There have been so many days as a mom where I wanted to breakdown and cry (like two weeks ago when both kids got hand, foot and mouth at the same time and couldn’t sleep for 3 nights straight because they were so uncomfortable). Then there are other days where all I could do was laugh (like yesterday when Hudson discovered an old Santa hat and insisted that he was never going to take it off and asked if he could sleep in it). And nobody gets those ups and downs better than Keri and Ashley. They even have a segment on their podcast Momtourage called the shits and the tits where they talk about their highs and lows for the week. It’s one of my favorite parts of their show because they just lay it all on the table. We need more moms who tell it like it is and share the highs and lows and everything in between.
Watch + Listen to the whole conversation:
When Keri Setaro and Ashley Hearon-Smith auditioned and were casted as “mom friends” on their first podcast, Scary mommy speaks, neither of them envisioned their careers revolving around the topic of motherhood. Yet these two moms and (actual) close friends help other moms find themselves outside of their roles as mothers in their new podcast, Momtourage. Keri said it best- motherhood is messy, hard and beautiful. These two will help you laugh hysterically and feel less alone as they keep it real about all things motherhood.
Where did the idea for your podcast, Momtourage come from?
The podcast is hopefully to remind all mothers who care to listen, that you are still you. I had a really hard time with my identity when I became a mom as many women do. Scary Mommy, our previous podcast helped me come out of that. I just didn’t know who I was anymore. And Scary Mommy helped me remember that I was this awesome chick.
I just want other moms to feel like themselves again. Even if you’re in your car and you just dropped off your kid off and you’ve got 10 minutes, then maybe you can listen to Ashley and I shooting the shit and feel like your old self again. Then maybe you pick up your kid from soccer practice and you feel like a robot again. But Ashley and I do that too. We’re not feeling the best version of ourselves all the time, but I just want moms to know that they can be themselves and be moms too.
What have you learned from being a mom?
I think that motherhood has a way of tearing off the rose colored glasses. I’m a meditation teacher and a yoga teacher. Instead of feeling like motherhood throws me for a loop and I never have things figured out, I try to reframe that. I think that kids keep you in the present moment. And the present moment is where growth happens. Anxiety lives in the future and sadness and depression live in the past.
If we can really embrace that children bring us into their present moment, then we are constantly in a stage of growth instead of stagnancy. Motherhood is beautiful and messy and hard. You just have to look at your life exactly as it is and accept that- here we are. For me, sometimes that can be depressing and hard but it can also be really good too.
Bridget Garsh
Co-founder & COO
Bridget is mom to two little boys, Hudson and Brooks, and a champion of working moms everywhere. NeighborSchools itself was borne out of Bridget’s challenge to find high-quality yet affordable child care, and the realization that so many parents struggle with these same issues every day.
Read more from Bridget, follow her on IG, and check out her new series, Work Like a Mother.
