I’ve Got You Mama

Maria Hendershot

Are you a mama who loves fiercely but sometimes feels overwhelmed, exhausted, or unsure if you’re doing enough? Do you long to feel more joy in your daily life—not just someday, but right now? You are not alone, and this space was created just for you. Welcome to The I’ve Got You Mama Podcast. I’m Maria—a master certified coach, author, speaker, founder of The Joyful Reinvention, mom of six, and brand-new grandma (Lita!). I’ve walked the messy, beautiful, and stretching seasons of motherhood, and I know how easy it is to put yourself last, lose sight of your own joy, and wonder if you’re getting it “right.” My passion is helping women feel well in body, mind, and spirit while stepping into lives they’re wildly obsessed with, full of purpose, connection, and joy. In this podcast, you’ll find encouragement, practical tools, and whole-person wellness strategies to help you step out of overwhelm and into more peace, intention, and fulfillment. Together, we’ll explore how to care for yourself, build resilience in your mind and emotions, nurture meaningful connections, and reconnect with passions that light you up. Some episodes will be just you and me, mama-to-mama, and at times I’ll invite expert guests to share wisdom that supports your journey. This is your safe space to lay down the weight of comparison and self-doubt, and instead, pick up confidence, calm, and clarity. Because you deserve to enjoy your life now—not after the to-do list is finished, not when the kids are older, but in this very season. So grab a cozy drink, take a deep breath, and join me here each week. Together, let’s create more joy, balance, and intention in your life and motherhood—’cause I’ve got you, mama. Let’s Connect! https://joyfulreinvention.com/

  1. 2d ago

    Episode 42 - Grief During the Holidays: Making Space for Both Grief and Joy with Margo Fordonski

    Hey Mama, The holidays are filled with messages about joy, togetherness, tradition, and making memories. But what happens when someone you love is missing? Or when you’re going through a hard season and simply don’t have the capacity to create the kind of holiday you’ve created in the past? Maybe a tradition that once brought you joy now feels painful. Maybe you’re already dreading certain gatherings or moments. Or maybe you’re wondering how you’re supposed to hold your own grief while still showing up for the people you love. In this episode, I’m welcoming back my friend, grief coach, and fellow She Rises author Margo Fordonski for a beautiful conversation about grief during the holidays and how we can make room for both grief and joy. Margo shares what she learned after losing her son Andrew and navigating that first holiday season without him including the unexpected moments that brought grief to the surface, the traditions her family changed, and meaningful ways she continues to include Andrew in their celebrations. We also talk about how to support someone who is grieving without assuming what they need, why communication matters when family members are grieving differently, and how to intentionally create a holiday that fits the season you’re actually in. This episode is part of the I’ve Got You Mama podcast—a show for moms and women who want to care for their whole self, live with intention, and find joy without pressure or burnout. Resources Mentioned Margo’s free holiday guide for navigating grief and creating a more intentional holiday season She Rises: Insights and Wisdom from the Women of the Master Coach Collective Margo’s Forward with Love newsletter MargoFordonski.com Margo Fordonski Coaching on Instagram Connect + What’s Next If this episode resonated, I’d love for you to: subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss future episodes share this conversation with someone who may be carrying grief or navigating a difficult season this holiday Next week on the podcast, we’ll be talking about keeping our kids safe online and why connection may be one of our most powerful tools. Whenever you’re ready, press play. I’m really glad you’re here. And... I’ve got you, mama.

  2. Oct 13

    Episode 41: Creating an Intentional Holiday Season: More of What Matters, Less of What Doesn’t

    Hey mama, Do you ever feel like somewhere along the way, it became your job to create all the holiday magic? The gifts, the decorations, the traditions, the food, the parties, the experiences...and now social media gives us a front-row seat to what everyone else’s holiday magic looks like too. It can be really easy to get swept up in creating a beautiful holiday without stopping to ask: What do I actually want this season to look and feel like? In this episode, I’m sharing what I’ve been thinking about as I head into the holidays myself. What actually matters to you and your family? Which traditions genuinely bring you joy and connection, and which ones are you continuing simply because you’ve always done them? How do you want this season to feel? What would you love more of? What could you use a little less of? And what might you be ready to let go of altogether? For me, I’m realizing I want more joy and connection, but also more awe and wonder and more moments when I actually stop long enough to notice the lights, enjoy the people around me, and experience the season instead of rushing through it. And I’m sharing a simple More, Less, None exercise you can use to begin creating a holiday that fits your family, your priorities, and your capacity this year. Because an intentional holiday doesn’t necessarily mean doing less. It means paying attention to what matters and making room for more of it. This episode is part of the I’ve Got You Mama podcast — a show for moms and women who want to care for their whole self, live with intention, and find joy without pressure or burnout. Resources Mentioned There are no formal resources mentioned in this episode. (Any links, programs, or tools referenced will always be listed here for clarity.) Connect + What’s Next If this episode resonated, I’d love for you to: subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss future episodes share this conversation with a friend who might want to create a more intentional holiday season too Next week on the podcast, I’m talking with grief coach Margo Fordonski about grief during the holidays - what happens when someone is missing, traditions feel different, and grief and joy need space to exist together. Whenever you’re ready, press play. I’m really glad you’re here. And I’ve got you, mama.

