A Letter to My Younger Self
Dear seventeen-year-old me,
I see you sitting there in your mother’s lap all tearful, agonizing over what you’re going to do with your life.
Well guess what? I’m from your future and I’m here to tell you that everything turns out ok.
Yeah, there are things you could do better, but overall, you did all right.
Don’t worry about the times that you feel like a total weenie; you have to go there to learn your boundaries—what you will and won’t put up with in the way you are treated by others.
Don’t worry about if boys like you or not and don’t pretend to be someone you aren’t so they will. When the right guy comes along, he will love you for who you are. And spoiler alert, at this point, you’re almost forty-three years strong.
Always remember how your young self feels about things because the world is less than ideal and at some point, you’ll need your idealism to keep you from becoming complacent in the face of the world’s brokenness.
Soak in all you can get. All that love and family time. Every visit, phone call, card, and letter. One day, some of the people you love most will be gone and you’ll be clinging to those memories for quite a while.
The way you grew up, you had no clue how much disappointment there is out here in the world. So you held fast to your vision of what the world should be and brightened a few dark corners.
You grew naturally into someone who would comfort those in the dark and sit with those who felt lost—like an anchor for them to cling to—I’m proud of you for that.
I applaud you remembering your raising when it came to issues of differences. Different is indeed not automatically better or worse. It’s just different.
Try your best to meet people where they are, not where you think they should be.
Love people for who they are.
Be yourself.
Give of yourself.
Help others.
You don’t have to like everyone, but you can love everyone as a child of God.
Your social awkwardness? Yeah, you still have it in the future, but it’s not crippling.
However, if you get a chance to learn how to do the girlie thing, take it. It wouldn’t hurt you to feel comfortable about dressing up for the few times you thought you might like to but didn’t.
Thanks for being feisty enough to drive the twelve plus hours home by yourself. At sixty-five, you’re still doing it and loving the silence of it; it’s a moving meditation of sorts.
You could have taken the whole financial planning thing a bit more seriously. I know you’re a survivor, but being a survivor isn’t the ultimate goal in life.
Try harder to move beyond survival. Learn to thrive.
I’m sorry for all the hurt you suffered when you chose to do what you believed was the right thing. Choosing the right thing is not always easy. I’m proud of you for that.
And when your choices were less than honorable, you tried to learn and grow from them.
Looking back over the last almost fifty years, I can see what you did with your life—my life—our life.
You did your best to be a good person.
You grew and matured as a human being.
You’ve both given and received love with great joy.
You’ve noticed the everyday miracles hidden in plain sight and filled your soul with their beauty and richness.
Nice job, I say to you.
I’ll take it from here.
~~~
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Love it! You’re one of the greatest people I know, even though we haven’t seen each other in years, I know if I ever needed something or you; you would make it happen because that’s just who you are! I hope your husband is okay ❤️
Thank you Tammy! I feel the same way about you! You’re one of my favorite people and I wish we lived closer. At least we have facebook! My husband is doing good–taking it easy like he’s supposed to (MIRACLE OF MIRACLES)! I hold you in my heart always sweet friend! ❤
Very cute! I don’t see your social awkwardness tho. From my perspective you’re extremely social!
Thank you, but you’ve been part of the family for over twenty years! I’m very comfortable around you. I also do ok around children and old people (older than me). If it’s people I don’t know or feel uncomfortable around, I put my social game face on and do the best I can. Aunt Sue and I had a discussion about the introvert/extrovert thing. She said there’s no way I was an introvert. I took the test, she scored it herself (administering those to clients was part of her job at the time). She was shocked. I should get an Oscar! If you only knew what was going on in my head! ❤
You are just who God wants you to be so take comfort in that. Nothing happens to you in life that hasn’t sifted through the Fathers hands.
Thank you, Jim! That is comforting.
I thank God every morning for the new day, another chance to be a better person than I was yesterday. Another chance to do better with the gifts I have been given. Another day to be inspired by His creation!
My best to you and Denise! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I love you guys! ❤
What a nice way to be kind to yourself and give thanks for your life. 🙂
Thanks, Annie! I love your perspective. Amazing. You always surprise me in a good way! ❤
I love this girl! Praying your husband is feeling better. Late seeing this. Had a wonderful Thanksgiving with 21 family members for the first time in 2 years. It was great. Everyone was happy to be together again. I trust you had a wonderful Thanksgiving my friend. You know I love your writings. You are a brilliant writer. Thank you my friend for always making my day and putting a huge smile on my face when I read your writings. I love that wall of photos. I think you told me one time that was in your mom and dads home? Just love it. Take care my dear friend. I love you.
Ah, Susan! Thanksgiving was indeed a good time. I was a little off my game this year, but there was plenty to stuff ourselves silly with! Michael is doing better, thanks.
I’m glad you had a good Thanksgiving. Twenty-one people–wow! That sounds like sheer joy!
You are correct. That picture is the wall in my parent’s kitchen. We cooked so many holiday meals in that kitchen. I miss that life sometimes: being young, having my whole life ahead of me, hanging out in the kitchen with my family! Then I look at the life I have now and I know how blessed I am!
Love you…c