The In-Between - Pt 2 - Still Becoming | Ep. 8

After the response to The In-Between, we knew the conversation wasn’t over.

In this follow-up episode, we continue exploring the season of life that so many people find themselves in — the uncertain middle ground between who we were and who we’re becoming. Together, we reflect on growth, identity, change, and the quiet moments that shape us along the way.

We also share heartfelt listener stories  — honest experiences that remind us none of us walk these seasons alone.

Whether you’re navigating transition, rediscovering yourself, or simply trying to take one step better each day, this episode is for you.

Got a story, question, opinion, or just want to say hi? Send it in and it might be featured in a future episode.

📧 Send stories or messages to:
Worththewalkpodcast@gmail.com

Whether you're listening in the car, at the gym, or out for a walk, we’re glad you’re here.

This is Worth The Walk.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Welcome to Worth the Walk, where two sisters chat about generations raising kids and family life with honesty, heart, and plenty of laughs. No perfection here, people, just real conversation as we walk it all out together. Let's get started. Good morning, Cher. Good morning, Claudette. Another beautiful Sunday. And this time I actually mean it from the bottom of my heart, and all of those that sun is so bright, it is actually heating up our room as if we are a little sauna. I think I can actually watch the grass grow and turn green right in front of me. I know. I'm so excited. Now I'm excited with just a little bit of hesitation. Would you like to know why? Please tell me. I'm coming with that story. The plows we're going by and the big trucks with that big silver thing on the back that says manure. Oh the endless trucks that come up and down the road, and they're going to start fertilizing their field. And I feel like it's just days away from that fragrance or perfume. I'm not certain what we want to call it. That is enough. It's not the word, it's enough. It's enough. Yeah. So it's just days away because they um yesterday I had to see oh endless every every half hour or so they're coming back and forth and back and forth. And they're huge trucks with the big sprayer on the back. And yeah. I know there's really farm names for all of that, but that's what I've got for you, Cher. Yeah, spreaders.

SPEAKER_01 1:46

And I um our kids went to school, uh, not far from here. It's just over the hill. Yeah. Where the high school is. Yeah. Each of the kids would have spent four years at that school. And two, they also said, Oh, it's that time of year. But after a while, you become nose blind to it.

SPEAKER_00 2:03

Well, Cher, let's all kind of be honest about the nose blind. You're right. There's times when I don't, it doesn't hit me at all. But I will tell you when there's spraying, you'd have to be dead to be nose blind. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 2:17

It's very potent in the in the beginning. Yeah. Well, even the middle. Yeah. Maybe the end as well. Yeah. But in between. We'll just throw out there how thankful we are for farmers, though. That is we look, we all need to just say a little prayer when we pass a farmer and give a little toot and just give your thanks.

SPEAKER_00 2:39

Oh, I can't enough, right? I mean, I was so happy when my neighbor up the street took me to her farm and her daughter's farm. And I mean, it's just, it was so beautiful. Oh my gosh, I was just absolutely blown away. Joshua was beyond excited. The amount of work they do. I can't. I just can't. I mean, I don't know how they get up crack and nine. Yeah. Seven days a week. Seven days a week. Again, we have segued off into a little corner of the world. Let's drive that car right back down the street. Sherry, what a wonderful week. How should we begin? I've got so much to talk about. Our one step at a time, because that was a blast. Uh the week was one step better. One step better. Our one step better segment. Yes, our one step better segment. Yes. Oh my gracious. Yep. Mm-mm, mm-mm-mm. Unbelievable. Yeah, I had fun with that. And the um flowers that I've got going on around here. Uh, our plan for next week, bump bump bump, you know, that one step better there. So, I mean, there's just so much to talk about here. Where are we going?

SPEAKER_01 3:40

We have got a lot to cover off. Lots to cover off. And I mean, past week was really, really great. The weather was kind of miserable, got me in a little bit of a funk. But uh, today it's just turning around. The sunshine's making me feel better.

SPEAKER_00 3:53

Yeah. Alrighty. So let's stop, start with our little journey we did with One Step Better. Let's do that one, okay? Yeah. Cause it was fun. I'm telling you. So much fun. I had a blast at Aqua Zumba. Come on. Yeah. I mean, I couldn't follow all the moves and I didn't have the I don't have a I don't have a good rhythm, right?

SPEAKER_01 4:14

Oh, you you were so you had so much fun and you just smiled the whole time. But I just hear, let me tell you that the Zumba class has a wait list on it for starters. So yeah, if you're going to take it, you have to book it a week in advance to get on the list to get in. I think we were the only two new people there. Everyone else was like a repeat offender. We've been there before. He was staring at you like what he said. I guess like pointing. And then the everyone knows when to do the like. So here's I'm gonna set the scene for you. You're in the water, there's salsa music, and you're like, you know, cha-cha-cha, boom, boom, boom, arms up, splash, arms down, foot over, crossing. Everyone knew the moves. They're following along. And very statements they scream when they come. And then it's like this no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And you're pointing at me, and I'm like, oh no, no, this is not happening. And I'm turning around, like, is it are you pointing at me? And then I'm turning my head and I'm like, oh, yep, they're pointing at me. The whole class is pointing at me. It's not just not just the instructor. And then it's like, oh, I really don't know what I'm doing. I'm doing it. I'm doing it.

SPEAKER_00 5:15

I'm just gonna keep going. It was so much fun. I love it. And we were so new at the end of the class, he calls us over. Are you two new? Yeah, I'm I'm coordinating with I was just turning when I wanted to turn, I was singing when I wanted to sing, I was putting my arms up when I didn't have to put my shimmy in, shimmy in here. I didn't know what to do.

SPEAKER_01 5:37

The shoulders going on, the boobs were just a shake, and I loved it. It was fun. Oh my gracious, fun. We've actually signed up to go back. So we are there tomorrow. And I'm gonna point out look, if there's somebody new in that class, I'm doing the no-no no to them. That's happening.

