Letter to myself
To my
future self,
I hope that time has been kind to you, and that you are
well.
You wrote this letter some time ago and gave it to someone
you trust in the hopes it would never be needed.
I can't predict what your life is like, but it's likely that
some of the things you may be facing are things you went through with your own
parents and others. It's because of that, that you wrote this letter to yourself.
Know that the person who has given it back to you cares
about you a great deal, and is concerned for your well-being. Please keep an
open mind and listen carefully to what he or she has to say. Accept that you
may need to trust in their judgment over your own.
They may ask you to stop doing something that you feel you
are still able to do. Remember that your father drove well beyond when it was
safe for him to do so, and how you and your mother worried every time he was
out.
They may ask you to accept help that you don't feel you
need. Remember that taking care of both of your parents felt they could do
everything themselves. Yet your mother spent many nervous moments and sleepless
nights listening for him, just in case.
They may ask you to do something you don't want to do. It
could be something as simple as eating. Remember that in the end, they did the
best they could from what what parents have been taught by their own parents.
It could be something more substantial, like changing your living arrangements.
Your father, bless him, accepted the need for change, though by then it was too
late.
I can't know what you've gone through since writing this
letter. I don't know what situation has caused someone to feel it's time for
you to get this letter. I only know that you saw your parents both stubbornly
refuse the advice of the people around them, at the cost of their health and
their lives. I don't want that for you or the people who love you.
I hope that you'll remember that you wanted to learn from
your experiences, and that to the end, you wrote this letter to help remind you
of those times, and to accept the advice and assistance of the people who care.
As much for them, as for yourself.
From a time past...
Your younger self,
Pamela A. Wyatt
__________________________________________
Thursday January 2, 2015
Thursday January 2, 2015
