Time travel

A wonderful thing, you might think. To travel back and change the past. To go forward and see the future...

I've often found myself stopping to think at random moments in time and taking stock. I guess it usually starts with staring at my feet. "What on earth are you wearing? When did you buy those? And, more to the point, why?"

Then the thought process goes... "if I had been teleported to this point in time and space from, say five years ago, or when I was at school (that's even longer ago, in case you didn't know) - would I know what on earth was going on... could I have possibly imagined being here? Would I have ever imagined my kids would look like this? (No, obviously they're far better looking.) Would I have ever imagined buying shoes that looked like this?"

It can be a slightly scary moment if you try and imagine yourself bluffing your way through a day at your job with, say, a 15-year old brain... you know, the one that says - "Woah, 33? that's old, that's years off. Would I have known what to say / do / where to go / who any of these people are? Would I have done a better job than I am doing now, what with being quite dozy and staring into space? Or would I be the shy, uncertain and lost 15-year old that I remember being?"

It's a thought process that, although very curious about what might happen and impatient to see the conclusion of something, is actually quite glad that there has been a long story in between. The journey that brought me here. The learning process and the vital steps that have meant I am prepared for the next step.

I then conclude that actually, I am not ashamed of my past and the things it has taught me, and neither do I want to know what's too far around the corner really, because I'm just not ready for it. And then I breathe a sigh of relief in the knowledge that someone does know all this, better still planned it all, and has just given me a dig in the ribs to remind me of this fact.

I'm still wondering about the shoes though...