what if getting older doesn’t mean we’re supposed to have everything figured out by now? jo just turned 46, and somewhere between the birthday reflection, krispy kremes, goldfish and a hot pink feather blazer in bed, we started spiraling about all the things we thought we would have by this age - and whether constantly trying to become a “better” version of ourselves has quietly convinced us that who we are right now isn’t enough.
because apparently 25 year old jo thought 46 year old jo would have a house, at least two kids, a stable career and generally feel like she had arrived by now 😂
instead, she’s still figuring it out. and strangely, this birthday feels less like a reason to panic about that and more like a reason to question why we decided there was a deadline in the first place.
we’re talking about the endless list of things women are told we “should” be doing by a certain age - get married, have kids, make more money, eat cleaner, work out more, look younger, improve ourselves - and why jo is suddenly very tired of treating life like one giant self-improvement project.
there’s also the very real part of getting older where your brain is still convinced you’re 27 while the gray hairs, neck lines, and person looking back at you in the mirror would like a word.
plus, jo shares what seven months without alcohol has actually been like, why she’s still hopeful about having a baby at 46, what the last year taught her about the life she and taran are building, and why she’s starting to feel like maybe there isn’t one correct version of what her life is supposed to look like.
basically, we celebrated a birthday, ate an unreasonable amount of sugar, got a little mushy, and somehow ended up feeling hopeful about being exactly where we are.
are we growing up? absolutely not.