  3. Oct 6

    Episode 40: Your Body Is Talking: What Your Cravings Are Trying to Tell You with Stephanie Mara Fox

    Letter to the Listener Hey mama, Have you ever found yourself standing in the kitchen at the end of a long day, reaching for something to eat even though you’re not really sure you’re hungry? Maybe you’re stressed, exhausted, overwhelmed, or just completely done and suddenly the chocolate, ice cream, or whatever your go-to food is feels like exactly what you need. And then afterward, maybe the judgment starts: Why did I do that again? Why can’t I just have more self-control? But what if it isn’t really about willpower at all? What if some of your cravings, urges, or eating patterns are actually your body trying to communicate with you? What if reaching for food has been one of the ways your body has learned to help you cope with stress or uncomfortable emotions? And instead of asking, What’s wrong with me? what might change if you started asking, What does my body need right now? In today’s episode, I’m talking with Stephanie Mara Fox, a Somatic Nutritional Counselor and Mentor and the creator of Somatic Eating®, a body-oriented approach that brings together somatics, nervous system science, trauma work, and nutrition. With more than 15 years of experience supporting women, Stephanie holds a Master’s Degree in Somatic Psychotherapy and is currently working toward her PhD. We talk about emotional eating and binge eating, why shame can keep us stuck, and how we can begin replacing judgment with curiosity. Stephanie also shares practical ways to start listening to your body including a simple “somatic pause” you can use when an urge feels intense. And maybe most importantly, this conversation isn’t about taking food away or giving you another list of things you should or shouldn’t do. It’s about creating more options, building your capacity to listen to your body, and recognizing that your body may have been trying to support you all along. What if you didn’t have to fight your body? What if you could get curious about what it’s been trying to tell you? This episode is part of the I’ve Got You Mama podcast — a show for moms and women who want to care for their whole self, live with intention, and find joy without pressure or burnout. Resources Mentioned Website: StephanieMara.com Satiated Podcast — Stephanie’s podcast exploring food, body, and nervous system healing Instagram: @_stephaniemara Somatic Eating: SomaticEating.com Connect + What’s Next If this episode resonated, I’d love for you to: subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss future episodes share this conversation with a friend who might need this message right now Whenever you’re ready, press play. I’m really glad you’re here. And I’ve got you, mama.

  4. Sep 29

    Episode 39: The Cost of Caring: Finding Yourself When Motherhood Doesn’t Look Like You Expected

    Letter to the Listener Hey mama, Have you ever looked at your life and thought, This isn’t how I imagined motherhood would look? Maybe your child needs more from you than you expected. Maybe you’ve found yourself in a caregiving role you never anticipated. Or maybe you’ve spent so much time taking care of everyone else that somewhere along the way, you’re not quite sure where you went. In this episode, I’m talking with Susanna Peace Lovell, contributing author of the new book Suddenly Brave Together: Letters to Caregiving Moms in a Defining Moment of Their Lives. The book brings together letters from 30 experienced caregiving moms to the women coming behind them with one powerful reminder: you are not alone. Susanna and I talk about what happens when motherhood doesn’t look the way you expected. How do you care deeply for someone else without completely losing yourself? What if taking care of yourself doesn’t look like the version of “self-care” you’ve been told you should be doing? Can you be grateful for your life and still admit that parts of it are really hard? And how do you begin finding joy again when you’re in a season that feels all-consuming? One of my favorite reminders from our conversation is that more than one thing can be true at the same time. You can love your child deeply and feel exhausted. You can be grateful and disappointed. You can experience joy alongside grief, worry, frustration, or fear.  And maybe caring for yourself begins not with adding one more thing to your list, but simply asking: What do I actually need right now? This episode is part of the I’ve Got You Mama podcast - a show for moms and women who want to care for their whole self, live with intention, and find joy without pressure or burnout. Resources Mentioned Suddenly Brave Together: Letters to Caregiving Moms in a Defining Moment of Their Lives — a collection of 30 letters from experienced caregiving moms created to remind other mothers walking this road that they are not alone.  We Are Brave Together — a community offering connection and support for mothers caring for children with disabilities. Susanna is a Connection Circle leader and co-host of the Brave Together podcast. Connect with Susanna Peace Lovell: SusannaPeaceLovell.com and Instagram @MamaPeace. Connect + What’s Next If this episode resonated, I’d love for you to: subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss future episodes share this conversation with a friend who might need this message right now Next week on the podcast, we’re talking about what your cravings and emotional eating might actually be trying to tell you and how learning to listen to your body can change your relationship with food. Whenever you’re ready, press play. I’m really glad you’re here. And I’ve got you, mama.

