A letter from January 13th, 2021

Dear Future Me, Today I wrote my father and grandfather a letter. It has been nearly a quarter of a lifetime since I've spoken to and longer since I have seen my grandfather. It has been over half of a lifetime since I have seen or spoken to my father. Each letter was different, but summed up this point: Each side of my family is very different but very similar in the fact there has never been much communication and never any closeness. I have tried on my part numerous times and given up just as many to form a relationship with family. It's too difficult when others are not willing to communicate or take part. If I never reached to my parents, their parents, their siblings, and their children I would never speak to any of them again. It's ironic, I think. Most people have the world at their fingertips with a smart phone, tablet, or other device and there are countless ways to talk to each other, yet people have never been further apart. I don't regret any of this. In fact, I think it has made me a very strong, self reliant, resilient person. For that, I thanked them. From an extremely young age I had always wished things were different, but I see all this as a blessing and I am a better person for it. There's an old adage – when you fail at something at least you're trying. I'd like to think they tried their best not really knowing how to try and I am empathetic to that. From, Past Me