And I’m Not Done Yet

I don’t know exactly what comes next.

I don’t know how many years I have.

I don’t know which dreams will work out and which won’t.

But I know this.

Life knocked me around a little.

Dreams had to wait.

Things didn’t always go according to plan.

But I’m still here.

And I’m not done yet.

For a long time, I thought dreams had expiration dates.

Not because anyone told me they did. Life simply got busy. There were children to raise, bills to pay, papers to grade, responsibilities to carry, and difficult seasons to survive. Like so many women, I became very good at taking care of everyone else.

And somewhere along the way, some dreams quietly moved to the back shelf.

Not abandoned.

Just waiting.

If someone had told me twenty years ago what this season of my life would look like, I wouldn’t have believed them.

I wouldn’t have believed that I would become a published novelist. I wouldn’t have imagined that readers would connect with my stories, or that I would spend weekends taking photographs of New Mexico, creating videos, planning book signings, and thinking about future projects.

I certainly wouldn’t have imagined applying to speak at a leadership conference.

Life has never gone exactly according to plan. There have been disappointments, losses, health scares, and years that felt more like survival than progress. There were dreams that had to wait while more urgent things demanded attention.

But waiting is not the same as giving up.

Dreams can be patient.

Sometimes they sit quietly while we build careers, raise families, heal broken places, and simply do the work of living. And when we are finally ready, they are still there.

Perhaps that is one of the gifts of growing older.

You begin to understand that success isn’t always about climbing higher. Sometimes it is about becoming more fully yourself.

For me, that means continuing to teach because I still love the classroom. It means writing stories I have carried in my heart for years. It means hiking again. Taking pictures. Spending time with family. Saying yes to opportunities that once would have felt impossible.

I don’t know what comes next.

Maybe some dreams will work out.

Maybe others won’t.

But I’ve reached the point where I know something important.

The story isn’t over.

There are still books to write.

There are still mountains to climb.

There are still photographs to take.

There are still students to encourage.

There are still stories to tell.

And there are still dreams worth chasing.

Life knocked me around a little.

Dreams had to wait.

Things didn’t always go according to plan.

But I’m still here.

And I’m not done yet.