Seven.

A letter to the blogger, seven years in the past.

Dear… you (because seven years ago we were not Sobeq yet, nor the magpie, nor any of the things we would yet become),

You cannot see where we are going, but from my vantage point seven years in the future, I can see where we have been. You will never read this letter, but I need to write it nonetheless; need to tell you about the next seven brilliant years you will know.

Today you take a single step on a lengthy journey. It will feel like the culmination of miles of travel; it will feel like a homecoming. Don’t be fooled. It is the first step, not the final one. You are now walking on a path hand-in-hand with these gods. Everything you do will be tempered by your relationship with Them, from now on. You will find yourself trying foods that remind you of Them – and loving them. You will buy clothes that feel “Jackal-y”, wear jewelry that reminds you that you are the daughter of the mother of the gods. You will try to please your Beloveds, earnestly trying almond milk and hazelnut lattes to connect with Them.

You will meet people, too. You will make friends who enrich your life in ways you never knew it needed enriching. You will find yourself with friends old enough to be your mother or father (you will try hard not to remind them of your age, but it will inevitably come up again and again). They will teach you how to say grace, how to pray, how to greet someone warmly. And more: how to navigate the subway, how to drink tequila, how to dance late into the night. With them you will support the mourning, celebrate milestones, travel, start and end relationships, know what it means to be hurt and to reconcile. You will know “drama”. You will gossip, and be reminded that gossip is not always productive. You will learn how to fly — not literally, but in a plane. You will learn how to navigate the complexities of airport security. You will try to learn how to take a taxi but will never really understand how to tip or know how much it’s going to cost.

You will learn manners, etiquette. Your eyes will be opened to what it really means to respect all others. The people you meet will reflect the value of what your family had been teaching; you will finally understand what they had been trying to show you over the last 18 years. You will learn humility. You will learn the value of cultural competency. You will learn time management skills, cooperation, conflict resolution. You will embarrass yourself. You will redeem yourself. You will learn how to live through failure. You will learn how to succeed with grace.

You will love these people. You will accept some, and tolerate others. You will get married with two of them at your side. You will call them part of your family. When times come that you feel you may as well abandon your faith, they will be by your side.

Today you will gain more than just a divination, more than spiritual knowledge. Today you will commit yourself to a path that will bring you to people who will change your life. Walk it, love it, and live it to the very fullest.

To seven more years as full as the last,

Your future self.