3 with Bri - Married Working Mom

“Just wait until you have kids.” “Just wait until they're teenagers.” We've all heard some version of those warnings. But here's something I've been thinking about lately: No matter how much advice we receive, we're all experiencing these seasons of life for the first time. In just a few months, I'll be a mom of three teenagers. And while my kids are figuring out what it me...

I love a good plan. I also love a good tangent. And sometimes those two things don't play particularly well together. In this episode of 3 with Bri: Married Working Mom , I'm talking about one of my favorite phrases: Keep the main thing the main thing. From lesson planning and teachable moments to parenting teenagers, managing family schedules, and navigating the distractions of everyday l...

Somewhere between Pinterest-perfect classrooms, elaborate games, and social media inspiration, many teachers have begun feeling responsible for entertaining students rather than engaging them in meaningful learning. But engagement isn't glitter on a worksheet. And a classroom full of excitement isn't necessarily a classroom full of thinking. In this episode of 3 with Bri , we're challe...

What happens when both people in a marriage are running low on capacity? After 18 years of marriage, Josh and I have learned a thing or two about building a strong foundation. Much like the home we bought as newlyweds, our marriage has good bones. But even good structures get tested. This fall, between Josh's torn ACL, my broken foot, three busy kids, a rambunctious puppy, and the chaos of Ban...

On Sunday morning, Bri tumbled down the last four basement stairs and landed with a fractured foot, crutches, and a to-do list that suddenly wasn't hers to do. No driving. No pickups. No drop-offs. And a week full of things she had always assumed were hers to carry. This episode is a little fresh and a little surprising, even to Bri. She shares the story (including a very well-prepared trip to...

You ask a question and the same five hands go up. Everyone else studies their fingernails. Whether it's a classroom, a dinner table, or a staff meeting, that silence can feel awful, and it's easy to assume the worst: they don't care, they weren't listening, they're checked out. In this episode, Bri unpacks what's really happening between having a thought and being willing t...

A student's question about teacher burnout sends Bri into what she wishes every future teacher (and every mom) knew earlier: you are not the weather in the room, you're the pressure system. This episode unpacks the atmospheric pressure analogy plus a real look at how well-being and community can look completely different for an extrovert and an introvert under the same roof.

Back-to-school week always surfaces the same invisible question: why does one person always seem to be carrying it all? In this episode, Bri walks through a parking-lot moment over forgotten Kleenexes to unpack the "hidden curriculum" of unspoken expectations at home and in the classroom — and makes the case for distributing the load instead of concentrating it in one exhausted person.

Season 2 of 3 with Bri is here! A few years ago, Bri might have defined summer rest as sleeping in, tackling a house project, or losing an afternoon to something creative. This summer? Rest looked more like early mornings with a Lab puppy, coffee in hand, and a quiet backyard before the rest of the house woke up. In this season premiere, Bri catches us up on a summer filled with an unexpected inju...

Season 1 of 3 with Bri comes to a close with a reflection on what this space has truly been about—not just the topics, but the life lived inside all of them. In this episode, Bri revisits the “pearls” from the season—what it means to love people in real, daily ways, to carry both visible and invisible responsibilities, and to remain steady in full and demanding seasons. From marriage and motherhoo...

Spring can be beautiful and brutal in the same week—and grief can feel the same way. In this episode, I share a personal reflection on losing my dad and how grief has continued to move through my life in different seasons. I talk about missing not just who he was to me, but who he would have been to my husband and children. This conversation is about holding both grief and hope at the same time—wi...

Why do two people do the exact same thing for completely different reasons? In this episode, I’m sharing one of the tools that has helped me better understand myself, my relationships, and even my work as an educator and mom: the Enneagram. This isn’t just about personality. The Enneagram helps uncover the deeper motivations behind our behavior — why we respond the way we do, what drives us, and h...

This episode is a quiet reminder of why the teaching profession still matters. In today’s conversation, I sit down with Hailey—an elementary education major in her final semester before student teaching. I’ve had the privilege of knowing her as a student, and now we get to talk as two educators at different points in the journey. We talk about: What led her back to teaching after considering other...

