Letter to My Younger Self

Dear Mitzi,

Girlfriend, embrace yourself. Your weight doesn’t matter! Muscle weighs more than fat, your body was never meant to be a size 2, and those diet pills are just destroying your metabolism. When you are going to need to lose a few pounds later in life, you are going to have to work three times as hard to get the weight off (and you do not have to weigh yourself twice a day). Live life according to the 80/20 rule. Eat clean and healthy 80% of the time but enjoy that damn cookie and ice cream with your babies.

Don’t worry what others think. Wear what you want. You do not need your friends approval before you decide whether or not you will wear an outfit. Find your style and embrace it. Don’t go out searching for the latest on-trend top. Believe me, you will wear some things that will be absolutely hideous because it was “on trend.” You will waste so much money on hideous clothing. Please save and buy quality staples!!! Also, start shopping in boutiques ASAP! You will love shopping local and buying unique pieces and falling in love with brands that you will wear and continue to buy for years to come.

Remember how quiet you are, please speak up. Defend yourself, defend others… don’t let anyone use you or walk all over you. I can guarantee you that those “friends” will not be in your life for long. Your future self is telling you to speak up for yourself! Don’t wait until you are 30 and 3 kids in to learn how to speak up and defend yourself. If you start to see red flags pop up when it comes to friendships, you are not obligated to remain friends with that person. THEY. WILL. DRAIN. YOU. Also, you will meet some amazing people, keep in touch with them. Some of those people will be your best friend for a season, life will happen, but you will carry those people in your heart forever.

You will have 4 beautiful and amazing sons that will love you hard and drive you crazy. You will be an amazing boy mom and rock it.

Lean on your girlfriends when you need them. Those girls will accept you for who you are. They will come and scoop up your kids without asking and love them like their own. They will tell you to book the damn trip that is very much needed with your husband. You will have the best and most random driveway drink parties with them. They will be there when you need to vent about your bad day and you will cry with them and for them while you support each other through hard times. You will take shots and scream #fuckcancer while you see your loved ones struggling.

Yea, you know that part about crying and taking shots while screaming #fuckcancer? As soon as you move four hours away, your mama will be diagnosed with cancer. It will be seven years of feeling like you are on a roller coaster and it will effing suck watching her suffer from afar. You take those monthly trips back, you let her rock and love on those babies…. and you let her sugar those boys up and spoil them as much as she wants. They need all of the memories that they can pack into their little minds, because she will be gone before your oldest hits the double digits and you will all miss her terribly.

You will sit back at 34 and realize that life is short. Hugs and memories with your kids are everything. Friendships will take on a whole new meaning. Positive people and thinking will be everything. You will learn to live and treasure life and moments for what they are. You will realize that what you and your husband have is special. That not everyone gets the privilege of marrying their best friend. Continue to feed and nurture that friendship because it will make your marriage that much stronger. Love hard, be humble, sprinkle kindness around like confetti and don’t forget the most important part, laugh. Laugh until tears trickle down your face (and legs) and never lose that joie de vivre that has always been in your soul.

xoxo- Me