My son and I were driving to a dental appointment across town.
Look - see that house, I said, pointing to a tidy brick bungalow on one corner. Dad and I looked at that house when we were house hunting before you were born. I don't remember why we didn't buy it... I think the back yard was too small. But just think, if we had bought it - this would have been the neighborhood you grew up in.
And I'd have all different friends, he replied.
Yes - you would have gone to different schools.
We continued driving in silence, reflecting on how a small decision - like buying a house in one neighborhood rather than another - determined so much.
I thought about other decisions, forks in the road, that have altered on my life...
Studying humanities at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver when I was 18 instead of attending San Diego State College (where they offered the degree in journalism that I wanted)...
Going to Israel for an exchange year ... (and staying for 10)...
Moving to Montreal (where I met my husband)...
Every day presents us with potentially life-altering decisions! It's probably good that we are often oblivious to them. Otherwise, the burden of deciding even small things could be too much for us to handle!
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