What if the energy you bring into a room is shaping everything more than your words ever could? In this episode of 3 with Bri , I’m reflecting on a full week—from bringing home a new puppy to sending my pre-service teachers into their practicum experience—and the powerful reminder that energy is always being read. Whether it’s a puppy learning your cues or students responding to your presence, the...

Community has been a defining thread throughout my life. From growing up in a rural community… to the people who showed up when my father died… to the colleagues who helped me survive my first years of teaching… I’ve seen again and again that we were never meant to carry life alone. In this episode, I reflect on the power of community—both the people down the hall and the people across the country...

In this episode of 3 with Bri , I’m speaking directly to educators—and to mothers, because many of us are both. After spending time with a room full of passionate teachers—from student teachers to 20-year veterans—I was reminded of the heavy load educators are carrying right now. The weight is real. The expectations are high. And too often, when teachers ask for help, it’s not for themselves—it’s...

This is the final episode in our three-part conversation with Dr. Siri Erickson, certified menopause doula and founder of The Compassion Way. In Part 3, we move beyond symptoms and into meaning. What does it really mean when a woman says, “I feel like I’m losing myself”? For one woman, it’s brain fog affecting her work. For another, it’s sleep collapse. For another, it’s athletic performance shift...

In Part 2 of our series with certified menopause doula Dr. Siri Erickson, we move from awareness to advocacy. Why are we still whispering about menopause? Why does it feel loud in our algorithms but quiet in real life? And how do you walk into a doctor’s office prepared instead of dismissed? Together, Bri and Dr. Erickson unpack: The cultural shame around aging and why menopause still feels taboo...

What if the changes you’re feeling aren’t a sign that something is wrong — but evidence that your body is moving through a powerful transition? In this first episode of our special series, Bri sits down with certified menopause doula Dr. Siri Erickson to begin an honest, illuminating conversation about perimenopause, menopause, and the support women deserve but often don’t receive. With a doctorat...

In seasons when the world feels unsettled, many of us are carrying more than we can name. The headlines are heavy. The work of mothering, partnering, and showing up doesn’t slow down—it presses closer. In today’s episode of 3 with Bri , I offer a story instead of solutions. The story of Miep Gies, an ordinary working woman who lived through extraordinary danger during World War II—and whose quiet,...

January has a way of feeling like five days packed into one—and 2026 is already asking more of us than we can hold. In this episode of 3 with Bri , I’m sharing three grounding reflections for the married, working mom who feels stretched thin and overloaded. We talk about: ​Asking the simple but powerful question: How am I taking care of myself? ​Letting go of “everything” and choosing the somethin...

Some lessons don’t come from lectures—they come from lived moments. In this episode, Bri shares a family story that instantly became part of their “story catalogue”: a real-life moment that reminded them why dignity, humanity, and good customer service still matter. What began as a simple Christmas errand turned into a powerful contrast between being dismissed and being respected—all witnessed thr...

A new year often brings fresh hope—blank calendars, a little more daylight, and the feeling that maybe this season can be lighter. But for married working moms, teachers, and students alike, the work doesn’t pause just because the calendar flips. In this episode, Bri reflects on the realities of midyear school life—as a mom of three active kids, a teacher of preservice educators, and a partner jug...

In Episode 21 of 3 with Bri , Bri reflects on how grief never truly ends—it ebbs, flows, and sometimes arrives unexpectedly, especially during the holidays. Christmas, with its deep roots in tradition, can bring both warmth and heartbreak as memories of loved ones and long-held rituals resurface. Bri shares vivid memories of her childhood Christmas Eve traditions—multi-generational gatherings, Swe...

In Part 2 of her conversation with Dr. Mary Westby, Bri dives deeper into what it really looks like to stay in a demanding profession while raising a young child and caring for aging parents. Mary, an athletic trainer and director of a master’s program in athletic training, speaks candidly about the pressures working moms face in non–family-friendly fields—and why so many talented women are pushed...