An Unexpected Twist Leads to a Treasure (part 2)

A Lesson in Listening, Learning, and Love from My Seven-Year-Old Co-Author

So here I am, at a house on the beach with the whole family gathered around to listen to Dinah read the book we spent the last year writing.

When she started to read, I realized something was off.

It was subtle, barely a few degrees off. While I couldn’t put my finger on it I knew she wasn’t in a state of true fun. Something I had been lucky to witness during our weekly heartstorm sessions.

She finished the book, and our family prepared to head to the beach. I noticed she went into her bedroom, so I followed her.

I gently closed the door behind me. “Dinah, can I ask you a question?” I asked.

She looked up from the stickers she was organizing, with a smile, “Sure, Auntie.”

I asked her how she felt about the reading. “It was OK,” she replied. I could tell she was holding back. After a few minutes of gently exploring how she felt, she shared what I sensed but hadn’t been able to pinpoint during the family reading.

“Auntie, when you asked me to read the book in front of everyone, I felt uncomfortable.”

I then asked her what she wished would’ve happened instead.

“I wish I could’ve opened the box with the books and read it for the first time alone with you.”

I felt a thud right in my chest.

My first thought was that I had failed my niece and co-author.

Then, I remembered that nothing happens to me. It happens for me.

I paused for a few more seconds, knowing the next words out of my mouth would have a substantial impact on her.

“Thank you for sharing that with me, Dinah. I want you always to know you can share your thoughts with me, no matter what.”

She nodded.

“And, I want to apologize. I see now that in my excitement to share the book with you and the family, I asked a lot from you all at once. In ‘I Believe In Me,’ we talk about how important it is to love ourselves, and you know what’s one thing I love about myself? That I make mistakes. Because when I make mistakes, I can forgive myself and learn!”

She grinned, and I knew she heard me.

I then offered something I share with my clients whenever it comes time to clean up our word. It’s usually a question to the other person that invites them to share what “making things right” would look like. Since Dinah is seven, I offered a possible idea.

“Dinah, what do you think about tonight, before we go to bed, you and I, with my new fancy mic that Auntie Victoria gave me, read the book, just you and me?”

Her face lit up, and I knew I had come full circle back to the place of joy and true fun.

That night, we had our quiet reading—just us. I held the mic, and she read, complete with a comedic flair deserving of her own standup routine.

It was magic.

Thanks for being a part of our journey. We have so much to share with you in the coming weeks!

You don’t want to miss our next publication, where I share the process and gift of allowing myself to have a tantrum in the middle of working on the proposal for securing a publisher.

Here’s a peek at the last five seconds of our magical moment that night.

Goodbye for now…Dinah and Luisa.