they deserve to have a happy mom and I'm not happy and if I do this, you know, if I actually

lean into my innate desires, which were to work and to teach, then they're going to have a happier mom and they're they're going to be happier as a result, you know, and I realized that there were so many other

adults that could offer them nurturing that I couldn't, you know, because they had different gifts and skill sets and talents than I had, and that I could

I could give them the nurturing that was innate to me and I could also allow other people to nurture them and that that was all part of my responsibility as a mother was sort of orchestrating nurturing opportunities for them.

Hi, this is Dene. I'm the founder of Simple Families. Simple Families is an online community for parents who are seeking a simpler, more intentional life.

In this show, we focus on minimalism with kids, positive parenting, family wellness, and decreasing the mental load.

My perspectives are based in my firsthand experience raising kids, but also rooted in my PhD in child development.

So you're going to hear conversations that are based in research, but more importantly, real life. Thanks for joining us.

Hi there. Thanks for tuning in. It is February, 2022, which means it is officially the five year anniversary of the Simple Families podcast.

I started this podcast crunched in the corner, sitting on the floor of my master bedroom closet, because I had read somewhere that you get the best audio quality when you're surrounded by fabric and of course being in a closet, you're going to have clothes all around you.

But I quickly learned that being crunched over a laptop and a closet, just totally sucks. And I decided there was no way that my back could sustain recording a podcast like that.

And something was going to have to give. It wasn't going to be perfect. The audio quality would never be ideal. So I decided I was just going to sit at my desk, ensure maybe the audio quality would take a hit, but at least I'd be comfortable and I'd be happy.

And that's what I did. And looking back, I think that I was still learning this really important lesson that has come to me in parenthood, which is life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful.

This podcast doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful. And I've had a lot of people ask me over the years, you know, how do you stick with it? How do you keep showing up week after week.

And I'll be honest, it is very hard, not having outside accountability.

And the reason that I show up week after week is because I have sponsors who I have contractual obligations to.

So the sponsors for this show, not only serve to help financially support the show, but they also serve as some motivation to keep me showing up week after week.

To keep me committed to this idea that done is better than perfect.

Moving into year five on the podcast, I'm going to be incorporating more interviews.

I actually have a list right now with 34 different people that I want to get on the podcast this year.

I have a whole variety of topics that I want to cover, including procrastination, dopamine, happiness, self-regulation, flexibility, suffering, emotions, social struggles, imposter syndrome, over drinking, anxiety, habits, hoarding, time management.

Some of these things we've talked about on the podcast over the years, but I think there's much more to explore.

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