September has me thinking about what it really means to grow older well.

This month, GlowInto has been focusing on longevity, and the more conversations I have, the more I realize how much that word can mean.

It isn’t simply about living longer.

It’s about how we want to feel while we’re living those years. How strong we want to be. How we care for our health, our finances and our emotional well-being. How we continue finding purpose, confidence, creativity and joy as our lives change.

That message has shown up again and again in the women I’ve been talking with lately.

Some are building businesses. Some are changing careers. Some are finding new ways to take care of themselves. Others are rediscovering parts of themselves they may have put aside years ago.

And one thing keeps standing out to me:

There is no age when we have to stop becoming.

I think women are often given the message that by a certain point we should have everything figured out. But the women I continue to meet through GlowInto are showing me something very different.

We can change our minds.

We can get stronger.

We can start something new.

We can find new things that make us happy.

And we can decide that the next part of our lives deserves just as much attention as everything that came before it.

Remember...

Every woman has the opportunity to GlowInto who she is meant to become.

See you next month,
Jen

What’s Still Coming in September

Jordan from Premier U will be back to give us more insight into Peptides: What Women Over 35 Need to Know

Alison Tindall of Thriving Willow Coaching shares why better health after 40 doesn’t have to mean starting over. She explores how realistic movement, simple habits, and flexibility can help women build routines that actually fit their lives and last.

Karlyn Slaydon of KS Signature shows us Why Resale Deserves a Place in Your Closet

Felisha Ford of FF Consulting bringing a new story into Inside The Workplace.

Amanda Swaim for Style That Evolves is talking about thinning skin and products with routines she uses as well as what other women are using to keep skin well moisturized.

You’ll meet Dr.Gail Meese of Advantage Family Chiropractic, as we get to know the services they offer and her approach to helping people feel better and manage pain.

And in What Shapes Us Now, we’ll hear from Gieta Beckmann, Introduce 2 podcasts: Living With Grief and Hot Flash & Sassy.

Next month-The GlowInto podcast continues to grow as I find new ways to record and share women’s stories. I’m also preparing to welcome more guests remotely, which will allow me to connect with women beyond the St. Louis area and bring even more experiences, perspectives and wisdom to the podcast.

October begins with author and storyteller Janine Lange, whose historical fiction is inspired by family history, memories, relationships, and the journeys that shape who we become. We’ll talk about the stories behind her writing, her deep connection to her Italian roots, and why she believes even ordinary lives hold extraordinary stories worth preserving.

On October 26, I’ll be recording an episode with the women behind the Hot Flash and Sassy podcast. I’ll share more details, including when the episode will be available to stream, as soon as I have them.

I’m also beginning to plan the first GlowInto event! Future GlowInto events will center around the four pillars of the publication: Style That Evolves, What Shapes Us Now, Longevity, and Women Inside the Workplace. Each event will create another opportunity for women to connect, learn from one another and continue sharing the stories that shape this stage of life.

More details are coming soon, so stay tuned!

One thing I’m learning as GlowInto grows is that the best ideas usually don’t come from sitting down and trying to think of the next topic.

They come from listening.

A woman says something during an interview that stays with me. Someone sends me a message about a story. A contributor brings up an issue I hadn’t considered. And suddenly I find myself thinking, we need to talk more about this.

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about what reinvention actually looks like in real life.

Not the polished version where someone quits her job, starts a business and everything immediately works out. I’m interested in the middle part — the uncertainty, the experimenting, the wrong turns and the moments when a woman realizes something in her life no longer fits.

I’m also becoming more curious about happiness after 40 and 50. What are women doing simply because they enjoy it? What have they returned to after years of putting work, family or everyone else first? And how much does giving ourselves permission to have fun again change the way we feel about getting older?

The more women I talk to, the more I’m convinced that some of the most interesting parts of our lives happen when we stop asking what we’re supposed to do next and start asking what we actually want.

Those are conversations I want GlowInto to keep exploring.