Untitled - November 17, 2025
00:00:00 Speaker: I see you doing all the things, holding all the pieces. It's a lot. Here's the truth. You don't need more time to be the mom you want to be. You need more connection. And it starts with nine minutes a day. Hi, I'm Denise Talcott with the Working Moms Redefined podcast. I've created a masterclass that tells you exactly how to build deep, lasting connection with your kids in the middle of your busy life. You can start today at Working Moms Redefined dot com or click our link in the show notes. Remember, you can do hard things, but you don't have to do them alone. Hi, I'm Denise, host of the Working Moms Redefined podcast. Let's join together as we lessen the hold of mom guilt in our lives, thrive in our careers, and raise great kids. You are doing enough. Let us boost your confidence today on this episode of The Working Moms Redefined podcast. It is the season of being thankful. Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at the Working Moms Redefined podcast. Gratitude. It is so fun to talk about. It's okay if you are having a hard time finding gratitude in this season. A lot of us are dealing with hard things. Vulnerability is so important because I believe that connection happens on the other side of that. And yet it's hard. And if you are in the hard, please know you're not alone. And that if you don't feel comfortable sharing with someone, it's okay. But we see you and we love you. And I bet you can find one little thing to be grateful for today. Our brains cannot be anxious and gracious at the same time. So in moments of anxiety, find something to be grateful for. As we celebrate Thanksgiving in the upcoming holidays together, I put together a fun little list of the five things that I am grateful for as a working mom. First up on this list and it has been consistent over the years as a parent. Coffee that reheats well. Whether that is my absolute favorite order from farmhouse coffee, banana bread, chai with shots of espresso and oat milk or a cup of coffee from home. Vanilla hazelnut with international delight. Sweet cream, cold foam, no cold stone creamer. It all reheats really darn well. Whether you're enjoying that cup of coffee when you're doing your makeup and you're like, oh, I spent too much time, I need to reheat it, or you leave to go drop off the kids and you come back and you're like, I gotta reheat this, or you make that cup of coffee. You literally sit down to enjoy it for one hot second. And the kids yell, mom, I need help! And yes, in that moment, maybe you might breathe a. Because I've been there. I've done it. Probably did it yesterday. There is gratitude in that moment because one you are needed and two, we have good coffee that reheats nicely. Number two for our list of gratitude is the school drop off line. Now, if it's raining, I will get in that drop off line and the kids get booted because I left my umbrella somewhere. I'm not quite sure where it is. And yet, on the days that I walk them across the road and I take them off to the side before I give them my kisses and my smooches and my hugs. The school drop off line is a great last point of connection with our kids, but it's also really fun for me to have interactions with listeners like you, friends that actually went to high school with me at the very school that we're dropping our kids off, friends that have been made since then through our kids being in school. I freaking love the school drop off. And the kids oftentimes ask, mom, when are we going to get to ride the bus in the morning? You're not sorry. At first I was like, we'll see. And I've decided, nope. I love it too dang much. I am so grateful for it. I'm also grateful for sometimes those five seconds 10s that I don't turn the music that they chose on the way, and I just sit in my car after I drop them off and been like, yep, I am absolutely listening to the K-pop soundtrack with no kids in the car. No judgment. I'm also very grateful for masterminds that we lead through Working Moms redefined in Denise. Toolkit. Leadership. Like minded individuals who you surround yourself with, like this community of working moms redefined whether you're a woman or a man. Because believe it or not, and it's brilliant for all of you men out there, we have just as many, if not more men that listen to this podcast than women. And the reason being, you are getting a straight soundtrack of what goes on in our minds. So very well done. And if you're like, oh, is that a thing? Send this with your husband, your partner, whatever that might be, because they need it. They need it nonetheless. I'm a big fan of surrounding yourself in community with like minded individuals who lift you up, and you get to do the same for them. It is such a connection. One of my masterminds that I have gotten the opportunity to be part of and lead has been together for two years, and so every other week a group of five amazing individuals get together to talk life, business, leadership, and they connect over vulnerability. It's actually the one group text I will allow on my phone too. Okay, going down this list of things that I am grateful for. Number four, if you're watching on YouTube, you're really getting a show right now. Dry shampoo and strategic lighting. You might not know that my hair has not been washed in five days, and it's totally by choice. My hairstylist and dear friend says try to not wash your hair so much. Challenge accepted. Dry shampoo and lighting will fix it every time. Fix it every time you look put together and you're like, oh, the camera! The lighting is fabulous. AI is also really great. So that's part of that. And as I wrap up this list, there is such a gratitude for me in moments that go completely sideways, completely sideways. Because sometimes hard moments if we were to let them. If we were to internalize them too darn much. How we view things is how we do things. And if we view things as hard and difficult