EP1: Welcome to the Kitchen Table

Welcome to The Kitchen Table! This is where real conversations happen—about life, healing, motherhood, relationships, and everything in between. In this first episode, I’m sharing the heart behind this podcast, my journey as a single mother, and why the kitchen table has always been a sacred space for meaningful conversations.

This is just the beginning, and I can’t wait to bring you along for the ride. Grab a cup of coffee, pull up a chair, and let’s talk.

🎙 New episodes every other week!

Chapters

• 0:00 Journey of Single Motherhood and Identity
• 10:20 Building Your Support System in Parenthood

Transcript

Paige Galloway: 0:00

As an adult, I find myself still figuring out who I am as a woman, a mother, a human being and it's a question that I wrestle with daily as I navigate single motherhood, generational trauma, everyday relationships, the curveballs that life throws at us, like losing my mom to ovarian cancer when I was only 30 years old. Some days I feel like I've got it all together and other days I'm just trying to make it to bedtime. Welcome to the Kitchen Table, where we laugh, cry and spill all the tea while diving into stories that shape who we are. I'm Paige Galloway, your host, a single mom, someone who's been on a lifelong journey of healing and growth. This podcast, the Kitchen Table, is a safe space for truth-telling, healing and connection. Here we'll explore how trauma and resilience have shaped my life and yours, and how we find joy and strength along the way. Before we dive into this journey together, let me tell you a little bit about myself. I'm a single mom to a spirited toddler who keeps me on my toes every single day. Her name is Harlem. She's almost four years old. Motherhood has been the most beautiful and challenging experience of my life, teaching me lessons I never knew I needed to learn. I grew up in a single-parent household. As the youngest of seven, being the baby of the family, came with its own unique perspective, I watched, listened and absorbed the dynamics of a household full of strong personalities and life stories. As a teenager, I was introduced to a second set of siblings, which are my father's children. That added even more layers to my understanding of family and identity. Those years shaped me in ways that I'm still unpacking today. This podcast isn't about having all the answers. It's about the process, the messiness of figuring things out, the moments of clarity and the power of storytelling to heal and connect. My story, like yours, is still being written, and here at the Kitchen Table, I want us to write it together. So, before we get into it, I want to talk about why I chose the Kitchen Table as a concept for my podcast.

Paige Galloway: 2:04

The kitchen table has always been a sacred space for me Growing up. It's where my mom and all her friends would gather, laugh, cry and share stories. It's where my aunties sit after large family gatherings and dissect all the family secrets. It's where women of the church prepare meals not just for your stomach but for your soul. To me, it's where wisdom is taught and memories are made. I have so many memories of people I love and adore sitting around the kitchen table, and they've inspired me to do exactly what I'm doing here today telling my stories. Depending on the time in my life, the kitchen table smells like fresh-brewed coffee, cigarettes, cinnamon, apple candles and the lingering scent of Lysol from a Sunday morning reset. My mom got up early and started cleaning and cooking breakfast. On Saturday night, when her friends would come over, you could see playing cards or poker chips.

Paige Galloway: 2:58

The kitchen table, honestly, is just everything. At this table, nothing is off limits. This is where truth lives. As an adult, sitting around the kitchen table with my friends or my sisters, we have our coffee, we have our tea. It's a place where you and the people you love and care about can come together, and nothing is more important than that for me. So it's whether it's with my grandparents, my aunties, my parent that is still living, my brothers, my sisters. The kitchen table is a sacred space for me and I wanted to bring that concept here for you so that we could gather around whether you're watching me or you're listening to me, or whether you become a guest on my podcast and you sit down at the kitchen table with me that you know that this is a safe space for us to talk about the things that matter most.

