In the summer of 2017, Sarah Hart-Unger and I decided to start a podcast. We did a little research, figured out how this might work, and released three episodes of what we decided to call Best of Both Worlds in late August.
Seven years later, we are still at it! Both of us have seen some changes. We’ve both moved houses (albeit locally). We both had another baby (well, we knew Sarah’s was on the way when we launched in 2017, but my late 2019 baby was just a glimmer in my eye then…). We’ve had some challenges with it, but we’ve also had a ton of fun.
This week’s episode is all about celebrating our 7th birthday. Feel free to let us know your favorite episode, or any topics you’d like to see covered. We’d really appreciate ratings/reviews (think of it as a birthday present!).
Also — the Best of Both Worlds Patreon community will be having our monthly meet-up today, August 27th, at noon eastern time. We’ll be talking all things time management. Membership is $9/month. If you join before noon you can get the Zoom link in the forum. If you join after, no worries, the session will be recorded. Hope to see you there!
Congrats you guys! Still one of my rare “never-miss-an-episode” podcasts! 🙂
@Grateful Kae- we appreciate you listening! You’ll have to come on as a guest some time 🙂
Congratulations on 7 years! I completely agree that your podcast fills an important gap. Love your focus on family and work.
@Melinda- thanks for listening!
Yes, Ms. Laura Vanderkam, I’ve listened to slightly more than half of all episodes of the podcast since Sep 2022 and about 70 percent of all episodes of the podcast since the beginning of this year. But I only listened to a couple of episodes that took place before Sep 2022.
I also expect myself to listen to – at least the first 2 minutes of – the episode that is about the 10th anniversary of the BOBW podcast, which will take place in August or September of 2027. And no, I don’t think you need to have concrete plans for the future of this podcast either.
There is an irony though, which is that I never listened to the episode where Dr. Joshua Unger was there. I feel that me listening to that episode will be like me eavesdropping on Dr. Sarah Hart-Unger’s private family affairs. Almost like invading her privacy.
I also agree that the more you come up with ideas, the more you come up with ideas.
I also wonder, Ms. Laura Vanderkam: You referred to this podcast as a business. Will this podcast also be a form of volunteering from your point of view?
@Yukun – interesting to think what we’ll say in September 2027! The episode with Josh was a fun one – Sarah’s family members are good sports.
Woohoo! 7 years! I’ve listened since the first episode and it’s wild to me that it has been that long. It’s been a fun journey.
I debated making this comment because it’s a little whiney but the ONE thing missing from today’s segment on childcare was the acknowledgement of how hard it can be to find!!! And that sometimes not having enough of it isn’t due to choice or guilt, but just reality. I am fully embracing the need for childcare, but finding someone to take my money is really challenging and – quite frankly – is making me question whether I can actually have the best of both worlds.
Our school’s before/after-care opened with a waitlist – meaning no new families got in. This is the second year in a row that we have tried but not gotten a spot; we never got off the waitlist last year and I have little hope for this year. I have posted for an after-school babysitter/part-time help in 4 Facebook groups, reached out to former babysitters, asked friends of friends, and talked to high schoolers in the neighborhood. Nothing. We have local grandparents who can help some, but not every day. So far, the solution is swapping some days with a neighbor (who also didn’t get into before/after-care), but that’s also challenging due to kid sports and will likely change week-to-week. AND someone has to keep this all straight! (hint: it’s me). All this is just to say that trying to figure this all out and maintain full-time working hours as school starts has proven impossible.
I am hoping it will get better but, ugh. It is really discouraging. I really WANT to be a success story of how we can make this all work, but it feels out of reach.
(okay rant over, sorry!!)
@KGC – so sorry this has been so challenging to set up! Yes, finding part time childcare can definitely be challenging, and that’s frustrating that your school hasn’t expanded the wraparound care to meet demand. I do hope it works out! And this is definitely a topic we can address in the future.
Congratulations! Your podcast has gotten me through many hours of otherwise boring driving/housework/laundry tasks. I listen to every episode. I don’t have a favorite episode, but in general enjoy when you guys talk about how you organize meals/food prep.
@Sarah K – oh yes, meal prep is a perennial hot topic!
Thank you, thank you for fullfilling a gap in the podcast world! I have listened for several years and rarely miss an episode. My husband and I work full time in non-flexible, non-remote but fulfilling (education and healthcare) roles and the mom guilt used to be real at times. But, your message is so resonating and I have learned to much, and have totally changed my perspective on how I see my work/life balance. I now see it as a gift that I can have both and feel supported/create the support I need. And now that I have teens, I see the beauty of the independence and examples we have set for them on how to plan, work hard, deal with situations we can’t be at their whim to fix, and work as a team to make it all happen.
Some suggestions for future episodes as your kids get older:
-college applications 101, and how not to get sucked into the frenzy
-vacation planning with teens
-balancing travel to family/parents friends with teens work/friends schedules as they get older. It gets complicated!
@Shannon- there’s definitely a college episode coming up! Glad you’ve enjoyed the content so far, and yes, there are new complications that arise with teens for sure.
To say that this podcast and both of your work has been influential on my life is an understatement. I found you towards the end of my medical training when I was just starting a family and in retrospect was very burned out and worried about how I would possibly make it all work. You’ve inspired me to make sure I make time for important things like sleep and exercise, and have also given me permission to spend out on childcare to make my family’s life easier. I’ve also embraced the flexible parts of my job and not felt guilty about sometimes using that flexibility for personal reasons (while still exceeding work expectations, making progress, and getting great performance reviews from my boss). I truly think these things would look very different in my life if it wasn’t for you. I buy a copy of “I know how she does it” for most baby showers that I go to, and never miss an episode. Thank you both and congratulations!
@Amanda- thank you for this kind comment! This made my day. And yes, I encourage everyone to buy a copy of I Know How She Does It as a baby shower gift! Perfect for the ambitious mom who is going to make it all work.
Another listener who’s listened to all of the episodes! I started listening as a single woman without kids with a fun but not super demanding job. Now, also thanks to your encouragement, I am a mom with a leadership role. Sometimes the podcast’s perspective is too American, too privileged and too capitalist for my cirumstances but I still enjoy listening and try to take what suits my situation.
This was a great episode. I *really* liked your segment at the end (Laura) where you outlined that you love kids. I sometimes find it hard to seperate out the notion of “I love having a big family and a big life” from “I need childcare because my kids are an impediment to my big life”. It may be part of that weird “childcare is less than” sentiment that you highlighted.
I find when I talk about free time, work time, and how childcare basically enables us to live an awesome life I sometimes feel the judgement that I’m somehow saying that my kids are an impediment to an awesome life, or a logistical hurdle around which to plan awesome.
So having you say, outright, “the point of this is that we love kids and we want to plan awesome WITH and AROUND our kids” was really good to hear. And I think can sometimes be missed by people like me who get very into the minutiae of my layered childcare arrangements.
@Rachel – yep, having some childcare enables a lot of things, including investing in relationships with other kids. Tonight my husband will be spending a lot of time with the 9-year-old doing various things. I’ll be at the 14-year-old’s cross-country meet. This is enabled because someone else is with the 4-year-old, who would find either of those things terribly boring and would hate spending his evening that way.