A note to my younger self.

As I’ve been discussing my most recent book, Melonade, a lot of memories and big emotions have come back to me from my childhood. So I wanted to write a little note to my younger self.

Dear younger self, you just love taking the road less traveled, don’t you? You’re strong willed, you’re kind, you’re compassionate, you're artistic and you’re going to be OK. When you’re sitting in those reading circles with little plastic chairs and a round table with a book full of stories that your brain cannot dissect, you’ll be OK. Your word count may feel like the biggest deal right now and it will get better, a lot better, but there is so much more to you than how efficiently you read a sentence. You see things and understand things visually. I still remember our best friend’s phone number from fourth grade because I dialed it multiple times a day for years, and that pattern is stuck in our head. I wish I could give you a hug and take some of the weight off your back. You carry so much baggage already, and then you take on everyone else’s package too. Just because you can take on more doesn’t mean you should, you can take a little bit of that strength for yourself. You don’t have to give it all away. Keep drawing, keep painting, keep doodling, because looking back at all of our drawings now makes me so happy.

Believe it or not, you’re actually going to be a writer and you love it. You’re still a control freak and he still micromanage, so being your own boss looks good on you. Your mom of two insanely rambunctious, beautiful terrorizing little toddlers, and a wife to the absolute love of your life. You have a great relationship with your parents and have even built better relationships with your birth family knowing that not only we have a village, but our children are the biggest blessing.

But I’ll end it here because I’m sure you’ll be mad at your older self for writing so much because now you have to read it. So until we speak again, younger version of myself.

Love you