Getting A Second Chance At Life After 40

MEEM: Your Second Chance

Guest Blog Post from Jenny at MidwifeAndLife: My Second Chance Story

We’ve been speaking to bloggers and asked them to share what the idea of a second chance means to them.

They say life begins at 40. I don’t know who first coined that phrase, but they were probably referring to the fact that most people had children in their early 20s and then by 40 they had a bit more freedom to pursue their interests and enjoy life a bit more. For most people as they get older they may have more financial freedom too. I turned 40 this year and I feel great.

Well, I only just finished having my children and they’re still young, so I’m a little way off that freedom and financial freedom, well I’m working on it. After going through a family tragedy and losing our first child to Tay-Sachs Disease, it made me realise that you don’t get to live life twice, you make your own second chances. I made a promise to her that I would grab life with two hands, never be afraid to try new things and that I’d live my life for her. I try to always say yes if I can, I don’t suffer fools gladly and I don’t take any crap.

When I was younger I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, I wanted to write a novel, work with animals, be a nurse or be a model. The model option didn’t really work out seeing as I’m 5’4” and on the curvy side. I dabble in amateur dramatics and I’ve been a film extra – one of my life goals right there. Then after dabbling in various ‘careers’ such as factory worker, postman, office administrator and stable hand, and with my knight in shining armour not forthcoming, I decided to be brave and do my nurse training, followed shortly after by my midwifery training. Since then it’s been hard work but rewarding, but I’ve always been on the lookout for something I can do for myself that doesn’t require shift work. I’ll always be a midwife and a nurse, it’s the kind of job you can always get work for, people always need it. I’ll never regret my choices but I’m not sure I’d advise my children to do the same.

In July 2015 I wrote and published my first blog post. I soon discovered the blogging community and went from strength to strength. I always knew I wanted to make money from it, so I’ve pretty much from day 1 treated it like my own business and now it’s become just that, and I earn nearly what I was earning as a Midwife. You’ll always see my own organic content but there will also be a fair amount of reviews and some sponsored content, otherwise I can’t justify the time I spend on it (nor can my husband, the blogging widow). I feel like the blog is my second chance in life, it’s given me a purpose, drive, ambition, a hobby, friends, more freedom and a new career. It’s also given me some amazing opportunities. How many people get their own bake off experience or go to a chocolate masterclass at The Savoy? I’ve been able to take a step back from regular shift work, I now only work 1 shift a week on average, and if I need to go to a blogging event or want to be available for Extras work, I can be.

It’s never too late to change your life if you’re not happy. Just examine which areas you are most unhappy with and make a plan to change.

At MEEM we’re all about second chances. Our phones today often store some of our most precious moments. You always charge your phone, so even if your phone is lost, stolen or damaged, you’ll always have a backup of those memories, a second chance, on your MEEM cable.