What is the best advice you would give your younger self?
UNFORGETTABLE MEMORIES
I have so many memories of the past. I only had 19 years with my dad, but they were the best years.
He was a hugger with a heart of gold who gave the biggest bearhugs. I didn’t know time was of the essence when I was growing up on the farm with him. There were many nights of carrying 5-gallon pails of water to the barn to help feed the calves, loading and stacking square bales and picking rocks in the fields.
I was also blessed to have a dad who had the patience of a saint to let me “take the wheel” as he taught me how to drive our 1972 van. I was about 10 years old as we traveled down an old gravel road, going less than 10 miles an hour.
These are just a few of the memories I have with him. There were so many more.
If I were to give advice to my younger self, it would be to be more appreciative for all the time I was given with my dad. The 19 years wasn’t enough time to experience all the things in the short lifetime he was given. I’d tell him I loved him more often and thank him for all he did for our family. I now realize I can’t get back the time with him, but the memories are in my heart forever! He truly was the best!
Gail Luithle
Capital Electric Cooperative
BE BRAVE
There are times when I reflect on my younger self and a certain melancholy settles in with those memories. If I had a chance to talk with that shy, insecure girl, I would tell her to go after her dreams and not listen to the naysayers. Most goals that seem impossible are actually not. If you set your mind to it, wonderful things can be accomplished.
I would also tell her to not worry so much about insignificant things and to concentrate on practicing compassion and assisting those who need a helping hand.
I had a great childhood, there is no doubt about that. But in retrospect, I wish my younger self would have been braver, stronger and more determined. Those attributes come with age, this I know, but occasionally I wonder what if.
Judy Bennett
Northern Plains Electric Cooperative
CHOOSE FRIENDS
The best advice I would give my younger self would be to choose my friends wisely, beginning with my preschool friends, on to elementary school days, high school and the rest of my life.
In college, my close friends became my lifetime friends, mostly from many miles from where I grew up. They made those days interesting and life changing.
Many of those days were life changing, and I don’t regret them at all. I would do the same over again if the need would arise.
Ann Luithle
Roughrider Electric Cooperative
UPCOMING READER REPLY QUESTIONS
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Deadline for submission: Feb. 11
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