50 for 50 day 14: Dear me

This is the 14th of 50 posts celebrating my 50th birthday. You can see the rest here.

Dear ten year old Laura,

I know, people as old as I am now seem so distant and beyond reach. I bet you doubt you will ever get this old. I am here to tell you that you will and that your life will be an adventure. Some days will be glorious. Others will be heart breaking. And most will be fairly ordinary, but they will all be yours.

You will make choices that shape your life into its very own course, just the way everyone does. Some of those choices will be harder than others. You will make mistakes. Throughout it all, though, you will remain your own self.

That's what I want to tell you: You are your own self and no one can take that away from you. Trust your instincts and your heart. Don't be afraid to say no, don't be afraid to take risks.

I hope you are proud of who you grew up to be. I know, this isn't what you expected. We haven't won a Pulitzer, or gone to the moon, or married and had kids. Who I am now is not who I thought I would be when I was you, but who I am now isn't bad at all. A little worn maybe, but not bad.

I hope if I were to meet you through some odd bend of time, that I would take the time to listen to you. I hope I would encourage you. I hope I would take my shoes off and go wading in the
creek with you.

Thank you, ten year old Laura, for being so brave and curious and wise. I love you.

Yours in every way,
Almost fifty year old Laura

This is what 50 looks like. Loving myself through the years.
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