Erma Bombeck was a humorist who rose to fame writing a newspaper column and authored books describing her suburban home life with husband, Bill, and their three children, from the mid 1960s until her death in 1996. She was a very funny lady. By the 1970s, her columns were read, twice weekly, by thirty million readers of 900 newspapers in the U.S. and Canada. She made a lot of us laugh at the mundane aspects of daily living. She's someone I admire greatly. I joke that someday when I grow up, I want to be just like Erma. She's my newspaper column idol.

But just like everyone, Erma had a serious side, too. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992 and had a mastectomy. She became a survivor. She died in 1996 of complications after kidney surgery.Every year around October, National Breast Cancer Awareness month, I get an email with a little something that she wrote in 1979, titled "If I Had My Life to Live Over."If you've already received this email, I'm sure you passed it on to all your email buddies. But I think it bears to be reread again. And if you have never seen it before, then sit back and read what a very wise woman said."I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.I would have talked less and listened more.I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains.I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, 'Later. Now go get washed up for dinner.'There would have been more 'I love you's.' More 'I'm sorry's.'But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute ... look at it and really see it, live it, and never give it back."Have you ever played that mental game with yourself where you think about what you would do differently if you had the chance?Erma hit the nail on the head with all of her wise words.In my tribute to Erma, here are some of the things I would do "If I Had My Life to Live Over."I would never have let my mom give me a home perm the night before school pictures.I would have never gone hunting with my dad and shot that poor little defenseless bunny that never did anything to me and gave me nightmares of its whole bunny family coming to get me.I would never have watched the movie "The Exorcist" with Harry because between the two of them, they had me scared witless for two months.I would have eaten more carrots and would not have sat so close to the television set and "ruined" my eyes.I would have gone to more hootenannies when I was a teenager. I really enjoyed a good hootenanny. (I just love saying that word "hootenanny.")I would never have let Harry wear a Leisure Suit and Love Beads back in the 70s.I would never have bragged about my skills of shooting out all the headlights and taillights with my BB gun in Cookie's junkyard to my dad. He was not impressed. Nor was Cookie.I should have never stopped exercising to my Richard Simmons tape. When I stopped "Sweatin' to the Oldies," all my bad habits came creeping back and now I'm "Swearin' to the Fat Girl Country Blues."But seriously.Life can be filled with "could've, should've, would'ves." We all have things we may have wished we had done differently.Erma wanted to warn us to stop and smell the roses along the path of life when we see them. We should cherish those who love us now. No one knows what tomorrow will bring. Wouldn't it be lovely to be able to look back over our lives with no regrets?Almost every family has or will be affected by cancer in their lifetime.If you had cancer and you are a survivor, I celebrate your life.If you lost someone to cancer, I join you in your sorrow.If you have cancer, I pray for a cure.October is a month of beautiful blue skies, radiant colors and National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Ladies, be sure to have a mammogram and annual medical checkups. Men, do the same. (Well, not the mammogram, but you know what I mean.) And go out there and make wonderful new memories so you don't have to someday say, "If I had my life to live over ..."