Your Mom™

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?

What do you wish I understood? (And maybe...what do you wish I understood better about you?)

If you had a crystal ball that could tell you anything about your future, what would you want to

know?

Thanks as always for listening. Good luck with the final 500 days of May :)

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

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Our brains love a binary: extraordinary vs. ordinary, good vs. bad, motivation vs. laziness, beauty vs. brokenness. But, real life is rarely cut and dry. What do we lose in our attempt to have it all? What might we gain if we ditched the dichotomies?

Join Ashley Adamson and Chantal Below in their effort to live in the messy middle, to celebrate our scars, to acknowledge the blessings of a skinned knee, and to adopt some side character energy in 2024.

Like most things worth doing, embracing “both/and” thinking ain’t easy. It encourages us to put our problems into perspective. It challenges our core beliefs about success and satisfaction. It asks us to pay attention to ourselves and those around us.

And yet, this practice also allows us to release the pressure valve and reject the pursuit of perfection. It reminds us that, in the wise words of the great Jess Sims, “You are allowed to be a work in progress and a masterpiece at the same damn time.”

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About the hosts:

Chantal Below moved from the US to England in third grade. She never developed a love of cricket, but did develop a fascination with humanity, unconsciously examining how different cultures and beliefs expand or limit our choices.

After graduating from Georgetown University, she started her career as a 4th grade teacher with Teach For America, hoping to expand choices for too-often marginalized children in low-income schools. She loved the energy of the kids and the vibrancy of the community, but no one really wanted her teaching long division.

Since then, she’s been exploring the many dimensions of the human condition while avoiding math. She worked for years in the education non-profit world leading teams and developing leadership development programs. Then, she ventured out on her own and started Redcliff Coaching, Inc. She supports leaders in all industries - with clients at Google, Homeless Prenatal Program, and to get out of their own way and live and lead in the way they most want.

She also attempts to parent three kids who are curious, compassionate, hysterical, and only vaguely pay attention to her advice. She lives in Oakland, CA.

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Ashley Adamson is an Emmy-award winning storyteller and lead host for the Pac-12 Network. Honored by Cynopsis as a “Game Changing On-Air Talent”, her biggest achievement to date was being crowned the arm wrestling champion in third grade.

A native of Denver, CO, she earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Boston College followed by a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University.

Adamson lives in San Francisco with her very handsome husband and two young children. In 2022, she started the Your MomTM podcast with Lisa McCaffrey to honor and celebrate the beautiful, messy randomness of motherhood. She dreams of one day becoming a professional karaoke singer in the Florida Keys.

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

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

Curious what it takes to raise two superstar NFL pass rushers? Cheryl Bosa is here with the answers. Our first interview of 2023 features the incredible woman who raised Joey and Nick Bosa.

Cheryl opens up about what she did as a mom that really made a difference, what she would do differently if she could go back and do it over again, and why she was so strict with her boys when they were growing up.

Come for the hilarious origin story of the famous Bosa shrug celebration _(ツ)_/ ̄ and stay for the best gender reveal story of all time.

Joey Bosa is a defensive end for the Los Angeles Chargers. His younger brother Nick is a defensive end for the San Francisco 49ers, and is the odds-on favorite to be named NFL Defensive Player of the Year next month.

A reminder you can watch this episode on Your MomTM's YouTube channel.

Good luck to both Bosa boys this weekend in the playoffs, thanks as always for listening and please subscribe so you don't miss out on Your Mom!

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

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

You all brought the heat with your questions in this month's mailbag episode. Hear Ashley and Lisa answer a wide array of listener inquiries including: the biggest thing they've learned from motherhood, how many kids Lisa hopes Christian has, Ashley's advice to an aspiring broadcaster and how to have an easy labor [spoiler: you don't].

You may notice that for every question in this mailbag, Destiny's Child seemingly had the answer.

Dylan McCaffrey (Lisa's third son) makes a surprise guest appearance as part of the mailbag Q&A and the moms relive some of their favorite moments from an unforgettable week in Phoenix for Super Bowl LVII.

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You can support us by supporting our partners! We are able to keep growing and celebrating motherhood because of their support.

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BODYARMOR has been stocked in the McCaffrey fridge for many years. They offer the best in sports hydration and our current favorite is their Dragonfruit Berry BODYARMOR LYTE. Trust us on this one.

Most importantly- thank YOU to our beautiful listeners for following along. We love you. Now go hug a mom!

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

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

The day after the Super Bowl, Chantal Below’s son was so devastated by the 49ers' loss that he requested to stay home from school. Chantal, who admittedly doesn’t care much about sports, was mystified by his utter desolation. This got us thinking: what is it about team sports that inspires such extreme emotions? Where’s the line between loyal fan and zealous fanatic?

In an attempt to answer these questions, we dive into the deep end of fan psychology: the intersection of sports and religion, the gender dynamics of emotional repression, and the toxicity of sideline critics. We question why certain “fans” spew negative comments on social media after a tough loss and others set cars on fire after a momentous victory.

We also celebrate the inspiring side of fandom: the community it creates, the resilience it engenders, and the respect it promotes for the players putting their bodies and souls on the line. As a lifelong sports enthusiast, Ashley shares how watching football kept her connected to her dad during a tough time in her life. As a mom and wife of avid athletes, Chantal acknowledges the magic in the madness of youth sports. And, as a longtime Buffalo Bills fan, our executive producer Betsy Bloom offers an ode to Bills mafia’s enduring loyalty even in the most trying times

So, whether your mental health hinges on a win or you watch sports for the snacks, we hope you’re a fan of this episode. Stay tuned next week for our SuperBowl recap with Lisa, who undeniably earned the right to skip school the next day.

Watch this episode on YouTube.

Questions, comments, feedback? We love hearing from you, drop us a line [email protected]. And as always, thanks for listening!

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About Chantal Below:

Chantal moved from the US to England in third grade. As an expat, she promptly began saying biscuit instead of cookie and spelling color with a ‘u’ in order to fit in. She never developed a love of cricket, but did develop a fascination with humanity, unconsciously examining how different cultures and beliefs expand or limit our choices.

After graduating from Georgetown University, she started her career as a 4th grade teacher with Teach For America, hoping to expand choices for too-often marginalized children in low-income schools. She loved the energy of the kids and the vibrancy of the community, but no one really wanted her teaching long division.

Since then, she’s been exploring the many dimensions of the human condition while avoiding math. She worked for years in the education non-profit world leading teams and developing leadership development programs. Then, she ventured out on her own and started Redcliff Coaching, Inc. She also attempts to parent three kids who are curious, compassionate, hysterical, and only vaguely pay attention to her advice. She lives in Oakland, CA.

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

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