Dear Little Me

I see you standing there - unsure, already carrying more than you should have to. You don’t know yet how much will crumble. You don’t know yet how lonely the world can feel. You don’t know yet how many times you’ll be told you aren’t enough, or that your worth is tied to someone else’s approval.

But here’s what I want you to hear: the mess is not the ending. It’s the soil where something new will grow.

You will see places you can’t even imagine right now - far away towns and cities whole countries and oceans away, the highest mountains and the most breathtaking coastlines. You will stand in front of art that takes your breath away, walk through streets lined with history, and watch skies painted with colors that remind you to keep looking up. You will collect not just memories, but wonder. So much wonder.

You will meet people who expand your world. Friends who feel like home, who show up in laughter and tears, who prove that family is not only blood but also the ones who choose you and let you choose them back. Over and over. Even when you think loneliness might be your forever companion, you will find yourself surrounded by love that is steady and true. Love that brings you to the table.

You will do work that matters. Work that helps shape communities and brings beauty where it didn’t exist before. Work that reminds you daily that you are not “less than” or incapable, no matter what you were told. You will find yourself contributing in ways you never dreamed possible, and it will be both meaningful and fulfilling.

And then - oh, my dear - you will be given the gift of motherhood. Three children who are each their own universe of light. They will undo you with their infinite grace, stretch you with their mind-bending questions, and fill you with a love so deep and so pure and so unconditional it will rewrite every definition of belonging you were handed. You will not parent them perfectly, but you will parent them differently - with tenderness, with listening, with openness, with humility, with love that does not depend on performance. Watching them grow to know and own themselves will be the most holy work of your life.

And when you think you’ve missed your chance, you will learn what it means to have what you’ve put into the world returned to you threefold. Midlife you will meet a man whose kindness, steadiness, strength, protectiveness, generous spirit and humor will make you believe again. He will not try to complete you - you’ll already have found your own wholeness - but he will stand right beside you, making the road softer, lighter, and far more joyful.

So, my dear girl, don’t be afraid of what’s coming. Don’t believe the voices that say you are too broken or too late. Your story isn’t over - it’s just beginning. You will build a life from the rubble, you will build a shelter from the cards life dealt you and it will be more beautiful than anything you can imagine.

With love and gratitude for you,

Your Future Self