The Next Chapter…

My second book is almost finished. It seems weird to say that, but it is true! It is at the stage where others are reading it before I make my final edits and complete the final draft. After that, it will be finalized, uploaded, and published for the world to see, like sending my baby out into the world.

With the finishing of one book comes another more daunting question: What do I write next? I have many story ideas written down, but do I want to do any of those? Is there something else more fascinating that I want to delve into instead?

Ending one thing and beginning another seems like a trend in my life lately. I recently started a new job with the same company, but in a completely different department. I have been in the same department for the last six years, so this has been a big change.

My oldest child has been attending university in a different city. Recently, he decided not to return home for the summer. This is good, and all a part of growing up, but there has been a shift in our household.

In September, the youngest will be off to the same university in a different city. This will be a bigger change as we will no longer have children at home, at least during the school year.

All of these monumental changes have had me reflecting on the next chapter. It is funny how we as humans describe our life events in terms of chapters in a book. Though many of us are not authors, we are still able to see the similarities between our lives and the books we read. In this metaphor, our lives are like a novel, filled with chapters, characters, heroes and villains. All of the pieces of our lives create a wonderful story that we can look back on. If we’re lucky, perhaps some of those characters in our story will also retell our story to others.

With all of that in mind, I come back to the first part of this blog: What do I write next? I am at a season of change in many parts of my life. Will I also make this next book part of that change? Will I write something completely different from what I have in the past?

I don’t actually know the answer to these questions… yet. But isn’t that the surprise and delight of this life? We are in our own ‘choose your own adventure’ story, where we get to choose our paths and move forward as we would like to, and our story will be composed of those choices and consequences. Whatever path we choose will create the next chapter filled with characters, heroes, events, etc.

This past year, my man and I got to go to Paris (see photo) together without children, a trip I have been dreaming about taking with him for a very long time. It was a dream come true, and I enjoyed every second. That dream has now been fulfilled. Now we get to dream a new dream and create a new chapter for our next trip. Another new chapter for us to embark on in the story of our relationship. Whatever we choose, it will be great because it will be with him, and that, in itself, is a big part of the story of Amanda: him.

This realization comes with a lesson I’ve learned along the way: whatever we choose to do, whatever I choose to write, it is the characters who journey with me that enrich and bring my own story to life. So, while I may not know what to write, I do know that I will be surrounded by those who love me while I do it. That will make all the difference.

So from my desk to yours, let’s make the next chapter amazing!

Always writing,
AJG