Latest / GlowInto / The Story of Sarah Herzing
Transcript
- Jennifer Joyner: Welcome to the Glow In Two Podcast. Real women, real stories, and real wisdom for what's next. Today's story is Sarah Herzing. What comes next is hers to choose. Sarah's life has been shaped by responsibility, resilience, and learning to trust herself more with age. At 46, she has raised two sons, built a career without following a traditional path, stepped into leadership, created additional income for herself, and continued making room for fitness. Animal rescue and the future she wants to build. Now she's looking at life from a different place, with more perspective, more confidence, and a clear sense of what she wants the years ahead to hold. These are the women of Glow and Two. At 46, Sarah Herzing is in the phase of life that feels more distinctly her own. Her two sons are grown. She has built a long career through experience, determination, and a willingness to keep moving forward. For the past eight years, she has worked at the Belleville Police Department, where she now serves as an administrative supervisor. Alongside that career, she has created an additional stream of income through Melaleuca, a wellness company offering household personal care. Nutrition and everyday products, remained committed to fitness, fostered animals, and continued supporting causes that mattered deeply to her. Sarah Herzing, what comes next is hers to choose. More than anything, though, Sarah is beginning to think about the years ahead differently. For much of her life, decisions were driven by responsibility. There was always something that needed to be handled, someone who needed her, a bill that needed to be paid. Or another practical choice waiting to be made. Now with her sons 30 and 24, she has more room to ask a question that once felt almost like a luxury. What do I want the next part of my life to look like? She wants to travel, she hopes grandchildren will eventually be part of her future, and she wants enough financial freedom that retirement doesn't mean working until her late 60s before she gets to enjoy her life. And she wants to create more space. For the part of herself that has always been drawn to helping animals, for a woman who learned responsibility very early, this chapter isn't about starting over. It's about choosing more intentionally. I'm in a different spot now than most people my age. My kids are grown. Does your business need some visibility? At GlowIn2, I believe some of the best businesses grow when people get to know the story and the woman behind them. GlowIn2 is opening space for contributing writers, business partners, and advertising placements designed to put your expertise, your services, and your story in front of women over 40. Whether you want to share what you know as a contributing expert, introduce more women to your business. Or create an advertising partnership that goes beyond a traditional ad, there's a place for you at GlowinTwo. Your business has a story. Let's help more women discover it. Visit glowinto.com to learn more about contributing and advertising opportunities, and let's start telling your story. Sarah's working life was never built around a carefully mapped-out plan. At 21, she earned her GED and went on to build a career through work ethic and experience rather than college. She spent 14 years with Alsep, steadily moving up within the company. When layoffs and pay cuts eventually came and employees were faced with difficult choices, Sarah decided she wasn't willing to make less after giving more than a decade to the company. She took the severance package and moved forward. Her next opportunity took her to Washington University, where she worked for about a year and a half. When changes involving the physicians she worked with left her looking for another position, Sarah began searching for something closer to home and noticed an opening at the Belleville Police Department. It was a secretarial position, and taking it meant accepting a pay cut. She applied anyways. Within approximately nine months, Sarah was promoted to administrative supervisor, and eight years later, she still genuinely enjoys the work. She likes the people, the pace, and the fact that there is rarely a dull moment. The job has changed her. I don't take as much crap as I used to. I used to be a big pushover, she says. Managing people has taught Sarah the importance of boundaries, accountability, and difficult conversations. Working within a police department. Has also exposed her to situations most people never see, giving her a different perspective on human behavior and on what happens behind the scenes in everyday communities. She still wants to see the good in people. She simply isn't as naive about them as she once was. Much of Sarah's life has involved learning when to help, when to trust, and when to stand her ground. Sarah's independence didn't begin with her career. It began much earlier. She grew up in New Baden, Illinois, and at 14 became pregnant with her first son. She was still a teenager, couldn't drive yet, and hadn't finished school, but suddenly had to make a decision that would reshape the course of her life. Her father made it clear that the decision belonged to Sarah. He told her he would support her, whether she chose to continue the pregnancy. And raise the child, pursue adoption, or end the pregnancy. Sarah chose to have her son, and her father stood behind her. He drove her to the doctor's appointments, helped her financially, and gave Sarah and her baby a place to live. Her son's father's family was supportive as well. Even with that support, Sarah knows now that there was no way for a fourteen year old to fully understand what becoming a mother would demand. You don't really understand the type of responsibility it's going to be. Until it's there, she says. At sixteen, she faced another decision continue high school or begin working so she could help provide for her child. Sarah chose work. She left school, got a job, and began taking on responsibilities most teenagers weren't thinking about yet. She remained with the father until she was