{"id":1905,"date":"2011-11-14T20:45:18","date_gmt":"2011-11-15T04:45:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.streamdoubletrouble.com\/?p=1905"},"modified":"2011-12-24T21:49:56","modified_gmt":"2011-12-25T05:49:56","slug":"letter-to-a-little-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/letter-to-a-little-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Letter to a Little Me"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Ten was a good year. I spent my lunches playing pickle on the big kid field with Nick and Holly. The Big Stick popsicle or Fudgesicle were a quarter at the After School Program. I was getting ready to graduate elementary school.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thirty-one. 31. It\u2019s not old. It\u2019s not young. It\u2019s not even really the middle. It\u2019s adulthood.<\/p>\n

That excitement you have when you pick up a new book? Remember that love of education. There is always something new to learn. And life is a Choose Your Own Adventure book. (Us 31-year-olds know and remember those fondly.)<\/p>\n

Some years will be better than others. Middle school? Yeah. Don\u2019t get to excited about that \u2013 you\u2019ll think it sucks then and decades later you\u2019ll look back and think, \u201cYup. That really sucked.\u201d By high school you\u2019ll realize that you don\u2019t need to blend in. Go ahead. Audition. Be different. Be random.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, you\u2019ll realize with amazement that every little decision you make is guiding you toward where your life will go.<\/p>\n

Do you want to take French or Spanish? Or do you think perhaps you should embrace your ability to read music and take up an instrument in band? (Goodness knows you will never join choir.) You\u2019ll be unique; you\u2019ll take French in an effort to get ahead.<\/p>\n

Believe in what you choose. But know that there will be bumps along the way. There will be rejection and defeat. There will be struggles \u2013 internal and other \u2013 that feel as though they could be the end of the world. At the time, they may be to you. But really, it\u2019s all part of growing up.<\/p>\n

Make your decisions wisely and make sure you decide for you. High school will pass by in the blink of an eye. College will be over far too soon. You\u2019ll make some bad decisions there \u2013 but let\u2019s just attribute that to growing pains.<\/p>\n

Your twenties will be spent in pursuit of the corporate dream. More degrees, more prestige; titles and training. Playing the corporate game of chutes and ladders. Keep writing. You\u2019ve always been told to \u201cdress for the position you want.\u201d Well, just dress well, since the position you want really involves a ponytail and sweats as you type away on a computer.<\/p>\n

That second decade isn\u2019t going to end well. Infertility, hospital stays. Stress and struggles combatted with stubbornness. But the third will start with the most amazing men you\u2019ll ever meet.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s to adulthood. And here\u2019s to the adventures yet to be chosen.<\/p>\n

“Life is like a movie. Write your own ending.” – The Muppets<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ten was a good year. I spent my lunches playing pickle on the big kid field with Nick and Holly. The Big Stick popsicle or Fudgesicle were a quarter at the After School Program. I was getting ready to graduate … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[8],"tags":[567,61,568],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Sbzi-uJ","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2520,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/an-open-letter-to-my-sons-on-their-second-birthday\/","url_meta":{"origin":1905,"position":0},"title":"An Open Letter to my Sons on Their Second Birthday","date":"May 28, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Dear Search and Destroy, I\u2019m shocked to admit it, but we\u2019ve made it two years. As I write this, the clock has hit 1:32 p.m. You have been out in this world for two years. Two at two. Nuts. It is Monday, May 28. Memorial Day. You were supposed to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Baby Photos"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1403,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/an-open-letter-to-my-sons-on-their-first-birthday\/","url_meta":{"origin":1905,"position":1},"title":"An Open Letter to my Sons on Their First Birthday","date":"May 27, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Dear Search and Destroy, Well hell, it\u2019s been 365 days. People told me having kids would change your life, but they neglected to mention our quest for you would send my entire being into a tailspin. \u201cHaving kids is the universe\u2019s way of letting you know you can\u2019t control everything,\u201d\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Birthday"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4346,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/an-open-letter-to-my-sons-on-their-fifth-birthday\/","url_meta":{"origin":1905,"position":2},"title":"An Open Letter to My Sons on Their Fifth Birthday","date":"May 28, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Five has always been my lucky number. So 5-years-old was the age I dreamt about during the early days of our adventure. Especially since the neurological studies kept reminding me that 90 percent of a child\u2019s brain develops throughout the first five years of life. All traces of babyhood are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Birthday"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/IMG_1574-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4468,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/an-open-letter-to-my-sons-on-their-sixth-birthday\/","url_meta":{"origin":1905,"position":3},"title":"An Open Letter to My Sons on Their Sixth Birthday","date":"May 27, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 I spent the better part of the afternoon on my hands and knees bleaching the bathroom floor. There are people coming over tomorrow for a birthday party and there is pee all over. Age six and aim is not your strong suit. Six. Your memorial day birthday coincides with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Birthday"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Brothers_2016-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2587,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/book-review-what-alice-forgot\/","url_meta":{"origin":1905,"position":4},"title":"Book Review: What Alice Forgot","date":"June 28, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Disclaimer: This was a paid review for\u00a0BlogHer Book Club\u00a0but the opinions expressed are my own. (And yes, I was allowed to dislike the book. But I didn\u2019t.) Have you ever found yourself amid the mundane of your routine and suddenly thought to yourself that this tiny unremarkable moment may be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Books"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3327,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/an-open-letter-to-my-sons-on-their-third-birthday\/","url_meta":{"origin":1905,"position":5},"title":"An Open Letter to my Sons on Their Third Birthday","date":"May 28, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Time really is ethereal \u2013 something simply in the eye of the beholder. When we began our journey, three months took a lifetime; it seems surreal that it\u2019s now been three years. Three years ago doctors talked to me in hushed tones of couched optimism. I mourned the loss of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Birthday"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.streamdoubletrouble.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Letter-to-my-sons-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1905"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1905\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}