95. Glimmers: The Small Moments That Keep Me Going as a Mom (Part 1)

What if the good parts of motherhood aren't waiting for you on the other side of a calmer season — but are already showing up, right in the middle of the chaos?

In this first episode of the A Week in My Life, Emotionally mini series, I'm not talking schedules or logistics. I'm talking about what my week actually felt like — the emotional experience of being a mom to three kids (ages 7, 9, and 12) while running a therapy practice. And what kept showing up? Glimmers. Small, ordinary moments I almost missed completely.

None of it is flashy. None of it would stop your scroll. But these glimmers? They're what keep me grounded — and I think they might be what keeps you going too.

If you've been waiting for motherhood to feel calm before you let yourself enjoy it, this episode is for you.

In This Episode:

• What "glimmers" are and why they matter so much for overwhelmed moms
• The joke book moment that stopped me in my tracks
• How a chaotic sibling argument turned into an unexpected glimmer
• Why ordinary morning conversations with your kids are worth protecting
• Celebrating tiny wins — even just getting out the door
• How to start noticing glimmers even when you're in full survival mode

What's one glimmer from your week? Send me a DM on instagram or an email and let me know!

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Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only. In no way is this therapy or clinical advice.

Transcript

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And it's really easy for this all to blur together. There's the schedules, the meals, the conversations, the chaos. But every once in a while, there's a moment that kind of cuts through all of it and makes me stop and think, this is actually really good. And what I'm realizing is I used to think the good part of motherhood would come when things felt calmer or more under control. But it's actually happening right here, in the middle of all of it. But let's be real, it's also overwhelming. If you're a mom who loves her kids fiercely but also has ambitions beyond the carpool line, you might be feeling something else too. Torn. You're keeping everything running, managing the schedules, the meals, the mental load, but you're also craving something more. Maybe it's your career, your creativity, or just remembering who you were before everyone needed something from you. And the guilt of wanting both, it's exhausting. From the outside, you look like you have it all together, but inside you're stretched thin, wondering if you have to choose between being a great mom and becoming the woman you're meant to be. Here's the truth: you don't have to choose between both. I'm Liz Emmerich, licensed therapist, mom of three, and someone who deeply understands the both and tension of motherhood. This is Experience Motherhood, the place where we dismantle the myth that you have to do it all or lose yourself. Through honest conversations with experts and moms in the trenches, you'll get mental health insights, grounded encouragement, and permission to build a life that honors every part of you. Let's live motherhood fully, honestly, and together. It's time to experience motherhood. Hello and welcome back to Experience Motherhood Podcast. So I am starting a little mini-series today that I am really excited about. If I'm being honest, I don't need another routine or a checklist or a system right now, and you probably don't either. But what I do need is sometimes to feel less alone in what this actually feels like. Lately, I've been noticing something about my weeks. They are full, very full. And there always is something to manage, somewhere to be, someone who needs something from me. And it's really easy for this all to blur together. There's the schedules, the meals, the conversations, the chaos. But every once in a while, there's a moment that kind of cuts through all of it and makes me stop and think, this is actually really good. And what I'm realizing is I used to think the good part of motherhood would come when things felt calmer or more under control. But it's actually happening right here in the middle of all of it. So today I want to talk about those small moments, the ones that keep me grounded and honestly that keep me going. So most of days, so most of the days I feel like I am managing a hundred moving pieces. There's school schedules, activities, meals, emotions. And just when I think I've got a handle on it, something else shifts. So as I'm recording this, right now, the stages and ages of my kids, it matters because different stages and ages totally play into all of the busyness and the chaos that is motherhood. So right now I have a 12-year-old, a almost 10-year-old, and a seven-year-old. And I have two elementary kids and one middle school kid. So our schedule is really full. It's full in a different way based than when they were little. And I was maybe home with three of them all under the age of five. Um it's full in the way that, you know, we have a lot of activities. We have sports activities. We have school homework to keep track of, we have school events to keep track of. And then, of