I am sure many people have heard the song by Brad Paisley “Letter to Me”. It’s about the adult version of a man, Brad perhaps, writing to the high school version of himself. Of course you always think, “Oh if I knew then, what I know now…” Well today I had one of those experiences and wished I could send a letter to the twenty-something Nancy.
While grocery shopping with my husband and two boys this afternoon, I spotted a few young women. They were not doing anything out of the ordinary, but getting a few supplies for whatever the evening may hold for them. I noticed they were dressed in fun shoes and trendy clothes and their faces were neatly painted. This made me smile and sigh. Ah, the “good old days”. The days where my friends and I would go out and sip martini’s or margaritas, dance our butts off, and not get home until well past midnight. We had a lot of fun, nothing too obscene, but a lot of good memories were made.
At home, as I unpacked our groceries, I started thinking about what I would say to my younger self and what my younger self might say to me now. First off, I’m fairly positive my twenty-three year old body would be pissed off that I am no longer as super fit as I used to be. Ten years ago, I would work out two hours a day, seven days a week, granted I was single, living at home, and fairly miserable, but I looked good! Now, the mother of two young boys, I’m lucky if I work out two hours a week, but I’m married to my best friend and I’m happy. While I know the younger me would be ticked at my BMI, I would like to tell her to relax and to eat a piece of cake. Life is just a little too short to be spent on a treadmill or an elliptical machine for umpteen hours a day.
The second thing I thought about was how much fun I used to have getting ready, whether it be to go out, to go to work, to the store, where ever. The time spent on hair, make-up, and clothing … it was glorious. I had to laugh at how different my beauty routine is now. A quick shower, the basic makeup, and usually an air-dried hair style all paired up with my favorite pair of jeans and my comfy tennis shoes. Now given the opportunity, I will dilly dally in the bathroom and play with my hair and do a little more detailed make up, but generally it’s a bare bones operation. If I could, I would tell my younger self to enjoy the hours spent at my vanity, enjoy the peaceful bliss of the radio and blow dryer blaring, and the mountains of make up strewn about, because all too soon it will be over and spending time on yourself will be a thing of the past.
Thirdly, I thought of the shoes. Oh, those uncomfortable, sexy shoes. Back than a good pair of heels went with everything. Now, a cute pair of flats or a comfortable pair of tennis shoes is all you will most likely find me in. I realize they may not be as attractive or as sexy, but I think even the younger me could appreciate this. Quite frankly, I was never very graceful in anything above a 1 inch heel anyway!
The last thing I would like to say to my younger self is this. Enjoy your time. I realize that growing up and moving on to the next step was what everyone was striving for back than, but take a few breaths and just stop. The pieces will fall into place and you will look back and smile. You will wake up one day and be married to a wonderful man, with two young boys, and be a different kind of happy than you were in your early twenties. Enjoy your martini’s with your girlfriends, dance a little longer, and stay out until dawn once or twice. The older you will appreciate the memories…
