I Have No Regrets (Monday Moment ep. 793)

Live Inspired Podcast with John O'Leary

John O'Leary

Self-improvement, Bestsellingauthor, Education, Dailyinspiration, Society & Culture, Liveinspired, Johnoleary, Inspiration, Joebuck, Inspiredliving, Onfire, Relationships

4.9 • 672 Ratings

🗓️ 14 July 2025

⏱️ 5 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

"I do."

57 years ago, Mom spoke those words while holding Dad’s hands.

I thought of their commitment to one another last week as I was seated across from her at breakfast. It was their 57^th wedding anniversary. And her first without him.

I expected our time together to be a bit downtrodden, quiet, sad. After all, how do you celebrate the thing you built your life around when the person you built it with is no longer there?

But as we sipped a mimosa (Hey, it was their anniversary and I wasn’t going to have Mom celebrate by herself!), it was surprising that Mom wasn’t sad, wasn’t morose, wasn’t bitter.

She was at peace. Let me explain

Transcript

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0:00.0	Well, hello, my friends, and welcome to the Live Inspired podcast Monday Morning Moments with John O'Leary.
0:18.0	We're jumping right into it this episode because I love what you are about to hear
0:22.3	and this story you're about to receive. So let's go. I do. I do. 57 years ago, mom spoke
0:29.0	those words while holding my dad's hands. At age 21, she had no idea what those words actually
0:36.0	would require.
0:42.1	Looking into his eyes, she could not know the epic journey her life was about to become.
0:47.9	She wasn't thinking about mortgages or retirement or the countless challenges and unexpected blessings ahead. Instead, she was simply in love with her fiance and likely thinking far more about the reception that evening, the honeymoon the following day, and some vague notion of building a life together.
1:02.8	Mom did not know she'd welcome six children into the world.
1:07.6	She did not know there would be a tragic fire, that a sun would be severely burned, that
1:13.6	life would get overwhelmingly difficult.
1:16.6	She could not foresee the complexities of raising a family, colloquied babies, arduous early years,
1:22.6	or teenage emotions.
1:24.6	She did not know that after finally launching six children out of the house,
1:30.4	she and dad would endure a second even more damaging house fire that completely destroy their home.
1:39.0	She did not know her extraordinary husband, my dad, Danny, would be diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, lose his job,
1:46.7	and slowly, agonizingly fade away. She did not know after spending years changing her children's
1:54.0	diapers. She'd spend dad's final years changing his. But still, she said I do. Mom and dad built a remarkable life together,
2:07.8	one filled with ordinary moments, agonizing trials, extraordinary love, and undying commitment.
2:14.7	The kind of love no 21-year-old could fully comprehend when she makes her vows.
2:21.4	I thought of their committed life last week seated across from mom at breakfast. It was her
2:27.1	57th anniversary of her wedding, and it was her first anniversary without dad.
2:35.0	I expected our time together to be a bit downtrodden, maybe a bit quiet, certainly sad.
	...

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