Welcome back to Season 4 of Bite-Sized Balance! My lovely co-host Sarah joins me again to catch up on the summer, chat about the joys and challenges of being moms to independent kids, and what we are excited about most as we ease into new fall routines!

While you will still be hearing from me and my guests each week, the format of the show for Season 4 has changed slightly. Twice a month, I’m inviting expert guests for longer interviews to cover specific topics to support your health and balance in this season. Then the other two episodes will be just me tackling more bite-sized topics which will be much shorter episodes. So many of you shared how much you enjoyed those episodes that were practical and actionable. I love them too, so there’s lots to look forward to there. 

Sarah let us know that she was almost completely successful in her commitment to doing nothing this summer. Her kids were at camp this summer, so there were plenty of days that gave her a...

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Today I talk with Sarah about how the empty nesting went last year and how I'm feeling now that both of my kids are home for the summer. 

Just one year ago on the podcast, I shared the reality of empty nest syndrome, including my apprehension and grief around my children leaving for university and the sale of their childhood home.

But their time away brought many unexpected gifts, and I found myself enjoying the agency and freedom that came with the un-parenting. I traveled loads by myself, and my husband and I downsized to a fun downtown neighborhood.

There was an adjustment period around how to both parent and “un-parent” from afar, and now with my kids back at home for the summer, there’s another re-adjustment happening for all of us as full nest syndrome sets in.

Topics include: 

• understanding your own needs and...

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My colleague Sarah Baillie and I discuss a 2011 article from The Atlantic (by author Sandra Tsing Loh) that is still a very relevant and hilarious read for women in midlife, no matter where they are when it comes to the hormonal transition of perimenopause and menopause.

We discuss what it would mean if fertility was actually the “Big Change” and menopause was just a “return to normal” and why this theory actually makes far more sense in our modern world.

Sarah talks about the value of living an “entitled life” and why this isn’t selfish, but instead well-earned for her as a woman in her 50s.

Sarah and I discuss the power of midlife women as a demographic and why we can consider menopause a major cultural event.

Sarah shares her Costco story and what she’s learned about her “inside voice”. 

We discuss the role of declining estrogen in midlife women’s diminishing drive...

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In this short podcast episode, I provide listeners with an update on my abrupt transition to empty nester this fall, including the blindsiding grief I felt this spring and how I worked through it to find the joy on the other side. Since my children are only seven months apart, and in the same grade, they both left their childhood home for university residences the same week.

I share a piece I wrote called “Emptying the Nest” that will resonate with mothers everywhere, where I explore how it feels as your young adult children begin their slow leaving process and then disappear from your home.

If you’ve got children (or nieces, nephews or step-kids or godchildren), don’t skip this one – it’s short and bittersweet but also universal in the emotions involved in this natural transition period in midlife.

Please feel free to share this episode with any moms (or dads!) you know who are in...

Watch the podcast, above, or listen below.

Welcome to Season 3 of Bite-Sized Balance! In today's episode, Sarah and I catch up, sharing what we did this summer and some of the life lessons we both learned this past year.

Sarah opens up about a recent loss and her insight into her instinct to try to control everything, and how it serves her better to hold life’s outcomes more loosely. I share an update regarding my emptying nest and the emotions that have accompanied selling my kids’ childhood home and readying them both to leave for their first year of university.

We discuss the importance of learning to trust your gut in midlife. I also share how I'm feeling about another birthday and how the best word to describe how I'm feeling about my 50s is that I have “agency” again. As always, this conversation will resonate and uplift you, and provide a few nuggets to take away and consider in your own journey...