Dear Natalie,

You're feeling nostalgic today. Thinking about people from the past, the relationships you had with them. How you miss the closeness of these friendships. If you could use your five remaining vacation days to take a trip back in time, you would pack your bags today.

Not that your existing friendships aren't held in the highest regard. But there are some people you miss communicating with. And you might make vein attempts to start the fire again from scratch. But the rains came through and the wood is damp so you'll get nothing more but a few sparks. Just enough for you to glimpse into the past but not enough to build a new friendship for the present.

What a sweet deal a trip through time would be. To go back to the relentlessly care free days of your early 20's. Before bed times and a stressful job. The days of ordering take out, after parties, ability to handle booze, dancing until sunrise... you were so financially broke but boy did you have a good time.

Now you tend to be lazy. You like the idea of doing laundry and watching a movie even though it's a Friday night. Having a beer with a boyfriend that needs to go to bed early to wake up at 5, you're bound to REALLY do yourself in by looking at old pictures and writing letters that you'll never send.

Drunk letters.

That nobody should ever read until after editing.

No deal with your nostalgia, you've decided to go out this weekend. Go out and do the things you did in your early 20's. It'll be ok because everyone else there is doing the same thing on a much more regular basis. You'll dance and smile and come home sweaty. That is, of course, if you don't get lazy and declare the day perfect for staying home.

Get out, girl. Get out and enjoy while you still can.
Your friend,
Natalie of 7/16/10