Long Days Big Love Podcast

Inclusion Isn’t Hard: Building a Place for Every Child | Featuring Coach Mike of Fitness for Focus

What if inclusion wasn’t something complicated—but something we simply chose to make available? In this episode of Long Days, Big Love, Audrey sits down with Coach Mike of Fitness for Focus in Wexford to talk about building spaces where every child belongs. Together, they reflect on the journey that brought Fitness for Focus and The Michael Mackie Project together and the shared mission of creating inclusive, adaptive opportunities for children and young adults of all abilities.  From the growth of Hoops & High Fives to expanding adaptive sports programming through Michael’s Victory Players, this conversation explores what happens when communities stop focusing on limitations and start creating possibilities. Audrey and Coach Mike discuss confidence, movement, friendship, learning through mistakes, and why inclusion doesn’t require perfection—it just requires opportunity. You’ll hear: *  The story behind Fitness for Focus and its inclusive approach to fitness  *  Why adaptive and unified sports matter beyond physical activity  *  How sports build confidence, independence, and connection  *  The impact of bringing neurotypical and adaptive athletes together  *  What’s next for Hoops & High Fives and adaptive football programming  Whether you're a parent, educator, coach, advocate, or someone who believes every child deserves a chance to participate—this episode is for you.  Because every kid deserves a victory. #LongDaysBigLove #MichaelMackieProject #FitnessForFocus #AdaptiveSports #InclusionMatters #UnifiedSports #Parenting #SpecialNeeds #Community #DisabilityInclusion

Navigating Motherhood Through Grief

In this heartfelt episode of Long Day’s Big Love, I sit down with my longtime friend Traci Kovacic-Stein to talk about grief, motherhood, special needs parenting, and finding purpose through life’s hardest moments. Traci shares the sudden loss of her husband at just 32 years old, raising two young children through unimaginable grief, and the terrifying accident that nearly took her daughter’s life. We also discuss parenting children with epilepsy, planning for the future of special needs families, and why financial protection matters more than most people realize. This is a conversation about resilience, faith, motherhood, and learning how to keep going when life looks nothing like you planned.

Becoming Everything for Everyone Else

Motherhood, marriage, identity, and the quiet chaos in between—this episode is an honest reflection on what it means to love your life while sometimes feeling a little lost inside it. I’m sharing the reality of becoming “the unit” in my family—the scheduler, the planner, the emotional center, and the keeper of all the moving parts. From managing four kids, therapies, sports, dinner plans, and everyday overstimulation, to navigating marriage, special needs parenting, and the identity shifts that come with it all, this episode is deeply personal. I open up about raising my son Michael, his epilepsy and autism diagnosis, and how those moments reshaped not only our family, but my marriage with my husband, Pat. We talk about communication, expectations, quiet guilt, comparison, and learning to accept that our version of “more” may look different than everyone else’s. But in the middle of all the noise, there’s also growth—patience, faith, laughter, resilience, and rediscovering the parts of yourself you thought were gone. This podcast is becoming one of those pieces for me—a creative space to reconnect with myself—and I hope this conversation helps you feel a little less alone in your own journey. Because sometimes, you can love your life and still be searching for yourself inside it

This is Long Days Big Love

Episode 1: Long Days, Big Love In the very first episode of Long Days, Big Love, Audrey opens the door to the beautifully messy reality of motherhood, marriage, and life after 40. She shares what it means to live in the space between deep love and daily exhaustion—raising four children, including a son with complex special needs, balancing marriage, career shifts, caregiving, and the constant pressure to “hold it all together.” This episode is an honest conversation about letting go of perfection, grieving the life you thought motherhood would look like, and learning to create your own version of success. Audrey reflects on parenting a child with epilepsy, autism, and high support needs, while also navigating the emotional weight of being the mom, the wife, the caregiver, the professional, and still trying to remember herself in all of it. Long Days, Big Love is for the women sitting at the baseball field, the football practice, the school pickup line—quietly carrying more than anyone knows. It’s a reminder that two things can be true at once: life can be hard, and life can still be full of love. Because the days are long… but the love is always big.

Starting Long Days Big Love

A powerful reminder that honesty matters—especially in motherhood. Audrey shares why showing the hard parts, being real about the struggles, and letting go of perfection can create deeper connection, because chances are, the woman sitting next to you is walking through something similar too.