Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Letter to me

I'm trying to grab a few minutes of peace and quiet while the kids are playing happily and I was sitting here listening to Pandora and "Letter To Me" by Brad Paisley came on. I like that song, it always makes me think and when I think I blog, so here I am. :)

So the song is about how he wishes he could write a letter to his teenage self and give him some advice now that he's grown up. Don't you wish you could do that? I would love to go back and have a talk with my teenage self, as a newlywed, a first time mom, during the adoption process, etc.

I would have a lot to tell my teenage self. Listen to your parents because they aren't as dumb as you think they are. Cherish the friendships you have and don't take them from granted. Take fewer fluff classes in high school and take AP English and a foreign language instead. "Forever" means approximately a year and a half to a teenage boy. Time heals a broken heart. Don't wish that high school would hurry up and be over, instead take the time to enjoy the last few years of true freedom you'll have for a while. Spend time with your dad while you still can.

As I newlywed I would tell myself to realize what a sweet time of life that was. Stop wishing for a big house and be glad that your little apartment only takes you a half hour to clean. Don't wish those poor college student days away, you'll miss them someday. Enjoy sleeping in on Saturday mornings. Those days will end soon. Take it easy on the student loans, it takes forever to pay them back.

As a first time mom I would tell myself to relax and stop worrying so much. Buy a better camera and take more pictures. Don't worry if the house is a mess, just snuggle that sweet baby. The sleepless nights won't last forever, you WILL sleep again.

During the adoption process I would tell myself to be patient, the wait will totally be worth it. Stop obsessing that something is going to wrong, it all turns out fine. Don't give up on learning Korean so quickly. You'll wish you knew more Korean when you get to Korea. Take more video in Korea. Sleep while you can, you won't be doing much of that for a while.

So it makes me wonder what my future self would tell my 35 year old self. What am I doing now that my future self would warn me about or tell me to change? I'd probably tell myself to blog more! Enjoy your kids while you can, they grow up too fast. Slow down and enjoy the moments instead of trying to constantly get to the next thing. For petes sake, eat more vegetables. :) (I've been telling myself that one for years.)

It puts things into perspective. We sometimes get so busy with life that we forget to slow down and have fun. I sometimes get so caught up in worrying about the future that I forget to enjoy the present.

So my goal is to enjoy the present. Last night Mattthew invited us in to the living room to hear a song that he made up and at first I was a little hesitant because I was in the middle of something. But I went to hear his song and it turned into Clarissa singing a song and then Josh singing a song and then the whole family singing songs until we laughed so hard our stomachs hurt. That was a sweet memory that I don't want to forget. I'm glad I took the time in my day to stop to sing a song with my kids. I hope I can live my life in such a way that my future self doesn't wish she could go back and point out a hundred things I should have done differently.

And that's what I would say if I could write a letter to me.

1 comment:

shelly said...

This is so true, and it's so funny how all that advice to our teenage selves (mine would be the same) is applicable now too, at almost 40. The other day we had a giant family wrestling match and laughed so hard. It was probably close to an hour, and so much fun! My son said to me the other week, "You're always too busy to play with me." I never want to hear that again! But, it's difficult this time of year, when I'm trying to make the day "perfect." I need to remember that what happens on the way to that day can be "perfect" too! Thanks for a great post!