Optical Illusion: Young girl or old woman?
I was listening to the local country music station in my car today and Brad Paisley’s “Letter to Me” came on. It made me start thinking about what I would say to myself if I could write my young self a letter and send it back in time.
Brad Paisley sang:
“And I’d end by saying have no fear
These are nowhere near the best years of your life.I guess I’ll see you in the mirror
When you’re a grown man
P.S. go hug Aunt Rita every chance you can.Chorus:
And oh, you got so much going for you, going right
But I know at 17, it’s hard to see past Friday night
I wish you’d study Spanish
I wish you’d take a typing class
I wish you wouldn’t worry, let it be
I’d say have a little faith, and you’ll see.If I could write a letter to me, to me…”
What would I write? I agree with Brad; I should have taken Spanish and Typing back in school. I would definitely tell myself to not worry so much.
I would tell myself that I was really not that fat. I only thought I was. All that wasted time dieting and thinking I was ugly. What a shame. Ten or fifteen extra pounds don’t matter at all in the big picture.
Hey, Me! DO NOT BUY those yellow pants!! You looked ridiculous!!! AAggh… I can’t believe you liked them…
I would say to me “smile more” and “laugh a lot more!” Even when it doesn’t seem to be funny, later on you’ll think it was!!
Go to the dentist. Get your teeth cleaned!! It matters. Oh, and floss!
I would remind myself how important it is to be a generous person and how little it costs to give to others who need it, whether it’s money they need or the loan of a car, or a place to sleep for a while.
Listen up, Me. No perms. EVER!!!
I would surely write that taking care of my health is important and to watch out for those medicines I thought would help but later on carry a heavy cost physically. (Like that Prednisone I took for over a year many years ago.)
I wish I could say to young me “Every time you go shopping without a purpose other than entertainment, you spend money that would, if saved, make a nice retirement fund instead. Dummy!! (Smack myself on the head.)
I would say how important it is to spend time cuddling my children. I so wish I had done more of that, even though I was hugging them like crazy all the time. It drove them nuts when they got to be teenagers but now I wish I hadn’t bothered to let that change things.
Listen, Me, do your Kegels!!!
And most of all I would tell myself to stay strong, that I could somehow be the mother I needed to be. My young self never felt she could do what needed to be done and it caused so much hurt. It’s the biggest regret of my life that I didn’t think I could handle being a single mother to two young sons without an education and with no family. I wish I had said “tough it out”.
So what would you write in a letter to yourself if you could?
