Ep. 62 - Mothering Ourselves in the Homeschooling Years with Missy Willis episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 14, 2026 · 1H 17M

Ep. 62 - Mothering Ourselves in the Homeschooling Years with Missy Willis

from 90-Minute School Day · host Kelly

What happens when you've been needed for so long that you've lost touch with yourself? After years of caregiving, homeschooling, co-regulation, appointments, accommodations, and carrying the invisible labor of family life, many parents find themselves running on empty. Resentful. Exhausted. Overstimulated. Disconnected from their own needs, interests, and identity. In this episode, unschooling mom, educator, and writer Missy Willis joins me for a conversation about mothering ourselves in the homeschooling years. We explore why so many parents disappear inside caregiving, where the need to control often comes from, how grief shows up in home education, and what it looks like to reconnect with ourselves when we can't remember what lights us up anymore. This is Part 2 of our 3-part series on capacity. In this episode, we discuss: • Why parents lose touch with themselves in caregiving • The difference between self-care and mothering ourselves • Grief, identity, and capacity in homeschooling • "Pre-planning your breakdown" and what it reveals • The connection between control, safety, and overwhelm • Reconnecting with your needs, interests, and inner life • Creating a family culture where everyone's needs matter   CONNECT WITH MISSY: Website  Unschooled: A Guide to Living and Learning without School Educating the Uniquely Wired Child Workbook Instagram Substack CONNECT WITH KELLY: Learn more about 90-Minute School Day Training Learn more about Day in the Life (DITL) Community

What happens when you've been needed for so long that you've lost touch with yourself? After years of caregiving, homeschooling, co-regulation, appointments, accommodations, and carrying the invisible labor of family life, many parents find themselves running on empty. Resentful. Exhausted. Overstimulated. Disconnected from their own needs, interests, and identity. In this episode, unschooling mom, educator, and writer Missy Willis joins me for a conversation about mothering ourselves in the homeschooling years. We explore why so many parents disappear inside caregiving, where the need to control often comes from, how grief shows up in home education, and what it looks like to reconnect with ourselves when we can't remember what lights us up anymore. This is Part 2 of our 3-part series on capacity. In this episode, we discuss:• Why parents lose touch with themselves in caregiving• The difference between self-care and mothering ourselves• Grief, identity, and capacity in homeschooling• "Pre-planning your breakdown" and what it reveals• The connection between control, safety, and overwhelm• Reconnecting with your needs, interests, and inner life• Creating a family culture where everyone's needs matter   CONNECT WITH MISSY: Website  Unschooled: A Guide to Living and Learning without School Educating the Uniquely Wired Child Workbook Instagram Substack CONNECT WITH KELLY: Learn more about 90-Minute School Day Training Learn more about Day in the Life (DITL) Community

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Ep. 62 - Mothering Ourselves in the Homeschooling Years with Missy Willis

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This episode was published on June 14, 2026.

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What happens when you've been needed for so long that you've lost touch with yourself? After years of caregiving, homeschooling, co-regulation, appointments, accommodations, and carrying the invisible labor of family life, many parents find...

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