A Letter To Me at 17

A note: I have been giving this concept a lot of thought. When the country song came out about this I stopped and thought, wow, that would be a great way to reflect. Then, my best friend, Kori told me about 6 months ago she did this. Right now it is a time for me to reflect. In 6 days I will be celebrating my 1 year of sobriety, plus I will be quitting smoking as of 12:00 a.m. Saturday night (1-10-09). Reflection is wholly on my mind today.

Dear Me,

Wow, 17, one more year and you will be an adult. Scary, huh? Don't sweat the small stuff. This year you will meet the man you will marry, and have two gorgeous sons with. If I wanted to change meeting this man, that would change having my sons. You will go through a lot of ups and downs with this man. You will survive. This year you will be a lifeguard at the local swimming pool, something you will love. Your good at life-guarding, a great swimmer, if you want to change something, becoming the pool manager that was offered to you, next year, would be a great change, rather than sitting home and waiting around for your future ex-husband to come around.

Giving your future ex-husband the ultimatum to stop smoking pot or stop seeing you was a good step, you might want to stick to your guns though instead of backing down. It's not your fault he turned into a junky, but knowing you have done everything always make our minds rest better.

This year in high school, you come across a rumor that your pregnant. Oh well! Good for you though, for finding the guts to stop it where it started and confronting a girl that you were always intimidated by for years. Being yourself is important and this year you are really doing a pretty good job of it.

Your best friend will betray you. This throws you through a loop that you let depress you through a year that should of been fun. Don't stand for it, find those guts again, tell it like it is, and wash your hands of a person who is not worthy of your friendship. You have a many great friends in school who you can trust, who have "your back" and will still be your friends at the ripe old age of 42, even if you don't see them or talk to them very often they are still your friends.

You become engaged to your future ex-husband this fall. His family is a pretty good family. From the git go though, you have problems with his sister, something that plagues your marriage throughout. Don't stand for it. The first time she offends you, stand up to her, that is the best thing you can do, she is one of those women that if you don't you will be looking back and wishing you could of tried something differently.

At the end of this year you will be pulling away from your family, moving toward your future, thinking you know it all! NOT TRUE!!! But, it's a right of passage for us at this age. Mom knows more than you think she does, the things she tells you ARE for your own good and you WILL say them to your own children in the future. BOY that would burn me at 17. lol

Your dad will tell you, for the first time, that he is proud of you. That he loves you. Has an actual adult conversation with you one, that you will reflect back on over the years. You always looked at your dad as that big scary guy, at 6'5 300+lbs, most people would, but after that conversation, you look at him with love and respect and knew you were receiving that love and respect back. Cherish this conversation, you will really need it in the future.

Well, enough said, good luck!!

Me