Note to 100-Year-Old Self

I’m surprised that you made it this far. Since you have made it here, I want you to know that you are one tough cookie! You’ve survived more than most and are still standing. Kudos to you.

Let’s talk about all the things that you went through that could have been made easier but since you wanted to do things your way, the road less traveled is often the one you chose to take. You meandered like a stream and made your own path. It was hard, made harder by your stubbornness. You had your own set of rules and refused to budge making “love” an almost impossible journey. You had your principles instilled by two well-meaning parents that made your life tough. Letting go of those lessons learned were an almost impossible task. You survived more than most and here you are, a 100-year-old self wondering where the time went.

Time has flown by and even though there were both good, bad, and impossible times, the strength within you managed to withstand what was handed to you. There were times when you didn’t want those lessons, those trials and tribulations but you also knew that some were of your own making.

You are wrinkled beyond belief, several teeth missing, but that smile, the smile that touched a 100 or more lives during your lifetime is hard to miss. It is still there and that makes you beautiful. You’ve crossed many bridges, you’ve thrown fear (your constant companion) aside and here you are standing tall, proud, and ready for the next challenge.

My message to you is clear. You can be truly proud of yourself. Here’s to another 100? Not really, I think you and I know that making it to a 100 was a fluke. We didn’t want to make it that far. The wish was always to go before you get to be as old as Methuselah and become a burden and life becomes nothing more than of wishing and wanting.

Enjoy your accomplishments and may life, the rest of it, be kind to you.