I found a magazine among my stack the other day and flipped through it. It was a publication from the county in Northern California where, until recently, my mother Ann and stepfather Bob lived.

I read the ads and the few articles. The magazine was mostly designed for out of town visitors. I was particularly interested in the map on page 82.

There’s a covered bridge near their place?

I guess I did know that. Why on earth didn’t I check that out when I had the chance?

I was reminded of all the trips I decided not to make for no good reason. I skipped weddings and more.

When my childhood friend Lisa got married August 1993, I was an undergraduate working in a restaurant and had spent that summer house sitting with my boyfriend Paul in Los Angeles. I opted to not attend Lisa’s wedding.

Yes, it had been a busy summer, her Oregon home was several hours drive north of me, and my car was near death. But, no, I was young and healthy and there’s no reason I couldn’t have hopped into a car to go. Could I not have asked my parents to use one of their cars? Looking back, I just don’t see the unsurmountable obstacles keeping me from attending.

The same situation happened in August 2004. My high school friend Kathy was getting married for a second time. The wedding was in Las Vegas.

Yes, I was graduate student and rushing around with school and work. But, again, would it have killed me to have taken one short plane ride to spend the weekend celebrating the nuptials with someone who played a major role in my high school life?

No it would not have.

I can only blame the hustle and bustle we all feel with life. We all get bogged down in the “have to do this” and the “should do this.”

I’m guilty of that over and over for sure. My ex has several stories of times we were going out of town and I spent moments wringing my hands over the fact I was not working on my master of arts thesis. I did finish my thesis and the completion date was not in the least disturbed by the three days or so that I took traveling.

In the last three years, I have made up for some lost moments be taking last minute jaunts to Mexico with a car or truck filled with scuba diving gear. I’ve been invited to a ranch in Wyoming by a rancher and author I met but three months ago at a huge festival of books in the town where I live. I’m going.

My newish philosophy for many events and moments like these is that if planning for them is blocked by one problem or another, then I don’t go or attend. This is sort of a variation of the “if it’s meant to be it will happen” philosophy. Likewise, if the path to something is easy, then do it.

My life is easy. I plan on hitting the road.