixteen are still some of the greatest people I know. Now, THAT, is just pure sweetness.....  I will turn the big 50 on Sunday. Fifty and Fabulous is the way I am approaching it. I am celebrating the fact I survived my teens, my twenties, my thirty's and the dreaded forties....  fifties are going to be FANTASTIC!!!!