The Pyrenees---Southern France

The Pyrenees---Southern France

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Letter to Future Self

Dear Sioux,

       I know that right now you're obsessed with not fitting in.  You're not an athlete---definitely not---and you aren't willing to kiss any butt, so you're not part of the "in" crowd.  Your fondness of wearing overalls and baggy shirts makes you the object of ridicule.  Get used to it.  You won't fit in as an adult, either, and when you're 40 or 50, people will still make fun of you, although it will probably then be done behind your back...snarky, unsaid comments about your fondness (now) for Crocs, and the baggy, sloppy shirts are still hanging around.

      At this age--15--you are crazy about a boy.  Your very existence ebbs and flows with the ties between the two of you.  So much angst and anguish!  You will find, in the next three or four decades, that a 15-year old boy is about as trainable as the 45-year old version.   Resign yourself to the fact that it is impossible to beat them into becoming civilized creatures.  Enjoy them when possible,  ignore their clumsy blunderings, and count yourself fortunate that your gender doesn't feel it necessary to constantly scratch and readjust...

      As a teenager, your sarcastic sense of humor gets you into trouble.  By the time you are in your 50's, your size 11 feet will fit into your mouth quite nicely. Figure that barbed remarks and self-denigrating comments are a permanent part of your DNA. 

      I'm hoping that this note will make these rough teenaged years a bit easier to survive.  Relax--as much as possible--and realize that your youth is something to be savored.  Now, you can eat a whole bowl of ice cream right before you flop into bed, and your ribs are still visible.  By the time you enter the 21st century, all you have to do is contemplate ice cream, and your cellulite starts mating with your wrinkles. Maybe you should slow down now and try to get rid of that chocolate monkey on your back? 

photo by TammyLynnPhotography

      And as a final note...You're a terror now. A wild child. You are the reason your mother has to dye her hair and why your father is losing his hair.  As crazy as it sounds, your parents will have the last laugh.  Because someday, you will have a daughter and a son.  And the havoc they wreak will increase exponentially...


Sincerely,
Sioux    

5 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Sorry, my previous post had too many typos. This letter could have written by me except for the great line: Your cellulite starts mating with your wrinkles! FUNNY and oh so true.

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  3. I love the idea of writing the letter to your future self. Sometimes I have my kids write letters to their parents thanking them for putting up with just the things you just talked about. Then they have to thank them for something that is just special and unique to their relationship.

    I should have written a letter to myself to ignore those disney world trip that inspired me to go to grad school to become a teacher and stuck with pharmacy school instead.

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  4. "Your cellulite starts mating with your wrinkles." Hee hee!!! How true...!

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  5. Have you seen the site where you can actually email a letter to yourself in the future? http://www.futureme.org/

    I think this would be fun to have students do. They can write a letter about the upcoming year and send it to themselves at the end of the year to see if the things really happened. Or they can write about their teenage years and send it five years later.

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