Shedding & Growth

Shedding and Growth: Navigating Life’s Shoreline with Lori Kendall

Join Lori Kendall in this heartfelt episode of the Real and Rooted podcast as she reflects on the power of connection, growth, and letting go. After a meaningful weekend with Coast Guard moms, she shares personal insights on grief, transition, and the importance of community during uncertain times.

Key Topics:

• The significance of the shoreline as a metaphor for reflection and transition

• Personal stories of grief, legacy, and honoring loved ones

• The importance of connection, community, and choosing one’s circle

• Transition out of military life and the search for steady grounding

• The concept of shedding what no longer serves us for growth

• Journaling prompts for self-reflection on releasing burdens

• Embracing opportunities and looking forward with hope and excitement

Timestamps: 

00:01 - Welcome and introduction to the shoreline metaphor 

00:29 - Reflection on a weekend getaway and meeting yourself where you are 00:59 - The power of community and shared experiences 

02:28 - Supporting the Cape May Community Foundation during COVID 

03:19 - Honoring loved ones and grief journey 04:00 - Permission to feel, cry, and grow 

04:59 - Connecting with women and moms from the Coast Guard community 05:35 - The value of shared legacy and loyalty 

06:41 - The importance of building new connections and paths 

07:36 - How differences in interests and life pace foster belonging 

08:36 - Choosing who to trust and include in your circle 

09:06 - Military sacrifices and the importance of relationships 

09:59 - Transition out of military life as a shift from structure to opportunity 

10:54 - The search for steady guidance after military service 

11:24 - Finding your lighthouse and sense of direction 

11:47 - The shoreline as a space to hold on and release 

12:12 - Reflection exercise: shedding what no longer serves 

12:40 - Encouragement to share our burdens for mutual support 

13:39 - The power of connection and shared presence 

14:01 - Personal story of grief and making difficult decisions 

15:35 - Growth as a stretch and opportunity for elevation 

16:00 - Shedding burdens and looking towards the future 

16:28 - Embracing opportunities and feeling the tides of change 

16:52 - Celebrating what’s next, inspired by weekend festivities 

17:18 - Encouragement to pursue what feels exciting and centered 

17:44 - Journaling prompt: what to shed and trust 

18:06 - Reflection on habits, heavy feelings, and transformation 

18:36 - Invitation to share what you’re shedding this week 

19:28 - Closing thoughts on community and moving forward

Resources & Links:

• Cape May Community Foundation

• Puddle Pirates

Connect with Lori:

• Facebook
•  Missing Pieces
• The Kole T. Kendall Anchored Navigation Project

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:12

I work as a great navigator. A companion for the tough times in life. Author of the missing pieces. The final stuff in your house. Each week will explore the experiences of the houses. The breakthroughs and the world of honest conversations that transform that we are becoming. This is a space to reconnect with yourself. Reclaim the pieces that you've lost along the way. And grow in ways you never thought were possible or expected. Let's get rooted and begin. Tonight's Sunday Shoreline is a little the same, and yep, it's a little different. For one, you might be asking yourself about the Sunday shoreline. And of course, tonight being Monday, but I was so exhausted after a fun-filled getaway weekend with some other Coast Guard moms that I thought it's probably best if I just wait and record this episode this evening. You see, the shoreline has a way of meeting you exactly where you are. Never too early, never too late, but just right on time. It gives you space to look back on the week that you've walked through, and just as gently, it nudges you to look ahead to where you might be going next. And this week I did something a little different. My commute on the way home from the getaway weekend um was a little long, but it gave me time to think and reflect and ponder what conversations, what feelings, what experiences may have contributed to my life's journey. Some of you who follow our nonprofit page already know. I stepped out of my bubble for the first time in two years, two months, and three days. I left what has become my safe space. The place filled with people who know me, who love me, who have held both the before and the after of my story. I went away for the weekend and it was a postcard kind of trip. A coasty mom's getaway. The kind that's filled with laughter that comes easy, conversations that go deep without warning, a shared understanding that doesn't need much explanation. We wrapped the evening supporting the Cape May Community Foundation, an organization that showed up in one of the hardest seasons of my life. You see, during my son's graduation right in the middle of COVID, when families weren't allowed to be there, those were the people who stood in the gap, celebrated those graduates as they were bust out of the gates of the training center. They stood arm in arm and hand in hand, side by side on the streets lining the small community, and celebrated those graduates stepping into their future, into their service, into what they hoped would be their Coast Guard legacy. And being back in that space this weekend, it did something to me. It gave me a chance to reflect to feel where I am in my own grief journey. And I sometimes call it layered. Bigger than language. It gave me a platform to share my son.

SPEAKER_01 5:01

His stories, his strength, his experiences, his struggles.

SPEAKER_00 5:12

And yes, the heroic ways he showed up in the world to help keep others safe. But more than anything, it gave me permission. Permission to cry. Permission to feel. Permission to recognize that there is still growth ahead of me. And maybe most importantly, it gave me the opportunity. Opportunity to sit with people who love the Coast Guard community in the way that it's just hard to explain unless you've lived it. Opportunity to connect with women, moms, who are I chuckle, I'm sorry. Who are truly cut from a different kind of stone. A little loud, a lot of fun, fiercely loyal and deeply caring. We were promote our kiddos. We're a mom of matchmaking services, GI bills, and more care and love than most could ever imagine. I'll tell you that four and a half hour drive was worth every single mile. I would do it again and again as many times as they'll have me. Because even though my journey looks different now, even though I don't get to collect new stories in the same way, they still make space for me to carry my son's legacy forward.

SPEAKER_01 7:01

A legacy of care, of comfort, of showing up. And what it reminded me of clear as day is this. More friendships to gather, more opportunities to gently intentionally alter the course.