and I can't do this, we won't. We just won't. And so in those moments that go completely sideways, whether that's you burn dinner, you spilled your coffee, your kids had meltdowns in the grocery store. Yes. In the moment you might not be able to pick out the gratitude. And that's okay. But those stories, they might actually really hold a fun place in your heart later. I can think of when Hudson, he was a very colicky baby and we needed groceries. We did not have a choice. I needed to go through Hy-Vee and pick up was not something I had really looked into. And so as I'm driving him in my cart throughout the store because we needed things, he's just screaming. screaming. People were looking and I'm just blowing. I'm just blowing past everybody, getting what I need because I literally couldn't. I mean, I couldn't stop it. There was nothing I could do. I think back to those moments and I giggle, and it has provided me such an empathy for others. When we see in those moments of like, girl, I get it. Do you want help? No, you got this. Just know I'm cheering you on. Remember earlier on we had a podcast episode guest Kristen Daniels Thompson. She is a pelvic floor therapist from Quincy Medical Group. She is phenomenal. That episode is still one that you guys referenced. She's great. She changed my life. I'm now able to function on a day to day basis without peeing myself. However, there are still moments when I drink too much caffeine or have too many lemon drop martinis that my pelvic floor is like, I don't like this. Your bladder's irritating. And again, I don't know if that's how that works, but that's how my brain processes it. So not too long ago I associated my first wedding. It was the best. We got all fancy and dressed up and, um, again, I had too many lemon drop martinis, and I just completely lost the ability to control my bladder. And so I was not going to continue wearing said undergarments. So I went to the bathroom, I took him off, and I was like, dang it, these are good. These are good Spanx underwear. I don't want to throw these away. So I wrap them up in my hand. I should have wrapped them up in a paper towel. Now that I'm thinking about it. Doesn't matter. Didn't do it at the time. And I go put them in Jeremy's suit pocket. And a girlfriend of mine apparently saw me do this. And Jeremy, after I put him in his pocket, he got his hand and he pulled him out. He was like, Denise, what is this? And she thought I was being sexy. And she's like, put those away. Jeremy and I look at him and I'm like, well, what do you think they are? They're my underwear. And here my girlfriend thought I was being super sexy and Jeremy was like, these are. These are pretty wet. Denise I'm like, yeah, not for what you want it to be. Put them back in your pocket. And that was it. Well, she was telling me this a couple days later. She was like, I thought that was so sexy. And I'm like, do you really want to know why I did that? Do you really want to know why? And I shared the story of I wasn't going to continue wearing those if they were not conducive to the situation. And in that moment, I realized I took that suit to the dry cleaner. I haven't picked that up. Those are still in that pants pocket. So I went to the dry cleaners. They were dying. No, they did not hang them up. Up on their own little hanger. And yes, they were still in the suit pocket. But that moment, that moment was humbling and kind of went sideways. But at the same time, I'm dying. I'm laughing. Why? Because if I don't find gratitude in that, there would easily be some humiliation. And instead I'm going to say, well, my pelvic floor therapist did a phenomenal job of helping me, except caffeine and alcohol still does it right. We all learned something and moments go sideways, and we find gratitude in those moments. Because how you view things, like I said, is how you do things. And I'm a bonus point person kind of lady around here. And so although I might have done five, I want to make sure that each and every one of you know how dang grateful I am for you. Dang, I wasn't gonna cry. Are the listener, but is listening to this right now. You. I'm talking to you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for showing up. Whether it's every week, whenever you get a chance, whether we've just crossed paths. Thank you for sharing in this beautifully messy life. Being vulnerable in realizing that connection happens on the other side of transparency. When we are able to redefine together what it means to quote, do it all, or at least try and realizing, like, hey, we're doing it together. And that's ultimately what matters the most. My heart fills with gratitude for you. This podcast has stayed in the top twenty five percent of podcasts in the whole country. It's not because of me. It's because of you. And thank you. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to sit alongside you in your car, on your drive, while you're getting ready in the morning, or when you might need a moment for you. Thank you for letting me get to be part of your life. Uh oh. My therapist right now would say, why are you judging? Or why are you icking it? Because I'm still working on being vulnerable, and I have such a big heart for all of you. And I just do not take it lightly that you're choosing choosing to live life together. And so in a moment of so many fun, fun things to be grateful for, know that out of all of those, it's you I'm most grateful for, it's you. Thank you for listening to the Working Moms Redefined podcast. It is not lost on me that you chose to spend time together. Thank you. Let's connect outside of this space on socials. We'd love for you to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest. We've got it all to connect with you! If you feel as if someone in your life could be impacted by this message, feel free to share it. That is the biggest compliment as we part ways together. Remember, you can do hard things.