course, there's, you know, running my own therapy business and taking care of podcast episodes like this one. There's just a lot of moving parts. And yet there are these moments that often just stop me right on my tracks in really the best way. So this episode really is going to be about just highlighting some of the joys, some of the little glimmers that happen throughout my week. And then my encouragement to you is to look for those glimmers too, because it really is so easy to think, you know, motherhood's gonna be great, or I'm gonna feel great when things are calm when I have honestly control, which to be honest, is not gonna happen, right? We're not gonna always be in control and rarely are. So, some examples that have come up for me in this past week. If you're listening to this while folding laundry, driving to practice, or grabbing a minute to yourself, I want to invite you a little closer. My email list is where I show up in between episodes with practical, real life support for motherhood, things that actually help in the middle of the week, not just ideas that sound good in theory. It's encouragement, perspective, and simple tools to help you feel a little more grounded as you move through your week. No pressure, no perfection, just support. You can join me over at experiencemotherhood.com or click the link in the show notes. I'd truly love to have you there. Okay, back to our conversation. Um, one was just an unexpected joy moment. My youngest, he gets to check out, you know, books from the school library, and I'm always just amazed at what he finds interesting and why he checked out what he checked out. And this past week he checked out a joke book and he is learning to read and he's gotten so much better this year, which is so fun to see. But he was just going around and reading us these jokes, and truthfully, the joke book was they were horrible. They were like really bad jokes. They were like really stretching to try to get a laugh. But he thought they were so funny, and that little bit of joy is just so nice when we're rushing around trying to get dinner ready, trying to get to practices, you know, all the things. It was just nice to kind of have a moment to just stop. And I was like, this is this is exactly what motherhood is all about. Just this funny little kid telling me jokes. He thinks it's hilarious. Like, it's not always so serious all the time. And I think that was just a really nice reflection moment for me of like, there's just these unexpected joys that come come up at times in motherhood. Something else that I think so often in the chaos of motherhood is that we can just get really irritable and like, you know, especially like we're on arguments. Like, I'm sure your kids argue like my kids argue. And they oof, it can get really out of hand sometimes. And most of the time, it doesn't turn into maybe a you know, quote, good moment in motherhood for me. But even this last week, there were some arguments going on between two of my kids, and one of them tooted during their fight, and they just both started giggling and laughing, and they just, it was just funny. It was like this moment that was absolute chaos. I was feeling stressed out, I was feeling my own, you know, emotions rise, and I was gonna start telling them to be quiet and you know, all the things, trying to referee, which I don't uh, you know, recommend. But and then this little brief moment of burst out giggling and laughing. It just, it's like moments like that where I'm really looking back and I'm not remembering just all of the fighting and the chaos, or you know, maybe your kid spills a cup of water and you know, it people laugh and it turns if something turns funny, like chaos turns funny. Um, it's in those moments, you know. Obviously at the time I wasn't laughing, but looking back, it just it's kind of ridiculous, right? You know, I think too this last week there was this moment of connection as well that can be such a glimmer in my own motherhood journey. But, you know, it's like I said, I don't want to sound redundant, but there is a lot of go go going all the time um in the week. And sometimes that's really great, but sometimes then we miss these opportunities. And there was one that really stuck out with me this week. We were, I think it was in the evening time. I can't remember if it was morning or evening. No, it must have been morning because I was drinking coffee and I don't usually drink coffee in the afternoon. Um, but I just had such a great conversation with my oldest. You know, definitely there's puberty is coming, hormones are coming. He's not always wanting to do that with me. And so when those moments come where he is still so sweet and engaged with me and just telling me about his day and friends, that is a true treasure. And I don't ever want to be rushing so fast that I miss out on those opportunities where we can just be chatting in the kitchen together about who knows what, but just special moments. And, you know, I think that could be something too that even you may consider. Like those car ride times to go to the, you know, school or the grocery store. You know, sometimes, yes, they are it's annoying and you just want some quiet, or maybe