Going Back to Move Forward

Episode 5- The Reality of Co-Parenting: Teenagers, Schedules, and the Hard Stuff

Co-parenting isn’t always the picture-perfect version people talk about online. In this episode of Built From the Mess, I get real about the complicated side of raising teenagers in a blended family. From juggling work schedules and coordinating households to navigating the emotional side of parenting with an ex, this conversation dives into the challenges that come with trying to do what’s best for the kids. It’s honest, relatable, and a reminder that sometimes co-parenting is messy—but it’s still worth showing up for.

Going Back to Move Forward

I thought leaving my hometown meant I was growing. Turns out, I had a lot more growing to do. In this episode, I share what it was like to move away with the wrong partner, build a life that didn’t feel right, and then make the hard decision to come back home. Not because I failed — but because I finally chose myself. This is about divorce, humility, healing, and how sometimes the place you ran from becomes the place you’re rebuilt. And somewhere in the middle of all that… I found the right one.

Episode 3: When the Ground Wouldn’t Stay Still

What happens when the people meant to protect you start disappearing right in front of you? In this episode, I take you into the beginning of my parents’ drug use — when things shifted from unstable to unpredictable. The late nights. The tension you could feel before you could explain it. The quiet ways a child learns to read a room just to survive it. We talk about what it’s like to move over and over again, never fully unpacking, never fully settling. How instability becomes normal. How you grow up fast without realizing you had to. And how, even in the middle of chaos, resilience starts forming. This isn’t about blame. It’s about truth. It’s about what it does to a kid when home doesn’t feel steady — and how that kid eventually learns to build something different. If you’ve ever felt like you had to become strong before you were ready, this one’s for you.

Episode 2: Built in Isolation

I didn’t grow up with crowds, convenience, or a clear path. I grew up in an oil field camp, surrounded by distance and silence. In this episode, I talk about how isolation didn’t limit my future — it prepared me for it. A success story that didn’t start in comfort, but in resilience.

Episode 1: Why This Podcast Exists

Most of us are building our lives in the middle of uncertainty — not after we’ve “made it.” In this first episode, I explain why Built From the Mess exists, who it’s meant for, and what kind of conversations I want to have here. This podcast isn’t about perfect paths — it’s about real ones.