Who you gonna call? MOMS

Our hearts are with all the moms in Maine - and elsewhere in the world - experiencing unimaginable loss, and those hugging their little ones tighter for safety right now.

CAUGHT OUR EYE

Reading for the school pick-up line.

I don’t want to be your ‘Supermom’

The pressures we face as mothers can hardly be defined by words. Kaitlin Soule , LMFT, author, and women’s mental health expert shared this love letter in Motherly? to her child that is full of so much honesty and humanity it makes your heart ache. It’s a beautiful description of the surrender we must face as mothers in order for our kids to get a fuller, more alive version of ourselves.

Being a supermom isn’t the goal. It’s OK to not love every waking moment of parenting, to feel the urge to be your own person with your own wants and needs, and to see yourself as equally deserving of time and attention.?

Kaitlin says it best: “Sadly, due to patriarchal beliefs about what motherhood should look like, loving you and me at the same time still looks and feels like swimming upstream. It’s constantly pushing against the tide of old stories and misguided beliefs that tell us that selflessness is the gold standard of womanhood.”

Transition rituals: Help your brain and body enter the next moment

Toggling between career and family can mean dramatic shifts in energy leaving you feeling less present, overwhelmed and unproductive. Sofia Mendoza, a licensed clinical social worker shared some tips for easing the transition in this article with Mother Untitled .

She says, “Creating an intentional transition ritual helps our brain and body enter into the next moment. It’s like a palate cleanser for our system in charge of attention, focus, and energy, and it’s much needed when switching over to present parent mode.”?

Simple body practices focused on relieving tension, eating a snack or doing a five-minute stretching video could be the solution. So, as tempting as it is to cram in those last few minutes of work time before school pickup, set your alarm a few minutes early. Even though we love the snooze button, it’s the enemy.?

For What It’s Worth (FWIW)?

Who knew we could be ourselves for Halloween! Moms at school drop off is trending as a costume, and there’s nothing scary about it. (Related: we’re on TikTok…see our drop-off fit here.)

THIS WEEK’S EPISODE: A Candid Conversation on Health, Motherhood and Work

What we’re currently chatting about on Working Mom Hour. Listen here!

Ever feel caught in the crossfire between maintaining your health, career, and life at home? Not to mention pursuing a social life, maintaining sleep, and everything else. We're with you.

Tune in as we welcome Dr. Andrea Fiegl Founder and CEO of the Health Finance Institute , for a candid discussion on all of the above. We've all heard of the idea of 'having it all' and 'leaning in', but it's perfectly okay not to want it all at every given point in time.

One example of this? Dr. Feigl shares her emotional, relatable experience of two high-achieving parents working in public health under the same roof during the height of the COVID-19. We also talk about how to cultivate a sense of inner calm, and why social connections could be the answer to finding pockets of peace.

Show bombs:

“During the pandemic we fell back by about 20 to 30 years in female labor force participation.”?

“The No. 1 predictor of longevity is the strength of your social connections.”

“Being pregnant and having a child classifies you as disabled, which I think is ethically questionable and does a disservice.”?

ON OUR MINDS

The Woman In Me

I dove into Britney Spears' memoir, The Woman In Me, this week, with the amazing Michelle Williams lending her voice to the story. Britney and I were born the same year, and I grew up following her rollercoaster ride through fame religiously. Her music was like a soundtrack to my own coming of age. She seemed to have everything – the cute boyfriend, the killer body, and all the confidence in the world.

When Britney Spears became a young mom, it was clear she was going through something deep and hard to understand. To the outside world, it looked like she was just falling apart. It was sad, but I couldn’t really wrap my head around it. In hindsight, the media couldn’t either.

Now, being a mom myself and hearing her talk about dealing with undiagnosed postpartum depression, feeling so alone, and trying to live up to crazy expectations, it hits me right in the heart. I can’t even imagine having to go through all of that with the whole world watching and judging.

No matter what you think about Britney Spears or her life in the spotlight, at the end of the day, she’s a mom doing her best. Just like the rest of us. And that’s something I think we can all relate to and support. ~ Erica Mechlinski

Hugging my girls??

Two things hitting me today - First, what’s happening in Maine - not far from where my sister and her family live. It’s unsettling and stirring a lot of emotions and perspective. Hold your loved ones close.?

And, it brings me immeasurable joy connecting with powerful, real women on our podcast, and then see them out in the world living their passions. I felt that watching singer/ songwriter Rachel Platten on Good Morning America this morning debuting her new strings version of the song ‘Girls,’ written from the depths of postpartum with her girls.

It’s become one of my very favorites, and you may remember she so graciously allowed us to preview the song on our podcast a few episodes back.

For anyone in or near LA, she’s playing at the Troubadour on 11/13. Let us know if you plan to go so we can say hi! ~ Mads Caldwell

See you soon!

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