Lots to Unpack There
We’re Jess and Lisa, two best friends in our 40s living in Maryland. This podcast is about life, motherhood, leadership, and everything in between. We’re navigating the “messy middle” of personal and professional life and have learned that having someone who just gets it makes the journey less hard.
Each week, we’ll share something real from our own lives and unpack it together in real time. Our hope is that as we process and reflect, it’ll inspire and help you do the same—wherever you are.
Episodes
19 episodes
The Lives We've Lived
Jess and Lisa explore life's big questions about identity, personal growth, and whether our younger selves would be proud of who we've become. This thoughtful conversation weaves through personal turning points and the wisdom that comes from se...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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58:04
Barrels and Buildings: The Debt that Wasn't
Jess and Lisa confront the psychology behind feeling indebted to employers who provide remote work accommodations, questioning whether workplace flexibility should come with the burden of overperformance.• Judgment versus curiosity: how...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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1:04:00
Unpack Snack: Beach Days and Mom Swaps
We discuss strategies for surviving beach vacations with pale children, including the "reverse beach day" approach of going to the beach after 3pm when UV rays are less intense. We share our upcoming childcare swap plans and navigate the anxiet...
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Season 1
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8:04
What feeds your soul when nobody's watching?
Have you ever found yourself drawn to something that seems utterly unproductive yet feels essential to your wellbeing? That's exactly what we explore in this heartfelt conversation that begins with home projects but quickly delves into the deep...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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48:01
The Learning and the Restless
Have you ever felt simultaneously overwhelmed with work yet creatively restless? That bizarre contradiction sits at the heart of this week's conversation as Jess unpacks her experience of being caught in a sprint toward professional goals while...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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58:56
Boundaries and Confidence and Goodbyes, Oh my!
Jess and Lisa explore the emotional complexity of ending coaching relationships and how setting firm boundaries enables us to become the people we want to be in both personal and professional contexts.• Jess shares the bittersweet exper...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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53:35
Stepping Stones & Still Rooms: Making Peace with the Pause
Jess and Lisa explore the emotional rollercoaster of major life transitions, focusing on Lisa's recent layoff experience and her struggle between constant action and creating space for strategic thinking.• Lisa describes feeling like a ...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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55:27
Beyond the Label: Finding Your Professional Edge
Jess and Lisa dive deep into the mysterious ways our professional identities shape our personal interactions, revealing surprising insights about hidden assumptions and unexplored potential.Jess shares her puzzling tendency to apologize...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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50:27
Unpack Snack: Sharing the Layoff News
Navigating the complex emotional terrain of sharing layoff news with professional connections reveals stark differences in how people respond based on relationship closeness.• Close colleagues often react with validating support and eve...
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15:43
When One Door Closes: Navigating Unexpected Career Transitions
When a door closes, what if it's not just a setback but an opportunity for liberation? This week, Lisa shares her raw, unfiltered response to being laid off—and it's not what you might expect. Rather than devastation, she describes feeling "rel...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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50:00
Beyond Fitting In: What It Means to Truly Belong
Jess and Lisa dive into a profound discussion about the concept of belonging and how it relates to our sense of self and our place in various communities.• Sharing the ups and downs of family life including the inevitable sharing of ger...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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53:09
The Problem is The Solution: Better Results through Better Questions
Thursday is the best day of the week. At least according to Jess, who had her perspective permanently shifted by a high school biology teacher's grocery store metaphor 25 years ago. But why do certain random moments stick with us so powerfully?...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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56:10
Try It Until You Become It: Bravery, Growth & The Power of Being Seen
What You’ll Hear: Bravery in the Everyday – How courage isn’t just for big leaps but also for the small, uncomfortable moments we push through. Owning Your Story – The power of reflecting ...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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52:48
Just Keep Swimming: Owning Your Narrative
What You’ll Hear: The Power of Self-Perception – How what we say about ourselves influences how others see us—and how we see ourselves. Breaking the Burnout Cycle – Why pushing through exh...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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54:20
Resilience in Real Time: Navigating Change, Authenticity & Evolving Roles
In this episode, we explore what it really means to show up authentically in both personal and professional life. From navigating resilience in the face of frustration to redefining what it means to be supportive in relationships, this conversa...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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55:34
Stresscalation Paths
Life has a way of throwing curveballs, and in this episode, Jess and Lisa get real about the stressors piling up in their worlds—from illness and unpredictable weather to the pressures of work, family, and everything in between. With humor and ...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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53:52
Unpack Snack: Outsourcing Time Anxiety
Timers have revolutionized Jess's relationship with time and reduced the constant stress of time blindness that comes with her neurodivergence. Through various timer tools and intentional calendar management, she's created systems that allow he...
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10:47
Making Space, Taking Time (Alternatively: January is the Longest Month)
Welcome to the first full episode of our podcast! We’re Jess and Lisa—best friends, moms, and professionals in our forties—figuring out the messy middle of life together. If you’ve ever felt stretched thin between work, family, and your own asp...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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43:54