Finding Forty

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I’m Jane Elliott—wife, teacher, writer, mother, former foster parent, and a woman learning to navigate the beautiful and brutal in-between. Raised in chaos and shaped by the question, “What would my 40-year-old self say?”—I write to make sense of the past and to carve gentleness into the present. This blog is part reflection, part becoming—a space for grief, grace, and growth. One birthday, one breath, one brave word at a time.

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  • What If We Had a Free Card?

    How My Winding Road to Motherhood Taught Me to See Beauty in the Unlikely I’m a mother to two boys—one in utero and one nearly two. Before this, I was a stepmom (full-time), a bonus mom, a foster mom, and a plant mom. Maybe one day I’ll be a dog mom, too. My dream of…

  • From Grief to Grace, One Birthday at a Time

    From Grief to Grace, One Birthday at a Time

    By Jane Elliott “What do you want for your birthday?” It’s such a simple question, really. But for me, it lands like a stone in water—heavy, unsettling, rippling through layers of memory I’d rather not touch. This year, like so many others, I find myself struggling to answer. Not because I’m shy or selfless, but…

  • The Beautiful and Brutal In-Between

    I’ve rewritten this post a dozen times. First it was too polished. Then too raw. Then it didn’t sound like me at all. And maybe that’s the best way to start: with a confession that I’m still finding my voice. I’m Jane. Wife, teacher, mother, writer. Former foster parent. Lover of soft blankets, hard questions,…