Navigating Between The Lines

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Three week countdown until Thanksgiving. Where's our heads at? 🦃

This week on Navigating Between the Lines, I'm talking about the Thanksgivings I grew up loving at Grandma Marge's house, how the holidays change when we lose people we love, and why so many of us keep doing things simply because we've always done them.

From missing my mom to watching William and Chloe make their own memories, we're getting into Thanksgiving traditions, holiday grief, complicated family dynamics, and getting curious about what we actually want our holidays to look like.

Because how many Thanksgivings do we really get?

Whether you're counting down the days or just trying to get through the season, there's room for you here.

And if this episode reminds you of someone, send it their way. ❤️

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Is everybody just a little sick of everybody right now?

I feel like every conversation lately is about somebody being OVER it. And I'm not exactly innocent here.

But it's got me thinking about how much our tolerance changes over time. Things I used to lose my mind over barely register anymore. And other things? I have absolutely no interest in putting up with them.

So are we getting better at knowing what matters, or are we all just becoming a little harder to deal with?

We're revisiting the Year of the Fire Horse, talking about the things life teaches you that you never wanted to learn, and why having a bad day doesn't necessarily mean everybody else needs to have one too.

Also, a few funny stories sprinkled in because apparently I can't make a point without taking a few detours.

New Navigating Between the Lines Every Thursday. 🎙️

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What if everything we've been taught about success, ambition, motherhood, and what it means to be a woman deserves a second look?

This week on Navigating Between the Lines, I'm joined by Chelsea Ann O'Brien, nurse practitioner, author of The Feminine Effect and Feminine Frequency, for a conversation that took me somewhere I wasn't expecting to go.

Chelsea shares her perspective on feminine energy, spirituality, motherhood, marriage, and the expectations modern women carry. We talk about the pressure to do it all, how we define success, the relationships we have with other women, and whether being incredibly capable actually means we're fulfilled.

And I had questions. A lot of them.

What about the women who love their careers? The mothers who don't have the financial option to stay home? The women who genuinely enjoy being ambitious? And how do we find balance when the responsibilities of everyday life aren't exactly going anywhere?

We also get into family dynamics, difficult mother-in-law relationships, boundaries, friendships, generational patterns, and the importance of being present for the lives we're living right now.

And yes, somewhere in the middle of discussing the deeper meaning of womanhood, I needed advice about my kids leaving their stuff all over the house.. and really loved the answer. 

This conversation stretched my thinking. There were perspectives I hadn't considered, questions I walked away with, and a few moments that have stayed with me since we recorded.

Are we living the lives we actually want, or have we just gotten really, really good at handling the lives we've built?

You don't have to agree with every perspective shared here. That's part of the conversation. My hope is that you'll listen with curiosity, take what resonates, question what doesn't, and maybe walk away seeing something in your own life a little differently.

No matter our perspectives, we're all still navigating.

Listen in, and please tell me what you think. I have a feeling this one will get us talking.

Connect with Chelsea

Read the Book! 

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You asked. I answered. And FFS, “I don't know” came out of my mouth on repeat. 

This week we're keeping things a little lighter with a listener Q&A. We're talking about 16-year old Maggie (complete with a red minivan and conference calls), the difference between being outgoing and actually feeling confident, things I used to judge other women for, and what Justin would say is the most exhausting part of being married to me.

Plus, five things I'd bring to a deserted island. Which turned out to be a surprisingly complicated question.

Some funny stories, a few honest admissions, and a reminder that even the people we've known forever still have stories we haven't heard.

Thanks for hanging out with me. See you next Thursday!

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You can love someone, care about them, want the absolute best for them… and still not be very good at showing up.

This week we're talking about friendship, support, and the difference between having good intentions and actually making people feel them.

The friends who remember. The people who show up without being asked. The ones who make a big deal out of something simply because it's a big deal to you.

We're getting into the village that grows up with us, why we're sometimes better at celebrating success than encouraging someone who's still trying, and why “let me know if you need anything” might be the least helpful thing we say with the best intentions.

There's also an unfortunate college haircut, some thoughts about Instagram lurkers (I was in a little bit of a mood), and a reminder that none of us are perfect at this. Myself very much included.

Because caring about your people is one thing.

Making sure they feel it? That's the whole point.

You don't have to show up perfectly. You just have to make sure the people you love can feel that you showed up.

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This week’s episode was supposed to be about support. Instead? Maggie is tired, her back hurts, her brain is foggy, and everyone needs something. So… we’re checking in.

A very real conversation about mental load, parenting older kids, motherhood, feeling overwhelmed, friendship, and the parenting happiness graph making its way around the internet. Plus, why everybody has their own version of hard, the 45-minute “conference call” with a friend that can save your day, and remembering that a full life can still feel like a lot sometimes.

Also: Christmas decorations in September, a child who hasn’t had soap in his shower for four days, and officially being unavailable after 7 PM.

Because sometimes life isn’t one big lesson. It’s just life. And we’re navigating it together.

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At 40, life feels very much in the middle.

Some friends have babies. Some have kids driving. Some are starting businesses, taking care of parents, navigating health scares, changing careers, and somehow we’re all asking some version of the same question; where am I in all of this?

After taking two weeks off, I came back to the idea of the sandwich years with a different perspective.

This episode is about midlife, growing kids, aging parents, ambition, health, identity, and loving the life you’ve built without disappearing inside of it.

Because while everyone around you is becoming who they’re becoming, you still get to become too.

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One year and 52 recordings later, I’m revisiting the very first episode of Navigating Between the Lines.

Pilot 2.0 is about what changed, what didn’t, and what a year of showing up taught me about grief, friendship, anxiety, ambition, consistency, motherhood and wanting more from a life you already love.

Mostly, it’s about taking the leap before you know where it leads because you have no idea what the journey might teach you until you start walking it.

Welcome to Year 2.

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The sandwich years hit differently when back-to-school season rolls around.

This week, Maggie talks about motherhood in your 40s, raising growing kids while watching your own parents get older, and why this stage of life can feel so emotionally full. From kids who need less from us but somehow still need us constantly - to the mental load, overstimulation, changing family roles, and the strange feeling of missing versions of your children who are still standing right in front of you.

Plus, why back to school feels like its own kind of New Year, why moms need community just as much as our kids do, and why Maggie is taking that idea offline with a very simple plan: coffee, donuts, and real conversation.

Because maybe the sandwich years aren’t something we’re supposed to navigate better by ourselves.

We’re all somewhere in the middle. We might as well talk about it.

Subscribe to Navigating Between the Lines and come back next week for one year of NBTL: what changed, what Maggie learned, and where we’re going next.

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RUNNING IT BACK: NBTL Revisited 🎙️

This week we’re going back to the time my friend Heather and I decided not to eat for 72 hours. 

Would I do it again? Yes. Am I planning another one anytime soon? Absolutely not.

These days, I occasionally do a 24-hour fast, and I’ve realized I didn’t need to keep doing the extreme version to keep the part that worked for me.

We’re also talking about the endless “what I eat in a day” content, why I’m still looking for the woman eating pizza followed by the ice cream run, and the bigger question I keep coming back to.. what actually makes you feel good in your life?

A quick note before you listen: This episode shares our personal experiences with fasting and is not medical advice. Listening back, there are definitely moments where I confidently repeat things I’d read about fasting like I had suddenly acquired a medical degree in those 72 hours. I had not. Please talk with a qualified healthcare professional before making decisions about fasting or your health.

I took the part that worked for me and left the rest. Here’s the original episode.

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