[00:00:04] Speaker A: Welcome to Start to Finish Motherhood, a.
[00:00:06] Speaker B: Podcast for those thinking or already single mothers by choice.
[00:00:10] Speaker A: Just looking for practical advice for navigating life's relationships. When you decide to have children on your own, it doesn't mean that you're completely alone. I'm Aisha Jenkins and I'm partnering with you every step of your journey.
Wow.
[00:00:28] Speaker B: So here we are, the last episode of season four, Tears for Real. I hope that you enjoyed listening to this season as much as I've enjoyed putting it together.
It's only fitting that I close the season out from a really reflective place.
2024 was challenging for me in a number of ways, but I made it through and 2025 opened with a rip in the time space continuum that shook my equilibrium. And it reminded me that tomorrow is not promised. With so many of my friends impacted by the ham handed callousness of our new leadership in this country, I thought it fitting to share tips for pivoting given the new landscape that we find ourselves in. So why don't you go ahead and grab yourself something warm and then I will dive deep right in. So leaving a toxic work environment, if you are true to yourself and you're self reflective, I think you know when something is coming to an end, when something doesn't feel right. I know for me, I felt restless, I felt really anxious and I also felt a tinge of excitement because you don't know exactly how something will happen, you do know that it will happen. And so with that knowledge you are able to prepare for.
And yes, I was uncertain.
I'm not going to say I was a hard rock. I was uncertain and I did it scared. But I knew that God had my back, my God had my back and I planned as much as I could and to be honest, I never looked back. I left the toxic environment and it was the best thing that I could have done. For me, it wasn't easy from a mental health perspective because there was just so much trauma that I had experienced over the years. And I think I said earlier it wasn't just work trauma, though. Work trauma was a huge part of it. It was also fertility and the breakup of my last podcast experience. So there were a lot of things that happened to cause a lot of trauma and it came in waves. So luckily I had already had a relationship with a girl, great therapist, who was there to be by my side and walk me through the ups, the downs and the uncertainty. And I had also saved financially for a rainy day and so I knew that I would be okay. But there's no way around it. You have to just go through it. And so now being gentle with myself, those first few weeks I spent recovering myself mentally and also physically because it's draining when you have to show up every day when you mentally don't feel like it. So you're pulling from reserves that you may not have. And so those first few weeks, I really leaned into parenting my children, getting rest that I needed. So I spoke with my financial planner and I really began just planning. And one of the first things that I knew I needed to do and I really wanted to do was to plan this epic trip. And so that's why you'll see it sprinkled throughout this entire season. And I think one of the key things that made the transition easier for me, so we're talking about pivoting, is that I was honest with myself. And if you're curious about how these conversations have evolved, you can find the full episodes on Start to Finish Motherhood.
[00:04:12] Speaker A: Thanks for listening to Start to Finish Motherhood with Aisha. If you want to keep the conversation going, follow Start to Finish Motherhood on Instagram or email
[email protected] if you love this episode, please share it with anyone who's thinking of becoming a single mother by choice, anyone who's already parenting as a single mother by choice and just looking for advice on navigating it all, or a friend or family member who's looking to support someone else's single mother by choice journey. Until next time.
[00:04:41] Speaker B: Bye now.
