Keywords

family travel, road trips, parenting, geocaching, family traditions, meaningful experiences, rituals, routines, personal growth, relationships

Summary

In this conversation, Denise Waters reflects on her family's road trips from Washington to San Diego, exploring the significance of these journeys in shaping family traditions and relationships. She discusses the balance between making family life meaningful without turning it into a performance, emphasizing the importance of shared experiences over structured activities. Denise also shares insights on navigating unplanned moments and the value of rituals and routines in building connections with family members.

Takeaways

The road trips were integral to family identity.

Family life doesn't have to be performative.

Shared experiences foster deeper connections.

Unplanned moments can lead to valuable lessons.

Finding joy in routine trips is essential.

Rituals and routines require effort to maintain.

Building connections with daughters-in-law is important.

Reflecting on past experiences can guide future relationships.

Creating new traditions can honor old ones.

Writing offers a variety of perspectives on family life.

Titles

Nostalgic Road Trips: A Family Tradition

The Balance of Performance and Meaning in Family Life

Sound bites

"Things don't always go as planned."

"Finding joy in normal trips is important."

"Can I reuse those now with daughters-in-law?"

Chapters

00:00 Nostalgic Road Trips: A Family Tradition

07:06 Lessons from the Journey: Embracing Flexibility

The Mother Heard is entering a new season—one rooted in my own story.

After years of mothering, tending, and putting parts of myself on hold, I’m asking a different question:
Where do I belong now?

This season is about reclaiming space in the world after motherhood has shaped everything—identity, work, love, ambition, and voice. Through personal reflection and conversation, I explore what it means to come home to myself while still holding the role of mother with care.

This is not a podcast about having it figured out.
It’s about noticing. Remembering. Trying things on. Letting go. Beginning again.

If you’re a mother—or a woman—standing at the edge of a new season, wondering who you are becoming and where you fit, you’re not alone. This is my journey to belonging. You’re invited to walk alongside me.

What's the difference between a full pod and a mini pod? Full pod is longer and has a guest.

What's the difference between a mini pod and a reel?

Intro music?

There is no way to know, but I'm here with the first official mini pod focused on my story about elections.

#motherhood #themotherheard #militarymom #militarywife #abortion #education #talkitout #answerthecall2024

Summary

In this episode of the MotherHeard Podcast, Denise Waters interviews Jenni Espinosa, a mom and teacher who shares her journey of abuse recovery and prevention. Jenni discusses her role as a teacher and her passion for teaching French. She also talks about her experience as a solo mom and the challenges she faces in raising her children. Jenni opens up about her involvement in a domestic violence advocacy group called Safer and her hopes for creating a safe community for women. She expresses her gratitude for Glennon Doyle and her book 'Untamed' for inspiring her and providing healing.

Here is the link to her work: https://www.saferccs.com/

Keywords

motherhood, abuse recovery, prevention, teaching, French, solo mom, domestic violence, advocacy, community, Glennon Doyle, 'Untamed'

Takeaways

Jenni Espinosa is a mom and teacher who is passionate about teaching French and supporting women coming out of domestic violence and abuse.

She is involved in a domestic violence advocacy group called Safer, which aims to provide a safe and supportive community for women.

Jenni emphasizes the importance of listening to one's body, asking for help, and not fitting into society's narrative of what a human is supposed to be.

She expresses her gratitude for Glennon Doyle and her book 'Untamed' for inspiring her and providing healing.

Summary

In this conversation, Denise Waters interviews Jen Glover, a mom from Arizona, about her motherhood journey. Jen shares how she was a teacher before becoming a mom and how she has remained true to herself while also taking on the responsibilities of motherhood. She discusses the challenges of being a perfectionist as a mom and the pressure she puts on herself to create perfect holiday experiences for her children. Jen emphasizes the importance of having a supportive mom community and how it has helped her navigate the ups and downs of motherhood. She also talks about the need to prioritize self-care and find personal fulfillment outside of being a mom. Jen Glover discusses her love for cooking and how it is a way for her to show love to her family. She shares that her kids have favorite meals, such as homemade gnocchi and teriyaki chicken, and that cooking is an extension of nurturing for her. Her biggest hope for her children is that they feel loved and love themselves. Jen emphasizes the importance of being present with her kids and enjoying time with them. She also talks about the significance of travel in their lives and how it has broadened their perspective of the world. In the next five years, Jen hopes to get her small business up and running, continue traveling, and explore her own interests. She shares her insights and experiences with others through conversations and online communities.

Here I rough out my thinking about how to build a community/friendships/relationships. There has been a lot of talk lately about how a circle might not be the right design for communities because they can be closed off--I'd like to offer a solution to that idea--an infinity loop--one side acknowledging the place where we engage and the other where we are in relationship . . . hence, A Community Building Cycle. Read more about it at themotherheard.com or join us as we build our community for moms built around stories!

Still working on audio and need your help with graphic design. We are new and growing and a great investment! With video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3j4vKbRj1hk

Come meet Lindsey. Her story of adoption and remembering who she is even as she raises three littles will inspire you! Her love for Jesus and recognizing her calling is beautiful!

Denise takes some time to dive into past jobs and continues to learn about working styles and how being a mom impacts work!

Denise talks about a loss in the community and how talking about it, sharing stories of those that are lost can bring healing. Emotions need to be felt!

More about Berk.

Knowing Lisa is a joy of my life. I hope you will enjoy this brief look into the woman she is beyond being a mom. I'm so appreciative of her willingness to share about her journey here. Mom of a daughter with dyslexia, wife of a veteran, breast cancer survivor, store owner, and more is what you get to learn about in this episode.

I am in awe of Lisa as a mom, a friend, a daughter, wife and basic badass. I'm shocked we didn't swear more during our conversation.