SPEAKER_00 5:51

That's amazing. But how would we know if they're new? There were 40 some odd people there. I don't even I can't even remember my first line, let alone the people who are behind me. And I'm not gonna remember the moves. So it's gonna be obvious we're still really new. I am not remembering those moves. But oh my gracious, they are so good up there. What a blast. It was such a good time.

SPEAKER_01 6:11

Yeah, they do a good class. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:13

Yeah. So this this is another thing happening this week, but that's not our one step this week. That just happens to be repeat step that I had so much fun on.

SPEAKER_01 6:21

So I have my one step better.

SPEAKER_00 6:23

Okay, one second before we go into the one step.

SPEAKER_01 6:25

Okay. Do you have something picked out? I have something picked out. Okay, good. Let's park it and we can address it later.

SPEAKER_00 6:31

So, my um excitement for next week. So I'm gonna give you, are we gonna do that right now? Lil, do we want to tell everybody our journey of what we're gonna do next week? Actually, oh, I've changed my mind. I'm about to come Indian rubber ball. You know those Indian rubber balls? If you bounce they bat off the wall and off the top, yes, I'm I'm that. Okay. Watch that ball fly. Okay, that's me. That's me. So I want to talk about my flowers.

SPEAKER_01 6:57

Yes, and I want to hear about your flowers.

SPEAKER_00 6:59

Okay, so outside my house, we posted the pictures of all of my um daffodils, daffodils and um whatever the other flowers are.

SPEAKER_01 7:11

Okay. Tulips?

SPEAKER_00 7:13

Tulips.

SPEAKER_01 7:14

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 7:14

I don't have a lot of tulips by, but I have a ton of daffodils. Like they're all over. They're everywhere, but they see I think the cold weather stagnated them. I was driving by a house down at the end of the street, and her yellow flowers are all out as you're coming up my road. I have no yellow flowers out just yet.

SPEAKER_01 7:31

Or they buy the foundation of a house. If they're buying bloom earlier. Spray it all along there. They're all out there independent on their own, doing a great.

SPEAKER_00 7:42

They're independently thriving. They're gonna be great. They don't require me anymore. They're independently thriving. So then I went and got all of my other flowers, you know, all my seedlings that I have. And I'm a little sad. Now I am trying to remain positive and enthusiastic, but I did go downstairs and scold them last night before I went to bed. Because I tried the nice talk and they're not blooming. All right, they're not popping through the soil. So before I went to bed, I scolded them all and told them that they must grow up now. That's right. The time has come. Time has come. They need to grow up. I need to see some green through the soil. Have they they haven't sprouted? No. Did you have your dome on? I have the dome on, I have a lamp on, I got a heating pad on.

SPEAKER_01 8:27

Nice and moist. Yes, they are. Okay, I hate that word, but either they're good at you when watering them.

SPEAKER_00 8:34

You're gonna make me giggle. And I just need to pull myself together. I said on this call. Get it together. Get myself. I am not a 12-year-old boy.

SPEAKER_01 8:43

Exactly. Watering them.

SPEAKER_00 8:45

Watering them and watering them and taking care of them. I know. I don't doubt you. I was speaking lovingly to them. I've now taken a fern hand. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 8:54

Okay. And sometimes that's necessary.

SPEAKER_00 8:56

It is necessary. That's right. So we'll see. I'm I'm sad. So the only ones that are just like, I mean, I'm absolutely blown away is my chamomile. Oh, gangbusters, aren't you? Gangbusters. I'm gonna have enough chamomile.

SPEAKER_01 9:12

Chamomile, chamomile? That's the same thing, is it? It is the same thing. Chamomile, chamomile, chamomile. Tomato, tomato. Tomato, potato, potato. Chamomile, chamomile.

SPEAKER_00 9:22

Okay, another root. We've just veered. I can't help myself. I'm sorry. Absolutely is correct. Okay. I'm gonna have enough to make uh that tea for the next 10 years for anybody. Okay. But the reason I got it is because I'd like to have my own. I'm going to dry it and I'm going to have my own chamomile, chamomile, chamomile. A tea for myself. It's so good for you. It's so relaxing. Yeah. It is an absolutely great herb to have in the house. I love it. All right. So I did that one in advance because I'm going to do all my other herbs that I want. All of my rosemary and my thyme and all of my other things that I'm not starting yet. I'm not crazy. I know the first moon in June and all of that sort of stuff.

SPEAKER_01 10:01

June 12th. That's when we're kind of the green light goes to start putting things in grandeur. But I'm going to just intervene for a minute because I watched Zach Gallifinakis has this gardening show now.

SPEAKER_00 10:12

Get out.

SPEAKER_01 10:13

Okay, so he he's a little he's a little odd for me. He's odd. And it's sometimes it's hard to follow him because he just is so uh into his rubber bulk. I love his sense of humor. Like he's got a it's very, very quirky. But he lives off in BC somewhere, like an island, and he's really getting like into the land and he's growing all kinds of things. Anyway, he does this show now, and he kind of it's a little educational and it's super interesting, and they're really short, easy to watch episodes. But the last one that I watched was about foraging. Oh I'm like, I feel like I need to try.

SPEAKER_00 10:46

I think maybe you and I should take a field trip. Oh my gracious. Okay. It's like a foraging. I think we need to bring a little book with us so we don't pick poison ivy thinking that we're getting some delicious thing. I'm thinking more along the mushrooms.

SPEAKER_01 10:59

Oh, I'm thinking like we'll be very careful.

SPEAKER_00 11:02

I need to validate what mushroom I'm picking.