  5. Sep 22

    Episode 38: Peacemaking vs. Peacekeeping with Michelle Keil

    Letter to the Listener Hey mama, Have you ever kept quiet because you didn’t want to rock the boat? Said yes when you really wanted to say no? Smoothed something over, avoided a hard conversation, or pushed down what you were feeling because keeping the peace seemed easier? Many of us have learned to think of peace as the absence of conflict. But there’s a difference between peacekeeping and peacemaking. Peacekeeping can look like staying silent, people-pleasing, avoiding discomfort, or sacrificing our own needs so everyone else stays happy. Peacemaking asks something different of us. It can mean telling the truth with kindness, setting a boundary, listening with curiosity, apologizing when we’ve caused hurt, or being willing to stay present when a conversation gets uncomfortable. So where might you be keeping the peace instead of creating it? What are you afraid might happen if you speak honestly? Are you listening to understand or simply waiting to defend your side? What are you bringing into the room when conflict arises? And what might it look like to choose connection without abandoning yourself? In this episode, I’m joined by Michelle Keil, The Doodle Coach, for a conversation about what real peacemaking can look like in our everyday relationships and why genuine peace doesn’t always mean everyone agrees or no one feels uncomfortable. You don’t have to eliminate every disagreement or get every relationship right. Sometimes peacemaking begins with simply choosing how you want to show up. This episode is part of the I’ve Got You Mama podcast — a show for moms and women who want to care for their whole self, live with intention, and find joy without pressure or burnout. Resources Mentioned Connect with Michelle: https://thedoodlecoach.com/ Connect + What’s Next If this episode resonated, I’d love for you to: subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss future episodes share this conversation with a friend who might need this message right now Next week on the podcast, I’m talking with Susanna Peace Lovell about the cost of caring and finding yourself when motherhood doesn’t look like you expected. Whenever you’re ready, press play. I’m really glad you’re here. And I’ve got you, mama.

  6. Sep 15

    Episode 37: They Should Just Know - The Manuals We Have for Other People

    Letter to the Listener Hey mama, Have you ever been frustrated with someone because they didn’t do something you never actually asked them to do? They should have noticed. They should have remembered. You shouldn’t have to ask. We all carry expectations into our relationships, and many of them feel so obvious to us that we don’t even recognize them as expectations. We assume the people who love us should simply know. And when they don’t, it can start to mean something much bigger: If you really knew me, you would know. If you really cared, you would have noticed. In this episode, we’re talking about a coaching concept called manuals or the invisible instruction books we sometimes have for how the people in our lives should behave. What rules have you quietly written for the people you love? Have you ever actually told them what you want? What are you making it mean when they don’t meet an expectation? Are you measuring how much someone loves you by whether they love you the way you would? And what changes when you communicate what you want while still allowing the other person to choose what they do with that information? We’ll also talk about an important distinction between requests, boundaries, and manuals because letting go of a manual doesn’t mean having no expectations, tolerating poor behavior, or pretending you aren’t disappointed. It means recognizing what belongs to you and what belongs to the other person, communicating more clearly, and deciding what you want to do with the information their behavior gives you. You may discover a few expectations worth communicating and a few you’re ready to release. This episode is part of the I’ve Got You Mama podcast — a show for moms and women who want to care for their whole self, live with intention, and find joy without pressure or burnout. Resources Mentioned There are no formal resources mentioned in this episode. (Any links, programs, or tools referenced will always be listed here for clarity.) Connect + What’s Next If this episode resonated, I’d love for you to: subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss future episodes share this conversation with a friend who might need this message right now Next week on the podcast, we’ll continue our relationship series with a conversation about peacemaking versus peacekeeping and why creating real peace sometimes requires us to have the difficult conversations we’d rather avoid. Whenever you’re ready, press play. I’m really glad you’re here. And I’ve got you, mama.