they're screaming in the car and that's not great either. But there are those moments that you can have some really great conversations with your kids, whether it's around values that you hold as a family, or maybe it's just random, ridiculous stuff that you just laugh and we just have fun. You know, I think another tiny win too that happened this week that was just like a moment of joy for me was that we've had been dealing with so much sickness lately. And so there was a day where I'm like, oh my gosh, we are finally all healthy enough to go to school and to like have our routine, and everybody got to where they needed to be on time. And I know that doesn't sound like a big win because it's, you know, well, sometimes it is a big win, but just even that tiny win. It just made me really realize like, you know what? We are so blessed. I'm so grateful. Like we have enough food on our table, everybody is fed, everybody, you know, is dressed. Well, at least like mostly appropriate, you know, older kids and not wanting to wear jackets is something, but um, but we just we survived the morning, right? Like tiny wins. So all of this to say is like these are just a few examples from my own life recently that I just feel like they might get so easily overlooked because they're not really flashy, they're not really showy, they're not even, you know, those things that maybe you're advertising on social media all the time. But there's these little glimmers, these little joys that really, you know, just need your attention. Um, and they're not even planned for. They're just, they're quick, they're ordinary, and they are really easy to miss. And so you have to be really intentionally looking for those moments. And I think too, for a long time, I really believe that feeling good in motherhood would come when things felt more under control. Like when that schedule felt manageable, when everyone was getting along, when I wasn't so overstimulated or pulled in a hundred directions. But what I'm realizing is that virgin, that version doesn't really exist. There's always going to be something. There's another thing to manage, another place to be, another moment where it feels like a lot. And so if I'm waiting for everything to calm down before I let myself feel the good in it, I'm going to miss out. So, what's been shifting for me is realizing that the good isn't something I arrive at. It's something that shows up in the middle of the chaos. It's in those tiny moments where I'm not thinking about everything else, but I'm just there. I'm present. And they don't fix the hard hard parts, they don't make the mental load disappear, but they do remind me why this all matters. And I'm guessing if you paused for a second right now, wherever you are, and thought about your own week, you probably have moments like this too. Maybe it's your kid saying something that makes you laugh. Or maybe it's a quiet moment at bedtime, or maybe it's just one small stretch of the day where things feel okay. But when you're tired or overwhelmed or just trying to get through the day, those moments are the easiest ones to overlook. So as I look back on the week, what stands out the most isn't what I got done. It's these small ordinary moments that I could have easily missed. And I think that's what I'm learning this season. That motherhood doesn't have to feel calm or perfectly managed to still be really good. It looks like connection in between the chaos, laughter in the middle of the day, and moments that remind me this matters. So if your week has felt full or overwhelming or like you're trying to keep up, maybe just notice one small moment. And if you want to share it, I genuinely would love to hear. So, what's one moment from your week that made you pause or smile or just feel like, okay, this is good? Send me a DM over on Instagram. You can shoot me an email if you're on my email list, or share it into this podcast community. You can send me a message here on the podcast, which is very cool. Just send me a quick message. So I hope today's episode is just one that gives you a little more insight into what my week has been like. I'm really excited for this series, this like little mini series. Um, I just hope it really brings some encouragement to you and you get to hear what's going on a little bit in my world. And I cannot wait to talk more with you next week. So until then, go experience motherhood. Thank you so much for joining me today, and I hope this episode really brought so much value to your experience in motherhood. Please take a minute to rate and review this podcast and make sure that you're subscribed so you don't miss the next new episode. Until next time, go experience motherhood. The Experienced Motherhood podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing shared on this podcast should be considered clinical advice or a substitute for individualized mental health care. Although I am a licensed professional clinical counselor, this podcast does not establish a therapeutic relationship. If you're needing support, please reach out to a qualified mental health provider near you. If you're in crisis, contact your local emergency services or the 988 Suicide in Crisis Lifeline.