The 40 Over 40 Project

Jana Reishus,

Age 54

Tell me about yourself and how you feel about being a woman over the age of 40.

I am a wife, mother, business owner and much much more. When asked about how to describe myself it's difficult, once you reach the age where your children are grown and you have had many life experiences beyond raising children or even living if you don't have children, age simply becomes something which is undefineable. We are much, much more than the simple definitions of what we've done with our lives or who we are as humans and age for me has made me much more aware of the infinite complexities of this universe and our place in it. As a woman in my culture I've been gifted with the ability to manifest exactly the life I chose. Many are not so lucky, women over the age of 40 tend to settle into their life and experiences and I'm doing exactly that.

When do you feel most confident?

I feel most confident when I am using my gifts and experiences to challenge myself, help others and create a beautiful place of existence for me, my family and my friends. This place is my family heritage farm, I feel confident knowing I am creating a place for me and my husband to enjoy and those generations after me.

How did your painful times give you the gift of resilience?

I'm the strongest woman I know, my mother taught me that. Painful times are part of the human experience and there are those of us that choose to move through hard times and those that cannot. I can and I've done it for years.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Life is just a pinprick in the existence of time, there is no need to worry. Things always work out the way they are supposed to whether we see it at the time or not.

What would you tell other mature women about stepping out of their comfort zone and doing a photo shoot?

I inherited thousands of pictures from both sides of my family and those pictures are important for those that come after us. Why? Because they give our descendants a visual representation of the women that came before us. I have pictures dating back to the 1800s and I see the strength and fortitude of those that came before me as I know those descendants of mine will think of me.