Dear 20-something-year-old Me,
I am writing to you from age 37. Wait, is that right? Let’s see, born in ’79… Yep!
First of all, I want you to know that as cool as your 20’s could ever be, your 30’s are going to be phenomenally better. Here’s why: stability in your marriage, and having kids. Kids are pretty awesome. And at the age of 37 you will have had 3 already… THREE!!!!!! Never expected that one, huh? Well, besides 3 kids, you will know an amazing love from your marriage. You will end up with a very, very handsome, patient, understanding, and gentle husband who you will grow with and you will both be completely head over heels for each other. You two will never speak ill words or tell each other what to do and you both will have the utmost respect for one another. Whatever loves you’ve experienced before will be a faint flicker compared to what you’ll have now.
Your kids will also be about as great as they come. Sweet, kind, loving, cute and SOOOOO FUNNY!!!!!!!!!! Their love will fill your heart in a way that you wouldn’t imagine. But know there is a price. They will WEAR. YOU. OUT. But don’t be afraid of that, just know that a healthy sense of humor and a bit of strong coffee alongside a very supportive husband will be what gets you through each day.
You should probably know that at this stage of your life, you will not live glamorously. In fact, just try to imagine taking a handful of syrup and touching every possible surface in your house and then take a few crackers and crumble them on the tables and floors. (Go ahead and mix the syrup and crackers and disperse across the house randomly for an even more realistic effect. Try to place the mixture in places you won’t discover for at least another week or two into the future.) You won’t have time or even care about prioritizing cleaning on a regular basis. Once a month you may decide to put everyone’s laundry away because you’re feeling like super woman. But you’ll get used to living between a clean laundry basket and a dirty one. Seriously, no one even cares. You might even be surprised to learn other moms do it, too. *gasp*
Since I mentioned not living glamorously, I should tell you that it’s actually not a problem at all because you will get to stay home with your family every day and work from home. And that business-mindedness you’re cultivating in your 20’s is perfect! You are growing all your skills necessary for the entrepreneur you will be today. You will become a passionate photographer (ooh! how artsy of you!), as well as have a host of other small start ups of your very own. But don’t get overwhelmed thinking you will be doing all of it alone, your husband will be home every day with you to help with the kids and he will even develop software to help your businesses run more smoothly. He will also help with all the ins and outs of having your own businesses. Pretty cool, right? You might get into things and feel overwhelmed at times, trying to balance family, work, and life, but just know you will be extremely happy and content inside and your life will finally feel “right”.
You are not ready to be a mom in your 20’s, and that’s no problem because there’s still a lot of living to do before you get here. But take your time and do all the little things your heart desires because you are young, and you can. At 37, your “mom self” thinks you are extremely lucky to have lived through all your crazy adventures of your 20’s but your “mom self” is also glad you did. Because when you finally do get to this stage, you will be ready for it all and happy to settle down.
You will live in a small country town and the pace of life will feel fast but slow all at the same time. You may get stuck behind a John Deere on the road more than once a month and it will only make you smile because this is exactly where you will want to be. So, my dear 20-something-year-old-self, I’m writing to you in particular because so much at 20-something feels unsettled and uncertain, and I understand that doesn’t always feel great, but hold on a little longer because your dreams do come true in the next decade of your life. And while I can say being at this stage has its own kind of stress and chaos and comes with its own amount of “losing yourself”, it is pretty amazing and there is truly nothing like it.
Hugs to you, my beautiful, young self. You’re going in the right direction. If you don’t believe me, take a look at this:
