#63 – Do you actually have a big goal in life?

Lily drives, half-listening to Ella’s excited chatter from the passenger seat.“…and did you know that coral reefs are home to thousands of species? But they’re disappearing, Mom. That’s why I have to do something. I want to study marine biology. Maybe even work on a conservation project in Australia! Imagine swimming with sea turtles every day!”

Ella’s face lights up as she speaks, her hands moving wildly with excitement. She doesn’t just like the ocean—she loves it. Every fact, every statistic, everything about the ocean makes her eyes shine.

Lily smiles, but as she turns onto their street, something strange tugs at her chest. Ella has a passion. A goal. Lily has… traffic to sit in. Groceries to put away. Emails to answer. But a dream of her own? Not one.

She grips the steering wheel a little tighter. When has that happened? When has she stopped wanting things just for herself?

“Mom?” Ella’s voice pulls her back. “Are you even listening?”

Lily forces a smile. “Of course. You want to study the oceans.”

Ella grins. “Exactly.”

Lily parks in the driveway but doesn’t move. Maybe it is time to ask herself the same question she’d asked her kids a hundred times:

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

And maybe—just maybe—it isn’t t too late to figure that out. Would it be too late?