SPEAKER_00 7:31

Not because what we've done is wrong. Not because where we've been is meaningless. But because sometimes we're simply being asked to chart something new. A path that leans into connection. A path that builds unity. A path that invites us to truly see the people standing to the left and to the right of us. Because here's the truth.

SPEAKER_01 8:03

We're not all the same.

SPEAKER_00 8:05

Our interests don't line up perfectly. Our lives don't move at the same pace, and that's okay.

SPEAKER_01 8:16

But when we step into each other's lives, even for a moment, and we offer something as simple as presents, a smile, a conversation, we create something lasting. We create longing. The kind where the people meet you.

SPEAKER_00 8:45

Maybe for a season in your life, maybe they become part of your story. Maybe they're woven into the tapestry of life. Never to be unraveled. They always say you don't get to pick your family, that your friends become your family over time. But I don't know. I think there's a little more choice in it than that. I think you do get to choose who you let into your circle. Who you trust with your story.

SPEAKER_01 9:24

Who you sympathize.

SPEAKER_00 9:28

And wouldn't it be something if people we choose, our friends, rose to meet us at the same level of family? Because military life is not easy. There are sacrifices most people don't see. The events that you miss, the moves that you didn't ask for. The roles that you step into that were never really yours to begin with. And I'm paraphrasing here, but the message that stayed with me from this weekend is this. It was offered to us by Don from Puddle Pirates. When structure shifts, all that's left is opportunity. When you transition out of the military where someone has told you where to be, what to wear, what job you will be doing, and then long after the uniform is folded, hung in the closet, and put away.

SPEAKER_01 10:44

Your life is meant with uncertainty.

SPEAKER_00 10:52

And that transition doesn't look the same for everyone. Some people find their footing quickly. Some struggle. Not because they're not capable, but because they've lost the lighthouse. That steady light in the distance, the one that guides you, grounds you, and reminds you where you're headed. And maybe just maybe that's what we're all searching for. A lighthouse that doesn't dim, a connection that doesn't disappear. A sense of direction when everything feels uncertain. And maybe that's what the shoreline is meant to be. A place where you hold on to what serves you and gently release what doesn't.

SPEAKER_01 11:47

But wouldn't it be easier just a little bit if you didn't have to walk that path alone.

SPEAKER_00 11:57

So here's where I want to pause. Not to stop the conversation, but invite you into it. Right now, wherever you are, take a second. If you're able, send a quick message, drop a comment, or even whisper it to yourself. What's one thing you're ready to shed this week? One habit, one thought, one weight you've been carrying that no longer fits who you're becoming. And if you feel comfortable, share it with us. Because someone else listening right now might be holding that same exact thing. And your courage to name it might be the permission they didn't know they needed. So again, reach out. A simple I'm thinking of you goes a long way. Further than we realized oftentimes. Because connection, that's what it's all about. Connection, presence, shared moments that remind us we're not doing this alone. And I know many of you know my story. Two years, two months, three days ago, my life changed forever.

SPEAKER_01 13:27

Grief doesn't forget, it just learns how to sit beside you.

SPEAKER_00 13:32

And this week, I made another hard decision. I chose to shed something that no longer serves me. I walked away from a role I spent my entire career building toward. I'm not the same person anymore. And sometimes growth should stretch you. It should ask more of you than you think sometimes is possible. It should call you higher. And I don't know if I'm fully ready, but I am willing.

SPEAKER_01 14:08

So tonight it's about shedding.

SPEAKER_00 14:13

Shedding what weighs you down. Shedding what no longer serves your growth. Shedding the peace of this past week that doesn't belong in your future. And instead looking ahead. Here's to the week in front of you. One step closer to where you're meant to be. One step closer to where you're destined to arrive at. Here's to growth that feels bigger than expected. To opportunities that make your heart race just a little. And if you can take a moment. Stand at the edge of the ocean. Let the waves reach your feet. Feel the water move around your ankles like it's waking something up inside of you. Because just like that tide, something new is always coming in. Much like the champagne that we popped this weekend, I'm ready to celebrate what's next. What's forming? What's waiting right at the edge of my own shoreline. And I hope you are too. I hope that you feel this spark of excitement, that quiet pull towards something more. I hope you're surrounded by love, the kind that comforts and holds you steady. And I hope you remember this. It's okay to let go of what has always been. Because when you do, you make room for everything that's still meant to find you. Now it wouldn't be a Sunday shoreline or a Wednesday dive-in without a journaling prompt, so go ahead and grab a sheet of paper, a pen, or a pencil, and write down the journaling prompt to uh transfer over into your journal that you're keeping. I want to ask you, where in your life are you being asked to shed what no longer serves you? And what would it look like to trust what's waiting on the other side of that release? If that feels too big, start here. What am I holding on to out of habit? Not healing. What feels heavy that once felt like home? Who might I become if I allowed myself to gently let go? If this episode met you where you needed it tonight, I'd love to hear from you. Share your one thing you're shedding this week, whether it's in a comment, a message, or with someone you trust. And if you're not ready to share it out loud, write it down. Fold it up. Carry it with you this week as a quiet promise to yourself. We're building something here together. A shoreline where stories are shared, where growth is honored, and where no one has to navigate the waves alone. I'm so glad you're here, and I'm so glad that you decided to join us this evening. I hope and pray for a very special week for you. Have a good night. In Missing Pieces, the final salute, a mother's journey through service, sorrow, and survival. You'll walk through my story of preparing for the service of grief, of resilience, and rediscovery. And along the way, I hope you find space for your own story. This book isn't about being perfect. It's about becoming whole again, even when some pieces feel forever changed. Order your copy of Missing Pieces today on Amazon or at MissingPieceshook.com. Join other readers who are finding their own story.