Paige Galloway: 3:45

I want to introduce you to a segment I'm calling what's the Tea. This is where you can grab your favorite mug, a teacup or whatever you're sipping from. We pour out life lessons, personal stories and experiences, and maybe a little side-eye-worthy drama. Pull up a chair, settle in and let's get real, because here's what's brewing today. I want to talk about the reality of navigating single motherhood If you're a single parent, because it's not just single motherhood, but single fatherhood as well some days, it feels like I'm running on fumes and I can barely hold myself together. I'm exhausted, I'm tired, but not only am I a single parent, but I also work full-time for pickups and drop-offs and all the things. What I've learned throughout this process is the importance of giving myself grace, but the grace isn't just for me, it's for others. That is essential, and so this is what I've been working on lately Finding balance, accepting help and redefining what success looks like for me.

Paige Galloway: 4:49

As a mom, I'm definitely a perfectionist. I am a recovering perfectionist. I grew up needing to perfect everything. I am one of those people that tends to be good at a lot of things, whether it's sports or academics. I was an athlete. Don't ask me how to do math. I don't do that. I know girl math. That's about it. But I've always been good at the things I did, and there weren't too many things that I felt like I could not do. And so parenting is a whole different ballgame, and I really had to sit with the fact that there is no perfection in parenting. That doesn't exist, and I know that there's really no perfection in anything but parenting will humble you, especially solo parenting. I just want to share a little bit about how I got here.

Paige Galloway: 5:38

My daughter was conceived during COVID. Because of the work that I did, I could only work remotely, which meant that I was able to work from anywhere. It was the first time in my life where I could truly do whatever I wanted to do and be wherever I wanted to be. This is a little bit controversial, because during this time, your girl was not in the house. I was catching flights, and if I wasn't catching flights, I was in the car on Ohio Turnpike making my way to Chicago where my daughter's dad was living.

Paige Galloway: 6:11

At the time, when I found out that I was pregnant, I had no idea what I was going to do. We were in the middle of a pandemic and I'm pregnant, and that was the first lesson for me, because not only was this my first pregnancy, I had to navigate all things pregnancy pretty much by myself. No one could come to my appointments, no one could come in and see the sonogram. It was very isolating. And then I also had to be careful, right Because I'm pregnant and we're in the middle of a pandemic and not being around my family and friends. I spent the majority of my pregnancy alone. It wasn't until towards the middle where I was with my mom regularly, but I still had to navigate all of my appointments, all the things by myself, and that was a lesson for me. That's not something that I ever want to experience again, because it was just so isolating.

Paige Galloway: 6:59

I remember feeling like I couldn't be happy that I was pregnant. There were so many things happening in our world and then just in my little bubble of life that I couldn't really enjoy being pregnant or give myself the grace and the space to be happy about it. When I was pregnant, our house caught on fire and so I was living out of a hotel for a couple of months and that was also challenging and I had to figure out how I was going to make this work with my daughter's father being states away and knowing I wasn't going to have the support I wanted. He wanted to be closer, but it's just the way the cards fell. The type of work he doesn't allow him to be in the same state. When I decided I was going to have her and not end my pregnancy, I knew that I had to accept all of that and figure it out. And while he is only a phone call away, he is still some states away and 90% of the parenting pretty much falls on me.

Paige Galloway: 7:59

And so, growing up for me, we always had a village. My mom had a lot of kids and I'm the youngest. By the time I was born I didn't even need babysitters because I had my siblings, but we also had my grandparents. We also had my mom's friends. She had a lot of friends back then. We were all very close, all of us as kids. We all grew up together and that's what I'm used to as a village right, my mom only had one brother growing up and that's my uncle. We didn't grow up with aunts and uncles because my mom had siblings. We grew up with my grandparents' siblings as our aunts and uncles and they were much older, so definitely a different dynamic. Our village looked a little bit different, but my expectations going into motherhood were so high, as far as a village goes, because of the way that I grew up. Also, the way that I took care of my nieces and nephews when my siblings had kids. I was that auntie. I'm everybody's favorite auntie for a reason because I was always around, always showing up.

Paige Galloway: 8:57

I did so much for my nieces and nephews when I had my daughter. I was looking for somebody to show up in the way that I felt like I was showing up for others. That was my second lesson. And the way that I felt like I was showing up for others. That was my second lesson Expecting people to show up for you in spaces the way that you do. Girl, I'm spilling the tea right now. Stop that and listen. Give yourself grace, because I had to go through it to get through it.

