Hey you! yeah, you. How you been? I’ve been watching you from afar and wanting to come over and speak to you, but I didn’t want to startle you. See I’m you from the future. It’s okay; I know you can’t believe it. I’ve learned to live with the tinges of gray peeking through, and the tiny fine lines in the corners of our eyes. And this weight! Oh my goodness! I know. You would’ve never imagines us this size. But you’d be happy to know I’m working very hard to get rid of about 40+/- pounds so the future-future us can visit in about twenty three years when God’s grace is full upon us.
But if you have a minute, and it seems you’ve gotten over the shock, let’s talk. I want to tell you some things that I believe will save us from a lot of worriation, stress, headache and heartache.
He aint gonna last. You’ll take it hard when you refuse to take him back after the final straw. You’ll grieve far too long, shed way too many tears before you realize and accept the fact that he was just not built for the long haul, and with him by your side, neither were you. Stop being afraid and move on along. If you can’t seem to do it, then once the baby gets here in 3 years, take him, run like hell, and never look back.
The same ones that wanted to watch you drown, are the same ones God will make stand before you and watch you swim. We have some magnificent friends; even though our circle is small, it’s powerful. You still have those two from elementary school, and you three still huddle (only it’s over a phone now mostly) and tell each other your secrets. Still.
We fall in love, we fall apart from the heartache of losing it. Years following the later, God replaces generously, I might add, what we thought for sure we’d lost forever. And we fall in love again.
We don’t like small talk, and we should’ve paid more attention to the Physical Education coaches in school; they really knew what they were talking about. It’s so hard now to shake a pound off; it’s doable, but hard.
Mama and Daddy are in their seventies! Oh my goodness. They are such wonderful people now that they have grandchildren and great grandchildren. We have grandchildren! Yup! Four and one on the way. Our son is married! He’s a wonderful young man. We have a daughter! Remember when we wanted all boys, yeah, that didn’t work out. Erin is her name, and she has a daughter. She’s an awesome mother, she tries hard, has a heart of gold.
Grandma, Granddaddy, Uncle Robert, Aunt Clara are all gone home to be with the Lord. Jason, our dear sweet little baby brother, he joined them this year. The world is very different without them. Uncle Willie…oh Uncle Willie, he’s up there too.
Don’t sweat the small stuff. Continue to read, and study hard. To whom much is given much is required. If someone or somebody is always hassling you, and we know who we are talking about, listen, that simply means you are on the right track. Don’t spend ANY TIME trying to figure out why they don’t like you; they don’t like themselves. And guess what? it shows. To this day they are the same idiot doing the same idiotic stuff.
Do what makes you happy. We’re so laid back. You and me. We are such hippies! LOL, we’re living here, but we belong in a counterculture place like San Francisco. We recycle…like crazy, our carbon footprint is very important to us. We’d grow anything if we weren’t so scared of insects! And I’m natural. Hair all over the place and I don’t care one bit. Curly hair don’t care!
My fondest memory of us is when we would walk up the 5-mile rural road by ourselves and walk back, bare feet, and we weren’t afraid of NOTHING! Hair standing all over our head. We were so free. People called us country…. we were so blessed.
Oh! and there’ll be a young man that will come along when you’re twenty, the most beautiful eyes you’ve ever seen. He’ll take you out one time, you’ll talk and talk and talk, but nothing ever becomes of it…..Until now. Smiling. He still has those beautiful eyes. His conversation is more intense now. He’s all grown up, and a helluva man. Yeah, something’s becoming of it now. He likes me. I like him back.
We’re okay. you and me. We’re okay. I love you. Thank you for passing on the baton, I’m about to pass it on again in about 8 years. I’ll remember you fondly always, and I’ll write again one day.
-T.
