Just for Mom: Mom to Mom- On Turning 40

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Y’all. This is it. I turn 40 this month. No matter how old you are, hitting a 10-year mark is always a little sobering, isn’t it? Time to reassess your life goals and your current direction.

I always thought I would be famous by the time I was 40. I was going to be the next Oprah. That was my goal when I went to college at 17 years old. By 20, I would have been happy being the next Carol Goldsmith (now Carol Clarke). 

Then I worked as a newspaper reporter and I quickly grew weary of the constant bad news. I had children who needed my attention. Turning into Oprah was a dream that disappeared. So when I turned 30, I decided I wanted to just be “well known.” 

Now that I’m turning 40, that goal has been realized, though never in a way I would have imagined. People have stopped me and asked if I’m “Allison from Facebook” (yes, just like Jake from State Farm) thanks to several online groups I run. I’ve published three books and I write for regional publications like Upstate Parent. 

In the next 10 years, even more changes will come. I’ll have two children leave the nest. I hope to have more books published. I would love to get on the public speaking circuit and bring encouragement to others. 

I don’t see my change in life goals as failure to become the next Oprah, but redirection of my efforts toward a slightly different purpose. Turning 40 is an accomplishment – especially in the wake of 2020. I want to bring joy and light to the people I encounter, and I hope I do that with my writing and in my daily life.

Even if you’re not hitting a milestone birthday this coming year, what are your goals? How often do you reassess them? Have you realized any of those childhood dreams?

Well, 40, here I am. Let’s live it up.

Allison Wells is a wife, mother of four and an author. Her motto is "Life is short, eat the Oreos." Visit her online at www.allisonwellswrites.com.