Dearest Little Julie,

You know how sometimes you love your parents, and sometimes you just hate them? When you love them, you probably don't think much about it. Everything just feels good. When you're mad at them, you notice everything that's bad. 

Guess what? My kid is grown up now, and sometimes I wish I could go back and do childhood over with Dwayne. I wish I could have a second chance and do better.  There's a very important thing called hindsight. It means looking at things after they've happened, and seeing different things than you did when it was happening. 

Here's a few things I wish I'd done differently. I wish I'd crossed this one thing off my "To Do" list EVERY DAY - "Play with Dwayne". I wish I hadn't yelled so much. I wish I'd been more patient, and seen things from his point of view more often. I wish I hadn't gone to work so much and been too tired and busy to play with him. I wish that dinner time had been a happier time together.

Sometimes, parents don't really ...

Dearest Little Julie,

Just about a year ago was the last time I waved goodbye to my mom. Today I want to tell you about Big sadness. I bet you feel sad when you hear about people dying - in wars, in accidents, from diseases, especially from murders, or just from getting old.

Everything in your life will change when it's someone in your family who dies. It's really different than just hearing about others. At first, you might feel like dying too. It's really weird how different it is when it happens to someone you know. It's like a HUGE hole opens up inside you and around you, and there's no way around it or through it. There's just this emptiness. You're SO sad, that feelings aren't even enough to feel how sad you feel. Because you can never see them again, and you miss them, and there's not way to change that. And there's regret - feeling mad at yourself for all the conversations you didn't have, and all the things you wished you'd done for them. 

I hope you never have to feel like...

Dearest Little Julie,

You know when things are on fire, they have so much energy, they're so hot and out of control that fire takes on a life of its own? Or, the energy of a sudden explosion like dynamite?

I bet you feel that way a lot, bursting with energy, especially when you get to do what you REALLY love doing. Just hearing that you're going to get to do that thing, you have a little dynamite explosion of excitement go off inside you, just thinkingabout that moment, when you'll be doing what you LOVE.

I used to get that feeling when I knew I was going to go horseback riding, or swimming. Those were what I loved most as a little girl. And recess. And climbing trees. And making ceramics. And being with my best friend. I lived for my next chance to do those things. 

When I was a teenager, my excitement changed, and I got that feeling playing sports. I was a natural and REALLY good, and I felt good, anytime I was playing, and even just thinking about the next time I'd be playing.

Dearest Little Julie,

You know how grown-ups drink coffee in the morning? And now, they even bring you to coffee shops, to get special drinks? Why do grown-ups love coffee so much?

I'll give you one guess, and it's not because it's a dessert, the way Starbucks drinks are for you.

It's caffeine. It makes them feel better.

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Before you grow up think about this. You know all that energy you have inside? The energy that needs to get out at recess, and that makes it hard to sit too long in class? That's called natural human energy. Kids are FULL of it, right?

Now imagine this. If you start drinking coffee when you grow up, you might give up your natural energy. Does that sound weird?

The real reason grown-ups drink coffee is because they need it. Because they don't have enough natural human energy any more. Probably because they don't take care of their ...

Dearest Little Julie,

You are just a little girl, and yet, all you'll ever need is within you. You have the ability to figure anything out. This is your weapon. You can do anything, and when things go wrong, as they will, you have a way through it, always. Even really bad things, you have what you need to get through it. Because of this truth, feel free to think BIG, aspire to do great things, have the courage to live into your MAGNIFICENCE. 

Everyone has their own unique brand of magnificence. Your job is to find yours. Then, define it, so it fits the WHOLE you, the TRUE you, and NOTHING BUT YOU, and your days will be filled with happiness. 

The biggest trick to discovering your unique magnificence is to always speak your mind. Say what's true for you, even if it's different.

Without this discovery, you might live a life of lies, self-betrayal, disappointment...maybe even disgrace. On your deathbed you'll be filled with regret, because you didn't live your life. 

That real, whole...