Being a Grown Up - I Know Stuff...

I read an article a while ago that I really should have kept. I am so slow to throw things out, and then when I do, I remember why I was keeping something the day after I both put it in the recycling bin and the bins are emptied. Grr... But, the article was basically a whole stack of letters celebrities wrote to their 16 year old selves. It was quite interesting. Especially Elton John's. 


I was thinking about this article the other day as I watched a pair of teenage girls interact while I was out for a walk. The pair of them were tottering around in the tiniest of cut off denim shorts, hair that looked as if it had been nested in and wide necked, cropped t-shirts that revealed too much flesh in every direction. 


As they walked along, they were talking about typical teenage things: crap parents, cute guys, skanky girls at school and how dumb family holidays were. They were typical also in the way that they just knew nothing. They were just gongs. Lots of noise and not much else. Now, I say that in the nicest possible way, of course. They may have been very bright and interesting young things. But they were just so young and the way they talked about life was so limited and so... uninformed. Gosh - that was me and my friends as teenagers {sans the sleezy clothes}! 


I was a pretty insecure teenager. I had terrible skin, braces, low self-esteem. I was not working anywhere near my potential. I was always nervous about saying something stupid or that someone would laugh at me. I had an overactive imagination and thought everyone hated me. I was just plain awkward. I often wondered what I could ever contribute to life, I just didn't know anything. 


The other day I popped into the shops and ran into someone I hadn't seen in ages. I heard myself giving all sorts of very good advice about stuff. I then ran into a few other people I knew. Some asked for advice on hair care, others asked if I knew where to buy a certain product. Since then people have been emailing me asking for recipes or meal ideas or telling me that something I had put up on the blog has really helped them. I realised something startling...


I. Am. A. Grown. Up. and  I. Know. Stuff.


I know stuff! I know what to do with white wine vinegar. I know how to clean poo off paintwork. I know how to make a curry without a recipe. I know what kids should have in their lunchboxes. I know which cry means what. I know how to care for chickens. I know how to make a hundred different meals from a few simple ingredients. I know how to iron corduroy. I know what is a bargain and what is a sham. I know a good t-shirt when I see one. I know if someone is lying. I know when someone is being too nice. I know stuff!


I don't FEEL like a grown up, mind you. I still read magazines and wish I had better skin and longer legs. I still get nervous talking to people I don't know. I still wonder if people actually like me. I still really worry about what my sisters think of my decisions. I still don't know if I am responsible enough to have a child, let alone three! But...


I know stuff. I know that I now have the skills to get through each day ensuring I can not only keep my little clutch of offspring 'alive and mostly happy'**, but make their lives a bit better in the process. Which is cool.


If I had to write a letter to my 16 year old self. This is what it would be...


Dear 16 year old B,


You are gorgeous in every way. Own that. 


Marry that cute guy called Mr Cool, he is a keeper. 


Dream big and start working towards those now, don't wait until you are 30 to find out what you want to do with your life.

Don't move out of home until you are married. You will save yourself a whole lotta crapola and money.

Wear better jeans and keep that navy and white striped light weight jumper, you will need it in 2011. 

Travel. Kiss someone you love at the top of the Eiffel Tower and ride bikes in Holland.


Life is cool. Live it. Love it. Share it.


Lots of love,
Your old self from the future. 


If given the chance, I would not go back to being 16 again. Eugh - who would go back to all that angst!? Not me, not for a minute. I love my life. I have the coolest, funniest, cutest husband on the planet. I have beautiful, funky kids who drive me to the brink of madness and back again, daily. My friends are the coolest I have ever had. I have a groovy house with loads more potential to find. I am involved in lots of fun things around the place. And me? Well, I have a happy heart, a good attitude and some funky clothes. Could a girl ask for more?


What was that? A shiny black 4X4 and a Kindle? I got those too.

What advice would you give to your 16 year old self?

**'Alive and Mostly Happy' is the informal name two of my lovely friends came up with for their babysitting co-op. I think that is hilarious....