SPEAKER_01 11:04

Or maybe talk to someone who is like a forager and then give us a little bit of guidance. Anyway, I'm kind of like on got this thing in my head now. I'm like, okay, I feel like I need to go into the wild and find some life.

SPEAKER_00 11:15

I'm uh I'm I'm loving every ounce of it. Right. I'm not that thrilled about the whole mushroom thing. I was really on the other side of the fence. Herbs. Herbs and all those plants. Because I was literally looking through our grass and I had my little phone that tells me what everything is. If you take a picture of it, it tells you what plants are.

SPEAKER_01 11:31

I like the shrooms. I like the shrooms. I'm not in that way. Not not in that way. I do like mushrooms, I'm just saying.

SPEAKER_00 11:39

But I'm all over herbs too. We can do the herbs too. So I I had my little phone out, and there's stuff growing in my grass that you can literally it it's it's antibiotics, it's um uh uh natural relaxers, there's um uh the plants that grow in your own backyard.

SPEAKER_01 11:56

There's so much out there that we that I feel like we all need to get a little more in tune with like what is already growing and in the ground.

SPEAKER_00 12:01

I and my backyard is rich with nourishment. I just don't know how to use it all.

SPEAKER_01 12:06

Especially after those spreaders go by.

SPEAKER_00 12:09

It's just wafting over and yes, very rich. You know that John's got 25 bags of manure sitting up against the garage, and he's just dying to get knee deep and shit. He really is. He definitely no anyway. So um that's my plants. They're coming along. Uh I had to be firm, but I believe that they've listened to me and they're going to grow up. I'm Ray has been given the uh the snare drum today, okay? Um and what else happened to me this week? Um not too much. Like you said, it was so overcast and rainy. We finished our big puzzle that caused us just a little bit of heartache, John and I. We were really slow at doing it. There was about sixty shades of brown in there. Not sure I've ever seen that many shades of brown in a puzzle as you tried to figure out which one went there, but we got it. And uh we've now started our next puzzle, which I like very much, as you saw when you came up close to this one.

SPEAKER_01 13:06

Yeah, it's a you guys tackle the the big ones.

SPEAKER_00 13:09

It's it was it's it's big, yeah. I like it. Yeah, so it's a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_01 13:12

Okay, anyways, what else have we got going on? You know what, Claudia? This is the highlight of my week. I have company visiting. I've got uh, yes, my oldest and his girlfriend flew home for a few days. It's been really great. One uh of our kids had her roommates all stay for a couple of nights. We had the the girls, they were all so excited. They were flying out on a trip, so they stayed at our place. We're pretty close to the airport, so we we had do they look like they're having fun, they're having a ball. Come on. Yep, she'll so she'll FaceTime me in the mornings and we'll do a little check-in and yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:50

Nice. They look like they're having so much fun. And uh, your other one was playing hockey. Oh, yes.

SPEAKER_01 13:54

Now yeah, they came home for a hockey tournament and wasn't that great that we all went out to go watch.

SPEAKER_00 14:00

Oh my god, I had so much fun. I mean, I was so sad that I didn't have that whole prep time where I would have bought the bell, I would have had a nice cold glass of something alcoholic to drink. Obviously, people I don't really have a problem, but do love to have a nice cold drink of alcoholics.

SPEAKER_01 14:15

And the rink is licensed, so we're not like we're sneaking again. I mean, there were those days are long gone, but we had so much fun. And you know, you get your hockey blanket out and you're chairing and just fun. Tons of memories. I miss those days.

SPEAKER_00 14:27

I miss watching my kids do their crazy little auntie up in the corner there just screaming her ghetto at him to go, go happy.

SPEAKER_01 14:34

Yes, he was all smiles.

SPEAKER_00 14:36

My bet, my bet. Yeah, that's almost 30 years old, someone's screaming in the stands. Go, go, go, go, go. It was fun. It was so much fun. Well, everybody, here we are. We're back again. So let's talk about why we joined everybody. We want everybody to join us this week. We had so much great feedback from our in-between. And I honestly tried to get myself to stay together so I wouldn't tear up on that, but I couldn't, as that is an enormous part of my life. It is who I am, it's where I'm at. All of these things are me. So if I break out and cry, it's not because I I I just had this urge to cry. I can't hold it in. It's like a it like it takes over my whole being, and you know that, right? I can be in the middle of a great conversation, all of a sudden something pops into my head and boom, there she goes. She's gonna cry. But she pulls herself back fairly quickly.

SPEAKER_01 15:26

You do great at that, but it's also you gotta, I don't think suppressing that is is good either. Well, it's you need to feel all the feels.

SPEAKER_00 15:33

Every emotion needs to come out. The more you bottle it up, the harder it is for you to appreciate all the things around you, right?

SPEAKER_01 15:41

So and I'm just gonna mention how much this past episode resonated with people with uh I mean moms, really, um, and some who aren't aren't moms, who aren't moms yet. So I feel like this the topic that we covered uh spoke to a lot of folks who are in their uh in-between. So I just I I just the comments that we got back was so heartwarming and it made us think a little. Yeah, touched us in a way that was like, oh, I hadn't thought about that. So yeah, I'm excited to jump into this week's episode and and just get into some of that that feedback. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 16:18

I mean, the stats or the analytics tell us that we did the right thing because Sherry's in charge. She's Sherry is our social media expert. She's being promoted to expert in that phrase. I am barely pulling together. But we have Dan who double checks literally everything we do. Producer Dan. Thank God. Thank God for producer Dan. Because there's just not enough gratitude out there for that young man. I'm telling you right now.

SPEAKER_01 16:45

The media of social is a tough thing to master.