Paige Galloway: 9:25

I was really heartbroken at the way that things were for me after I had my daughter. I just felt like I didn't have the support that I wanted. But that's the tea right there. Your people will show up for you in the best way that they know how and the best way that they can, in the best way that they know how and the best way that they can. You have to stop expecting people to show up in the way that you show up because they are not you. We are not the same right I can expect me from other people and just because me is what I was giving out to other people doesn't mean that's what I'm gonna get in return, and it seems harsh, but no disrespect to any of my village when I say this or when I talk about this. After going through that and learning that I love the village that I do have and I had to change my perspective a little bit to recognize that I do have a village. It just doesn't look like the way that I want it to look.

Paige Galloway: 10:20

To give some context to all of this, I've experienced a lot of loss in the time that I've had my daughter, and it's not even all my loss. There's been a lot of loss around me. After my daughter was conceived, her paternal grandmother passed away before she was one. Then, in 2023, when my daughter was two and a half, my mom passes away this year my daughter's paternal grandfather passes away. So I have one living parent and my maternal grandparents my paternal grandparents have also passed away. Those are my grandparents. When I grew up, I had all of my grandparents, my great-grandparents, and then, when I was a teenager and rekindled a relationship with my dad, I met my paternal grandparents and the many aunts and uncles that came with that side layers of family and I just felt like, after I had my kid, all of that was being taken away from me and from her and that part of grief. It's something that I still struggle with today, but I'm learning. This is part of the process for me. It may not look the way it looked for me as a child, but my daughter is surrounded by so much love. I love her. Her dad loves her. All of her aunts and uncles love her. My friends that are her aunts and uncles love her. She is truly growing up in love. We have added friends that she has made and their parents to the village.

Paige Galloway: 12:00

I really had to take a step back and evaluate my own experiences and my biases and take back, feeling like I didn't have a villain, and realize that I do. And just because people can't show up in the way that I want them to. They always show up when I need them, and that's truly what's most important. So if this is you and you are navigating single parenthood and feeling like you don't have help or you don't have the help that you want, compare what you want to what you need. We always tell kids you might not get everything that you want, but you have everything that you need. I have everything that I need, and right now what I need is a roof over my head, whether it's a roof that I'm paying for on my own or whether it's my grandparents' roof.

Paige Galloway: 12:46

I am back living with my grandparents, and that I will also discuss on this podcast. I need a roof over my head. I need a vehicle that works to get us where we need to go. I need a job that provides for us. I need to be able to put food on the table for my daughter. I need people to check in on me and show up for me in the times that I need it. I might not have a babysitter so that I can get a break every single time that I want it, but in the times where I need it, I have it. I need to travel for work and I'm going to be gone in another state for a week. I have an aunt that'll keep my daughter for a week.

Paige Galloway: 13:25

These are the things that I'm grateful for, and it's so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day things and being exhausted and feeling burnt out, because it happens right, like we get tired, we get burnt out. The winter break just happened recently and my daughter was sick. I was exhausted. I could have used a break then and I didn't actually get a break, but that's okay because I was able to have somebody keep her so that I can do the laundry. This past weekend my brother showed up for me and watched her.

Paige Galloway: 13:55

I'm not always gonna get the things that I want out of my village. We always talk about how the village isn't villaging anymore, but the village has changed, and that's okay, because things change and since it's changing, we also have to change the way that we look at it in our perspective, and that was a hard lesson for me to learn. I'm not even going to lie to you. It was a hard lesson, and I really started to evaluate it even more after losing my mom, because my mom was the biggest support that I had when it came to my daughter and I'm so grateful that my mom was here for the first two years of my daughter's life. She literally kept her for me almost every single day before she went into the hospital and then that's when my daughter went into daycare. But that changed the game for me. When I was pregnant I was like I can do this on my own. I can do this. I don't need my mom to help me all the time. I'm so grateful that my mom did not allow me to refuse her help. She would not let me put my daughter in daycare. I will forever express my gratitude for my mom for showing up for me and having that relationship with my daughter.

