I wrote this last year, just found it and wanted to share it.
Today, I got an excited phone call from my almost-seven-year-old granddaughter Nora, who is the miracle subject of my book “Waking up with Nora”, and a light in my life. Her front tooth finally came out.
She’d been overnight with us for two nights just the week before, and the tooth was then quite wobbly. Throughout her stay she poked at it and repeatedly asked me when it would come out, expecting I would have the answer. I tested it, felt it scrape against the crown of the new one in wait below, and all I could do was tell her to keep working on it, suggesting ways to do that. As she did, I asked her if it hurt. “Yes”, she answered, without much visible discomfort. She was ready to be rid of a tooth that was bugging her and no longer serving her. She was frustrated and ready to move on.
When I dropped her off at home that evening, I made her promise to call me when it finally came out.
The call came five days later while I was out walking and reflecting on the decision I’d made just an hour before to hire a specialty coach, who would help me with my struggle to define my speaking platform. I had been wobbling around a commitment, because despite my desire, nothing felt right. I needed to get over this hurdle to move on.
Leaning on the railing of the walking path, where I had paused to talk to Nora, I hung up from her call knowing it wasn’t a coincidence that our respective relief from struggle had happened at the same time. Like her, I was celebrating the space where my obstacle had been. I ran my mind across my newly liberated crown of growth. It felt good and a little weird at the same time, but for sure, something bright, shiny and new was on its way.