A letter to myself. Get in the bathtub.

Shaunna,
First of all, congratulations on the kids. Adorable. Seriously, you're good at procreation. Secondly, take a bath. I know that sounds silly. No but really...take a bath. Fill the tub with lavender epsom salt hot water goodness, put on some old school Bright Eyes (shut up), and just lay there. Here's what's going to happen...

You're going to relax. Not like how you relax by watching a show while you get some Etsy orders done after the kids have gone to bed. (BTDubbs, that's not relaxing, but I get it - it has to be done.) You're going to realize that you've not REALLY relaxed like that in about 4 years. Since before you were pregnant with Martha. Sure, you've gone out and had fun. You've laid on the couch and watched tv. But this bath will ease your body down to the bones.

While you're laying there, a funny thing will happen. You'll look down at your feet propped up and remember that picture you posted on Myspace of your feet in the tub back when you were 22 and had just gotten out of a 2.5 year relationship and you'll laugh. That was during those 4 months that you lived in Marietta in the super nice house with Clara Culpepper whom you never saw again after you moved out except for that one time at Kevin Horan's job at that one bar where all you can remember is there was a lot of champagne.

Then your eyes will stray from your feet and you'll see your mushy, 2 baby having, stretch marked stomach and again you'll laugh. You're not crazy about it, but you really don't mind that stomach. It'll never, ever, ever look the way it did when you were 22 again, but you'll never, ever, ever care because you have 2 crazy amazing kids that you grew in there. That you GREW IN YOUR BODY, WOMAN! I mean.

So, you'll soak in that water. You'll listen to The Arc of Time. You'll hear those lyrics and you'll know that you are who you are when you're supposed to be that person. You were the girl that took the bathtub picture of your tattooed feet. Now you're the girl with the mushy belly and happy family. Neither is wrong. There is a place and a time for everything.

You can make a plan
Carve it into stone
Like a feather falling
That is still unknown

Until the clock speaks up
Says it’s time to go
You can choose the high
Or the lower road

You might clench your fist
You might fork your tongue
As you curse or praise
All the things you’ve done

And the faders move
And the music dies
As we pass over
On the arc of time

When the song is over, get up and out of the bath. Now take a shower because you haven't washed your hair in 3 days and your teething 7 month old will be waking up soon. Chop chop.

Love,
Shaunna