Wednesday Waffle November 5th, 2025 | Become Your Own Evidence: Midlife Reinvention & My Comeback Story
- Bernadette Henry
- 3 days ago
- 9 min read
The Vibe: I’m Becoming My Own Evidence
This week feels like confidence returning—not because everything suddenly became easy, but because I can actually see evidence of my growth.
I’m getting more comfortable as a mental health counseling intern. I’m physically able to do things that were extremely difficult for me a year ago. I’m helping my son prepare for life after high school. I’m taking care of things concerning my own wellness. And yes, I’m still working multiple jobs, going to school, parenting, managing appointments, and figuring out finances.
Life is still LIFE.
But something feels different.
I’m starting to trust myself inside the life I’ve built.
And maybe that is the real story of midlife reinvention: I don't suddenly wake up fearless, healed, financially carefree, professionally established, and completely certain about everything.
I simply start noticing that situations that once overwhelmed me don't have the same power anymore.
Top Wins
🧠 I Felt the Shift From Student to Counselor
My live supervision session was probably my biggest professional win this week.
During practicum, live supervision made me incredibly nervous. I was trying to figure out what to say, what technique to use, what my supervisor was thinking, what the client was doing, and whether I was doing any of it "right."
This time was different.
I relaxed.
I listened.
I allowed the client to give me something, and I worked with what was actually happening instead of trying to manufacture the perfect counseling session.
My supervisor had already encouraged me to relax, be myself, go with the flow, and take what the client gives me and run with it.
I finally understood what that feels like.
I still have months of internship ahead of me and plenty to learn, but I'm beginning to trust that I don't have to perform being a counselor.
I have to become one.
🏃🏾♀️ The NYC Marathon Showed Me How Far I've Come
This one is bigger than I realized in the moment.
Last year, I went to cheer at the NYC Marathon only a few months after bilateral pulmonary embolisms.
I tried.
But I couldn't stand for long. I became extremely winded. I couldn't even finish walking home and eventually had to call a cab.
This year?
I yelled. I danced. I rang those cowbells like somebody was paying me. 😂 I jumped rope. I stood there cheering. And most importantly, I felt like myself.
Same marathon.
Same streets.
Different version of me.
Sometimes progress is difficult to see because I'm living inside of it every day.
Then life gives me a before-and-after moment that I didn't even know I needed.
❤️ I'm Supporting My Son Without Trying to Live His Life for Him
We're officially discussing his next steps after high school.
There are logistics.
There are decisions.
And, naturally, there will probably be expenses. 😂
But underneath all of that is something much bigger:
I'm watching one chapter of motherhood begin transitioning into another.
My job isn't simply to decide everything anymore.
It's to help him think, prepare, explore his options, and eventually trust himself enough to move forward.
That's exciting.
And a little scary.
Probably for both of us.
💼 I Keep Finding Ways to Make Things Work
I now have two per diem jobs in addition to everything else I'm doing.
Part of that is financial necessity. I'm thinking about graduation, my son's future plans, household expenses, and everything that comes with the next chapter.
But I also intentionally chose work that gives me flexibility.
That matters.
I'm not simply working more.
I'm trying to create financial options without completely surrendering control of my time.
🩺 I'm Following Through With Myself Too
I completed my shoulder MRI.
My colonoscopy is scheduled.
I'm figuring out what I'm doing with my hair and scalp.
These things might not feel as exciting as internship breakthroughs or marathon celebrations, but they belong on my wins list too.
Taking care of myself can't continuously become the thing I handle after everybody else has been handled.
Growth Edge: Capacity Is Not the Same as Sustainability
One sentence keeps appearing underneath these entries:
"I got to do what I got to do."
And I do.
But I need to be careful.
Because I am extremely good at figuring out how to carry more.
Work.
Internship.
School.
Two per diem positions.
Parenting.
Appointments.
Finances.
My son's transition after graduation.
My own graduation.
And everything else life decides to throw into Tuesday afternoon.
My ability to carry something doesn't automatically mean I should continue carrying it indefinitely.
That's my growth edge.
I need to stop measuring capacity solely by whether I can survive the load.
The better question is:
What does carrying this cost me?
What I May Be Missing About Myself
1. I Don't Need to Become a Completely Different Person to Become a Counselor
This might be one of the biggest lessons hidden inside this week.
