Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Dear Me, from Me

Today my daughter-in-law, Missy, asked me to write a letter to myself - the self I was when I was raising small children. Here goes;

Dear Frazzled Me, (1982)

I realize that you haven't been out of the house (and that you HATE this house...three bitty bedrooms, one bath for a family of five, teensy narrow galley kitchen, single living area swallowed up by the sofa, no garage...creepy chilly dungeon basement)...in 10 days.

The snow is up to the hubcaps on the one car you share with Winston, the absentee car which is with him at work, as always. Walker is 9 and at school which is directly behind this shrinky dink house. Laurel is 4 and an incessant talker with a lot of whine thrown in, Sean is 2 and has developed a compulsion for swallowing coins, and neither of them is fond of outings in the snow. Laurel doesn't like to have a cold face and Sean looks like the Michelin Tire Man in his gray snowsuit and cannot walk in his boots, so he stands with snow up to his thighs, rooted in place and screaming, "Mamma!" Snot looks pretty strange when it freezes.

I don't like my one available friend very much so I would rather not invite her and her children over or even walk to their house for a change of place.

We have the tiniest, crummiest house of anyone I have met here and with three rambunctious kids we are cramped beyond tolerance. There is not a spot in the entire house in which we don't have to walk single file. The previous owners glued red flannel to the wood floor in the hallway for some reason. I have been chipping away at the flannel all week.

I have the awful idea that we are sinking lower year by year rather than progressing UPward. Our first home purchased 5 years ago was a delightful Florida ranch - brand new! I'd give anything to roll back the clock as far as that goes...I don't look forward to anything now, so I do a lot of reminiscing.

We've left the most exciting and marvelous experience of our lives - two years in Japan! -and I deeply miss the exhilaration of life in a foreign country, the Japanese housemaid, the amusing next door neighbor I loved so much. I miss...I miss...I miss...

WAIT. Who did I say was a whiner?

Penny, wake up! You are a blessed woman! You have a great husband (as husbands go...ha!), terrific children (as children go...) and yet you are unwilling to do anything but sulk. You think that you are in a rut, that nothing is ever going to change.

Haven't you observed by now, at the age of 32, that life evolves?

Sure, Florida was a sunny time when 4 previous lost pregnancies was wonderfully resolved with the birth of a daughter and a new baby due as we embarked for a tour in Japan. Japan was delightful, as you welcomed the arrival of a second son and enjoyed the novelty of so many unique and fascinating experiences. All that was wonderful. Granted.

Now it's bleak times in "Bleak House". Life has gone sour and you wanted a picnic year-round. Didn't you?

Well, guess what? Right this minute as I write to you from age 58, I would gladly spend 10 days cooped up with those precious children again. You'll miss being able to walk with them and look down on the tops of all their blond heads. You'll miss bathing them and touching those pudgy baby limbs. You'll miss being Mommy Everything to them, before they have friends they enjoy better, spouses they love more and pudgy little children of their own.

Nothing lasts forever.

If I could, I would read to my little children. A lot. Instead of scrapping red flannel off the hallway floor.

I would pay more attention to teaching them table manners (I found out it's hard to catch up on that when they are twelve).

I would concentrate more on making the best of a bad situation than brooding about it. I would want them to learn something about the benefits of good cheer when times are tough. They, too, will have tough times. Alas.

I would have hidden the scissors so Laurel couldn't have cut her bangs.

I would have made the most of the time with my father I had left. I would have engaged him in conversations with me alone and asked him about his childhood, his heritage, so that at 58 I wouldn't be digging for names and dates on ancestry.com filling the gaps I helped create. I would have thanked him for having been such a steadfast, dependable father to me.

I would have greeted Winston when he came home with funny kiddo stories rather than gripe about how much I hated that house.

I wouldn't have made such a big deal about the wheat bread in the toilet...Sean...was it you? Laurel...fess up?

Maybe I would have trusted God more, knowing that I was not exempt from the frustrating episodes in life - I wasn't God's special "pet". I would have exhibited a lot more grace in times of stress and I think I would have baked cookies more often.

And let me tell you one thing, Penny...you are going to LOVE being a grandmother! Trust me - the best is yet to come!

15 comments:

Missy said...

awesome!!

Texana said...

Couldn't have said it better myself. 20-20 hindsight. Yes, grandkids are a wonderful reward for surviving those "bleak" days.

Colored With Memories said...

thanks for doing this...you've got one heck of a daughter-in-law in that sweet missy!

this is a good encouragement to me and a swift kick in the tail to me all at the same time.

thank you, thank you, thank you!

Heather said...

Aww, this was great! :-) It's so nice to hear the encouraging words of mommies who have been here before!

Lisa Smith said...

As I read through tears...thank you.

Shelley @ My Treasure Hunt said...

Thanks for sharing your insight with us all!

2nd Cup of Coffee said...

Penny, I'm right behind you, age-wise, at 46. I loved this post and can relate to so many things in here. But I have to say that red felt glued to the floor does give one a right to at least a limited time of whining! 1982 sounds like a long time ago to most bloggers I interact with, but I remember it well. Thanks for sharing!

Dena said...

Wonderful! Wonderful! Wonderful! Although I must admit, the wheat bread in the toilet cracked me up. LOL

Sandy @ The Scoop on Balance said...

Thank you for this. I often lament about not living in Florida anymore too. That really hit home to me.

And I need to greet hubby with more funny kiddo stories.

Thanks for the reminder that these days will be fond memories some day.

Blessings from the trenches of Baby Land...
Sandy

Debbie@Like a Rose said...

Great letter! Is there anything bettyer than being a grandmother? Pretty sure there isn't this side of Heaven.

Lindsey @ A New Life said...

So sweet!! I love the reminder that my kiddos are watching us and learning from our reactions to our situations and our circumstances.

We are learning how to teach them to find the joy in what God blesses us with, even those times that are hard to understand.

Have a blessed day, and thank you for the encouragement on my own post.

Julie, the mama said...

Oh, what a treat to read your letter. God love your sweet self! You just made me smile and laugh.

So true, and just what this mama of young babies needed to read!

Many, many thanks!

Holly said...

from a mama of four toddlers far from famliy - thank you.

Mrs. H said...

Exactly what I need to hear! Thank you!

Kimmie said...

What a wonderful, thought filled -wise letter to self. Thanks for sharing it and reminding me to breathe slowly and to enjoy the moment(s) God has given me.

bless you!

Kimmie
mama to 7
one homemade and 6 adopted