SPEAKER_00 16:48

Media of social. It absolutely is. Um, we have 750 downloads of our podcast, and it was an email sent to it this morning. And I almost Round of applause. I was I I just blew up with excitement. Um, our analytics showed us that we have over 2,403 visits to our site in the last seven days. I mean, I was just like, really? Do we really? And then it shows us in the analytics if it's all our own viewers and people that we know, and the people who follow us, or friends, or they're unfollowers or unfriends, and it's hit the outside circle. All right. 53% are followers or us, or they're friends of us in our circle, and the rest are non-followers, they're outside our circle, they're new people in our world. I have to tell you, I am just so proud of you and me. So proud that we have got the ability to speak, laugh, be honest, and be absolutely truthful to whoever's listening to it.

SPEAKER_01 17:57

And I'm so thankful you took me on this little journey because, you know, you really had this vision of doing this podcast. This is your baby, and you asked me to join you on this. And I'm just so grateful you did. I'm I'm enjoying every time you and I sit together, I enjoy anyway. But the fact that we get to sit here and talk about topics that are meaningful for both of us, we have an opportunity to sort of show a different side that maybe people who know us well haven't really seen before. And also, you and I just I love spending time with you. So this is just an excuse that I can. I drink her coffee. That's right. I pet her dog and giggle, giggle, giggle. Yeah, come on. I'm hanging out. We're just yeah, shooting the breeze. Anyway, I'm I love hanging out with you. I love you so much.

SPEAKER_00 18:40

And I just think this is such a great thing you and I get to do together. Let's let's carry on down. All right. All right, so we're gonna back to the uh in-between part two. Um, we do have emails from our listeners. I was about to say viewers again. We are gonna do YouTube sometime soon. Let's just practice. So we do have some emails. So I've given you two to read, and I've given two to me to read. As we go through them, we're gonna do each one, and we are gonna stop and chit-chat about it for a moment uh before we go on to the next one. So Sherry's gonna start with hers. I need my glasses. Oh, you brought your glasses in here.

SPEAKER_01 19:14

No, I can't do anything without these guys.

SPEAKER_00 19:16

Hang on. Before you do, I need my glasses.

SPEAKER_01 19:18

Yes, it's a it's a must. It's like um my glasses are now uh an accessory. They're just I I it's like when I put my earrings on, I put my glasses on my head because I can't do anything with them.

SPEAKER_00 19:31

Before you start, and before we go down the in-between, we'll just be here one more sec. So you know I'm in a writing club.

SPEAKER_01 19:37

Yeah, and which I haven't talked to you much about, which I'm so sorry. I haven't asked.

SPEAKER_00 19:42

It's another day. Um so this Tuesday we got together, and I had a poem and I had to read it and everything like that. You wrote up a poem. Yes. I'm so proud of you. I could not I forgot my glasses, and I was trying to be so professional and I missed words, and I'll try I thought, oh come on. Really?

SPEAKER_01 20:02

I should have got someone else to recite it for you, and then you could have heard your work back.

SPEAKER_00 20:06

That would have been exciting. Come on, acknowledge that you require the glasses for reading. Just acknowledge it and move on.

SPEAKER_01 20:11

I know. Own it. Just take them with you. I literally have a pair. I have two in my car, two beside my bed. I got probably five at work in my bag. Anyway, I I digress. Okay, so I have this note, and for me, um, I just I'm I hope I don't get emotional. I don't typically do, but this one is um heartwarming. And it says some phrases that I recently had my daughter, my oldest daughter, send me the the words that are included here, she has said to me. So this one really touches my heart. Um, hi there. I'm an avid listener to your podcast, and I love your energy and your banter. Your most recent episode, the in-between, offered a new perspective. I'm not a mom, but I have a mom. Your stories, personal experiences, and raw emotions reminded me of a quote I heard once. Be gentle with your mom. It is her first time living too. Growing up, even as an adult, I feel people perceive their mom, if they're fortunate enough to have one, active and present in their life, as this all-serving, all-knowing entity that keeps you alive. We rely on our moms for so much, it's easy to forget that they are their own person with goals and aspirations and a whole personality and life outside of your own. Thank you for the reminder. I'm gonna call my mom right now.

unknown 21:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:35

Come on.

SPEAKER_00 21:35

Isn't that beautiful?

SPEAKER_01 21:36

Yeah, that it really is. And it um I think it just speaks to uh someone obviously she has a mom and she recognizes that her mom might be in the in-between. Do you know what I mean? So she may not be in an in-between in her life, but she's recognizing someone in her life might be. But anyway, just an amazing little note. And I just think A. I'll give your initial. You are insightful, and I think you are very perceptive and also just uh super uh gracious. You seem like a very gracious and um beautiful person. Beautiful person. Yeah, an absolutely beautiful soul.

SPEAKER_00 22:14

And I mean, I I tell you each one of these things, and you know me, like I can't I can't keep it together. Each one I read brought a tear to my eye. I know.

SPEAKER_01 22:22

I know. I that people took the time out of their day to send us a note.

SPEAKER_00 22:28

Come on. And that is just so truthful from the the beginning part of the in-between. So I put these in order very specifically as to where everybody is and they're in between.

SPEAKER_01 22:40

There's a clever like that too. I'm loving this. I know. You're in tune.

SPEAKER_00 22:44

Okay, so uh the next one I've got is probably another A, but I'll say that. Okay, I said I said it. No, no, no. I almost tried to start that without any glasses. Hi Claudette and Sherry. I'm loving your podcast. You ladies crack me up. That's what we started to do this year. I listened to it when it when waiting for my boys to get out of school. This week's episode was fabulous. I feel in between with my oldest turning ten this year and my youngest turning eight. We're heading into double digits. I feel really happy, but sad as well, because he's just getting older. Also, when you started to tear up about missing your children and grandchildren, I started to tear up. Because since my parents moved away to two hours away, I miss them a lot. Even though my mom comes down every few weeks, the boys and I miss her a lot when she leaves. Sometimes for me, anyways, you just need a good mom hug. So I can see it from your point of view and your children's missing you. Anyways, I love your podcast and can't wait to have more to come. So I'm gonna tell Amanda. Cried for a good half hour after that one. Oh I did, yeah. Because I mean, my kids will call me and say, Oh, I just want to talk. I just want, I just want to, you know, just want to hear your voice. And I mean, to me, it's so emotional. And then I had the flashback. Now come on, I want to tell you. You have to remember that first day of school. You remember with each one of them? Heartbreaking.

