I just read this book, “What Alice forgot”  The quick summary is this: The main character, Alice,  falls, hits her head, and when she wakes up she thinks she is 10 years younger.  She doesn’t even know the children she had in the past 10 years,  and mostly she doesn’t even know herself.   Her relationships, choices, and lifestyle are completely foreign to her.

The book is fiction but it certainly made me think.  What if the me, 10 years ago woke up in my life today.  Would she like what she saw?  Would she be happy with the choices I made?  10 Years ago I had just graduated college.  I was not yet married and, in retro spec, my life was very self centered.

That’s me in the orange sweater 10 years ago with my 3 best buds.

I can imagine the old me would be absolutely shocked to find out:

-You no longer shop just to shop….like ever.  Actually you kinda hate it now.
-You have no idea what is going on in pop culture
-You go in public with no make up and yoga pants and think nothing of it
-You cook.  And no longer just as a means of survival but you actually enjoy it
-You have a garden….no really to do.  You even teach gardening classes.  Nuts right?
-You just made a batch of homemade lotion.  I know you probably just fell over in shock with that… but for real.  It turned out quite nice too.  Recipe here. 

Ok old me I know you think I have become a complete and total domestic hippy.  But I have also learned a lot in 10 years.  Here’s a few life lessons I wish I could have told the younger me:

-Stop trying so hard! Sheesh I am exhausted remembering how hard you worked to make everyone love you.  It’s an impossible task!   The people that do love you know the real you.  And the real you isn’t so bad.

-Related…stop being so insecure.  You will one day have this crazy thing called a blog where you will talk about how everyone is created perfectly imperfect… after a while you start to truly believe this.

-There were so many little things that worried you.  You have come a LONG way with your worry.  The biggest lesson is LIFE IS TEMPORARY.  We are never promised tomorrow so enjoy the current moment and don’t let worry steal it away. 

-Enjoy the time with your husband before you have kids. You will find it comical that you ever thought life was busy before them.  

-When you are a new mom and you are worried like crazy every decision you make will impact your children for the rest of their life…GIVE YOURSELF GRACE.  Children are resilient.  They grow by your model more than your teaching.  And mostly…they are God’ s children first.  Lean on his teaching more than the latest trendy parenting advice.   

-Listen to those that have been there and done that.  They have really good advice.  And by the way…you don’t know everything.  

-With your time and your money, invest in stuff that LASTS

- And lastly…Don’t be afraid to do big things.  You only get one chance at this whole thing called life.   

I am curious to see what the me in the next 10 years would think of the me today.  I wonder what advice she would give.  I wonder what I am doing today that will positively and negatively affect my life then?

Only time will tell.

Does this make you think?  What would you tell the you 10 years ago?