  7. Sep 8

    Episode 36: Why Relationships Are So Complicated

    Letter to the Listener Hey mama, Have you ever walked away from a conversation with someone you love wondering how the two of you could have experienced the exact same interaction so differently? You know what you said. They know what they heard. And somehow, those can feel like two completely different things. Relationships are complicated because none of us enters them as a blank slate. We bring our history, beliefs, insecurities, expectations, sensitivities, and past experiences with that person. And they bring all of theirs too. So when something happens between us, we're rarely responding only to what happened. We're also responding to what we think it means. What actually happened? What are you making it mean? I s an old hurt or insecurity influencing how this moment feels? Are you assuming you know what the other person is thinking? Or is there a real pattern in the relationship that needs to be addressed? In this episode, we're looking at three parts of every relationship: what I bring, what you bring, and what actually happens between us. Understanding those pieces can help us separate facts from interpretations, recognize the loops we sometimes create with each other, and approach our relationships with a little more curiosity. You don't need to dismiss what you're feeling or convince yourself that everything is fine. Sometimes there really is something happening in a relationship that deserves your attention. This is simply an invitation to slow things down enough to better understand what you're responding to. This episode is part of the I've Got You Mama podcast — a show for moms and women who want to care for their whole self, live with intention, and find joy without pressure or burnout. Resources Mentioned There are no formal resources mentioned in this episode. (Any links, programs, or tools referenced will always be listed here for clarity.) Connect + What’s Next If this episode resonated, I’d love for you to: subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss future episodes share this conversation with a friend who might need this message right now Next week on the podcast, we’ll be talking about the invisible expectations (or “manuals”) we have for the people in our lives, and what happens when someone breaks a rule they didn’t even know existed. Whenever you’re ready, press play. I’m really glad you’re here. And I’ve got you, mama.

  8. Sep 1

    Episode 35: The Power of Repair

    Letter to the Listener Hey mama, Have you ever walked away from a conversation and wished you could have a do-over? Maybe you were more impatient than you meant to be. You got defensive. You shut down. Or you said something that sounded very different coming out of your mouth than it did in your head. We all have moments when we don't show up in our relationships the way we wish we had. The question isn't whether we'll ever get it wrong. It's what we do next. Can we recognize when there's been a disconnect and find our way back? Can we take responsibility for our part without immediately explaining or defending it? Can we apologize without turning our mistake into evidence that we're a terrible wife, mom, friend, or human being? And when someone we love reaches toward us (even a little awkwardly) can we recognize their attempt to repair? In this episode, we're talking about the power of repair: what it looks like in marriage, parenting, friendships, and the other relationships that matter to us. We'll talk about repairing in the middle of a difficult conversation, coming back after things have gone sideways, giving an apology that actually takes responsibility, and learning to care about our impact even when our intentions were good. Because healthy relationships aren't relationships where no one ever gets hurt, defensive, frustrated, or misunderstood. They're relationships where there is room to recognize what happened, own what belongs to us, and keep finding our way back to each other. You don't have to get every interaction right. There can be grace for being human and another opportunity to try again. This episode is part of the I've Got You Mama podcast - a show for moms and women who want to care for their whole self, live with intention, and find joy without pressure or burnout. Resources Mentioned John & Julie Gottman -  Their research and work on relationships, conflict, and repair helped shape many of the ideas discussed in this episode. Harriet Lerner - Her work on apologies, defensiveness, and taking responsibility also informed this conversation. Connect + What's Next If this episode resonated, I'd love for you to: subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss future episodes share this conversation with a friend who might need this message right now Next week on the podcast, we'll be talking about: Why relationships can feel so complicated and how what we each bring into a relationship shapes what happens between us. Whenever you're ready, press play. I'm really glad you're here. And I've got you, mama.

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About

Are you a mama who loves fiercely but sometimes feels overwhelmed, exhausted, or unsure if you’re doing enough? Do you long to feel more joy in your daily life—not just someday, but right now? You are not alone, and this space was created just for you. Welcome to The I’ve Got You Mama Podcast. I’m Maria—a master certified coach, author, speaker, founder of The Joyful Reinvention, mom of six, and brand-new grandma (Lita!). I’ve walked the messy, beautiful, and stretching seasons of motherhood, and I know how easy it is to put yourself last, lose sight of your own joy, and wonder if you’re getting it “right.” My passion is helping women feel well in body, mind, and spirit while stepping into lives they’re wildly obsessed with, full of purpose, connection, and joy. In this podcast, you’ll find encouragement, practical tools, and whole-person wellness strategies to help you step out of overwhelm and into more peace, intention, and fulfillment. Together, we’ll explore how to care for yourself, build resilience in your mind and emotions, nurture meaningful connections, and reconnect with passions that light you up. Some episodes will be just you and me, mama-to-mama, and at times I’ll invite expert guests to share wisdom that supports your journey. This is your safe space to lay down the weight of comparison and self-doubt, and instead, pick up confidence, calm, and clarity. Because you deserve to enjoy your life now—not after the to-do list is finished, not when the kids are older, but in this very season. So grab a cozy drink, take a deep breath, and join me here each week. Together, let’s create more joy, balance, and intention in your life and motherhood—’cause I’ve got you, mama. Let’s Connect! https://joyfulreinvention.com/

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