Through the Gate

Time to move forward.

Whether I like it or not, I am moving forward. I am swept by a tide of good friends, good fortune and good timing. I left my job at a key time. I was ready to be more than an assistant.

At the same time, my friend was ready to leave her job, to step up to new challenges.

I pushed her. She pushed me.

She opened doors for me. Talked about my expertise. Now I have amazing challenges in front of me.

I thought I simply had a big mouth.

I hope to open doors for her. It is the one legacy of my mother I hope to continue. My mother supported strong women in business. Over and over. I will do the same. I know my friend is a leader. She will move mountains. She already has.

She wrote me and said God does put angels in our paths. My commitment to her made her cry.

Her commitment to me makes me cry.

I am finding ways to pull together varied groups. I am finding a way to make things happen. When I think about what I lived through in a prominent, affluent home as a child and what it is like to live through the same without the resources, education and access- I become driven.

My challenge, I have been told, “is finding a way to CHANNEL your PASSION and INTELLIGENCE and COMMITMENT constructively and in a way that is valued in the world. You have so much to contribute, lady. . .”

I have always felt I did not earn my place at the table. It was handed to me. What did I know?

I realize now I have worked hard to be respectful of the power and responsibility being at the table brings.

My friend says she wants on her tombstone, she made a difference in all children’s lives.

I want mine to say I made a difference.

I have a gate to walk through. It's my own fear, my own insecurity and my own shame. It's old. Overgrown. It no longer fits who I am.

It’s time to move forward.