eighteen or nineteen, and she and her son's father had begun dating when she was fourteen and he was sixteen. They stayed together for several years before eventually separating. Later she married and had her second son at twenty two. At the time, stability mattered more to her. She had already spent years raising a child and carrying adult responsibilities, and Mary's felt like another step forward, creating the secure life she wanted. Looking back, she understands something now that she couldn't have understood then, being responsible at a young age and Doesn't necessarily mean you're emotionally ready for every adult decision. The marriage eventually ended. Sarah kept moving forward. That became one of the patterns of her life. Not having everything figured out didn't stop her from figuring out the next thing. This episode of the Glow and Two Podcast is supported by Thriving Willow Coaching, founded by Allison Tyndall. Thriving Willow Coaching is focused on helping women navigate the changes that come with midlife, especially when it comes to nutrition, hormones, energy, weight, and creating healthier habits that actually fit real life. Allison brings both professional experience and her own personal journey to the work she does with women, with an approach centered on realistic, sustainable change. rather than quick fixes. And you'll be hearing more from Thriving Willow Coaching inside the longevity pillar of Glow In 2. In Allison's next feature, we'll continue digging into the questions so many women begin asking in their 40s and beyond. Why does my body suddenly feel different? What can I actually control? And what does taking care of myself for the long term really look like? Look for Alison Tyndall and Thriving Willow Coaching. In the next segment of longevity on glow and two. By her 40s, Sarah had a career, grown children, and decades of experience behind her. She assumed some of the financial stress of her younger years would finally be behind her. Then everyday expenses began climbing. Groceries, insurance, utilities, and housing all became more expensive. While raises through her municipal position didn't always keep pace, Sarah found herself frustrated that after working since she was 16, She would still feel financial pressure at an age when she thought life would feel more settled. I always thought I wouldn't be struggling by forty, she says. She didn't want to simply accept that and wanted another source of income and more control over her future. The opportunity she eventually chose wasn't new. Her twin sister Sadie had been involved with Maluka for years, and Sarah had been a customer long before she decided to build the business herself. Years later, she had considered doing exactly that, but Sarah says her then husband criticized her involvement, making fun of her posts, and accused her of copying her twin sister. Eventually she decided the conflict wasn't worth it and stopped pursuing the opportunity. Years later, after seeing what her sister had built, Sarah sometimes wondered what might have happened had she trusted herself and continued. There is a frustration in that reflection. But not a desire to remain stuck there. I can't change it. It's the past, she says. In February of 2025, Sarah made the decision to begin again. This time she did it because she wanted to. Sarah says she earned approximately $3,700 during her first month and around $30,000 in additional income during her first year. The number was important, but what changed at home mattered more. She wasn't putting groceries on a credit card. Financial anxiety eased. She had more breathing room and began to see the possibility of building something alongside the career she already had. Her twin sister Sadie became an important mentor, but Sarah also discovered that her own strength within the business came from something very natural to her, people. I'm not a salesperson, I love people. I love to talk to people, I can talk to anybody, she says. She especially enjoys connecting with people in person. And she says the experience has introduced her to more people than she could have imagined. Fitness has been another steady part of Sarah's adult life. She began working out regularly in her mid-twenties after her sister Sadie asked her to join her. What started as something they did together became Sarah's own habit. And through different jobs and different seasons of motherhood, she continued making exercise part of her life. For years, she has often worked out during lunch breaks, and today having access to a gym at work allows her to continue that routine. Some days 30 minutes walking on an incline is enough. For Sarah, movement isn't only about appearance, it helps her feel better, gives her energy, and creates a sense that she has done something for herself. But she also understands that fitness at 46 doesn't look exactly like fitness at twenty-six. Sarah underwent cervical disc replacement surgery in twenty twenty and is more cautious now about how heavily she lifts. She also noticed her body responds differently when she than it did when she was younger, and that getting the same results can require more effort. After seeking medical guidance, Sarah recently began hormone replacement therapy under a provider's care and continues monitoring her levels and evaluating what adjustments may be appropriate. It's another lesson in learning to meet herself where she is now. Not everything has to be conquered by pushing harder. Sometimes strength looks like paying attention. Sarah also shares this stage of life with her longtime boyfriend Mark. The two have been together for six years after meeting through the Belleville Police Department, where Mark is a lieutenant. Fitness is something they have in common as well. Mark has heavily been involved in CrossFit and has even stepped in as a coach in the past. Together, they are part of the life Sarah has built now, one that looks very different from the years when she was a young mother simply trying to figure out the next step. There's even more to discover beyond the stories you hear on the Glow and Two podcasts. Throughout Glow'2, contributing