Dear Little-Kid Me,

Please appreciate being a child.

Take the time to inhale your grandfather’s scent – he’s the last grandparent you have and you won’t have him much longer.

Embrace the Puppy Love at age eleven with that boy who you will still think you love.

Try to remember every second of dying Easter eggs with your Mum – when you dye them with your own kids, every year, you will question how she made them so beautiful.

Don’t take your big brothers for granted – they have taken care of you since you were born, and not all teenagers would’ve been so willing to let their baby sister tag along as much as you did.

Embrace your whole childhood – when you get older and watch your nieces suffer, you will realize how very lucky you were.
———-
Dear Pre-Teen Me,

Don’t “dump” your boyfriend five-hundred times. At twenty-eight, you will still regret being such a jerk. Also don’t take him for granted – he was a decent, patient, kind boyfriend for an eleven-year old kid. Take the time to look at each of your boyfriends in a different light; one day you will learn they could’ve been more, but you were too blind to realize it.

Realize that just saying you think you will have big boobs doesn’t mean it will happen.

At least not naturally :-).
————
Dear Teenager Me,

Don’t be such a bitch.

As you get older, you realize that having bitchiness ingrained in you makes it difficult to have friends. People aren’t as accommodating as your teenage friends were.

Don’t let that one man pressure you into something you’re not ready for – sixteen really is too young to make the commitment you made. You will always question that decision.

When you are nineteen and fully disgruntled with life, you will meet a man who will make you realize that life outside of this still exists. He will be there for you, no matter what, for the next ten years (and counting). You did good not pushing him away.

Also, physical abuse is never okay. It gets better – it stops, but you should’ve spoken up when it happened.
Life could’ve been so different for you.
———-
Dear Twenty-Something Me,

DON’T sleep with that man.

Even though neither of you wanted to regret the act, you both will. An affair is never okay – regardless of how “in love” you are, regardless of your reasoning.

It will ruin your friendship for awhile, it will ruin your marriage for awhile (although, not enough to make you strong enough to leave), and it will ruin your soul forever. Even when everyone else has forgiven you, you will not have forgiven yourself.

IT IS NOT WORTH IT.

Please realize that your husband will never change. He will change long enough to keep you around whenever he senses you may be gearing up to leave, but he will not change.

He can’t be someone he’s not, and you can’t either.

Stop trying – just being you is enough for someone, even if it’s not for him.

Your twenties aren’t all bad.

Your two children will be worth it – you will see so much of yourself in your daughter. Know that entire first year of constant crying, up five+ times a night, constant demands to be held does get better. She will not be the angelic infant your son was, but you will see her fighting spirit every second of the way.

Embrace their differences – this will be difficult sometimes, but overall, you are doing a decent job.
————
Dear Current Me,

GROW SOME BALLS AND LEAVE ALREADY.

That man you met at nineteen still feels like he’s The One.

He’s still your support, your encouragement, your confidante, everything that your husband isn’t – and never will be.

Every ounce of your being (his too) screams that you belong together.

Act on it – make it happen.

Don’t keep letting fear hold you back. Don’t waste another ten years without that love. Your excuses aren’t particularly valid, no matter how you package them.

And quite frankly, an innate desire or moral conviction to only get married one time isn’t worth the unhappiness you’re causing yourself.

Sincerely,
You / Me