Have you ever wondered how you got where you are today? I think about that a lot and have done so many times over the years. If you had just done this instead of that. Stopped before it was too late. Took the advice of a friend. Went into another profession. I have way too many professions as it is! I love the poem by Robert Frost, ‘The Road Not Taken’. It has been a favorite of mine for as far back as I can remember. The words speak to me in a way that not too many poems do, and in times of turmoil or questioning myself, it comes to mind and I find some comfort in those words.
I have always called my first book my 'do over'. ‘My Heart for Jill’ would have been the life I would have chosen if I could have done so. I would have loved to have had my own restaurant. As a matter of fact, that thought is how ‘My Heart for Jill began. I wrote what I would have liked to have lived. Would still like to live. Maybe I have spent too much time helping others to keep from living a dream or from helping myself. Sadly, it is the 'nurse’s saga'. Those who have difficulty helping themselves and their lives, choose professions in which they can help others. If I had it to do over, I would probably not choose that path.
Life is full of 'moments'. We cannot retrieve them. All we can do is try to make a better decision next time. Pick the other road. Not waste any more time on something that should never have taken place to begin with. See clearly for the first time and get out of an unhealthy situation before you become a statistic.
In my book, Jill chose the wrong road a few times before she got it right. In essence, opening her own restaurant and finding Nick, the love of her life, was her ‘do-over’. My favorite phrase, and what I try to live by is to 'build up instead of tear down'. You have the freedom to do either. I think that is the core of true love. And if it isn't, shouldn't it be?
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