Should Have Listened to My Mother Podcast

Did your mother ever suggest you take a 'SeaMester'-a semester off from college to sail to the caribbean and keep a journal? Or maybe your mom convinced your dad to quit his job and jump in the car for a once in a lifetime family vacation to Alaska? Or how about, forgo Christmas in order to participate in an anti Vietnam war protest in DC? Most likely not, but Tim Wacker's mother did . Ronnie Wack...

 "Have I Taught You Everything I Know", a book of daily entries, sheds light on who exactly McGrath's mom was/is and helps clarify her mom's personality and life choices and philosophies.  Monette and her mom were always two peas in a pod regardless of the complicated family history....(with 8 sets of parents and two divorces). "I had put my mom on a pedestal and later learned that no one is perfe...

Rachel's father was a prominent doctor and pastor in Brazil. Unfortunately, Rachel's dad passed away when she was only 9 months old. After a few short years, Theresa, Rachel's mother, finds herself moving to the US on behalf of a sponsorship from a Christian church mainly because of her diseased husband's reputation. The two women relied heavily on the church community for support, including every...

My guest is a licensed professional clinical counselor in the state of Ohio.  She has over 30 years experience working with children and parents. Friedman passionately emphasizes, "I love struggling moms, they're trying to heal generational trauma through their own parenting." Ms. Friedman also provides services through  a membership program called childanxietysupport.com, for parents who are pare...

Sharon, Shaun's mom had 2 kids and  was living in subsidized housing when she  started her janitorial  business in the CD, central district of Seattle, WA.  People laughed and were critical of her because she was 'cleaning houses' but mother knew best.  Lots of drugs and crime hit their neighborhood in the 1980's and she knew she had to make a living to get her kids out of that neighborhood. Mom's...

Once Lorraine and I agreed on a date and time to record the interview, I started doing more research on her background and experience.  On her website, http://lorraineduffymerkl.com/, I found one of her demo reels from way back when she was writing and producing promos for a number of different tv networks. As I'm listening to one of her promo reels, I thought I heard something that sounded vaguel...

"Grenada is  very traditional" says my guest, Moksha, who was born and raised on the island and now lives in the US. "A large portion of  Grenadians still believe that 'little girls should be seen and not heard' and girls should concentrate on domestics and house keeping," continues my guest. Coincidentally, that 'saying' about little girls is an English proverb.   Grenada was colonized by the Eng...

He's not a professional comic but laughter comes easy for David Thomas. It's actually one field that he hasn't tried professionally, but would love to some day.  Thomas is a Global Professional Speaker and a CEO Presentation Skills Coach. In case you haven't heard about his crazy memory abilities,  he's also an International Grandmaster of Memory, broken Guinness record for reciting Pi to 22,500 d...

If you seek physical healing, emotional healing, relationship coaching, nutrition/lifestyle advice, Dr. Jennifer Lamonica specializes in Chiropractic, Acupuncture, Nutrition, Face Reading and more.  Dr. Lamonica is a graduate of New York Chiropractic College and has been a licensed chiropractor since 1984.  She is based out of Mineola, New York. This episode of SHLTMM, Jennifer shares her stories...

Today, Kevin Jerome is the proud owner of four companies, a far cry from what  he thought his future would be when he was a teen.  " A kid who grew up in a 2 bedroom apartment, living with 14 people, evicted twice as a teen," says Jerome, " I'm  a true example of how you can turn your life around." At a young age, Kevin  taught himself to read and eventually how to drive out of necessity.  He real...

Dr. Landers' mother completed her master's degree in library science and  worked  full time as a school librarian in the 1950's and  60's long before that was the norm for  women/mothers. "My mother grew up on a farm, lived through the Great Depression and met my dad, a WWII veteran after the war," says Landers. "She was a natural born giver, always looking after the needs of others," say the doct...

Father Jim  can hardly contain himself when asked about his mother.  "She was my biggest supporter, she's one of the main  reasons I became a priest."  Renea loved all her children equally, so she said on a regular basis, but Father Jim is convinced he was her favorite.  The only sibling to attend college, Father Jim completed his undergraduate and 2 graduate degrees from Seton Hall University, So...

