10 Things I Would Tell My Sixteen Year Old Self

Today is the last Tuesday in June, and my month of co-hosting Tuesday Ten is coming to an end! Even though my time as co-host is almost over, I’ll still be writing Tuesday Ten lists with its amazing hostesses, Lisa and Rabia! This week, our topic is “Things you’d tell your sixteen year old self.”

I think this topic might be the most challenging one yet. It was easy to share ten items I always keep in my kitchen cabinets and the ten things I love about my dad. Thinking about what I would tell my sixteen year self is not quite as simple! I was sixteen smack dab in the middle of the 80’s, when bangs were hair sprayed straight up and jeans were skinny at the bottom. My sixteen year old self really could use some wisdom from my 45 year old self.

The Golden Spoons

10. You will get your driver’s license. You will pass the driver’s test the first time you take it, and you will also discover that you love to drive! You just need to overcome your nervousness, and then you will be fine.

9. That new, dreamy guy that walked into your English class last week? Remember him? You thought to yourself that he was the boy you were going to marry. Wrong. You don’t marry him; you barely have a conversation with hime. But don’t worry. Someone much better comes along…eventually.

8. Don’t worry about that horrible perm. By the time graduation comes around, you’ll look cute again.

7. Listen to your English teacher. You are a good writer.

6. Don’t give up running. You loved running the mile in Jr. High track. Keep it up!

5. Practice the piano! Keep taking lessons! Don’t be embarrassed that you had to go get your music during your last recital! No one will remember that you forgot how to play that piano piece from memory.

4. Be nice to your little sisters and brother. Take care of them.

3. Every once in a while, be a rebel! You’re a teenager. You’re supposed to rebel!

2. You are going to have so much fun in college!

1. Dream big. Become more than you think you can be.

Your Tuesday Ten Hostesses are:

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Ten Things I Love About My Dad

Back in May, the Tuesday Ten crew wrote Ten Things we love about our moms. It’s time to write about our fathers now that it’s June! Here are ten things I love about my Dad, although I’m sure I could write many more!

The Golden Spoons

10. Whenever we go to Grandpa’s house for a visit, he makes big pancakes for Lily and Emmy. I, however, love eating them just as much if not more than the girls!

9. His love of books. Growing up, we were constantly surrounded by books, magazines and the newspaper. When I was in training to become a teacher, I learned that this was a “literature-rich environment” which we were supposed to encourage parents to have at home.

8. When Dad picks up a book, he always opens it up to the end and starts reading. Is this something I love, or something that drives me crazy? Hmm.

Skipping to the end of the book!
Skipping to the end of the book!

7. He is a wonderful storyteller. Whether he’s telling about someone he once knew or his latest joke, Dad knows how to tell a good story.

6. When my sister and I were young, Dad took us on bike rides around the country. Once we stopped by a creek and saw some hedge apples as we walked around. I don’t know why I remember this; maybe because hedge apples look so interesting and aren’t really apples at all.

5. Dad finds beauty in nature, even in strange things like hedge apples. He loves the twists and turns of his corkscrew willow tree and the way grapes grow on his trellis.

4. Dad loves thinking of things for his grandchildren to do. We’ve searched for bison in the middle of a prairie restoration area, went to see the dam by his house many times, and he even took the girls to a train museum. On our last trip to visit, we went on a paddle boat for the first time!

paddleboating

paddleboat

3. He sends out regular emails to the extended family, telling us what he is remembering that day or where he’s traveling. Dad loves to travel!

2. He throws the best quotes into those emails, and I usually know which book he’s referring to. Chalk that up to our literature-rich environment!

1. Dad is so proud of all his children and grandchildren and their accomplishments, and he lets us know!

I’m so pleased to be co-hosting Tuesday Ten for the month of June with Lisa of The Golden Spoons and Rabia from The Liebers!

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