Show Notes
Welcome back to Gaining Mom-entum! This week, Abi & Meghan sat down with two of Abi’s long-time friends, Patrick & Thad, to discuss fatherhood. (Note: Thad & Patrick are both cis-gendered males who are married to women.) They both identify as fathers/parents and work as educators. They came into the conversation ready to share and be vulnerable for which Meghan & Abi are grateful. Patrick & Thad share what the term fatherhood means to each of them which leads to a conversation on gendered parenting roles and if there are distinguishing characteristics between a great mother, a great father, and a great parent. They discuss how they parent with their partners and how they try to parent based more on each person’s strengths than defined roles. No parenting conversation would be complete without looking back at one’s own childhood, so they delve a bit into how their fathers, conversations with their fathers, and ideas around fatherhood have shaped the way they parent today. Thad shares his perspective about fatherhood lessons as someone who was adopted and whose biological parents found him in his mid-30s. They discuss sharing their emotions, being affectionate, expressing love to their children, and masculinity. Patrick shares how he is seeing so much more acceptance among the high school students he teaches now than when he was a high school student, but wonders if shifting expectations of gender roles are seen by parents who do not work in the education system. They discuss unlearning gendered ways of being and talking to friends about parenting. The group finishes the convo with Patrick and Thad sharing how they knew they wanted to become parents and what it is they hope their children will say about them when they’re adults. As always, thanks for listening! Share Gaining Mom-entum and follow/comment/review wherever you get your pods. IG: @gainingmom_entum Facebook: Gaining Mom-entum Podcast Email: [email protected] Music: Evan Dysart (Spotify and Bandcamp; Extended Cut of Podcast Theme for Gaining Mom-entum) Artwork: Catherine Cachia (IG: @catherinecachia, catherinecachia.com)
More from Gaining Mom-entum
Welcome to this special episode of Gaining Mom-entum! We’re back to spread some summer fun and add a suggestion for your family’s library. Abi recently published her first children’s picture book, Mobo Saves the Day, illustrated by friend of the pod, Catherine Cachia. Meghan hosts this Q&A with Abi and Catherine to discuss all things Mobo. Abi reads the story and then Meghan asks about their collaboration on this project, what they learned about themselves and their craft, who Mobo Saves the Day is for, how the world of Mobo was created, self-publishing, and their upcoming projects. Whew! They covered a lot of ground during their time back on the mics. We hope you enjoy it and then head over to abiolaregan.com to purchase a copy of Mobo Saves the Day (available in softcover and ebook). As always, thanks for listening! Abi’s website: www.abiolaregan.com Abi’s Instagram: @arwriting Catherine's Instagram: @catherinecachia Instagram: @gainingmom_entum Facebook: Gaining Mom-entum Podcast Email: [email protected] Music: Dysaart (Spotify and Bandcamp; Extended Cut of Podcast Theme for Gaining Mom-entum)
Abi’s poetry e-chapbook, Gaining Mom-entum: Poems, Parenting, and a Podcast is available now! (See below for more info)
Welcome to the penultimate episode of Gaining Mom-entum season 3! Abi & Meghan kick things off with what they’ve been listening to, reading, and watching lately that features Black artists and/or was made by Black creatives. Afterwards, they move into the subject of this episode - entrepreneurship. They are thrilled to welcome their guest, Christine Hardie, to the podcast to talk about starting her business, Riley’s Cidery. Christine shares how the idea for the business came about, familiarizing herself with the unfamiliar, and learning not to expect perfection. She talks about not letting the idea of making mistakes hold her back and that being “perfect in its own way”. She talks about asking for help, marketing, and embracing community by creating a space for people to gather and engage. Christine lets us know how she manages her time with the many hats she wears in her life as well as involving her children in the business in their own way. She shares with Meghan & Abi the challenges of entrepreneurship as well as her favourite parts of owning and operating a business. They round out the episode celebrating the gold medal that Riley’s Cidery’s Sip & Tell won at the International Beer and Cider Awards and with some advice that Christine would give to any parents looking to take the leap into starting a business.
Welcome back to another episode of Gaining Mom-entum! Meghan & Abi catch up on what they’re watching, playing, and listening to with their families these days. (Hint: They do talk about Bruno.)
Welcome back to Gaining Mom-entum! This week, Meghan & Abi start the episode off talking about the recent losses of three celebrities who played formative roles in their upbringings - Betty White, Sidney Poitier, and Bob Saget. Then they segue into this week’s topic - anger and frustration. They start with some definitions clarifying the differences between anger and frustration before exploring their own relationships with both of those feelings and how they’ve been exacerbated by the pandemic. They look back at their childhood expressions of anger and frustration and what those expressions look like for them now as parents. They reframe how we look at healthy expressions of anger but are clear that manifesting anger in a hurtful way is never to be condoned. They talk about burnout, their anger and frustration triggers, recognizing escalating emotions, as well as outdated gender roles in expressions of anger and racist stereotypes that affect how Abi expresses anger and parents about anger. They also discuss how they strive to find positive things to do with their anger so that expressing it can become a point of pride.