Have you ever gotten a letter from yourself that you wrote two years ago? No? Well, that’s what happened to me today.
I have been known to be a little sign-up happy from time to time. Someone sends me a link to a website or new app and I click over. Sounds cool, looks nice, so I click around. Next thing I know I’m signing up for an account and not really even knowing what for. So as you can guess, I have some email problems.
I get a lot of it.
I forget what I’ve signed up for. I end up deleting things and eventually just unsubscribing wondering what I was thinking in the first place. Today I was reminded of something I signed up for two years ago.
While I wish I could remember doing it, I’m definitely seeing the fruits of my labor from then. It’s with an organization called FutureMe.org. You simply write a letter to yourself, enter your email, and select the date you want the email sent.
I’m lucky if I can remember to feed the dog so I had absolutely no recollection that this was headed my way. What a bizarre surprise.
Even weirder is reading the note I wrote to myself:
I wrote this in March 2009. Back then, I was a full-time working mom to a 2 year old little boy, one Lhasa Apso, and two kitties. And if you can’t read it, here’s how I thought my life would turn out versus how it actually did.
1. Sean has a new job and is very happy. I think he has finally found his calling. He loves being a dad and is enjoying Evan more and more every day.
Well, that is true. But the new job didn’t come until a few weeks ago. I guess I got this one right.
2. Evan is 4 years old now. I can’t believe it! He is in preschool and already reading and outperforming all the kids around him. He will start private school next year but I think he’s ready now!
Wow, I totally nailed that one! Evan IS 4 years old! I never sent him to preschool because we’ve been so uncertain for a year if I needed to go back to work or if we were moving. He will be going to preschool somewhere this fall and obviously some sort of school after that. It all depends on where we end up living.
3. Â I am still working at Futures. The future of Futures! We had some rocky times but I’m glad I stuck it out. I’m making a lot more money and still have a lot of flexibility to spend at home.
This one makes me chuckle a little. I was laid off from Futures (a software company) in July 2009. I was a little relieved because “rocky times” is an understatement. But I was also pretty disappointed because I really liked the people and thought I would be working there for a long time. However, if I was still there, chances are pretty good I wouldn’t be blogging. And that thought makes me totally sad.
4. Our little girl just turned 6 months. It took a while but life it getting good again. Finally getting some sleep and feeling like myself. Evan loves having a little sister.
This one is kind of hard to read. I can physically have more children. And I never decided that I don’t want any more children. But I take prescription medications that you can’t take when you’re pregnant. So I focused more on my health than having more children. Still tugs at my heart to think that my son won’t ever have a sibling.
5. My special puppy Holden finally joined his brother Einstein on the Rainbow Bridge. I miss him so much. There will never be another Holden. We are finally starting to think about getting another dog.
This is true. We lost Holden, our Lhasa Apso, in December 2009. And all of my sentiments above are so true. He was my forever dog. However, we have had Emma, a toy poodle in our family since April 2009. I guess I can’t stay away from them.
6. The kitties are still here but Arnie has really slowed down.
Again, this feels like foreshadowing. Arnie really did slow down in the last 3 months of his life but unfortunately I said goodbye to my feline friend just a few short weeks ago.
7. The rest of the family is still doing well. Life has had its ups and downs but it’s nothing but good.
Okay. Anyone could have written that statement. That’s true for most families. But thankfully, we are all doing well.
And then the letter closed with:
Anyway, FutureMe, I hope I am sort of close. If not, I know that you will be happy however things turn out because you have a tendency to realize that everything happens for a reason. And if it hasn’t turned out like above, I am sure you are still happy and fulfilled and appreciating every day of what you have been given.
I don’t remember if I wrote that part or not. It doesn’t matter because I do appreciate every day what I have.
How has your life turned out compared to how you thought it would two years ago??
32 comments
What a wonderful letter and great surprise receiving it years later. Thanks for sharing this Fadra!
It was a total surprise. I could have never imagined that I would be writing about it the way that I am!
