This Is 50: Love, Loss, Laughter, and Launching a Podcast

I turned 50 this year.

My feet have arthritis. I’m in pain daily. My vision is shit. I have more wrinkles than I care to admit, and let’s not even talk about menopause and metabolism. Aging can be brutal.

I turned 50 this year and learned that aging can also be beautiful and empowering.

I turned 50 this year and realized that more than half of those years—26, to be exact—I’ve been married to an amazing man. A man I love, who loves me back, supports me fiercely, and drives me absolutely crazy (as any good partner should). He gives me strength on the days I can’t find it in myself.

I turned 50 this year and have spent 25 of those years in the role that’s defined me most: being a mom. Parenting my three incredible kiddos has taught me love, strength, patience, and power. They are my purpose, my grounding force, my greatest teachers.

I turned 50 this year and looked around at the village I’ve built—my people. My mom. My siblings and their families. My family spread from Florida to California to Australia. Friends from every chapter of life—childhood, college, neighborhood, sports, school, work, even a few gems in between. My tribe is strong, loving, and ever-growing. With age comes the gift of community—of knowing who you can count on, and being that person for others.

And I turned 50 this year knowing that for over 20 of those years, I’ve had one friend who fits into a category all her own: Janine.

We met in our girls’ VPK class, and life was never the same. She gets me in a way no one else can. She too has raised a child with medical complexities. She’s skipped Gymboree for therapy appointments, slept on hospital pull-out chairs, and lived by medication and feeding schedules. Janine was one of the first people who truly got it. Not because my other friends and family weren’t supportive—they absolutely were—but with Janine, I didn’t have to explain. I could vent about insurance denials or break down at HomeGoods when all I said was “I need to shop.” She just knew.

With Janine, I took up running—not to stay fit, but to stay sane. Together we’ve gone from playgroups to emergency rooms, preschool drop-offs to college send-offs. We’ve talked for hours about everything from race training schedules to tube-feeding techniques. We always joked that we should start something to support moms like us. But life got busy, and those big ideas kept getting pushed to the back burner.

Until now…

I turned 50 this year, and Janine and I finally took the leap.

We took all those years of late-night texts, early-morning runs, and mid-crisis phone calls—and turned them into something more. Something that might just help someone else feel a little less alone on this road.

We’re launching a podcast: Strength Happens: Real Friends. Real Talk. Real Life.

It’s honest, it’s raw, and it’s rooted in the life we’ve lived—raising kids with complex medical needs while trying to stay afloat ourselves. It’s for every parent navigating the unthinkable. For the moms sitting in hospital rooms trying to be brave. For the dads decoding medical jargon. For the friends and families who want to help but don’t always know how.

And honestly? It’s the podcast we wish we had 20 years ago.

This podcast is also something I’ve dreamed of through the work of the Halle Grace Foundation—a space not just for supporting families like ours, but for helping the medical world better understand what it’s really like to live this life. It’s a small way we can help bridge the gap between families and providers, offering stories, insight, and truth that only lived experience can bring.

So here we are. Two moms in our 50s, walking this path together, just like we always have. Still showing up for each other—and now, showing up for you.

Because strength doesn’t just happen in the big moments. It happens in the daily grind, in the quiet tears, in the shared laughter, in the unwavering love.

Strength Happens—and we’re finally ready to talk about it.

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🎙️ Strength Happens: Real Friends. Real Talk. Real Life. is live—wherever you get your podcasts. Well - so far, we are on Spotify Apple and Amazon. If you like what you hear, please Like, Follow, and Share!

📲 Follow us on Instagram and TikTok @strengthhappensreal3 for behind-the-scenes chaos, real talk, and moments that make you laugh, cry, or both at once

But before you listen, remember...we’re two fifty-something moms figuring this podcast thing out as we go—so we ask for a little grace. The first five minutes? A little bumpy. But give us a minute—we find our groove. And while we don’t totally know what we’re doing, we do know we have stories worth telling. The kind that make you feel seen, understood, and maybe even a little stronger.

Learn more about us at Strength Happens: Real Friends. Real Talk. Real Life.