Dear younger self

WITH the realization that my mess of a house could not be saved in one sitting (or is it resignation that it could not be saved at all???), I started to work on it by area (seemingly by square meter as far as practicable) and I came across old DVDs. Now this is a huge problem when your possessions (trash?) have accumulated over the years, as everything seems to have its own history and sentimental value, and it takes some precious time to determine (with finality!) which should be thrown away and which should remain. I guess that’s one more reason hoarding is popular among some working moms, you simply cannot make a clear judgment on which should make its way to your trash bin. As with these old DVDs I found in the stock room…it took a while before I finally decided to throw them away (hmmm, most of them, anyway), using as standard whether they have sustained scratches or if the film is good enough and deserves a replay one of these days.

One of the many DVDs I found there was “The Kid”, starring Bruce Willis, in which he had the chance to “meet” his eight-year-old self who in turn, felt disappointed with what he has become as an adult. The movie is a comedy, but when you think about it, it’s actually sad to realize you are a disappointment to your young self – that it’s terrible for him to find out what he has become as an adult.

If given the chance to “meet” much younger me, what would I tell my eight-year-old self?

I would tell her not to expect life to be easy, and that it is true what everyone else says: that things get complicated as she grows older, that some situations are more difficult than others, but that keeping the faith is already half the battle;

I would tell her to take it easy on the sweets because bulges are really unpleasant, and dieting won’t work for her;

I would tell her that when she grows older she may not always get what she wants, but she should try her best to appreciate that most times she already has what she needs, and that it’s a good thing she won’t always end up with what she deserves;

I would tell her not to start accumulating this much mess as early as possible, because even if she does not have these physical possessions with her, she should just hold on to great memories as long as she can (and do away with this much crisis while throwing away stuff!).

I would tell her to find every chance she gets to laugh at the world, and to appreciate the littlest things that matter.

I don’t know how the heck my 8-year-old self can take all that, but she better. (serendipity.couch@gmail.com)