A Letter to my Teenage Self: Meg Menkis

Marriage & Motherhood Series

A letter to my teenage self (on Valentine’s Day)

You won’t marry the boy who asked you to be his girlfriend in the 6th grade (as if that word has any meaning when you’re in middle school) or that boy who looked at you in a way that made you feel truly seen for the first time. He stole a kiss under the stairwell.

You won’t marry the captain of the swim team who told a friend you were pretty, or that shy Spanish kid in class who flirts with you at the bus stop.

No, the truth is that butterflies fade. Those were all just wistful fantasies.

You’ll marry the man who holds your hair back when you’re sick at 3am. You’ll marry the man who grabs your hand, dances with you, and makes you laugh through your tears.

You’ll marry the man who doesn’t shy away from hard conversations.

The man that always tips 20%. The man that’s not afraid to get his hands dirty. The one who brings home flowers just because. The one who volunteers to take the kids to school just so you can get a few extra minutes of sleep in the morning.

That man will sneak his way into your heart without you even realizing, and make a home there.

One day you’ll realize, he was worth the wait.

Megan Menkis met her husband, Jon, in art school, and they are now parents to one very spunky 3 year old and another little girl on the way! After graduating art school, Meg and Jon married in the middle of a record-setting heat wave. Though Meg writes about the joys of marriage, hers is far from perfect- it is messy and hard and beautiful all at the same time. As a family, Meg, Jon, and their daughter love to create together. Meg’s favorite creative outlets include painting, photography, and creative writing. You can keep up with her writing on motherhood at https://megmenkis.substack.com/