Hello future me!

I was cleaning my mom’s house. As everything goes to the end, my mom’s page got turned too. I was thinking about her words that she repeated not once here, at my childhood place.

“I am not staying here forever.” She used this expression in different contexts. It could mean: “Try to remember what I say and do, and learn from me, otherwise, it will be too late”. Or “You have to be ready that I will pass away one day, everyone does”. She wasn’t scared to go. In my opinion, she started getting ready to go too early. I wonder if our negative thoughts damage our lives.

My mom hated keeping old crap. She did her spring cleanings every year. It surprised me that this old journal of mine was still here. What did stop my mom from throwing it out? Did it remind her of a book? My mom was fond of printed knowledge. Her library was quite big.

My handwriting and my thoughts? Of course, my mom checked what it was about. Otherwise, it wouldn’t linger.

I opened the journal. It revealed a page where I found a folded paper. I didn’t remember about this paper until this exact minute. Oh my!

I loved writing. Writing essays was my favourite thing to do at school. I even joined the writing club that usually took place after school. I continued writing at my Uni too. I took an extra course in Creative Writing to have some fun. This paper came from there. Our teacher asked us to write a letter to ourselves. To older us, who we would become in 25 years.

“Hi!

I don’t know what to say. I can’t see myself in the same way in a week. Can’t imagine what I will become in 25 years! I keep my fingers crossed that I won’t stop laughing at everything and become some strict “because I said that” person.

My favourite movie is still Titanic, even though it was released a couple of years ago. I am not telling you about DiCaprio and how good-looking he is. Sometimes I borrow a videotape for the Blockbuster to watch it on the weekends.

Hey, my friend Maya is moving from our hometown. Her boyfriend and she sold their places, put money together, and got a place in a different city.

The Internet is very addictive. It takes some time to connect to the landline, but as long as you do, it swallows you in. I wonder if it lasts.

A friend of mine has gotten a cell phone recently. Nokia is the brand. She says that it helps her while she is away from the landline. She can call anyone at any time, even from the store! Can’t understand why. Why do we need to call someone from the store? Is it urgent? She asked me not to call her too often explaining that the incoming calls the plan covers are not unlimited. If she overuses the limit she will be charged. Why did she give me her number in the first place then?

I really want to get a video camera. It will be fun to make memories about ourselves now, and it will be more fun to see us in 25 years.

I don’t know if it is important and I should mention it, but we have more cars on the roads. The gas is around 70 cents per liter, and the car insurance is about $110 per month, which is not cheap. But people buy cars. They can afford it.

I am happy now. My husband and I have friends, and we sometimes have parties. We love our friends coming over. Interestingly, we don’t make much, but we are OK with spending money on the party, not thinking about not having enough tomorrow for lunch. It’s good to have fun today, right? Tomorrow is not here yet. :) We will survive.

My sister-in-law told me that we have to think about what we eat and what we drink. She loves telling everyone what food is good for what. In my opinion, food has to be tasty, that’s it! If it’s not tasty I refuse to consume it.

I hope everything will be OK with me in 25 years. Can’t wait to hear from you.

Love,

Me. )))”

I laughed at myself. I felt obliged to write back to myself. I took a pen.

“Your patience is remarkable. LOL

Thank you very much for the letter. It surprised me when I found it and touched me while reading.

Thank God I am still here! Some of my friends didn’t make it to this point and it’s awful.

I started making healthy choices years ago. It is not just regarding food choices but also quitting drinking. I couldn’t believe that 25 years ago.

My hubby and I are still together. Sometimes I don’t understand how he can stand me for so long. He says that I’ve changed since we met. I can’t see that at all. The same stubborn mule. I don’t remember the last time he said “no” to me. Any project I have in mind is met with understanding. My love!

We have three boys. They are young men now. I hope they will have everything they've planned for. And hope that civilization will be still alive.

We have even more cars on the road, and the gas price is above the roof, which has raised environmental issues to the top.

My worries about the Internet were unfounded. The Internet is still here. It’s very fast, always available, and still addictive.

Cell phones are everywhere. Even grade 5 students have them. And because each plan includes data now, addiction has become an epidemic. There is no need to have a camera anymore, it is in the phone now. People are turned mad to take pictures of everything everywhere and at any time. They go places not to see them but to take a picture. It’s called memories.

There have been a few good movies since Titanic. Honestly, I don’t follow the top movies anymore. Perhaps, because I stopped on Titanic. LOL Sometimes we try to watch something on Crave. It is like Blockbuster which exists in digital format. We watch movies on the Internet.

Totally, not spending the money for parting anymore, thinking about mortgage and prices at the stores. We still meet with our friends, mostly in the park when going for a walk. Remember? healthy choices.

I don’t like to watch videos we made years ago with the video camera we bought then, except the boys’ when they were small.

Of course, I have a cell phone, and I agree that it is very convenient. I still can’t find a need to call someone from the store. Although, I text a lot from the store. Do we have this, do we have that? LOL

Thank you for finding time back then to write a letter for me. I appreciate it. Your passion for writing has not disappeared. I sent my manuscript to a few publishers yesterday.

If this letter serves as a note to my future self, I wish myself good luck. And to the next generation. I am not joking at all.”