My guest, Ritzy Periwinkle, host of the podcast "Word To Your Mama,"  survived her mother's abusive partner but at a very young age, she believed she was powerful enough to harm him in order to save her mother.   At a young age,she knew she wouldn't repeat her mother's choice to stay in an abusive relationship but her mom often felt helpless with all her limitations as a female immigrant and a mid...

This episode of Should Have Listened To My Mother, contains sensitive information and may not be appropriate for all ages. "A Girl Raised By Wolves" is Lockey Maisonneuve's memoir of her journey through sex trafficking,  cancer, murder and more. What does a little girl do when both parents are raging alcoholics and extremely neglectful? She kept hoping that  it was all a big mistake and her real f...

As an only child, Kristina got lots and lots of love.  Many of the life lessons Kristina learned from her mom as a child, she's able to use with her own children, and that makes her  happy.  Judy, Kristina's mom, was always very giving and she never expected anything in return.  Her mother's advice was "do what you lover." So at 6 years old, Kristina began to write books and stories and she's stil...

Her dream was to become and archeologist, but instead she became a bacteriologist. As a scientist in the 1930's, one of Alice Attride's most memorable experiences  was when antibiotics became available and cured so many. She loved science, her children and she  loved helping neighbors and people of her community. Alice went out of her way regularly to help anyone in need. Bill loved his childhood....

Louise Moon Miller didn't go to college till she was 60 years old. When she was young there was a war going on and she felt obligated to help. She volunteered for the Red Cross and trained at Walter Reed Hospital and served as a surgical nurse, more or less in a M.A.S.H. Unit, -the 59th Evacuation Hospital. Hear her daughter, Jody Miller Olcott of Hopewell NJ,  tells stories of how her mother put...

Myung Hee Kim is South Korean. She is the mother of 3 girls, a college graduate, former pre-school teacher and  theologian. She's responsible for starting the Grace Daycare Center in Queens, NY,  which is affiliated with the Korean Church of Queens. My guest, Jung Yoon-Leah Kim, is the eldest of the 3 daughters and an Acupuncturist, Cranial Sacral Practitioner, Doula and healer practicing in NY an...

My Latina guest, Zeahlot Lopez,  LMFT LPCC,  is first generation American, business owner and college graduate.    She's  CEO of 2 different companies.  She coaches professionals to develop their own practice and she helps individuals heal from Mama Drama -"Difficult Mamas."  Zeahlot is a licensed Cosmetologist (at a very young age) and a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California.   Ble...

Being the local Doctor and the Doctor's wife was a saving grace for         Hanni's family. Shortly after the German Army entered Vienna in 1938, the family started the paperwork in trying to immigrate to Massachusetts. It took quite a long time for them to secure all the paperwork and a job in Boston for her father, but shortly there after they were on their journey to America. The children's boo...

Eddie's mother had to deal with adversity and chaos from a very early age, yet she always remained calm. She was the only child of a single mother and  she never knew her father until later on in life. She fell in love and got married at the age of 16, had two children and became a single mother herself by the time her oldest son, Eddie, was 5 years old. Barbara was  hardworking and had the help o...

“My parents are supportive of me and I’ve always considered the presence of my parents a great, great, great fortune”. Stephane feels especially fortunate having had his parents support throughout his budding career. Corinne, Stephane's mother, was a  first grade teacher in France and she was meticulous and dedicated to her  young students.  She fully supports her son's career choice and even help...

"There's a lot of waking up going on with woman", says Rosjke.  "Women, were expected to be  emotionally mute and not have any needs of their own."  It's sad but true, too many generations of the women caring for the family and home did not have a voice of their own.  This is one of the main causes for the miscommunication between  mother and  daughter. Ms. Hasseldine goes on to say "to understand...

My guest enjoyed writing these little notes/rhythmes  for her mother to discover, as much as her mom loved uncovering them. It's hard when you only get to visit with your loved ones only once a year.  That's just one of the reasons Jennifer decided to leave 'bread crumbs' of love for her mother to happen upon. Well, this tradition of leaving notes of sentiment went on for at least 10 years and it...

For the most part, traditional Korean culture dictated that the father would work and the mom stayed home to raise the family. The woman's role is to take care of the children, not pursue a career. Uri's mom struggled with playing the subordinate role and was passionate about becoming a painter, yet she married at a young age. To this day, Myung Hee shares her wisdom with her daughter's and helps...