The realized value of opportunities are often not seen until the opportunity is passed. I had a very long(over 2 hr) conversation with Ashley about a week before he died. We talked about all kinds of things including our connected lives from the years of friendship between his parents Bobby & Jewell and my wife Tammy & I. He shared how close he felt to our girls and us during that time and that I was like an uncle or 2nd dad in his mind. Tammy and I feel the same about him and his sister. When we had hashed through everything from our past interactions and fun times our families shared to politics and travels. His trip to Mexico was very intriguing to me. We disagreed on some things but enjoyed the 2 + hrs of conversation. When we finally, after saying about 10 times we would hang up and get busy with our days, ended with plans to talk again. It never happened. I never spent much time browsing Ashley's facebook page. But the few times I have I find things I want to comment on or discuss with him. I took the time to scroll through his page and realize many opportunities I missed out on. I don't think you can't live life looking in the rear view mirror but you need that view for the lessons that can be learned.