SPEAKER_01 24:21

Yeah. I mean, you're happy you're it's heartbreaking only, and I say this because they're happy and excited. And you're happy and excited for them. But then you do the drop-off, and then when you leave and you're you're you're driving away, or you they get on the bus and then you turn around to you know start your day, it's like, oh gosh, that's uh we've literally just had the last of something has just happened and the first of something's happening. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 24:45

And then again, you're in that moment where so to her point, Amanda's point, I always ran to her. They were the boys, they they were there because mommy's the only one. Mommy's the only one who can take care of us. Double digits hits, and all of a sudden, you're no longer mummy, but mom, right? And that that changeover, nobody nobody prepares you for the you're not mommy anymore, you're mom or ma or something along those lines. Nobody gives you that moment in life when it hits you and you think, I'm not mommy. Are you gonna call me mommy anytime soon? It's just like, or the the roll over the eye, or the pretend I can't hear, or the whole little bit of drama that says, I'm you know, I don't really need you anymore, mom.

SPEAKER_01 25:34

I'm I'm a big person. I used to get very emotional when I would be aware of this is the last time I'm gonna do this. This is the last time. Whatever. Yeah. See? I know. Now you're looking up on I remember thinking like, because Avery's our oldest, obviously. So when I was very aware he was the like it was the the last time my first is going to do this. And then I quickly turned around, like, oh, I have three more. Okay, great. Let's I'm good. I got three more chances to absorb and enjoy and do all that. And then when Oliver, like his graduation was, I mean, extremely, I had a very mixed emotions. I was a bit of a bit of an I was a bit of a basket case. I was, I was, because I was really struggling with the because it'd been coming for so long and I knew that emotion I felt the first time, right? So when I was anticipating Oliver's, I'm like, okay, I got this, or I want to make it very special, or very, you know, want to take the moment and make it last, or and then I try to hold on to those and then they're gone. And then it's like, oh, did I really capture it the way I wanted to? Or how did I, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:41

Yeah, it's very hard. So to Amanda's point, that hold my hand, mommy, and take me to school is is now done. And now you get into high school, but then you're gonna absorb it to me. It's going to be the best thing when you see them f thriving through high school in the next phase that they do, you're gonna find joy in all those things too. And then yeah, prepare yourself for that next step, right? And so with that, you've got uh I did this backwards, don't, don't, don't take yours. Okay. Nope, nope, nope, you have to do this one. And I have to do that one.

unknown 27:17

I gave you the wrong one.

SPEAKER_00 27:18

We're not on camera.

SPEAKER_01 27:19

No one would have known Claudette. No one's gonna know. Well, they don't now because I just told them.

SPEAKER_00 27:24

All right, so so we're going into the next stage of it, and all of these things are hard to prepare ourselves for. They're every one of these is an in-between. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 27:34

I'm gonna read one from Beth. I I was gonna say B, but we'll say Beth. First first name. Hello, worth the walk, ladies. I just wanted to reach out and tell you how much I've been enjoying your podcast, especially episode five about your village, and the latest one about the in-between. You two have me laughing regularly, and there are days I go back and replay episodes just to hear you talk. Love that. Thank you, Beth. Something about your conversations gives me a real sense of peace. Your episode on the in-between hit close to home. My son recently graduated and has moved on to attending a local university and a junior hockey team outside of the area we live. Since the day he was born, my whole life revolved around him. The schedules, the road trips, driving him and his teammates to practices and games. Oh, this hits me in my heart right here. Sorry. Cheering from the stands. Now, all the emails and information from hockey and school go directly to him. I actually had to get him to fill out a form so the school had permission to speak with me about his account balance. I am so proud of the independent young man he's becoming, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't struggle with letting go. And it's not just the in-between as a mom, it's the village too. The friends I texted daily and I saw at every game have slowly drifted, and I find myself in between the community I once had and the one that's coming. Gosh, Beth, you're really hitting right in my heart right now. Right, right. Right. Hearing Claudette talk about her in-between genuinely comforted me, along with making me tear up. As women and moms, we don't talk enough about these things. The grief that quietly comes with watching our kids grow up, it's not something we tend to share with other moms. And knowing it's normal meant more than I can say. Thanks for the space you've created. I'll be here listening. Well, Beth, I'm I felt everything you wrote, I have recently felt because I now no longer take my children to games and sports. I don't even really get to go watch because they're all adults now, young adults living their life. Our youngest is 19. Last week I said Sophie was 20. She's actually 21. Forgive me, my brain. I don't even know why I said 20, but I do. Um, so here's those things I felt, and I'm very keenly aware of the last. So I was keenly aware of the last time I watched all of her play hockey. I was keenly aware of the last time I watched Sophie dance. Now, much to my delight, she joined the, or you know, she made, I guess, she had to try out for it, the dance team at Santa Vex. So she actually got four more years of dance where I got to go see stage, you know, her performing on stage. Amazing. We recently watched her last performance. And then Avery, out of, you know, just pure joy getting to see him play hockey again. Yeah. And my friend Dawn, who is just like my dearest friend, and her son and my son are best friends, and they've done a lot of life together, a lot of hockey, a lot of sport. They've lived together up north. They do the same profession. She came with me to watch, and her and I sat there together, and it was just like, this just brings back memories. The two of us got to share that together. And what and my sister, like in Claude came to watch. It was uh a beautiful moment. So, Beth, I feel everything you have in that letter really just spoke to me.

