Choosing Chaos: Solo Motherhood by Choice
Aug 17, 2026 · 45 min · 12 segments
Send us Fan Mail Catrina joins us to talk about the deeply personal path that led her to solo motherhood after losing her husband to melanoma. We…
One thing that doesn't get talked about enough in the Single Mom by Choice world is how much coordination is required really to do this day to day.
Walk us through a typical weekday in your house.
Yeah, I mean, so, like, right now we're on summer break from school, so it's kind of been a little bit all over the place of fun things.
Yeah.
Um, but typically during the school year it's I'm getting up early, then I get him ready.
We take the dog out for a walk.
Um, we'll h- ...
the two of us into the car and have about what should be a 20-minute commute, but Long Island traffic is pretty horrible.
Um, so it usually takes about 40 minutes instead.
Um, thankfully, his daycare used to be in the building I worked in, and then I transferred buildings.
We're five minutes away though.
It's still pretty convenient.
That's not too bad.
Um, no, not bad at all.
So he'll get there usually by, like, 7:15, 7:30, um, depending on traffic.
And then we have a typical school day, and then I usually get him by, like, 3:00, and then we head home.
We, I try to do some fun activities.
I don't like to overschedule.
Um, like, really the only weekday thing I really ever have on the agenda is, like, swim lessons, 'cause I feel like that's more of, like, an essential life skill-
Yeah
... especially around here.
But I, like, yeah, I don't really like overscheduling during the week.
Mm-hmm.
Um, 'cause, like, it's nice, 'cause then we have that time together, and we do dinner and all that fun stuff, and games.
And then nothing like some good old bath time and stories and snuggles in bed and all that.
One thing that doesn't get talked about enough in the Single Mom by Choice world is how much coordination is required really to do this day to day.
Walk us through a typical weekday in your house.
Yeah, I mean, so, like, right now we're on summer break from school, so it's kind of been a little bit all over the place of fun things.
Yeah.
Um, but typically during the school year it's I'm getting up early, then I get him ready.
We take the dog out for a walk.
Um, we'll h- ...
the two of us into the car and have about what should be a 20-minute commute, but Long Island traffic is pretty horrible.
Um, so it usually takes about 40 minutes instead.
Um, thankfully, his daycare used to be in the building I worked in, and then I transferred buildings.
We're five minutes away though.
It's still pretty convenient.
That's not too bad.
Um, no, not bad at all.
So he'll get there usually by, like, 7:15, 7:30, um, depending on traffic.
And then we have a typical school day, and then I usually get him by, like, 3:00, and then we head home.
We, I try to do some fun activities.
I don't like to overschedule.
Um, like, really the only weekday thing I really ever have on the agenda is, like, swim lessons, 'cause I feel like that's more of, like, an essential life skill-
Yeah
... especially around here.
But I, like, yeah, I don't really like overscheduling during the week.
Mm-hmm.
Um, 'cause, like, it's nice, 'cause then we have that time together, and we do dinner and all that fun stuff, and games.
And then nothing like some good old bath time and stories and snuggles in bed and all that.
Every episode on Radar is fully transcribed, speaker-labeled, and rich with metadata. Here is a taste of this one. Try Radar for free to see the rest.
3 of 11
Crying Alone in the Parking Lot
After a terrifying day, she finally cries.
The Reality of Solo Parenting
Solo motherhood means carrying every responsibility alone.
Family Comes Before Work
When priorities collide, she chooses her child.
+8 more clips · 6 min 20 sec of audio in all
7 of 17
The rest of this transcript — segmented and speaker-labeled, so you land on the exact moment something was said
All 11 clips — the highlight moments, each cut as its own audio, with a title and a speaker
All 12 segments — the transcript broken into labeled sections, every ad read marked
All 17 topics — jump to every other episode discussing the same subject
Every related episode — other shows Radar links to this one
No account is needed to search Radar.
