I wish I could have gone to the beach with Michan all those years ago. Perhaps it wouldn’t have made a difference, but maybe it might have. She stayed alone on that beach, wanting to go home. All I could think about was watching the sun go down with her, something we could have reminisced about years later. But it’s the simple plans that don’t happen.

I wish I could have gone to college with Michan. Studied together and worked through all of our problems as a team as we did when we were together. But when she had to move out of state, the dream collapsed. All I wanted was to build a future with her, but it’s the simple plans that don’t happen.

I wish I could have moved in with Maddog. We often talked about it, if his sisters ever moved out or if they moved into a larger house like they planned. We planned to write online comics, even concentrate on selling a few of our ideas. It might have been fun, but it’s the simple plans that don’t happen.

I wish I could have gone cloud chasing with Jessica. She always wanted to be a storm chaser. We planed to get into college, grab a few classes on meteorology and go out every weekend, searching for storms and take a few pictures. Might have been nice to do, but it’s the simple plans that don’t happen.

I wish I could have grown up with a regular father. One that didn’t threaten me and my family, didn’t drink and didn’t scare my childhood away. I wish I could have grown up just a regular kid. One that didn’t stand out, one that was like everyone else. But it’s the simple plans that don’t happen.