SPEAKER_00 30:48

Right to your heart. I know. That's why I gave it to you to read. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:52

It was yours because um how insightful, Claude.

SPEAKER_00 30:55

I know.

SPEAKER_01 30:55

I you have it. I do. I did that. You are.

SPEAKER_00 30:58

Um and besides, I don't think I could have got through it. I wasn't gonna cry. That's why I kind of gave it to you. I know, I feel all of them. And and that in between is the beginning of what you have, except you've had to try it four times, right? Each one of them went on to a different part of their life. It doesn't get easier, unfortunately. It does not get easier, yeah. Right? So I that's why I kind of I thought, okay, that's her in between. And now we're gonna come to the last letter that we'll read here today. And this is from Kim. And it says, Hi, lovelies. That's us, by the way. I have mixed emotions, and by the way, I am gonna cry at the end of this because it hits me. It's already to the heart hits me. Okay. Okay. I have mixed emotions on being a nanny. So she's a grandmother for the very, very first time. I'm absolutely obsessed with my little granddaughter, but I feel anxious on what the world will be like for her. How will she be starting school? The biggest fear is me not seeing her grow up and becoming a mum herself. Crazy, I know, as she's only eight weeks old. But my worry has grown and gone into overdrive. Seeing my daughter become a mum makes me so proud. I also worry about how she will sometimes cope with no sleep and worry she has for her baby. She absolutely is smashing it. I love the fact that we can go away now, uh, as we wanted to. Well, we have to sort of sort out the dog situation, but no really real restrictions. I do worry about not enjoying life to the full in case I get unwell or dying scares me so much. I could write about this for ages, but hopefully um I can get a better idea. Sending love to you both. Oh gosh. So this hits home for me because of my three grandchildren. And I don't know what the world has in store for them, right? I mean, it's a little bit crazy now. There's lots going on and ups and downs, but they have such good parents that love them to pieces. So whether I'm here or not here, I know they have a strong love and support. But I read that for I mean, Kim, I know you know, you just hit me right to my heart, right to my soul.

SPEAKER_01 33:24

My work here she talks about even just not being there to to witness or I know be there to like impart any of her own teachings or wisdoms to her grandchildren. That's that's pretty powerful too. And right to the soul. You know, yeah, it's a real I mean, we don't want to we don't want to live with fear of not being here or dying, I guess. You know, that's not really the point of life, right? But it is real and it's there. And when you see that precious little eight-week-old baby, and you think, oh gosh, what happens if I'm not here to see them grow?

SPEAKER_00 33:56

That's that's right to the soul, isn't it? You want I I mean, I can envision mine. Like I can envision like all of my grandchildren as adults, being strong and intelligent and brave. I can I can see them as plain as day.

SPEAKER_01 34:11

But we both know people who haven't had the privilege to be able to be able to watch their grandchildren grow. Or even their own children.

SPEAKER_00 34:18

We both have people, you know, who in our lives that did not get the opportunity to see their grandchildren grow. Yeah, and that's heartbreaking. Yeah, and that's why this one felt so real. Like, I mean, everything in me says, let me just see them grow up. Please let me see them get to the other side. Um, adulthood where they've found who they are, they've owned who they are, and they're confident in what they're doing, right? So Kim's hit me so hard when I read it, and I said, I'm not gonna read it, I was gonna make you read it. I said, No, no, no. I I can I can pull myself together, right?

SPEAKER_01 34:49

So I'm glad you read that one.

SPEAKER_00 34:50

Yeah. So I can't thank you all for sending us emails, talking to us. Cher, you've been stopped by friends that have given you information. Um, I have been reached out by text as well as messenger about how good our podcast is or how much they like us or they like listening to us. This feedback helps me, like you have no idea. I've dreamt about this for so long now of being able to do it. And you've just given me that kind of kick in the butt to make sure we get better each and every week.

SPEAKER_01 35:20

And I'm also here to kick you in the butt if need be. I am I am I'm really good at it.

SPEAKER_00 35:25

I'm getting a little bit too much joy out of that, so let's roll this baby right in here, all right? All right. So, everybody, I want to thank you so much for um helping us through the in-between. It is an honest conversation. Every single woman needs to be able to talk openly about whatever stage they're going into next. This is it. We've got all kinds of stages. I like to think of them as 10-year increments, all right, from 10 to 20. We were took on the world from 20 to 30. We thought we were incompetent mothers or struggling to find a bid in our jobs. Maybe we thought we had to be a superwoman, but we couldn't. From 30 to 40, we are now realizing the value of our entire families and we're working hard for it. At the same time, we're starting to lose who we thought we were. We get to 40 to 50 and we're struggling now. I was a mother. Now what am I? Am I something else? And then you get to be 60 to 70s, you know, where we are looking back on that whole picture to say, okay, now what the heck do I do? We have to struggle to find what is my identity, what do I want to do, where do I want to go, and how am I going to be great at it? So I look at them at 10-year increments. That's what my thoughts. What about you share?

SPEAKER_01 36:37

Um I was just absorbing everything you're just saying. I don't think I've ever heard you kind of break it down like that. So my brain is kind of like thinking, like, oh, okay, I'm in like the 50 to 60 block of time now. And it it's true. I am sort of figuring things out now. I've been so, you know, you're in that busy time of work and kids and sports and all those things that you don't really have a time to sit and think about what it is I really want to do. I thank you. I have so much gratitude. You've kind of pulled me into this. So now it's opened up a lot of things in my mind about like, oh, well, maybe this is possible, or maybe I should try this or do this. Like water zoomba, you know.

SPEAKER_00 37:18

Now you've got a water zuomba. So, so, so same exactly, we've segued into our I know.

