Dear Future Me

Dear future me…

I hope you remember who you were

when you wrote this.

I’m writing these words from a place I’m still becoming,

A man with a past, but a future still coming.

I see myself standing in that Army uniform,

Stronger than I was when I weathered the storm.

I know there were nights when I questioned my worth,

Wondered if I could build something better from hurt.

But I kept moving forward, one step at a time,

Chasing the man I could see in my mind.

And if you’re reading this years from today,

I hope you never forgot what I wanted to say…

Dear future me, tell me you made it,

Built the life that you once dreamed you’d create.

Standing beside Kate, watching our children grow,

Giving them the love that I needed to know.

Be the father who stays, who listens, who cares,

The one who makes memories and always is there.

If I’m looking back with tears in my eyes,

I hope I can say, “Damn, we made it through the fight.”

I see family dinners and laughter at night,

Christmas morning with those little eyes bright.

Road trips, bad jokes, photographs on the wall,

Birthday candles and watching them grow tall.

I wanna be the dad they can run to when scared,

The dad who makes sure they know someone cared.

I’ll break every cycle that tried to define me,

Become the father I always wished I’d see.

Kate, I hope we kept choosing each other,

Through every hard season, we learned how to recover.

And if life ever tested everything we believed,

I hope we held on to the family we dreamed.

To my future kids—

I hope you know this was all for you.

Every sacrifice, every battle,

Every step I had to push through.

Dear future me, tell me you made it,

Built the life that you once dreamed you’d create.

Army strong, with my family close,

Standing beside the people I love the most.

A better father, a better man,

Doing everything I swore that I can.

And when I look back at the boy I used to be,

I hope I smile and say—

“I’m proud of you, me.”

If you’re reading this…

Don’t forget where you started.

Don’t forget who believed in you.

And whatever you do…

Keep showing up.