Thriving Alcohol-Free with Mocktail Mom

Ep 115 | Thriving Alcohol-Free: Taking a Break Before Season Two Begins

• Season 1 • Episode 115

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Life's most significant transitions deserve our full attention and presence. After faithfully recording 114 episodes over two years, I'm pressing pause on weekly podcast releases to embrace a precious season fully – my youngest daughter's final months before high school graduation.

Recording from an Airbnb in Branson, MO with my phone hotspot, I wanted to personally share that Thriving Alcohol-Free will be taking a brief intermission. Rather than missing these fleeting moments with my daughter before she leaves for college, I'm calling everything thus far "Season One". I will return with "Season Two" when I officially become an empty nester in August. The podcast has connected me with incredible sober coaches, mixologists, alcohol-free brand founders, and most importantly, YOU – faithful listeners navigating your alcohol-free journeys.

Don't worry – I'll still drop occasional episodes over the coming months (be sure you're subscribed for notifications), and my weekly Happy Half Hours through the Mocktail Social Club membership will continue without interruption. Even here in Branson (which is decidedly NOT the mocktail capital of the world), I'm savoring every sober moment with my girls. There's profound joy in being fully present, making memories, and connecting authentically with loved ones.

Whether you've listened to every episode or just discovered the podcast, I'm deeply grateful for your support. You can still find me on Instagram @mocktailmom, my website mocktailmom.com, or deb@mocktailmom.com. 

Send me a message about the show!

To connect, join me for mocktails inside The Mocktail Social Club for Happy Half-Hours over Zoom.

You are loved. Big Time Cheers!

Speaker 1:

Okay, hey guys, it's Deb. Welcome back to Thriving Alcohol-Free. How are you? You'll not believe this. I'm in an Airbnb right now recording this podcast using my hotspot on my phone with my daughters on vacation. It's Lily's spring break. She's a senior in high school, my youngest daughter. I have two girls. She's a senior, and we are having her last spring break in Branson, missouri.

Speaker 1:

So I'm recording this for you, though, but I have kind of some big news I want to share with you, and I didn't want to just put this as a post on Instagram or Facebook. I really just wanted to come directly. So you guys hear it from me. This is not an April Fool's joke. I've actually recorded. I think we have like 114 or so. Yeah, I think 114 or 115 podcast episodes have come out pretty much every Tuesday, maybe, except for one or two weeks over the last two plus years, and I am going to take a little break from dropping episodes every Tuesday. Reason being is I have two months left, two months the day until my youngest daughter graduates high school, and I will become an empty nester in August, and so I am just going to call this first 114 or 115 episodes as season one, and then, once Lily is in school off to college we'll start season two. I will be dropping a few episodes here and there, so make sure you are following the podcast, make sure you are notified when episodes get dropped if you're interested in hearing those, because I'm planning on sprinkling a few over the next couple months. But I am going to step back and just take a little break from having the podcast come out every Tuesday. So I wanted to come in here though today and just tell it to you straight from me, from my heart, how much I love you guys, how much I love doing the podcast and how fun it is to talk with sober coaches talk with you, know, just to hear your stories, to meet mixologists and share their stories and brands that have come in and talked to us and shared their stories about starting their businesses. I feel so fortunate to have met so many people through the Thriving Alcohol-Free Podcast. So if you are a longtime listener, I know there are a few of you who have just listened from the beginning and I am so grateful. Whether you've listened to just a few podcasts or you've been, you know, from day one, I'm so, so grateful to be a part of your alcohol-free journey and to be connected to you in your Mocktail journey, wherever you are in your alcohol-free journey or your Mocktail journey. So very, very grateful If you are a member of the Mocktail Social Club our membership I will see you for sure. Our happy half hours are not taking a hiatus. We're not doing anything with that. Those will continue each week. We have our happy half hour. Half Hours are not taking a hiatus. We're not doing anything with that. Those will continue each week. We have our Happy Half Hour. So if you are looking for connection and just a place to meet up, I have a Happy Half Hour. That is every week and you can check that out at the. I was about to say the Mocktail Summit. Well, you can check out the Mocktail Summit too. We have recordings from the Mocktail Summit that happened in January. But you can check out themocktailssocialclubcom. That is my membership and I would love to meet you there for mocktails and just connection. So there's that, and season two will be coming once.

Speaker 1:

I am an empty nester Holy cow, I can't even say that and I'm so grateful. Every day is a gift. I feel very, very fortunate to be mom to my two girls and um so much to be grateful for. So I've been enjoying a couple of days here in Branson, missouri, with them. We're having a girls trip and it's really, really a wonderful, unique opportunity for us to just all three be together. So I'm sending you lots of love and big time cheers.

Speaker 1:

I was going to say from the great state of Kentucky, but I'm not recording this in Kentucky, so I'm going to say from the great state of Missouri, and it is a beautiful state. We're in Branson. I've never been here before and it is so nice. I will say, though, for the record, this is not the mocktail capital of the world.

Speaker 1:

We went to Guy Fieri's restaurant the first night we got here and I basically had to beg, borrow and steal to get the bartender to make me a mocktail.

Speaker 1:

But they did make me one. It was very good. I didn't want to say anything bad about it on social media, but I was a little disappointed by when I asked the waitress, for I said hey, do you have any mocktails on the menu? I wish I had recorded her face, because she was like we don't do that, we don't have those, we're not into that here. I think this is exactly what she said. I wish I'd recorded it. It was so classic.

Speaker 1:

But where else did we go? Oh, we went to Paula Deen's to eat and no mocktails on the menu. You, they had fancy lemonades and stuff, but we're definitely not in the mocktail capital of the world, but that's okay. We were having a great time. We're enjoying ourselves. I have been sober every minute of this trip, present, accounted for and making memories, and that's what life is about is just connecting and being with those that you love and being available for them, and it's been wonderful. So I have no complaints no mocktails and no complaints. So lots of love to you guys, big time shirts. You can find me on Instagram, mocktailmom, or my website, mocktailmomcom, or my email, deb at mocktailmomcom. Lots and lots of love and we will talk to you soon.