Note to 100-Year-Old Self

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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.

The Impossible?

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If I had to write a letter to my 100-year-old self, I would say you made it to the impossible! I didn’t think you would make it to such a grand old age and never wanted to but here you are and here goes…..

Dear Self,

First of all, you are looking good in spite of the wrinkles, the bald spot and the toothless grin! The outward appearance doesn’t signify the inside. There is tremendous wisdom within that years of living “life” has instilled. You are no longer afraid and fear has taken a back seat and in its place is a sense of peace, calm and joy. It took a long time getting there but you made it. I see a person who is frail but the frailty is just the appearance and doesn’t speak for the person within.

You lived a life filled with challenges and took each one as it came and mastered it or maybe not mastered it but you did the best you could with it. You never gave up and that my dear 100-year-old self speaks to who you are. You are strong, you are capable and like the tree in the storm you bent when you needed to and you swayed when you needed to but you never broke. If you did break at some point, you put yourself back together again and stood back up stronger and more beautiful than ever. Looking at you I don’t see what age has done to you but I see the beauty within, the strength within and a spirit that refuses to be broken even now.

Here’s to you, may you live a long and peaceful life and if it means another 100 added on than so be it. You can weather whatever comes your way.

Your proud self.

Daily writing prompt
Write a letter to your 100-year-old self.