The Best is Yet To Come.

There may be lovely things ahead that you haven't even imagined yet.

If you could show my 23-year-old self a photo of my life today, I'm not sure she'd believe you. I have two grown daughters, two beautiful grandsons, loving husband, a comfy-cozy home in Australia, friends who have become family, and two golden retrievers who consider themselves essential to absolutely everything. I also have books with my name on them. She might have recognised the smile, but I don't think she could have pictured the life around it.

At 23, I had a little daughter, another baby on the way, and a family life that looked nothing like what I'd expected. Getting through the day took most of what I had, and "the future" seemed rather ambitious when I was still trying to work out Thursday. There were wonderful things ahead of me, but I couldn't see them from where I was standing. Perhaps you've had a chapter like that too.

A flightless Kiwi finds her wings

Years later, this flightless Kiwi crossed the Tasman with her two chicks. Moving to Australia didn't come with a preview of the people we would meet or the life we would build, and I did wish someone would hand over a highlights reel before the big decisions. It would have been very handy. 😂

What came afterwards was a group of people who became so much more than friends. They became Framily. They're the ones I laugh with, celebrate with and lean on, and they made a new country feel like home. I couldn't have described them before I met them, yet they are now a huge part of a life I treasure. It's something I keep coming back to: some of the loveliest parts of our lives begin with people, places and possibilities we don't even know exist yet.

She didn't know about the snuggles

My younger self knew she loved her girls. What she didn't know was how it would feel to become Nanna to my little grandsons, with all the snuggles and those little faces, and the joy of watching a new generation discover the world while I'm down on the floor discovering it right alongside them. She didn't know about the golden retrievers or the deck conversations either, or the thrill of creating something and thinking, I made that. And she certainly didn't know that, approaching 60, I'd be writing books and finding even more to say through speaking.

Revisiting my story as I work on my speaking has reminded me how much happened beyond the edges of the future I once imagined. I'm nowhere near finished, either, because there is still plenty I want to explore.

Hope, with its feet on the ground

"The best is yet to come" is a hopeful thing to say, but I also know life can be hard, and a lovely phrase doesn't tidy up a difficult chapter. I've needed people beside me, I've needed time, and sometimes I've needed enough breathing space just to see a possibility at all.

So when I say those words, I'm thinking about the joy I couldn't see coming: the friend I hadn't met yet, the grandsons I hadn't held yet, the book I hadn't written yet. If all of that was once beyond my imagination, I'm curious about what else might be ahead, for me and for you.

Last week I wrote about starting before we feel ready. This is one more reason to take that small step, because we may be making room for something we can't fully picture yet.

Leave a little room for lovely

What would you love to make room for in your next chapter? It might be a friendship, a creative project, more laughter, an experience you keep putting off, or simply a little more time to hear yourself think. Try writing down this sentence: "In my next chapter, I would love to..." Then add: "One small way I could make room for that is..."

Keep it small enough to actually do. Send the message, open the notebook, or put a date in the diary. You don't need to know where the whole path leads to take an interested little wander.

If you'd like some company along the way, come into the Radiance Room, my email community within the WendiVerse. It's a place for encouragement, reflection and inspiration as you make room for a life that feels like yours.

Consider this your invitation to leave the next page open. Your younger self didn't know everything that was coming, and neither do you, which leaves plenty of room for some lovely surprises.

With love and a little Wendify sparkle,
Wendy