That is super cool on so many levels — especially that you totally forgot you did it.
I don’t even remember doing it AFTER having received the letter. Wonder if I should do another one?
That is the neatest thing I think I have seen in a long time.
I’m kind of scared to try it again!
What a great idea! With all the stuff and technology coming at us, this is a nice idea. Will retweet.
It’s like an electronic time capsule. And who knew that the website would still be around even just 2 years later!
I remember that website. I never sent one to myself but I kind of wish I had. But I don’t think I could have predicted where we would be today, and thats a good thing.
I don’t even remember it. Like I said, I click on so many links and check things out all the time. It’s kind of funny though how we don’t always end up where we think we’ll go.
This is so awesome Fadra! I love doing this as an adult. I have my students write themselves a letter in high school to open in 5 years but I never thought to do it myself. It’s fun to look at where you thought you would be vs. what life actually is like.
I had a time capsule I started in school in 5th grade. It was just a one sheet page I wrote every year but I did it all the way up until college. So neat!
This is the most fantastic thing I have ever seen..it’s going to be tempting not to write one of these every week! Thanks for the idea!
I’m wondering if I should write another one. I feel like I’m lucky that things turned out the way they did and I don’t want to jinx it!
You expected your four year old to read? I’m super stoked that mine can write her name.
This is such a great idea.
Love it, but I’m scared what I might say to myself.
I have trouble even reading old blog posts.
I actually was reading at 4 years old. It might have been closer to 5 but I know I was 4 because that’s when I went to kindergarten. It’s okay. I’m happy he can write his name too. Even though the letters aren’t always in the right order 🙂
Though I love this idea, the thought of actually writing a letter to myself scares me.
Scares me that I’ll read it in the future, and not live up to what I thought I should be doing.
Which, on second thought, could be a good thing: it’ll make me do something so the future letter to myself doesn’t cause disappointment.
Win win, right?
Now I like this idea.
Remember, it’s not goal setting. It’s just a guess as to how your life might turn out. If it was all about where I’d be, I’d be a millionaire with my own company! Well, I’m close. I’m a blogger 😉
How fun! I always wanted a time capsule growing up and even buried one in the back yard. But I think I dug it up like a month later to see what happened WAY BACK THEN.
THAT’S hilarious. Sounds like something I would do!
Wow! That is so amazing. I don’t even know what I would right. Even the thought of it is so overwhelming.
I can’t even think of 2 years from NOW but maybe I will do another one. And see if my blog is still around then 😉
This is such a fun idea! How have I not heard of it before.
I think if I had written on two years ago, I would have been way way off about life….but sometimes that is how things go.
Sometimes what we think should happen is not always the way it should happen.
This is awesome! I need to do this…. And wait…a new job…does that mean no move?
The new job is what is MAKING us move. Finally came through… 2 years later. We’ll actually be scouting around next weekend!
you should do it again. it’s an interesting exercise in how we think things will go vs what actually happens. had i known about it i probably would have sent myself a letter to. i’m sure i would have been completely wrong though.
I’m thinking I might do it. But my life is such a shroud of mystery right now it would be like a crapshoot. So in fact, I think I WILL do it.
Something like that is neat to do at least once a year. By the time you read it two years later…you may have a different perspective on things. As for my life 2 years ago…I was trying to wrap my head around being responsible for someone other than me. Spencer was a month old!
Fascinating! I’d love to do something like that. Two years ago I was just starting to deal with my postpartum depression and would never have thought I’d still be on this road this much later. I wouldn’t have guessed at all how my life has turned out.
I love this! Such a great idea to write to ourselves! I will definitely share “Future me” One thing I also know about our “blogs” is that one day when we are gone, our children and grandchildren can look back on our life “stories” and know us like we only wish we knew our own parents and grandparents.
I remember doing one of these, but I think I set it to send to me in 20 years. I will be waiting a long time. Two years ago I imagined myself on some exciting adventure, not watching the rain out my window a few blocks from my parents’ house. But, you know, it doesn’t matter. Life is good anyway.