9.07.2009

Six Years Ago

[The following is a letter to me from Casey, written before I left for college.]

September 4, 2003

Dearest Elizabeth,
The time has come to let you go. The most constant part of my life, my family, is beginning to have distance between them. First you, then me, and so forth. Onward we must go, secure in the knowledge that we have been taught and raised by amazing people, not only by our two parents, but by each other.

We have been blessed by having three sisters each. Each sister is unique and special and different. Each of us makes up an integral part of the family. Although at first, it will be hard having a piece of our family so many miles away, you are still a part of the family, and you make me proud.

You are amazing. You are honest and funny and generous. You are beautiful both inside and out and you will never...could never...let me down.

You are such a fantastic role model because although you make mistakes, you deal with them. You have a voracious appetite for learning and life. You have pluck and courage and the ability to make me believe in my dreams and more importantly, myself. You know every nagging detail about me, which is both good and bad (mostly good).

We are now and forever, the time lapse twins because although very different, we are best friends. I understand you as no one else does because we are sisters. With us, things can be unspoken and still understood by one another. That's what sisters are for, and there's no better sister than you.

You taught me that sometimes, it doesn't matter what people think. You have to do things for yourself. You also taught me that I'm an okay person. I'm not a failure and I'm not going to be worthless. I have value.

I want to personally thank you for being my late night confidant when we just needed to stay up late. Thank you for being my lawyer when I was in some tough situations - your charm has never been put to better use. Thank you for loving me unconditionally even though I know I get annoying and mean and spiteful. Thank you for putting up with my stupidity and helping me to overcome my errors and be successful. I don't know what I would be without your constant guidance.

I hope that you have learned as much from me as I have from you.

I urge you to take chances whenever you can. Be spontaneous. Not everything can be logically explained. Some things just happen and the best thing to do is sit tight and see what happens. You can achieve whatever you set out to. Hard work pays off, now and later.

You will have bad days. But you don't have to live through them by yourself. Email, phone, IM, snail mail - use it. We were not built to sail a storm alone.

Being what everyone expects you to be is not your jet. You be what you want to be. You know right from wrong and you know your limits. Mom & Dad taught you good from bad. They're pretty smart.

Love your friends,
Love yourself,
Love your best friend,
Casey

P.S. Did you cry?

9 comments:

  1. Hey there!

    I don't know you--I found you through a comment you left on Claremont Road--but I'm so glad I clicked over here and read this. It made me tear up, but also made me smile--it's good to read a voice preserved for others to discover.

    It's also made me treasure the random texts from my brother that much more. :-)

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  2. Hi Elizabeth -
    Thank you for reading the blog! I'm glad it inspires you to treasure any message from your brother - it's a nice connection.
    Love the food blog!
    Elizabeth

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  3. I cried. That's an amazing letter.

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  4. i think that's the best advice i've ever gotten.

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  5. Just re-read this, and it's exactly the advice I need right now. Thank you.

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    1. Grace - it helps me to re-read it too. Thank you. xoxo

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  6. I'm procrastinating (of course) and thought I'd read some past posts. I forgot how much I loved this one, and how much I cherish all of Casey's wonderful advice. Thank you so much for keeping up with this blog, you have no idea how much it all means to me

    xoxo, jac

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