Do you ever wonder "What if..."

"I, Daron Pratt, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."

It was 20 years ago TODAY (St. Paddy's Day 1989) that I recited those words (for the first time)... kind of made me wonder "What if..." Several people have questioned my decision to separate from the military at the half-way point, and not stick it out to retire at 20. The decision, at the time, was based on two things:

1. I was doing desert duty pretty regularly, and the kids were small -- three months was FOREVER when you have two kids under three years old.
2. The economy (then, not now)... the dot.com bubble was still expanding, and jobs were high-paying and prevelant.

It just made sense. I have always said, the best decision I ever made was joing the Air Force -- the second, was probably getting out when I did (of course, marrying Tracy was probably up there in the top two or three, somewhere).

Regardless -- and in the vein of "It's A Wonderful Life", "Mr. Destiny", and couple of Simpsons episodes, I still wonder.

Adding to this, I recently got a note from a good friend, who was a fellow Airman with me back at Ramstein AB, Germany -- he has just been selected for Major. WOW -- it still blows my mind!!!! When I got out, I had just gotten my Associates from the Community College of the Air Force (woo hoo?!?!)... but have since finished both my Bachelors and a Masters degree. Would I have done this had I stayed in? Would I have remained enlisted, or gone for a commission? How many tours would I have done to the desert? Where would we have gone post Langley?

Now, looking back at the (almost) 10 years since I separated, at the life I have, the experiences I have had, what I have learned, where I have been -- and most certainly, the friends I have... I'm sure I'll always wonder "what if" -- I'll NEVER regret "What is."