SPEAKER_01 37:25

One step better.

SPEAKER_00 37:26

One step better. So this week, um, I uh it's actually I'm probably kind of being forced to do it, but not really forced to do it. It is my writing club, yeah, right? Okay, and so um we have to write an essay that's 1,000 words. So I have to tell you I can't, I'm, I'm, I've this um uh 13, 14-year-old person in my head thinking, uh, I'm in high school or or school, and they're making me write something, and I'm sitting there staring at a blank piece of paper, going, What's the first word? And you write down the okay. That's great. 999 left to go. Let's go. That's where I'm at. So I have started writing it, and I'm up to 896 words because they flew out and I couldn't stop.

SPEAKER_01 38:17

I'm so proud of you. I have a tip to get you through to your 1000. Okay. Turn your font to white and just start hitting some keys on your paper. I'm completely kidding.

SPEAKER_02 38:31

That's excellent.

SPEAKER_01 38:32

Look, I've had to do some create. I I love writing. Personally, for me, like if I was going to sit down and either meditate or do some kind of uh journaling or anything like that, for me to put a pen on paper for me, I love to do that. I love doing that. Sometimes I just get rid of it because it doesn't make any sense. But I'm so proud of you.

SPEAKER_00 38:48

You never get rid of your written word.

SPEAKER_01 38:50

Sometimes, sometimes I do.

SPEAKER_00 38:51

Oh, gracious, no. Lock it up if you don't want anybody to see it, but don't get rid of your written word. We had this conversation at the writing club.

SPEAKER_01 38:58

I've burned. I've burned some books that I journals.

SPEAKER_00 39:02

So I'll give you my perspective, and I only this is my point of view, so everybody listening, just you know, you can take it in the way you want. You know, our mom had a book, and she wrote in it endlessly. It's it's from when I was born, I think, is when it first began. It's it's 40 or 50 years of writing, right? I love it and I read it. But mom always said to us before she died, she wanted to have that burnt. Nobody's gonna read that book, don't read that book. But I've learnt about my mother. I've seen something I didn't know about my mom. It wasn't a thing that I think she ever wanted us to know about her.

SPEAKER_01 39:41

I can't bring myself to read it. And I know that.

SPEAKER_00 39:43

And that's okay. That's all right. Uh and and I don't think our other sisters really want to sit down and read it either, and that's okay. It's all right for anybody to be wherever they wanted. But I learned something that my mom didn't really want to share, but it made me appreciate that she is a woman. A woman who struggled to figure out who she was. It was a woman who didn't know how to quote. She was a woman who was learning every single day to be who she was.

SPEAKER_01 40:14

Back to our very first emails. She is my mom. This was her first time living too. Oh gosh.

SPEAKER_00 40:22

Well, I'm gonna bring on the Kleenex, please. But I'm telling you, so for my writing, I won't, and I've got many journals, so you can see them all over my desk. And I'll I'll keep them. I don't want to share them with my children, but if my children find them after I'm gone and they read it and they realize, wow, mom had a lot of shit. Like, there's a lot of stuff going on with that woman. And maybe they too might be able to see a side of a woman who was trying to be the best she could with what she knew. And that's why I wouldn't, I I I'm not gonna burn my paper.

SPEAKER_01 40:58

But I'm publicizing for a book. Burning for like a release of something that I wrote. So that that that's kind of where I was going on this release of something. Some I do keep, some I do. Um, but you're right. I kind of burn something. I but that's an intention and an affirmation that I have. Yeah, mine was, yeah, I need I don't ever want to read this or anybody to read it, so I'm releasing it. But but you're I've I value that and I will take that back with me just if I write something and not throw it out. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 41:29

Man, did we get sidetracked again?

SPEAKER_01 41:31

Where was he on my coffee? I think we were talking about our one step better, but I want to know about your essay. So you have so you just it poured out of you.

SPEAKER_00 41:37

It just poured out of me. I'm having 96 words into it. And then we'll see. We'll see. Now, am I going to take it and read it in front of a whole group? I have no idea yet. I'm still I'm working through it, okay? But the words just came flying up all over paper and all of that sort of thing. So that's what I'm working on this week.

SPEAKER_01 41:56

Look, and my tip is there, if you're sh talking, you're like, okay, there's no more to come out of me now.

SPEAKER_00 42:01

I'm turning the font to white and typing it away. Jake L S QC. I'll hang it in seconds. There you go. Don't count. Don't count all of them. Okay. So share. What is the one thing for you next week?

SPEAKER_01 42:23

So just to back up a second, is your one step better going to be your writing or like finalizing and perfection?

SPEAKER_00 42:28

Finalizing, and if it's great, I will read that thousand words.

SPEAKER_01 42:31

Oh, that's so great. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 42:33

It's great according to me. Yeah. Understand that, right? So we'll see.

SPEAKER_01 42:36

Which is which is pretty great, I'm just gonna say. I'm really don't know if I want to share mine now. Mine is, I'm sorry, mine's not really inspirational.

SPEAKER_00 42:47

Mine wasn't meant it's for it.

SPEAKER_01 42:49

It's one step better for me, and I feel like if I can accomplish this, I feel like I can take on the world.

SPEAKER_00 42:53

Okay, you do it.

SPEAKER_01 42:55

Okay. It's been looming, it's been staring at me. It's sometimes a little scary. And every time I go into this room, I see it. Am I setting the scene? You are. I walk in, I turn the light, and I have to turn on I have to turn the light on when I go in this room. And every time I do, there it is.

SPEAKER_00 43:18

Okay, come on. What is it? It's the water bottles. The water bottles. Oh my god. You don't have any water bottles? Are you gonna post that picture? I might have to. It showed that to John. I said, um It's embarrassing.

SPEAKER_01 43:31

No, tell them the mess.

SPEAKER_00 43:33

Tell him the text message I sent you right after that. What?

