It’s a Small World

Yesterday was an amazing day!  I had my whole day planned out, yet almost none of my plans actually happened.  I was going to be so diligent in checking things off; my business was going to be rockin’ by day’s end.  I had goals and plans and checklists, but then it didn’t happen.  It was still an amazing day!

The story starts a little over a year ago.  I desperately wanted to go back to school and take the Nutritional Therapy Practitioner program offered by the Nutritional Therapy Association.  I was doing my research in order to cross all of my T’s, so I checked their provider directory.  There was only one NTP, Cynthia Hill, practicing even remotely close to me.  In fact, she was the only one listed in my state, Wisconsin.   So I dotted all of my I’s and I contacted her.  She was generous with her time and answered all of my questions.  I filled an entire page with notes and then had to set it aside.  The timing just wasn’t right.

Fast forward eight months – by then, I had enrolled and had my first weekend workshop.  I called her on the way home and left a rather effervescent message describing my weekend (which she later told me she couldn’t understand at all, but somehow connected back tome).  She wished me well and that was that.

Apparently, I wasn’t done stalking her yet, though.  A few months later, we met for coffee and again,she was very generous with her time and gave me some great tips for starting my business.  We realized we had the same NTA instructor, Christie Banners, whom we both adored and we would both be NTPs, so we definitely had things in common.  I figured we would stay in touch.  (I mean,she’s put up with me this long.)  But little did I know…

Right after graduating from the NTP program, I thought of her again.  I realized that while I had liked her Facebook business page, Prairie Hill Nutrition, right away, I hadn’t ever friended her personally.  So, I logged in to do just that.  Imagine my surprise, when I realized that my uncle was her Facebook friend!  How in the world were they connected???

My uncle has since passed, so I reached out to her again.  Umm… ”I see we have a mutual friend, Dick_____.  How were you connected?”  And then I waited (for what felt like a lifetime, even though it was hours); I’m not patient.  Her response finally came and it blew me away. “He was my uncle”- unbelievably simple words that made an instant connection.  We share an uncle.

How could this be?  We discovered that we are from opposite sides of the family.  We actually share an uncle, aunt and cousin and have been to at least one extended family gathering throughout the years.  My husband and sons had even followed her younger brother’s professional ATV racing career. We just never connected.  I guess now was the time.

Growing up, my family always had sayings.  One of them I heard over and over was “It’s a small world” and it certainly is.  But yesterday, my world and my family got bigger. Cynthia and I met for coffee, again. Two hours felt like two minutes as we shared stories, old pictures and laughed like old friends.

We actually talked a little business, too, and in the middle of our conversation, my phone buzzed.  I looked down and Gray Graham, founder of the Nutritional Therapy Association had just accepted my LinkedIn connection.  Of all the moments in time…the irony of this was not missed.  Thanks, Gray!

When people ask me what NTPs do, I tell them that “We change lives.”  Well, yesterday, it was my life that changed.  I now have a “cousin” who shares my vision of helping people improve the quality of their lives through nutrition.  And that’s better than anything I could have ever checked off my list!