Dear 1967 Patty,
 |
| Me at 16 years with my dog Teddy Summer, 1967 |
You are
probably surprised to be hearing from me. So much has happened since I saw you
last and I have a great deal I want to tell you.
I thought
it would be a good idea to give you a heads up on your future so you can prepare
yourself for the bumps in the road ahead and maybe even take a few precautions.
First, sugar is poison—at least it
is to you!
Your future
self will suffer greatly if you continue down the road of eating too many candies,
cakes, and pies. I know you have a huge sweet tooth and you’re so skinny and
don’t put on weight, but that will eventually change. Then it will be too late, you’ll be hooked. You will be saddled with a catastrophic
disease that will shorten your life if you don’t get this under control now. Learn
to replace sweets with healthy fruits and veggies. And while you are at it,
find an activity you enjoy that will get you moving. The life of a couch potato
is no life at all.
I know—this
sounds crazy, but don’t be frightened by it. You will learn a lot from the
first two to make the third one the best.
You will
meet your first husband in high school and he will sweep you off your
feet. You will have a little boy who
grows up to become a handsome man, wonderful husband and father to three beautiful
grandchildren. Yes, you will be a
Grandma. You were really too young when you got married this time, but you did
grow up fast in the five years it lasted.
You will learn that everything is not always as it seems. It will hurt a lot and you will feel
betrayed, but you will soon move on, too soon in fact.
You will
meet your second husband on the job and will marry him just a year after your first
marriage ended. From him you will learn
how to deal with someone who has an addiction. You will believe you can fix
what is broken in him, but you can’t.
This one only lasts for eight years but it will nearly drain the life out
of you. You will call it your eight year
mistake. You will lose much of your
self-esteem and will doubt yourself for a very long time after, but you will
recover. You will be relieved when this marriage ends, but you will carry the
scars of it forever.
You will
meet your third and last husband at a country western bar, of all places! He is everything you hoped your first marriage
would be. He is very different from you,
but somehow it works. You look for five years before you find him. If it’s at all possible, start looking in
Texas, it might shorten your search. He shows you the true meaning of love, how
to laugh again and is the best friend you could ever have in a mate.
Third, save your money!
To quote a
wise man in my time, “If you will live like no one else, later you can live
like no one else.” Saving now will
provide for you later. Times will be
tough, but force yourself to save a little each week. Problems with money or lack thereof is one of the reasons marriages one and
two failed. Let me put it this way: if you don’t save for the future, you will
not reap the life you want to live. Save, save, save. I can’t stress this enough! And stay away from credit cards. They will only bring you down. Oh, here is a definite heads up. Pull out all of your money before these
dates: Oct. 19, 1987 and Oct 1, 2008.
No, I don’t think this will be considered insider trading.
Lastly, take church seriously!
Don’t feel
like you are being forced to go. Embrace
what the church teaches you about Jesus.
Then, when you are older, make a decision for yourself to be a Christ
follower. Jesus is the way, believe
me. You will change your life once to
turn it over to Him. If you can, try to
find Him sooner than when you reach age 41. You won’t regret it.
Well, that’s
about all I have for you. The rest you will
have to figure out for yourself. Now all
I have to do is find Marty McFly and Doc Brown to see about getting this letter
to you. Who are they, you ask? You’ll find out in about 20 years!
Good Luck
and God Bless,
~ 2012 Pat
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