writers like Carlin Slayden bring their own experience, perspective, and expertise to the women who read along each month. In Style That Evolves, Carlin shares practical style ideas designed for women who want to feel confident in the clothes they're wearing now. Carlin is a stylist and the owner of K S Signature. Where she helps women think more intentionally about personal style, fit, and the way they want to show up in this stage of life. In addition to her styling work, Carlin also curates a collection of pre-love clothing available inside Blanckard's Vintage Market and Downtown Belleville, giving women another way to discover pieces that feel fresh, wearable, and uniquely their own. And if you want to know more about Carlin herself, you can also read her story on Glowin'2. and learn how she created a path after a 20-year career in the Air Force. Visit glowin2.com to read Carlin's latest contribution, discover her story, and meet more of the contributing writers helping shape the conversations happening at Glowin' Two. One of the clearest things about Sarah is that money itself isn't the end goal. Freedom is. Ask her what she would love to spend more of her time doing, and animals quickly enter the conversation. Sarah fosters primarily cats, choosing them because their work schedule makes puppies more difficult to care for responsibly. She doesn't want to take in an animal unless she can give it what it needs. Animal rescue has become one of the most meaningful parts of her life. Sarah supports Metro East Humane Society through a portion of her business sales and has also begun the process of supporting St. Clair County TNR. However, her long-term vision goes further. Someday Sarah would like to have a weatherized facility where she can take overflow animals from Humane Societies and rescue organizations. To her, creating more space isn't simply about having another building, it means another organization has room. For the next animal that needs help. If animal care paid better, I would a hundred percent be in animal care, she says. She wants financial security, but she also wants financial freedom. A kind that would eventually allow her to spend more of her time doing something because she loves it, not because it needs to provide a paycheck. She wants to travel, she wants to enjoy future grandchildren if they come. She wants to retire without feeling like she has to work. Until there's no energy left for anything else to give. She also wants to help animals, and the additional business she is building may ultimately become a bridge between the life she has to maintain and the life she would love to create. When Sarah is asked what she would say if she could sit across from her younger self, the answer isn't about career strategy, money, or success. It's about perspective. Don't stress so much. Things are going to work out the way they're supposed to, she says. She would tell herself not to take life so seriously, not to be so easily offended, not to let hurt feelings take up so much space, not to assume every problem is permanent. Simply because it feels enormous in the moment. Life is just not that serious. Things are not as serious as we make them out to be, she says. Sarah would also tell the younger version of herself to pay closer attention to the people she loves. Enjoy your family. Appreciate the small moments. Don't take people for granted. Don't assume there will always be more time. We're not promised tomorrow, she says. There are choices Sarah would make differently if she could make them again with everything she knows now. She wishes she had worried less, she wishes she had trusted herself more. There are opportunities she can look back on and wonder about, but that's different from believing her life should have unfolded another way. She understands now that every version of Sarah made decisions with maturity, information, and the circumstances she had at the time. The fifteen year old Sarah couldn't think like the forty-six year old Sarah. She wasn't supposed to. One of the things Sarah said during our conversation stayed with me. If she could talk to her younger self, she would tell her not to take everything so seriously. I think there is something about reaching our 40s and 50s that finally gives us enough distance to understand what she means. Think about how many things once felt enormous. The relationship we thought we couldn't live without, the person who didn't like us, the mistake we replayed over and over, the job we didn't get. Argument that consumed an entire weekend and the plans that didn't work out the way we thought they should. At the time, those things carried so much weight. And some of them deserved it, but so many didn't. That may be one of the gifts of getting older perspective. We've lived long enough to watch problems resolve, disappointments redirect us, relationships change, children grow up, careers evolve, and circumstances we thought would define us eventually became only one. That doesn't mean we stop caring. It means we become more selective about what deserves our worry, our energy, and our peace. Maybe that's part of what it means to glow into this stage of life. We stop allowing every opinion to become a verdict on who we are. We stop believing every setback is permanent. And we stop assuming every wrong turn means we're lost. We begin to understand that life matters deeply. But not everything that happens in it deserves to be carried so heavily. Sarah can't go back and give that wisdom to the girl she once was. None of us can. But we can choose to live with it now. Love your people, pay attention to the moments that matter, and trust yourself a little more. Let go of what no longer deserves so much space. And remember how many times you've already thought everything was falling apart, only to discover that later. That life was simply changing direction. Maybe growing older is finally learning the difference between what deserves to be held on to and what we can finally put down. Thank you for listening to the Glow Into podcast. And until next time, keep glowing into who you were always meant to be.