ACME
22-02-2014, 09:54 AM
A heart - touching , overwhelming truth
/////
Enjoy listening & reading
You can download the audio from
http://www.mediafire.com/download/lucaywzf2b3gyfc/a+letter+to+myself.rar
/////////////
Dear Edith (age 10),
I found this picture of me and my two brothers in a drawer. I am 10 years old in the picture so it must have taken in 1949. I don’t remember the day but I do remember that dress. A blue and white dress with small, pink buttons in the shape of flowers. I had a pale pink ribbon in my hair. Of course the picture is black and white, but I remember it clearly. I loved that ribbon, I wore it every day.
Now I am living in a retirement home, with terrible health. It’s not easy, so I spend my time at home with my cat, remembering the past. Looking at this picture, I realise that there is not only more than 60 years between us but a totally different world. We are two totally different people. You are young with your life ahead of you: I am old and near the end of my time. I am not sure if you would be proud of whom you grew into and the things you achieved. This encouraged me to write this letter to offer you some advice. I want you to make better decisions in your life.
The first piece of advice is: don’t wait! Do what you want to do. Now. I have spent my life waiting. When I was a teenager I was waiting to get married. Then I was waiting to have children. Throughout my life I have been waiting until I have enough money to do lots of things. Waiting until I have more time to follow my dreams. Waiting to retire so I can relax. Waiting until my health improves so I can do anything. Waiting for my sons to visit so I have someone to talk to. Always waiting for the right moment to do something. This moment never comes. While I have been waiting, my life has slipped away.
So what should you do instead? Live! Act! Do! One thing I have learned, perhaps too late, is life is short. Too short for waiting. Not enough money? Make the best of what you have. Non feeling 100 per cent? Shake it off, and go out, work through the pain and discomfort. Remember, inactivity breeds inactivity. The longer you do nothing, the harder it is to do something when you need to.
This leads to the next piece of advice; surround yourself with people. Throughout my life, I have not had many friends, and slowly they have all moved away or died. Now it is difficult to make friends. I don’t feel comfortable with strangers. When I was younger I liked meeting people and was popular. But now I am not confident enough to make new friends. I spend most of my days alone. Make lots of friends and open your heart to them. It’s fine to be reserved (in fact it is the British way) but there is a limit. Be open and then you won’t be alone. Your own company is fine when you are young, but it is lonely and depressing when you are older.
The third piece of advice is: bounce back. Since my divorce, 40 years ago, I have been alone. I convinced myself that men are all evil, and having one in your life is like adding another child. Did I really believe that? Probably not. I just didn’t want to be hurt again, and hating was easier than moving on. Please don’t do the same. You will get hurt, by men, and by friends but don’t give up on people. My life would be so different now if I had more people and maybe a man in it.
Don’t get me wrong, my life hasn’t been all bad, but all the problems have originated from these three issues. I wish when I was 10 years old, I had received a letter like this. I would have followed the advice and my life would be a lot happier. I wish I could change the past, but I can’t. I wish this letter could be sent to you, my 10-year-old self, but it can’t. I wonder when you reach my age, lovely, innocent Edith if you would offer the same advice to your 10-year-old-self.
I have to go now, my angel, as it is 6:30 pm and I will try to phone my older son, Michael. We normally talk for about 30 minutes once a week, which I look forward to, but he is difficult to catch on the phone. I only hear from my younger son, Mark once a month. I am so proud of him (he’s a lawyer) but he is so busy and I hate to bother him.
With love from your future self,
Edith (age 74).
.
.
.
The End
~~~~
My Regards
ACME
/////
Enjoy listening & reading
You can download the audio from
http://www.mediafire.com/download/lucaywzf2b3gyfc/a+letter+to+myself.rar
/////////////
Dear Edith (age 10),
I found this picture of me and my two brothers in a drawer. I am 10 years old in the picture so it must have taken in 1949. I don’t remember the day but I do remember that dress. A blue and white dress with small, pink buttons in the shape of flowers. I had a pale pink ribbon in my hair. Of course the picture is black and white, but I remember it clearly. I loved that ribbon, I wore it every day.
Now I am living in a retirement home, with terrible health. It’s not easy, so I spend my time at home with my cat, remembering the past. Looking at this picture, I realise that there is not only more than 60 years between us but a totally different world. We are two totally different people. You are young with your life ahead of you: I am old and near the end of my time. I am not sure if you would be proud of whom you grew into and the things you achieved. This encouraged me to write this letter to offer you some advice. I want you to make better decisions in your life.
The first piece of advice is: don’t wait! Do what you want to do. Now. I have spent my life waiting. When I was a teenager I was waiting to get married. Then I was waiting to have children. Throughout my life I have been waiting until I have enough money to do lots of things. Waiting until I have more time to follow my dreams. Waiting to retire so I can relax. Waiting until my health improves so I can do anything. Waiting for my sons to visit so I have someone to talk to. Always waiting for the right moment to do something. This moment never comes. While I have been waiting, my life has slipped away.
So what should you do instead? Live! Act! Do! One thing I have learned, perhaps too late, is life is short. Too short for waiting. Not enough money? Make the best of what you have. Non feeling 100 per cent? Shake it off, and go out, work through the pain and discomfort. Remember, inactivity breeds inactivity. The longer you do nothing, the harder it is to do something when you need to.
This leads to the next piece of advice; surround yourself with people. Throughout my life, I have not had many friends, and slowly they have all moved away or died. Now it is difficult to make friends. I don’t feel comfortable with strangers. When I was younger I liked meeting people and was popular. But now I am not confident enough to make new friends. I spend most of my days alone. Make lots of friends and open your heart to them. It’s fine to be reserved (in fact it is the British way) but there is a limit. Be open and then you won’t be alone. Your own company is fine when you are young, but it is lonely and depressing when you are older.
The third piece of advice is: bounce back. Since my divorce, 40 years ago, I have been alone. I convinced myself that men are all evil, and having one in your life is like adding another child. Did I really believe that? Probably not. I just didn’t want to be hurt again, and hating was easier than moving on. Please don’t do the same. You will get hurt, by men, and by friends but don’t give up on people. My life would be so different now if I had more people and maybe a man in it.
Don’t get me wrong, my life hasn’t been all bad, but all the problems have originated from these three issues. I wish when I was 10 years old, I had received a letter like this. I would have followed the advice and my life would be a lot happier. I wish I could change the past, but I can’t. I wish this letter could be sent to you, my 10-year-old self, but it can’t. I wonder when you reach my age, lovely, innocent Edith if you would offer the same advice to your 10-year-old-self.
I have to go now, my angel, as it is 6:30 pm and I will try to phone my older son, Michael. We normally talk for about 30 minutes once a week, which I look forward to, but he is difficult to catch on the phone. I only hear from my younger son, Mark once a month. I am so proud of him (he’s a lawyer) but he is so busy and I hate to bother him.
With love from your future self,
Edith (age 74).
.
.
.
The End
~~~~
My Regards
ACME