DEAR LITTLE GINA...

Dear Little Gina...

Oh how funny you are. I love how odd you are and that will always be a part of you. The good news is the older you get the cooler being "different" is! Your perspective will challenge people (mostly your parents) and will be refreshing to others.

It will make you the weirdo in the neighborhood with chickens in your backyard but it will also empower everyone around you to find out who they really are. Another thing you need to learn to love would have to be your bangs. You will have them forever. You will, however, graduate from a bowl cut so that is great news.

What I love most about you, though, is your sense of adventure. Being able to spend all day outside building forts and making a mess of yourself is way more fun then playing dress up (though you will do that too). That sense of adventure will take you on travels all the way to Uganda, to go hiking in Arizona, and to marry your best friend and move away to a tiny island where you only need bikes. It will be a blast and that is only the beginning! Enjoy yourself and laugh a lot. Let the little things go.

Love,
Grown up Gina

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We are celebrating Valentine's Day by writing love letters to our little selves. This idea stems from one of my favorite quotes by Kris Carr, “Picture yourself when you were five. in fact, dig out a photo of little you at that time and tape it to your mirror. How would you treat her, love her, feed her? How would you nurture her if you were the mother of little you? I bet you would protect her fiercely while giving her space to spread her itty-bitty wings. she’d get naps, healthy food, imagination time, and adventures into the wild. If playground bullies hurt her feelings, you’d hug her tears away and give her perspective. When tantrums or meltdowns turned her into a poltergeist, you’d demand a loving time-out in the naughty chair. From this day forward I want you to extend that same compassion to your adult self.” This Valentine's Day, take time to write little you a love letter. What are three things you would tell yourself? Show yourself some fierce love this month. ♥