Paige Galloway: 15:00

I had a helicopter child, just like I was a helicopter child to my mom. My kid was like that and the only other person that she would go to for a really long time was my mom. She helped me find the balance. I had to learn to accept that help and I just had to look at things from a different angle. Now that she's no longer here, I feel such a deep loss, such a big loss, but I'm happy that I'm able to reflect on all of the times that she was here and all of the good memories that we have with her. My daughter still remembers her, and she remembers all of the good times, too. I can't wait to talk more about who my mom was as a person and what she meant to me and what she has meant to our family all these years.

Paige Galloway: 15:44

And so that's the tea on my experience with single parenthood. I encourage you, if this is something that you're also experiencing, to find the balance. Accept help, set your pride aside. Re-evaluate your circle, re-evaluate your village If you're feeling like you don't have one sometimes. Our village isn't just given to us. We have to build it, and that means we have to do a little bit of work. Vulnerability is your superpower, and no one's going to know that you need help unless you ask for it. Redefine what success looks like as a mom for yourself, in the way that I am too, giving myself grace every single day and taking it one step at a time. There's no rule book for this parenting thing, and I know that it's hard One of the hardest things I've ever had to go through and I'm learning how to be a better person and how to be a better mother every single day.

Paige Galloway: 16:37

I now want to introduce a segment that I'm calling At the Table, and this is where I shine a light on someone who's doing something incredible or deserves recognition. This could be a person, a business or even a place, and sometimes it might be a special guest on my podcast joining me at the kitchen table. Today, I want to highlight Cecilia Morrison and her podcast, shelf Absorbed Podcast. If you are a book lover, I highly recommend giving her podcast a listen. She and her co-host, alex, are fantastic human beings. They welcomed me as a guest on an episode where I discussed my journey with grief, my relationship with my mom and how reading Crying in H Mart changed the way I think about grief. This was an incredible opportunity and I will forever be grateful to Cecilia for giving me the opportunity to talk about my story on a public platform and give me the courage to start my own podcast and do more with sharing my story.

Paige Galloway: 17:33

I got to spend a significant amount of time with Cecilia over the last year and a half and we've talked about so much and I've shared so much of my story with her. I appreciate her being a listening ear. I also want to recognize that she's a solo parent and we shared those experiences Well, she is somebody I can talk to about parenting. It's always a great conversation when Cecilia is at the table with me, and I'm looking forward to having her co-host on this podcast with me someday, and I'm looking forward to having her co-host on this podcast with me someday. So, cecilia, if you are listening, that was your official invitation to join me at the table.

Paige Galloway: 18:12

I highly recommend that you check out their Instagram and TikTok, which is at Shelf Absorbed Podcast. You can also stream their podcast episodes on Apple Spotify or check out the videos on YouTube. Shout out to you, cecilia and Alex, and your podcast, shts Absorbed Podcast. If you are into reading, they're spilling all the tea on all the good books, but I do wanna let you know they do give spoilers. So if you haven't read the book that they're talking about in the next episode and you don't want it to be spoiled, stop it halfway through, read the book and then finish the podcast. Thank you, cecilia and Alex. You two are truly amazing.

Paige Galloway: 18:48

I want to thank everyone for being here and trusting me with your time. I'm excited to grow with you, laugh with you, heal with you. Let's keep showing up, let's keep healing and remember that the kitchen table is always open. I'd love to hear your stories about sitting around your kitchen table. You can stay connected and email me at thektablepodcast at gmailcom or connect with me on my personal Instagram, which is Paige Galloway, my first and last name. Underscore, so, paige Galloway. Underscore and share what this space has meant to you. I'm grateful that you chose this podcast to listen to. We don't take it for granted, and I want to invite you to listen to this podcast bi-weekly as I release these episodes. We're going to be talking about a lot and spilling all the tea here at the kitchen table. Until next time, and remember, the table is always open and there's always a seat for you. Take care.