Letter to Me

  • By Trish Berg
  • April 13, 2011
  • 237
                        
Struggling with loads of laundry, clutter in the kitchen and chaos in your life? Stress can easily steal our joy. Trish Berg reminds us to simplify the small stuff and find Joy in the Journey. Dear Trish, I have been thinking about you a lot lately and wanted to write you this letter from your 42 year old self. I know you worry about a great many things and that life seems very complicated at times, so I wanted to give you some assurances to help you along the way. When you are five and you want to wear that white sweater with the red speckles all over it, keep in mind that photos of you in said sweater will last your entire lifetime. White and red speckles really do not go with everything, so try to give in to your mom, especially on school picture day, and leave the sweater at home. During your younger years when your hair is short and your dimples big, don’t worry that old ladies say, “Thank you young man,” when you hold the door open for them. It’s really not worth shedding any tears over. You know who you are. Skip taking gymnastics, you will never be as good as Nadia Comaneci, and will never be able to earn your dad’s love that way. Face it, cartwheels, flips and the balance beam are just not for you. Try taking up swimming or something else. And trust that your dad will love you as best as he can in his own way. I wish I could run back in time and sit next to you on your daisy covered bedspread the night your mom comes in to tell you and your sister that she is divorcing your dad. I wish I could hug your tears away and tell you that everything will be all right and that you will get through this. That you will see your dad again and that your life will settle down eventually. I wish I could tell you that going through your parents’ divorce will make you stronger on the inside and that your life will be better in the long run. I wish I could wipe all those tears away for you. That you will gain a step-father who will love you more than you could have ever imagined. When you sit on the school bus and the big fifth graders call you “Monkey Face,” and mock you, don’t worry. You do not have a monkey face, and you should stand up to them and tell them to stop it. Don’t be afraid, they are all jerks, and believe it or not, what goes around does truly come around eventually. I wish I could remind you that you left your Guinea pig out in your grandma’s back yard, to skip learning to disco dance, and tell you not to wear those rainbow striped leg warmers or flash-dance-torn t-shirt. I would tell you to hug your mom as much as possible for motherhood is the most difficult job in the world. Try to thank Grandma Knoedler for sledding with you on her back yard hill and for the warm cocoa and marshmallows, for you will never forget those times. Thank Grandma Cipollone for taking you to the ocean and jumping in the waves. Hug your Aunt Tedi and cousin Vicki as much as you can because they won’t be around forever. I guess none of us will. If I could write a letter to me, I would tell myself to embrace every joyful moment and assure myself that the difficult ones will soon pass. But I guess, just like that white and red speckled sweater, some things you just have to learn on your own. Catch up with Trish at www.TrishBerg.com


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