Have a Latte with Your Younger-You
Volume: Low and thoughtful
Issue: A Word from the Wise
Date: March 1, 2022
“Youth is a gift of nature, but age is a work of art.”—Stanislaw Jerzy Lec, Polish poet and philosopher
Have a Latte with Your Younger-You
Think of yourself at 16. Recall a photo of yourself at that age. Imagine you and your Younger-You are at your local Cafe Cocoa. You have each ordered a latte and are sitting across the table from each other.
Your Younger-You says, “You seem to have survived many challenges and enjoyed many adventures in your life. C’mon, please share your wisdom with me?!”
Ease into the conversation. Take your time. What joys and sorrows, challenges and triumphs, hurts and revealings will you share? What regrets and great decisions will you re-live? What advice will you give your Younger-You? You and your Younger-You are two BFFs sharing coffee talk.
Here my co-authors of the Sassy Primer, Helen Weels and Rae Jean Beech, share their conversations with their Younger-Yous.
Helen and her Sweet Sixteen Self
Helen meets with her 16-year-old Younger-You for coffee. She smiles at her bubble haircut and her madras skirt and saddle shoes. “Hi, sweetie, sit down. It’s so good to see you. You don’t know it now, but you are very loveable and very cute. You don’t know how many challenges you will face and how strong you will be. You don’t know all the joys that will fill your heart for decades. Let me offer you some advice from the future:
Honor humor—it eases the heart and allows love to flow in.
It’s all good.
Always Depend on your Poise.
Be open to all the twists and turns in life. I’ve been a computer scientist, teacher, wife, mother, entrepreneur, child advocate, retiree, mentor, artist, writer, partner, best friend. Who woulda thunk it?
Is it bad news or good news? I fell while playing racquetball and broke my wrist. Bad news? The stranger on the next court helped me up and became my longterm partner. Good news!
You can do this. You really, really can. Trust in yourself! You are so strong!
Loving yourself is necessary, but not always easy.
When you open your heart to a man, make sure your eyes are wide open, too.
Don’t waste time worrying. I wasted so much time worrying about things that never happened!
Check in with your heart as often as you check yourself in a mirror.
Stop thinking you know where you’re going. You don’t. Start appreciating where you are.
Lifelong friends hold your history in their heart.
Be kind.
Love nature.
Vote.
A tender heart saves the day.
I wish you so well!”
Rae Jean and her Sassyass Sixteen Self
Rae Jean meets with her 16 year-old Younger-You at The Corner Pub. She checks out the skirt that is two inches above her knee (that will earn her two hours detention after school) and the cocky smile on her face. “Hey, babe, good to see that you are doing your own thing. Who needs those rules, anyway? You are one tough cookie. I know you will struggle to remove that protection around your heart, but go for it. Here are some of the hard knock lessons that may soften some blows:
Be a badass with a good ass.
Nike is my spiritual inspiration: Just do it!
When raising kids, know that two heads are NOT better than one when it comes to head lice.
Psychologists talk about “closure.” But when it comes to deep losses, “closure” is BS.
Feelings just get in the way of fun.
It’s the curves, hills, potholes, bumps, and rockslides that make mountain biking exciting!
After every day of my six weeks of cancer radiation, I rewarded myself with a mini Baby Ruth candy bar. I am seven years cancer-free. Who knew that Baby Ruths cure cancer?
True courage is experiencing EVERYTHING as an adventure.
Once I walked through a graveyard and realized that no tombstone had the weight of the dead woman written on it.
Love makes the world go round, but if love’s twelve rounds of boxing matches, it’s not worth it.
When it comes to adult children, keep an open heart and a closed wallet.
The true test of friendship: When you are comfortable farting with that friend!
Blaming the family you grew up with has an expiration date of twenty years.
Don’t let the a__holes get you down.
My cardiologist says that the best way to a man’s heart is through his groin area.
A warrior heart conquers all.
And remember to whoop it up!
Wishing you a warm, comforting, loving conversation with your Younger-You,
Irene