Your Mom™ - Ep. 65: Mother's Day Special with ESPN's Molly McGrath

Ep. 65: Mother's Day Special with ESPN's Molly McGrath

05/12/24 • 56 min

We’re thrilled to celebrate Mother’s Day with the inimitable Molly McGrath and her incredible mom, Deb!

Molly currently serves as a sideline reporter for ESPN/ABC Saturday college football games, as well as college basketball. She is also the devoted mom of Ray (3) and Pierce (1). Molly went into labor with Ray the night of the 2021 National Championship. Since then she has covered three National Championships, including one while eight months pregnant with Pierce. One of her proudest moments was finding out that she was nominated for a Sports Emmy while nursing Pierce at just two weeks old.

Ashley and Molly are connected not only as sports broadcasters and moms, but also as Boston College alums (Go Eagles!). During her time at BC, Molly created the student reporter role and received the “Athletic Director’s Award for Academic Excellence.” According to Lisa, Ashley won the “Best Bar Hopping Award”, which is basically just as impressive.

Meanwhile, Lisa and Molly bonded over the shared struggles and joys of being a #boymom. And though this interview was their first official meeting, tune in to hear why Lisa had her eye on Molly for many years.

Just when we thought we couldn’t cram any more love into this episode, Molly’s mom Deb joined us as a surprise guest. Deb is a retired cardiac nurse and former head of her department at San Francisco General. She currently volunteers for Hospice and cares for Molly’s father, who is terminally ill with lung cancer. She is, in Molly’s words, “a saint.” No one could hold back the tears as Molly and Deb shared their mutual love and admiration for each other. We don’t pick favorite episodes, but if we did, this one would be up there...

On behalf of all of us at YourMom, Happy Mother’s Day love to all the moms and mother-figures out there making the world a better place. We love you.

We also know for many people, Mother’s Day weekend can be a painful time. In honor of anyone facing and grieving the loss of their own mom, we recorded an episode last year with Yogi Roth to pay tribute to his late mother, Devorah Channah Roth. We hope you can find comfort in Yogi’s story and Devo’s lasting memory.

Questions, ideas or feedback? Email: [email protected].

Psst...our merch store is live! yourmom.co/shop

We’re thrilled to celebrate Mother’s Day with the inimitable Molly McGrath and her incredible mom, Deb!

On behalf of all of us at YourMom, Happy Mother’s Day love to all the moms and mother-figures out there making the world a better place. We love you.

Questions, ideas or feedback? Email: [email protected].

Psst...our merch store is live! yourmom.co/shop

Previous Episode

Ep. 64: "People need to be called in." Rachel Wegner explains why she wrote "To Be a Jew" and the healing power of sharing your story.

Back in October, Ashley came across a Medium story written in the aftermath of the Hamas terrorist attacks: “To Be A Jew” by Rachel Wegner.

As Ashley read the first line–“I believe in the power of stories to bring people together, to build bridges and to create connection”–she stopped in her tracks. She had jotted down almost the exact same words during a previous conversation with our executive producer Betsy Bloom. The universe was sending a powerful message: reach out to Rachel to see if she would share her story on the pod. Long story, short: she generously agreed, and we are thrilled to now share it with you.

The Jewish holiday of Passover– which commemorates the Israelites' freedom from slavery in Egypt– begins at sundown on Monday, April 22nd and ends the evening of Tuesday, April 30th. It is a time of reflection and celebration, an opportunity to be together in community to acknowledge an ancient, complicated history and lift each other up with unrelenting hope for a future where all people are fully free.

In this episode, we explore Rachel's personal struggle with modern-day othering and her internal quest for freedom while also rejoicing in the moments that bring her light and keep her hope for a future of true togetherness alive.

We hope this episode inspires you to build your own bridges of connection, be they across the table or across the aisle. Chag Sameach!

About Rachel Wegner:

"I am an educator and school leader with over 20 years of experience teaching and leading in schools. I believe education is freedom and it is the key to the Jewish concept of "tikkun olam" - repairing the world. When we know, love and serve students fully, we create the next generation of learners, leaders and listeners who believe in their abilities and have the skills to create change. I am passionate about equity work and it is at the center of what I do, what I believe in and what I have come to see as the most important work there is. I believe dialogue founded on trust, intentionality and vulnerability has the power to rebuild dysfunctional systems and structures so everyone has an opportunity to live their most meaningful life."

Questions, ideas or feedback? Email: [email protected].

Psst...our merch store is live! yourmom.co/shop

Next Episode

Ep. 66: Why we need to record conversations with the people we love

We’re halfway through what teachers and parents know to be “the thousand days of May”, a month of end-of-year celebrations, sports tournaments, field trips, dance recitals, and...the burnout that comes along with it.

Amid their hectic schedules, Ashley, Chantal, and Betsy found time this week to sit down and interview their family members: Ashley’s daughter, who just turned five; Chantal’s nine-year-old son and 11 and 14-year-old daughters; and Betsy’s husband. This is an exercise close to Ashley’s heart; she’s been on a year-long journey to sit down and record conversations with her immediate and extended family. In fact, she’s even starting a company based on this very concept (more to come on that soon!).

While Chantal and Betsy were initially hesitant to set aside the time (see above, re: the thousand days of May), they were both pleasantly surprised by how easy and impactful it ended up being. In the midst of to-do lists and daily tasks, we rarely sit down solely with the intention of learning something new about our loved ones.

Ashley has always believed in the power of preserving stories, and a recent experience only reaffirmed her conviction. A few weeks ago, Ashley’s father suffered from a stroke. While he’s now out of the hospital and recovering, there were a few hours where Ashley wasn’t sure if she’d ever speak to him again. In addition to her feelings of shock and grief, she felt a deep peace that she could only attribute to the fact that nothing has been left unsaid between the two of them.

So, if you’ve been waiting for a sign to sit down and interview your loved ones, it’s here. We’ve even got a few starter questions ready for you:

What is your favorite book?

How would you describe yourself?

What was the best gift you ever received?

What was the best gift you’ve ever given someone else?

Describe a perfect day. Where would you go, who would be there,what would you do?

What is the best quality in a friend?

What is important to you right now? (or who is important to you right now)

What do you think you are good at?

What is one of your favorite memories of us together?

How do you think we are alike? How are we different?

Is there a question you want to ask me?