Two ceramic mugs labeled “best” and “friends” sit side by side in the center of the image against a soft, muted background. The mugs evoke warmth, simplicity, and emotional connection.

📫 Letter No. 6: Kindness Can be a Learned Skill

🔥 A Reckoning Non-Advice Letter 💌

This one’s for anyone who’s ever felt flawed for not gifting the right mug or thinking of the compliment to say in real-time—and wondered if they were wired differently. 🧠

Thoughtfulness isn’t a personality trait. It’s a learned skill. 🛠️

This post challenges the myth of “natural kindness” and suggests building kindness one mirror note at a time. 🪞

“I didn’t mean to” isn’t an excuse. But it could be an entry point. This letter explores how intentionality can rewrite thoughtlessness into something we all can do. 💌


💌 Dear Miss Reckoning,

The other day I got in a huge fight with my best friend and she called me thoughtless. It was one of those times where I can’t stop thinking about it.

I’ve noticed I can be kind of thoughtless. It seems to come easy to my friend to send nice notes and pick me up funny mugs because it reminded her of me.

I guess my brain doesn’t work that way.

What do you think?

Reluctantly Thoughtless


🪞 Dear Reluctantly Thoughtless,

First off, I just want to say—
It can be hard when people we love or care about say things
that hurt and stick in our brain for a long time. 🧠💔

I still remember when an ex called me a “monster.” 👹
Sometimes when I make mistakes, that label still enters my brain
and I wonder if it’s true. 😞

I completely relate to this concept of being “thoughtless”
or not naturally kind.
It’s hard work for me. 💪

We’ve actually been talking about this in my house a lot lately.
I have three kids, but I’m going to focus on two:

👦 My youngest son—age four—is naturally kind.
He gives me compliments all the time like:
“I like your make up, mommy”“I like your dress.” And he means them. 💖
He tells me he loves me all the time, and he’s a cuddler. 🤗

🧑 My oldest son—age ten—is different.
I’m not saying he’s un-kind.
He just doesn’t think about giving compliments or telling me he loves me, and he’s never been that personality.

When I tell him I love him?
He says “Okay.” 😐

Both sons are amazing.
I would never change either one of them. 🫶

But recently, my oldest son started being very snarky. 😒
He had a mean comment for everything everyone in the house said.

When I talked to him about it, he said it was part of his personality.

And I told him… I would never change his personality.
But being kind is a learned skill. 🛠️ ✨

It comes easier for some people than others.
So we’ve decided to work on building kindness as a skill in the family. 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

He just called his sister “dummy” in the other room as I write this,
so we’re still working on it… 🙃
(For the record, I tell them not to use that word—
not that it really seems to matter…) 😅

Anyway, in my opinion, the most important thing to do is live our authentic selves.

At almost 40, I’m trying to do this now maybe for the first time in my life. ✨ 🌱
I’m not going to naturally think of doing nice things for people.

But I can write myself a post-it note on my mirror 🪞 📝
that gives me ideas to do certain things for people—
just to remind them they’re special. 💡 💕

Me on the other hand?
I got the person who called me a monster out of my life. 🧹
Not everyone gets to take my emotional energy. 🚫 🧘

But it’s also good to listen to the people who love us sometimes,
if we think what they’re saying resonates.
It’s up to you if you take it to heart or not though. 🌈

🔍 Sometimes I have to reckon with the way my brain works.
But then I realize—I’m not being very kind to myself.
That’s probably the first skill to build.
That’s probably the first step. 💗

Maybe thoughtfulness isn’t instinctual—it’s intentional.

And that counts. 🦋

Scorched, signed, sent,
🔥 ✒️ 💌

A mirror reflecting the stylized signature “Miss Reckoning” in white script on a robin egg blue background

-Miss Reckoning

As always, your unqualified, non-professional, non-advice friend

This post is for emotional reflection and storytelling purposes only. It is not professional advice.

