Dear Self,

You are in the middle of your twenties, right now when writing this. You are laying on the bed under the covers, watching your husband to be play some kind of a video game. Your daughter is trying to sleep in her room. You are at your brother’s house in the basement apartment, getting ready to move. Your hours have just changed from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. five days a week to 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. three days a week and one 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. You often find yourself tired around 8:30 p.m. nowadays.

Being a full time student, a blogger, a wife to be, a mother, and a caregiver can be very overwhelming- on top of planning a wedding. You picked up the nasty habit of smoking cigarettes that you let go when you were pregnant with your daughter. You state that smoking relieves your stress but in reality, it’s caused a great distress on your health. Your mother is very concerned about that nasty habit of yours. Hopefully you listen before it’s too late.

Homework assignments, homework assignments. They pile up on the web, window after window. Often wondering how to accomplish such a task before nightfall. Deadline, deadline. You are constantly running around. Slow down, take a breath. Enjoy your morning coffee before it gets too cold. She is only little once, so take her outside. Run around with her. Teach her to jump in puddles, of course not in her Sunday's best. Teach her to throw rocks in the pond. Teach her to swim. Teach her to write. Teach her to speak words fluently. Watch her favorite show with her, but only allow it less than two hours because screen time is not good for little ones. Let her sit in her car seat how she wants to. Don’t make her rear-face or front-face. Just let her ride.

Sometimes you will have to be the stern mother that nobody likes, and when the tears come don’t allow yourself to be manipulated. This too is just a phase that shall pass. Bring on the champagne, or wine. Whatever it is now some days that you drink, and just relax. This is just a phase that is going to fly by. Before you know it, your husband will be retired. Your daughter will have graduated college, and starting her own family. Not necessarily in that order. But that’s the way life is. It’s as fast as a lightening strike. One second you are young, and the next second your bones are fragile. Be careful.

Sincerely,

Yourself at 25