The Power of Not Yet- Introduction

The summer of 2019 is now a bittersweet memory, as it marked the end of an era before the seismic shifts of 2020. But for me, it was a transformative journey, a time when the universe conspired to unlock answers to profound questions I hadn't even dared to ask.

A dinner in late August of that year with my youngest sister captures the essence of this transformative period. My sister resides in a different state, making our meetings infrequent. Despite the distance, she and my youngest daughter keep in touch by frequently exchanging texts with what I am told is for a “reasonable and necessary” amount of time about essential pop culture-heavy shows like The Golden Bachelor and others, keeping me in the loop about my sister's life. Our family structure is somewhat unconventional; we grew up in different eras and locations and share the same father but have different mothers. Cue the violins.

Our father died years ago when my sister was relatively young and I was less old. When speaking about our relationships with our mothers, we each have our intricate trajectories of tragedy and "interesting" stories. It is not a competition, but we are both "lucky" to have plenty of tales to tell. These stories often end with one of us reassuring the other that they "sound like a trauma response in the making."

On this particular summer day in 2019, it just so happened that my sister needed some advice. She felt I could help her, so she came to me, and this dinner occurred. It was the first time that we really got to sit down as adults with no agenda, no one else around, and simply talk.

As we sat there reliving memories regarding our Dad, childhoods, and early experiences separate from each other, I felt like we were telling the same story, almost living the same life. At one point, I commented that I remembered that our Dad turned everything into an educational or "teaching" moment (and I do mean everything); she acknowledged the same. She responded, "Because of that, I feel like I have a working knowledge of everything."

My eyes widened.

If you have any memory of late summer 2019 and hearing a loud screeching thud followed by feeling as if the earth had stopped moving on its axis...that was me. I apologize. At that moment in my life, the entire universe seemed to have come to a screeching halt. You see, ever since I can remember (and I'm going to venture out on a limb and say possibly as far back as "in utero"), I have always believed that I would succeed, not necessarily "be successful" but succeed. I have always felt I could do anything I put my mind to and that there was no situation I would ever walk into where I could not figure out a solution. Now, mind you, I have not always succeeded, but I have always believed I would. This perspective has profoundly influenced my approach to the unknown and uncharted territories..... Continue reading by obtaining a FREE Copy of our book after taking the Book Marketing Quiz, or you can click the link and purchase a copy (psst...we suggest the FREE route!).