The Mental Load Chronicles
One couple’s real-time journey to rebalance work, home, and everything in between.
We’ve been married for 20 years. We’ve got three kids, multiple dogs, demanding careers—and more mental tabs open than our browsers can handle.
We’re not experts. We’re just two longtime partners trying to unpack the invisible labor that’s been building between us for years—and we’re doing it out loud, on purpose, in real time.
Each week, we sit down (sometimes tired, often interrupted) to talk through what the mental load really looks like in our home, what’s working, what’s not, and how we’re learning to share the weight more equitably.
With honesty, humor, and zero perfection, we’re inviting you along as we figure it out—one messy, meaningful conversation at a time.
Expect:
- Real talk about modern relationships
- Behind-the-scenes of our wins and fails
- Tools, conversations, and messy progress
- And plenty of “Oof, same” moments
Whether you’re a parent, a partner, or just tired of doing it all, you’ll find solidarity—and maybe some solutions—right here.
The Mental Load Chronicles
You Can Set It Down This Week
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Some weeks, everything stacks at once—school events, holidays, work, life… all of it.
This week, we didn’t have the capacity to record a full episode. And instead of pushing through, we chose to set something down.
If you’re overwhelmed right now, this is your permission slip. Take something off your plate.
Welcome back to the Mental Load Chronicles. This is going to be a short episode, but maybe it is one that you need this week. So we're in it now. Uh spring has sprung. We've got the band concerts, athletic extravaganzas, school events, sign-up emails, uh, all the things, all the sports, summer camps, everything is stacked on top of everything else. And it's all at the same time. So, first of all, I want to know who approved the schedule to have Passover and Easter fall during the same week. So we've got candy, we got matzah. Somehow we've got both in the same 24-hour period. And everybody still expects all of us to remember who needs what, when, and where. The kids have a ton going on right now. Work's been a lot, and I just stood in my kitchen eating what I'm pretty sure is like seven-month-old frozen cake. So as we talked, we decided we did not have capacity to do a full episode this week. We were like, can we push through? And the answer was hard pass. So, no, we can't. And really, this is the mental load. It's not about just the big conversations, it's everyday life. It's this, it's too much all at once. It's the weeks where everything piles up and something had to give. So the podcast is what's giving for us. Instead of staying up too late, forcing it, pretending we have more energy than we do, spoiler alert, we don't. We are choosing to set something down. I just want to say, especially to the moms listening, and you might not have heard this from someone lately, so let me be the one to say it. You are doing a really good job. Even if it doesn't feel like it, even if it feels messy, even if you forgot something or dropped something, or are currently realizing that something was due today, not tomorrow, that today is Monday, not Sunday. You're carrying a lot right now. Schedules and holidays and school things and emotions and logistics, and you're holding more than what people can see. You can set something down this week. It took me time to come to the realization that I had to set the podcast down this week. But not everything that we have to do this week is a high priority, and you too can set something down this week. Now, not everything, like we still have to feed our kids and you know, all that good stuff, but something. Choose one thing that you can set down this week and not feel guilty for it. Not everything has to be done today. Not everything has to be done by you. And I'm gonna say that piece again because it's the part that we're working through in the Mental Load Chronicles. Not everything has to be done by you. Delegate something this week. If you can't set something down, delegate something this week and be okay with the fact that it is going to be done in a way different than how you would do it. Not everything matters as much as it feels like it matters in the moment. Try to take a step back. We're taking a step back. We'll be back next week, but for now, try to take something off your plate. Try to look in the mirror and see what an amazing job you're doing and an amazing person you are. And let's hold that gratitude as we head into the chaotic whirlwind tornado spring that we have in front of us. We'll see you next week.