Finding the Beauty in Midlife & Beyond

THE CONVERSATION THAT HELPED ME UNDERSTAND MY PURPOSE

A friend pulled me aside recently and said,

“You know… she told me that her conversation with you changed her life.”

I blinked.

Me?

I had to sit for a moment and think back.

Three months ago, I remembered being in my office having one of those casual, in-between moments with a mutual friend. Nothing formal. Nothing planned. Just two women in the thick of middle age comparing notes on the realities of our bodies and our lives.

We talked about glasses first (because honestly, my new pair is half medical necessity, half personality).

Then we talked about weight. I shared my own GLP-1 journey and how much my quility of life had improved.

We laughed about moodiness and I told her about the over-the-counter supplement that steadies me when hormones want to run the show.

She mentioned hair loss, and I passed along th information about the shampoo I wear by, the hair vitamin I rely on, and prescription that finally helped me.

It was a fifteen-minute conversation.

No big speeches.

No deep coaching session.

Just one woman telling another, “Hey… here’s what helped me.”

So when I heard that it was “life-changing,” I felt stunned.

But then I realized something:

So many of us hit this stage of life thinking that everything declining is “just how it is now.”

We assume we should push through the fatigue.

Ignore the changes.

Laugh it off.

In that 15-minute chat, maybe what I gave her wasn’t advice.

Maybe it was hope.

Hope that the aches and shifts and changes aren’t a dead end.

Hope that there are solutions — real ones.

Hope that you don’t have to give up on feeling good in your own body.

Hope that middle age isn’t the beginning of the end… it’s the beginning of a smarter, more supported chapter.

And as soon as that realization hit me, something clicked:

That’s exactly what Mom’s Best Nest is supposed to be.

A place where women say to each other:

“Hey, you don’t have to suffer.

You don’t have to feel alone.

Here’s what helped me — maybe it’ll help you, too.”

Not perfection.

Not magic fixes.

Just hope.

Just community.

Just women sharing what works.

For me, that tiny moment of connection became a reminder of who I am and what my blog is meant to offer:

✨ restoration

✨ encouragement

✨ practical ways to feel more like ourselves again

That’s the heart of Mom’s Best Nest.

And maybe it always has been.

The Day a Tree Became a Forest

 

In late 2020, when the world still felt upside down, we made a big decision: we were going to build a new home. We sold our old house that spring, started construction in the summer of 2021, and waited through what felt like an endless stretch of delays and post-COVID contractor shortages. When we finally moved in during the summer of 2022, we were thrilled… and exhausted.

Settling in took everything we had, and before I knew it, Christmas was staring me in the face. The tree we’d bought when my children were little had started to shed badly the last few years, so we donated it before moving out of the old house. I knew all year that a new tree wasn’t in the budget yet — and I’d made peace with having a “tree-less” Christmas.

But then December arrived. And our beautiful new living room, with its tall cathedral ceiling, looked so empty. It needed a tree. A tall, sparkling tree.

So we decided to get a new one.

I started online… only to find that almost every tree I loved was out of stock, likely thanks to lingering supply chain issues. So I grabbed the keys and my daughter and set out to try our luck in person — maybe a tree or two had slipped through inventory.

We went to store after store.
Nothing.
Everything we wanted was sold out.

Finally, we pulled into a home improvement store the next town over, and there it was.

Standing on the concrete floor, fully lit and absolutely glowing, was the most beautiful Christmas tree. Full, lush, tall enough for our new living room, and just breathtaking. I knew instantly: that’s the one.

But of course… it was out of stock too.

The sweet associate told us they could sell us the floor model, and I practically beamed. He went to find the box — came back with the manual and the remote — but no box. No problem! We had a Yukon XL. Surely we could make it work.

He dismantled the tree, piece by piece, laid every branch on a dolly, and wheeled it out to our car. My daughter and I climbed into the Yukon, assuming he had everything under control, and we’d only be in the way. We were chatting, not paying much attention.

And then we heard,
“Have a good night!”

I glanced in the rear-view mirror to tell him thank you… and froze. All I could see was green.

I turned around and burst out laughing.

From the back of our seats all the way to the lift gate, it looked like an entire evergreen forest had decided to hitch a ride home with us. Every limb from that beautiful tree was sprawled out everywhere — and without a box to contain it, it was truly something to behold.

We got it home, set it up, and it’s been the centerpiece of our Christmas ever since. And honestly? This year it seems to be showing off a little — bigger, brighter, and even more beautiful.

Maybe that’s the magic of a tree with a story.

Our original 2022 tree isn’t made anymore, but I found the closest match available today — same 9-ft height, even higher light and tip count, and that warm, magical glow that fills a room. If you’ve been wanting a tree like ours, here’s the closest one I’ve found.

👉 Amazon Tree Link

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases.

🎉 THE READERS THAT BROUGHT ME BACK

#MomsBestNest

You know when something small makes your life so much easier that you want to tell everyone about it?
Well… these readers. THESE readers. They’re one of the biggest reasons I dusted off this old blog and came back.

Yes.
A pair of glasses brought me out of retirement. 😂

If you’ve known me for any length of time, you know I lose my reading glasses at least 14 times a day. I’ve left them on the counter, in the pantry, in my car, on top of the dryer, and once — ON MY HEAD — for an hour. (I wish I were exaggerating.)

But then I found these bifocal readers with a clear top and magnification bottom, and suddenly? I wasn’t taking them on and off. I wasn’t misplacing them. I wasn’t wandering through the house like a confused Gen-X raccoon looking for shiny objects.

I was FREE.
Free to see. Free to read. Free to age gracefully without losing my mind.

And the number of people who’ve stopped me to ask about them?
HIGH. Very high.
I’ve “sold” so many pairs just by wearing them that I realized I was basically doing unpaid Amazon affiliate work.

So here we are — my first official “I love this thing so much I returned to blogging” post! 

Here’s the exact pair I wear and love in a set of three different colors:

Set of 3 Bifocal Reading Glasses

(That's an affiliate link, which just means Amazon sends me a tiny commission — at no extra cost to you — if you buy through it.)

They’re cute, practical, and absolutely perfect for anyone who is forever misplacing their readers (or just wants to avoid the constant on-off shuffle). And since the top is clear, I never feel like I’m wearing “readers” at all.

Because I don't yet need glasses all the time, I sometimes have trouble remembering to put them on in the morning before I leave the house. So I've bought two sets (six pairs). I have a pair at my devotional area, a pair in the bathroom, a pair in my car, and several on my vanity table. 

One quick warning:
This company sells three different lens styles. The glasses I love have a magnified area shaped like an igloo, which provides a subtle lens transition. There's also a design with an upside-down igloo. I made the mistake of ordering those glasses, but they made me dizzy. A third design has three transitions in the lens. I haven't tried them, nor do I intend to. I'm sticking with the igloo!

So if you explore other options, make sure the readers are designed like the ones I linked above.

If you end up trying them, let me know what you think. We “quiet nesters” have to help each other keep track of the little things that make life easier. 🪺💛

Thank you for supporting Mom’s Best Nest!