A letter from Apr 23rd, 2022

Dear Hilary, Hello from Saturday 23 April, 2022, and happy 30th birthday! As I write this, I'm listening to Lykke Li and lying on the couch in our rental in Melrose Park, which I'm pretty sure you are no longer living in, because the house is currently up for sale and I'm pretty sure we'll be kicked out after the end of November. Shame, because we do love it here, and Artemis loves it even more. Wherever you end up after this - whether you have to move back in with your parents because the rental market is so bad, whether you end up moving to Brisbane because you want to live with Eszter and you don't know what else to do with yourself as one of the only single people you know, I hope it all worked out in the end. No matter where you are today - whether you're in a loving, committed relationship or not, whether you own a property or not, whether you've advanced in your career or not, whether you've achieved any "societal milestones" at all, or not - I want you to remember that we never actually thought we'd make it this far. Not long ago, at the age of 22, we didn't think we'd make it at all. And when we were 14, we really didn't think we'd make it. So wherever you are today, whatever you're doing, and whoever you're with, I'm really proud of you. I hope you're happy. And more than anything, I hope you're kind to yourself. Lots of love, 26-year-old Hilary