To the girl i wish i could be…

to the girl who never lets fear get in her way. 
to the girl who bows down to nothing, never folding on her integrity or confidence- this letter is to you. To the callused finger tips, so fluent in cello that sometimes words feel like a foreign language on your tongue. To the book deal where money truly is irrelevant because this dream was never about the dollar sign as much as it was about the love and the passion, the drive to write words that could touch people. 
to the words written that will touch people… 
to the never burning dinner, patient and loving wife who incidentally also ribbons in as mom-of-the-year- this letter is yours. 
You knit your own glorious caps and sweaters, you roam about town in designer boots and jeans. Your handbags scream stylish bits about your personality. Every friend you know is a tried and true one. 
You never argue with your husband. 
You never yell at your kids. 
You pay your bills on time. 
You have a house keeper. 
You love people, every day. Your love, of people and for God, seeps from every project you take on. 
You live wrinkle and grey hair free, in my dreams. 
You are a much smaller, happier size with perkier places with an even tempered peace and reassurance about you. 
When you smile, there is no nagging “but…” behind those eyes. Authentic, genuine happiness is your way. 
You are the standard I wake up to, every morning… the screamer of the short comings I add up to, ever night. 
You aren’t real, which makes the daily quest an impossibility… 
But oh, I wish I were you…

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set a drift…

I miss you… 
The resurfacing of you brought a lot of relief and love to the forefront. The tragic loss of a friendship lost because damaged people, (and we both fit the bill there) have a really difficult time in healthy relationships. 
You were my BEST friend. 
The only person with whom I could lay a secret, fear or dream to rest and know that it was safe. 
When damaged personas (ours) reared their ugly heads and an ocean of garbage was suddenly between us, I broke in half. Half of me drifted off, elsewhere. 
As melodramatically as I can muster- it killed the me I could have been.
Would have been.
Should have been. 
When suddenly, a lifetime later and you were back in my life- i felt whole again. 
It was just a moment, reunited, but in that moment I learned a lot. 
As crappy as everything since then has been, i would do it again and again and again if I was able to know that you were ok. 
And happy… 
In an alternate world somewhere, our kids are friends and our families are close. like sitcom families always seem to be… In this world, we had our moments and i am grateful for them. 

I miss you. 
But we can not go back… 
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a twenty year old lie…

I am not sure if this letter, which none of you will ever see, is intended for you, your sister or your mother… 
I am stupid. I was stupid. 
I don’t know what happened. honestly I don’t. 
Words were said, images were painted and circumstances were manipulated. I can say, wholeheartedly that I have no responsibility in that part of it. 
I do bear all of the responsibility in the original lie though. 
The very beginning of a snowball I couldn’t have predicted and wouldn’t have believed if some divine being had attempted to warn me. 
No matter what though, I’m sorry. 
I have been achingly, painfully sorry since that day. 
I am so sorry. 
I am so sorry for the pain your family endured. For your dad. 
I wish you could forgive me… I’ve never forgiven me… 
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don’t stop believing…

Dear Me, 
When prompted to pen a letter to the person(s) I hate the most, or the person(s) who brought me the most pain, I uncomfortably had to admit that was you. Amidst any childhood traumas or abuses that occurred; amidst bad boyfriends and broken hearts or miscarriages and injustices- the tally of self inflicted hell piles higher and higher than all the rest. 
Arguably I contemplated that perhaps the cutting and the intentional scarring wouldn’t have happened without the cruelty and pain caused by another. While this is probably true, I kept coming back to the mantra of my thirties… 
Choice. There is always a choice. 
When someone else turned their feeling for me into hatred, it was up to me whether I chose to love myself in spite of them, or follow their lead. 
I chose. 
Every self destructive lie, wrong kiss, or self targeted arrow never bettered anything. No microsecond of numbness could ever have made a dent in the pain you gave me. 
The pain I gave you. 
Old habits die hard. I’ve been able to dull or destroy most of them. Still though, that lingering fear of failure- which might be the instrument with which you beat me senseless, repetitively for as long as I can remember- refuses to leave. It points to the scars that no one else is to blame for, and mocks me. 
I’ve learned to love me more than I loathe me, though. It feels like a good step. 
I have learned I deserve peace and warmth, light and good things. That is definitely a good step. 
Step by step, I’ll get there. It may take my entire life to redeem the damage you have inflicted, but I will get there for this is a journey worth taking… 
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I’m afraid to say it…

I literally spent the weekend, on the couch unbelievably sick, watch Season 1 of the OC. I totally want to say I am not proud, but I love this show so completely much that it makes me a little proud.
And a little sad that I missed it when it was airing.
But really, I LOVE it. Great writing. Great story. NOTHING like those traditional sex fest teen soaps…

Anyway, on that note (and the fact that I’m still feeling completely horrible), i will simply follow this with today’s letter…

This letter could be for you…


For every person that I never mustered up the courage to talk to, though I deeply wanted to, due to my insecurities and all round ridiculously inhibited self… I tell myself, every time that I will regret my decision to stay quiet.
I do regret it, every time…


I ask myself, what if they’re hurting? What if they need a friend? But who am I kidding, really? It is really out of my own completely selfish desire for friends that I want to say hello, and also why I don’t.
Fear.
Fear of eventual rejection.
Fear of heart break.
Fear of loneliness.
I guess that is why people say that fear is crippling. It paralyzes those it chooses…


The thing is, dear stranger, that I want to know you. I want to know of the things that trouble you. I want to know of the things that delight you. I want you to know that, should you truly need someone, I would faithfully be there for you.


Ironically though, how would you know that since I couldn’t even say hello?


At least I’ve thought about it, right?


M