Hey Loves,

          It’s Mom, though 25, 30, 35 (dear God, I really hope it’s not 40+ years in which case, you’d be my adopted kids) back in the past.  The date is April 2014.  The address is Manhattan, New York.  The occupation is, well, who knows—student, I suppose, learning and living full out in between the coffee shop, the dance studio, and the camp in the middle of the woods.  Anyway, I wanted to take this time to encourage you as you embark on your twenties, what very well could be the most topsy-turvy time of your life thus far, though an immensely defining decade all the same.

          Up until now, the rhythms of your life have been run by first days of school and final exams and then low-paying jobs and borderline illegal internships to fill in the time between.  Then graduation happens and you walk across the stage to receive a piece of paper that costs several thousands of dollars and says, “Bon voyage, you’re done here!”  Then after a good night’s rest, the first since before freshmen orientation, you realize you have no clue what you’re doing in and with your life.  Uh oh.

          But Son, but Daughter, I urge you now not to waste this precious time.  Thirty is not the new twenty.  Twenty is twenty and twenty-five is twenty-five and so forth and what you do in this time of life indeed matters and will set the course for a lot of the patterns and projections for future decades to come.

          So in regards to work—You didn’t go to college to learn how to better follow directions or a formula.  After all, life is not so much like paint-by-numbers as it is a messy and abstract watercolor piece of passion, contemplation, vision, uncertainty, execution, feedback, and perseverance.  With that said, don’t be afraid to take risks, to do what you love and love what you do.  Take the job that you want, though it may not pay all that much.  Or go ahead and take the job, for a time, that you are not necessarily crazy about but the one that will nevertheless help to fund your passion, student loan payments, and monthly rent.  In whatever you do, work hard and humbly, and I promise you, my Love, you’ll be amazed at where your repertoire of transferable skills and connections will lead.

          In regards to money—Be poor.  Why not?  Learn how to manage your money well.  Learn also how to give well and loosen your grip on that which was never yours in the first place nor will be with you in the last place.  Speaking of final places, go ahead and wear the same ten articles of clothing to death, the same goes with technology and stuff in general.  What’s the point in trying to impress people you don’t actually know or care about anyway?  Really, don’t worry about always having the coolest or newest goods.  It’s too much of a hassle when moving anyway.  Instead, live simply and build your wardrobe of experiences.  For when all is said and done, chances are slim to none that any lives will be changed for the better because of the outfits you put together or the new iPhone16 you carry in your overpriced jeans.

          In regards to relationships—choose your home team wisely and be their biggest fan.  Get off of Facebook or whatever conduit of distraction it will be in your time and work to be present with them.  Listen.  Engage.  And don’t be afraid to be the one who loves more.  Build and practice good habits of permanent union today.  For when greater responsibility like marriage and kids come tomorrow, that won’t be the time to establish your roots.  Rather, it will be a time of testing your roots, ones that you need to be tending to now.  Of course, it’s more appealing to build a resume rather than character and community but trust me.  Though roots live underground and are invisible to much of the world, they will be the base on which your future hangs.  You’re going to want to get that right and have them reaching far, deep, down, and wide into the rich soil of your home team.

          Now in regards to faith—Make it your own.  Figure out what it is that you believe and why you believe it.  Admittedly, I am tempted to expound on this matter, though I shall refrain for fear of negating the original point.  In short, don’t just believe your beliefs.  Live them.

          With that, let me run with the same thought to the end of this letter.  There are several other things I could say.  As your mom, I’m sure there always will be.  Even so, I’m going to resist and wrap it up because in spite of the things I am feeling, I choose to listen to that which I know to be true.  I choose to believe that indeed true love gives, always and in immeasurable ways and depths.  Withal, the true love of a parent also gives away.  No matter how difficult it may be, it lets its children go and grow up.  True love trusts.  Your dad and I trust you.  

          In closing, it is our continuous prayer that the Lord will bless you and keep you and  make His face shine upon you as go, grow, and live every day to its fullest.  And it is our promise that we will do our best, as in “try to,” not hover or be overbearing.  All the same, we’ll never be too far away, ever, whether in this life or the next.

          Love you times infinity.

–Mom.