[See full disclaimers here]

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Illustration of a smirking man in a Polaroid photo beside a broken heart, with a mirror reflecting another broken heart and teal fish swimming in robin egg blue background.

📬 Letter No. 1: Good News—He’s Gone

Even when your ex looks best with that door shut behind him 🚪, you’re left holding on—memories of him calling himself “the prize” 🎁, pictures of his new girlfriend, and a desperate need to get over him.

This letter cuts through his curated smiles and reveals the truth: he hasn’t changed.

Instead, we offer a glittering dose of clarity, healing—and just enough salt 🧂 and hope ❤️ to add to your popcorn 🍿.

Because he’s all drama and stress in a never-ending bad stage performance—and now you get to watch from the audience. Or leave the theater entirely (i.e. block… my choice).


💌 Dear Miss Reckoning,

How do I stop caring about my ex?

He used to make me feel awful. He called himself “the prize.” One time he yelled at me in front of my friends and said I was being too emotional for even bringing it up later.

Now he’s posting vacation pictures with his new girlfriend. He looks happy. I feel stuck.

Is it normal to still care?

I feel like I’ll never get over him.

— Just Want to Move On


🪞 Dear Just Want to Move On,

Here’s the good news. ✨

He’s gone. 🚪

Anyone who calls himself “the prize” is completely delusional 🙄. Yelling and embarrassing you in front of your friends just one time is enough to dump and block him completely 🚫.

However, I know it’s hard 💔. You care about him, you might’ve loved him. You emotionally spun yourself around him, and it’s hard to untangle yourself 🧵.

We’ll never know what’s going on in his head 🧠. But I can tell from your letter that you cared deeply and genuinely 🫶. It sounds like this guy did not deserve it.

And here’s the bonus good-ish news 💁‍♀️: he’s probably still an awful person who will never be on your level 📉. It takes years of therapy to become a better person, and I can almost guarantee this guy did not do that work.

You can rest assured that they look happy in the picture 📸, but behind closed doors, he’s treating that lady exactly how he treated you—same mask 🎭, same script 📖, same jokes 🙃, same ending. It’s all he knows.

You are strong 💪 because it sounds like you want to stop caring about him. You will make it through this ⛅️.

In reality, you are the prize 👑. But that’s not something you even need to say out loud because secure people don’t actually say that out loud 🔇.

There are better people out there in the world who won’t yell at you 🌍. But when I went through something like this, I had to reckon with myself 🪞.

What was I searching for in toxic relationships? Why was I still repeating the same patterns? 🧩

I had to do my own work 🔧. I went to therapy 🪑. I took time alone. I hate the advice “become your own friend”. But I see what people mean by it. Find space in your own head that you enjoy. Be kind to yourself because we can’t control other people.

There are better people in the world. But taking time for yourself and your growth is never a bad thing 🌱.

So what should you do? 🤔

If you block him on everything 📵, you never have to see his fake smile again 😐. Sounds like an immediate win 🏆.

You are healing 🩹.

That picture? It burst open the wound 💥.

One day, reminders won’t feel like being sliced open 💔. The knife will dull until memories can’t cut you anymore.

For now, be thankful he is not in your life 🙌🏻.

Be proud of yourself for getting him out of your life, however it happened, whether it was your choice or his.

He’s gone—good 🎉.

Also know, you loved with an open heart ❤️‍🔥. His failings are not your failings 🚫.

You’re doing the work—this letter proves it 📝.

He could never swim out this far 🌊.

You’re already too deep for him 🧜‍♀️.

His surface level will only be smiling vacation pictures while he makes her miserable in private.

Your future is an open ocean without him 🐠🌊. And a lot of other, more vibrant fish 🐟✨.

Scorched, signed, sent,
🔥 🖋️ 💌

A mirror reflecting the stylized signature “Miss Reckoning” in white script on a robin egg blue background

-Miss Reckoning

As always, your unqualified, non-professional, non-advice friend

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This post is for emotional reflection and storytelling purposes only. It is not professional advice.

[See full disclaimers here]