Eight years ago, when Paul deployed the first time, I had a poster printed that said THE BEST IS YET TO COME. It hung in our stairwell in Oxnard. Then in 2014 I sold an edition of black ink screen prints that said the same thing as part of my MAKE29 project. I kept one of those framed by the window in our first house in San Diego. Now, the same print hangs in our hallway. I walk past it dozens of times a day.
It was true in Oxnard. It was true in 2014. It's especially true right now.
When things are tough, this is an easier phrase to sign off on. Of course, when everything feels unknown, we want to hope the best is on the way. Of course, when we are in pain we want to believe a better day is coming. Of course, when we just graduated/lost our job/shuttered our business/became an essential worker/fell ill during a pandemic, we want to know a swift solution is around the corner.
What about, though, when hopefully sooner than later, things are "good?" What about, years from now, when we have taken this experience and built a much more sustainable and equitable "normal"? Is it a true statement then?
Last fall I posted a photo of the print and got a comment along the lines of: "this phrase is always such a disappointment" because "it's so ungrateful that you don't appreciate today."
I can understand that. No phrase will or should click with everyone.
I really believe, though, that I can be happy today and excited about tomorrow. It's part of why I set goals! Not so that someday "in the future" I can stand perfectly still and look at all my gleaming accomplishments but instead so that today, I get to work toward something. I set future goals for the joy that they bring to my current daily life.
Goal-setting is living with intention. Dreaming and planning for the future encourages us to think about today's choices. Thinking about today's choices grounds us in the present.
Which is why, for me, no matter the day, no matter my mood, no matter the news, THE BEST IS YET TO COME is a message of hope.
When I daydream, it looks like this:
The year is 2076 and it's my 95th birthday. A month ago, our seventh female president was sworn in for her second term (we elected a woman in 2024 and never looked back). We live in our same house but after the girls moved out we knocked the wall down to my office to create a master bedroom with a balcony. I sit out there every morning with coffee that Paul roasted and watch my sweet chickens. We share our coffee beans and backyard eggs with our friends, who all moved to our street after their kids graduated.
Everyone –– our friends turned neighbors, our girls, their partners, their kids and their partners and yep, even the two new great grandkids –– has gathered at our house for homemade pizza and carrot cake. We sit around my dining table that holds 68 years worth of kid paint splatters. My family sings happy birthday and as I blow out my candles I think "Damn. This is so great." I look up with absolute contentment at my favorite faces. Out of the corner of my eye I see the same framed THE BEST IS YET TO COME poster and I think, "Damn. What a gift that tomorrow is coming."
So what I am saying is this:
It can all be true. During the tough seasons, you can hold the pain and look forward to the joy. On the very good days, you can hold the joy and still look forward to the joy. So many things are not in our control. But what we do in the present builds the future. And our hope for the future can help make the present better.
Today could be terrible or today could be as good as it gets. And still: the world turns and the sun will rise again. To me, that is the absolute best.
