Mr. Postman, Look and See, Is There a Letter in Your Bag for Me?

The other day, I read an article about a woman who wished she could write a letter to her 17 year old self giving her pearls of wisdom she had learned over the years, and I thought, that’s a great idea for a blog.  Kind of an “if I knew then what I know now” type thing.



Seventeen....



So I sat down, fully prepared to write to 17-year-old Jamie Fitzgerald and tell her to hang in there, be herself, have confidence, etc, etc.  But in my writing, I realized something.  This chick had a better head on her shoulders than I do.  If anything, I should be taking lessons from her!  So, I changed my assignment and decided to channel her and let her write to me.

Here’s my letter to me:

Dear Jamie (age 33),

First of all, kudos on the hot husband.  Seriously, he gets better looking every year.  Nice job landing him. 

Seriously, how cute is this guy?!?

Now, some advice –

Stop whining about being overwhelmed and tired.  I’m sure you’re energy level isn’t quite what mine is, but I go to school every day, go directly to work, get home after 10 o’clock, do my chores (WHY do I have to do the dishes when I was not here to eat??), then do a full load of homework for all my AP classes all while maintaining multiple close friendships and one kind of important long distance romance.  Whatever it is that you’re facing, however big is seems, you CAN handle it.  You’ve got this.

Also, stop making excuses for yourself.  If you want something, get it.  If you want to be something, be it.  If you want to do something, do it.  Figure it out.  Get it done.  I don’t let things stop me, and neither should you.  Remember that other people’s opinions are just that, and they don’t need to control your every move.

Give yourself a break in the mom department.  You don’t have to be perfect.  Just love him as much as you can.  You’ll figure the rest out.



These girls meant the world to me



Stop letting busyness get in the way of your friendships.  I’m sure it’s harder when you’ve got work and kids and a house to take care of, but remember how important your friendships are to you (and how lucky you are to still have some of the same friends I have plus several amazing ones you’ve made along the way).  Make time for them.

I’m sorry for some of the things you’ve had to face in the last decade or so.  I know some of those things couldn’t have been easy, but you got through it.  Here’s the thing though – stop letting all that stuff make you so scared of life.  Remember how brave you used to be. 

You have faced scary things, and you will face more. But you’ll survive.  It’s what we do.

Remember how you felt about God when you were me.  I know you love Him and you know so much more about Him now, but think back to when you first gave your life to Him.  Think of the passion and fire you had.  You wanted to please God more than you wanted anything else.  Allow Him to captivate your heart again.  Otherwise, what’s it all worth?

Last, but certainly not least, please start washing off your make-up before you go to bed.  You really need to take better care of your skin.  You’re making us look old.




Young and in love

 

XOXO

Jamie (age 17)



P.S. Thanks so much for never listening to me when I tried to convince you that watching television was better than reading, sunscreen was unnecessary, and that you really needed a tattoo of a lady bug on your foot.