SPEAKER_01 43:36

Oh god, I'm gonna have to read it. What was it?

SPEAKER_00 43:38

I have a water bottle.

SPEAKER_01 43:40

I left one here. The one I left here was my favorite one. I left one. And I'm like, well, you know what? How could you possibly know you'll have 50 of them? I have no vessels to put any other liquids into, so I'm gonna just be dying of thirst all week. I'm gonna have to get a bowl. I was drawing drinking of a bowl all week because I know that was I have no other vessels to put a liquid in, hot or cold.

SPEAKER_00 44:07

Okay, I want to hear.

SPEAKER_01 44:08

Oh my gosh. I think we have so back I don't know that it didn't ten years ago, Contigo was a thing. Those Contigo cups years ago. I don't know if anybody shops at Costco. I think Charles and I single-handedly put them at a business because we bought them all. You think I can find one Contigo cup in that collection? I don't think there's one. I have bought dozens. Dozens.

SPEAKER_00 44:28

How many shorter? How many of them are going to be a little bit more than a little bit?

SPEAKER_01 44:31

So, in all fairness, this is the goal. I'm going to pair them up. I'm going to see what's left with a little lonely little cup with no matching lid. And then I'm going to I'm going to marry up the ones. Here's the thing. At one point in my life, I must have been so organized because I had these little buckets to put them in. And I labeled them. One was water. One was coffee. Oh my. Once at once at alcohol. That's like how ambitious of me to even think I could separate these little containers to have wine in. Oh my god. They all disappear. And those gosh darn it, kids of mine, I love them to death. But it's like if you take one of those car bottles, bring it back. That's all I ask. Bring it back. Or I think they would take them and not bring them back. So then henceforth we would go get more.

SPEAKER_00 45:16

That's right. You had to buy another one.

SPEAKER_01 45:18

Some have some have straws, some are, you know, lids that anyway.

SPEAKER_00 45:22

Oh, yeah. And some are are So what is your what what is your step better this week?

SPEAKER_01 45:26

What I'm I'm going to take a good hard look at myself. Do I actually need these? And then I'm going to be like, we're going to assign. Everybody's going to be assigned a cup. This is your one and only. And it's this is what you use. And I may be generous and give you one for cold and one for hot. And you are responsible for this cup.

SPEAKER_00 45:49

For maintaining your cup's location.

SPEAKER_01 45:51

At all times. If you cannot find it, you are not to take mine. I even have one. I literally wrote mama C on a couple of them. And they're gone. They're gone. They're nowhere to be found. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 46:05

So there's six in your family. You have approximately 60 some odd bottles.

SPEAKER_01 46:11

Looks let's not.

SPEAKER_00 46:12

I mean, we're gonna be giving everybody ten.

SPEAKER_01 46:14

No. I hate to even look this in the face. It's so embarrassing. But it has to be done. And I feel like it's a part of me that be like, I need to now address water bottles. We're addressing it. So that's my one step better.

SPEAKER_00 46:26

But I like. Do not donate to me. I'm not a donation cause. Well, that's the other thing.

SPEAKER_01 46:32

Well, and some people who want a used water bottle. Nobody wants a used water bottle. What am I supposed to do with them?

SPEAKER_00 46:37

I know, but don't drop off over here.

SPEAKER_01 46:40

I mean, I might get creative. I can create a wind chime. Oh, look at you. Head of water bottles. I may get creative. Make an art decoration of some sort. That's not happening.

SPEAKER_00 46:51

But we could think and drink. Make a man. Like the two big ones on the side and one in the middle, and two arms and a head. Oh my gracious. And sell it. Art.

SPEAKER_01 46:59

Look, we're one step better, but I'm taking two steps behind if I do that.

SPEAKER_00 47:03

Two steps are going at the front door.

SPEAKER_01 47:05

Because then I'll be collecting water bottles because I've started this new art.

SPEAKER_00 47:10

I've started the new thing. I need more water bottles, man.

SPEAKER_01 47:16

Go from 600. Okay. Okay, let's pull it in. Pull it in.

SPEAKER_00 47:26

Okay. My one step for this week. Remember, I told you it's the in my writing. But I'm also on Friday attending the sister circle. Oh, yes, yes. Doing that for the full moon. So I got two things. My big thing is this writing. And the second thing is, of course, my gonna do that on my own, go to the sister circle under the full moon, and see what that's like.

SPEAKER_01 47:50

We have a big event in our family coming up this weekend. So otherwise, I would be doing that. That sister circle. So we have a graduation and uh it's a big deal. It's the first university graduation I will be attending. Now we have children who have graduated university. Avery was during COVID, so we didn't get to get to Mount Allison for his graduation. Alens was in Victoria, BC. We didn't get to see that as well. It was online. We're in person. I did not graduate from university. I didn't go to university. I so I'm this is my first time. I cannot tell you how excited. Yeah, I'm super proud and excited. Can't wait. So yeah, so this is what that's my weekend entails that.

SPEAKER_00 48:29

So I'm yeah, and I'm I'm going to do my sister circle. All right. So there you go, everybody. That is another wrap for us. Uh, we're a little extended. We've way past our 30, but that's okay. I think you'll all be patient with us and you'll be able to get to the other end of it. I'm really excited. Next week, we'll put a little teaser out and let you know what we're up to next week. And with all of that being said, Cher, do you want to sign us off?

SPEAKER_01 48:53

Thanks so much for spending your time with us. We are so grateful that you chose to be part of a conversation and we'd love to hear from you. Share your thoughts and your stories, or just say hi. You can reach us at worth the walkpodcast at gml.com and find us anywhere you download podcast. Have a great week, everybody.

SPEAKER_00 49:09

Take care, Cher. See ya.

SPEAKER_01 49:11

Be kind of