I like the poems of Robert Frost, especially “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” and “The Road Not Taken.”

At first the poems may appear to be about simple things like walking in the woods. But the poet builds layers of meaning we continue to debate decades after they were written.

In his own analysis of “The Road Not Taken,” Frost says the poem explores the nature of choices.

The poet makes the point that when we come to a fork in the road, what’s at stake can be more than a change of direction.

Frost says that a single decision can transform life. The importance of our choices, both big and small, can shape our journey throughout life.

Yet, when we are forced to make a choice, we don’t realize how significant that choice may be. We can try to examine our different choices but we can’t see into the future to know how that choice will affect us.

I sometimes enjoy looking back on choices I made, examining whether with the test of time it proved to be the best choice.

My husband says looking back on past choices is a waste of time. “We can’t change the past so what’s the point of thinking about it,” he says.

I guess it depends on whether or not you are introspective. I like how the gift of time allows me to examine past choices.

It’s been 15 years since I decided to move to Florida and buy a home there.

Examining my choice of moving to Florida makes me thankful that I made that move.

At the time, some of my friends questioned whether it was wise for me to pull up stakes and move from all that was familiar, settling in a place where I knew no one.

Nor did I know the town to which I was moving. When I left my new home for the first time to go grocery shopping I got lost trying to find my way back. That’s how much everything was unfamiliar to me.

Yet, I can tell you this. I have never had one day of regret about my move to Florida. I have no clear idea about why I was smart enough to make the relocation decision that was right for me. But I am ever so grateful that I did it.

After 15 years I still rejoice when I drive by a bay of water rippling with sunshine or when I see the boundless wildlife that visits my backyard every day. I never tire of seeing all that.

While looking back on my decision to move here continues to be gratifying, I still have an inner debate whether I picked the right house.

Like Robert Frost’s poem where two choices were debated, I had two main choices in buying my home.

The home buying market back then was much the same as it is now. There were few homes available and the good ones were quickly snatched up. I had to make a quick same-day decision because the seller had five offers the first day the home I liked best was on the market.

I’m someone who likes to analyze every possible decision before I buy anything. I was uncomfortable making a snap decision to spend that kind of money, especially when I was going against the advice of my Realtor. She thought I should consider the bigger home on the river because it would retain more value.

I went with my heart and bought the smaller sunshine-filled cottage, thinking it would be most cost effective.

So here we are 15 years later and I still love everything about my home. But when I am boating with friends and we pass the river home I didn’t pick, I have a momentary thought that I could have my own boat on the river if I would have bought that house. It only takes two minutes to realize the home I bought was the better choice all the way around.

But every now and then it’s fun to think about the road not taken.

It’s easy to understand how big decisions can affect us in many ways. One of the biggest decisions we make is our choice of a marriage partner. It’s more than deciding whom to marry. The first question is whether to marry.

Making the wrong decision there has far more consequences than buying the wrong house.

My favorite cousin came to a fork in her road when she had to decide whether to take the college scholarship she was offered or to give in to her fiance’s pressure to forgo college and marry him.

I always urge any woman in that situation to first get her degree because then she will be better prepared for any contingency.

I told my cousin if he loved her he would wait for her.

Much to the regret of her family, she picked getting married over accepting the college scholarship she was offered. Eight years and three children later he left her for another woman and she struggled alone to support the kids.

Call it lamenting the road not taken.

Frost was right when he said our choices can affect our life’s path in significant ways.

A contented life is when you don’t have to lament the road not taken.

Contact Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcast.net.