When I relaxed during my sessions, the work became better.
That's important.
My experience didn't disappear when I entered graduate school. My years of working with people didn't suddenly become irrelevant because I'm learning counseling theories and techniques.
The training is helping me refine what was already there.
My clinical identity doesn't need to replace me. It needs to integrate with me.
2. I May Underestimate My Own Recovery Because I'm Always Looking Forward
The marathon gave me objective evidence.
Last year: I couldn't walk home.
This year: cheering, dancing, cowbells, jump rope.
That deserves more than a passing acknowledgment.
Sometimes I'm so focused on the next goal that I don't fully absorb the significance of the last one.
I need to celebrate evidence.
3. Joy Is Part of My Wellness Plan
I noticed something about the marathon.
I wasn't there accomplishing anything.
I wasn't working.
I wasn't studying.
I wasn't parenting.
I wasn't building a business.
I was cheering for strangers whose names happened to be written on their shirts. 😂
And I had FUN.
That's important information about me.
Community, movement, sports, noise, laughter, jump rope, and encouraging other people restore something in me.
Joy isn't something I have to earn after finishing my responsibilities.
4. I Am Practicing the Same Lesson Professionally and Personally: Release Control
In counseling:
Take what the client gives me and work with it.
At the marathon:
Stop stressing myself out tracking everybody and cheer for whoever comes past me.
With my son:
Support his next steps without deciding his entire future for him.
Different situations.
Same lesson.
Maybe life is teaching me:
Prepare. Pay attention. Be present. Then stop trying to control every outcome.
That's worth sitting with.
Suggestions for Improvement
Protect some of the flexibility I'm creating
Flexible work only benefits me if every open space doesn't immediately become another work opportunity.
I need some white space.
Keep documenting evidence of progress
Not just goals.
I should intentionally record moments when I realize:
"A year ago, I couldn't do this."
Those comparisons tell a more accurate story than the scale, résumé, transcript, paycheck, or social media analytics ever could.
Practice "good enough" more often
My counseling breakthrough happened when I stopped trying so hard to do counseling perfectly.
There may be other places where that lesson applies.
Budget for the transition, not just react to expenses
If my son's next chapter and my graduation are likely to cost more money, I can begin defining those costs rather than allowing them to exist as one giant financial cloud.
More information creates more options.
Give my health the same calendar priority as everyone else's needs
MRI. Colonoscopy. Shoulder follow-up. Hair/scalp concerns.
These aren't side quests.
They're part of taking care of the person responsible for everything else.
Quote to Remember
"I was myself."
That's the quote.
Because after everything my body, career, family, education, and life have demanded from me, being able to stand outside at the NYC Marathon, yell until my heart was content, ring my cowbells, dance, jump rope, laugh, and simply feel like me again is not small.
That's recovery.
Content Sparks
1. From Pulmonary Embolism Survivor to Marathon Cheerleader: Become Your Own Evidence
A personal wellness and midlife reinvention story comparing the NYC Marathon one year apart: struggling to walk home versus dancing, cheering, and jumping rope.
2. Stop Trying to Perform Therapy: What Live Supervision Taught Me as a Counseling Intern
A mental health counseling student reflection about developing clinical confidence, trusting the therapeutic process, and learning to be present with clients.
3. The Progress You Don't Notice Until You Return to the Same Place
Use the marathon as the metaphor. Sometimes returning to an old environment reveals just how much has changed inside me.
4. Midlife Reinvention Doesn't Mean Becoming Someone Else
A piece about integrating decades of professional and life experience into a new identity rather than starting from zero.
5. When Your Child Is Graduating Too: Motherhood During My Own Reinvention
My son and I are both approaching major transitions. I can explore the emotional and financial reality of preparing a child for adulthood while building my own next chapter.
6. "I Got to Do What I Got to Do" — But At What Cost?
A deeper conversation for women balancing work, parenting, education, finances, caregiving, and personal goals.
7. Joy Doesn't Have to Be Productive
Sometimes wellness looks like cowbells, cheering for strangers, jump rope, friends, sports, and going home happy.
Mantra for Next Week
I don't have to chase proof that I'm growing. I will slow down long enough to recognize the evidence already around me.
🎤 J.U.M.P. Mic Drop
A year ago, I stood on those NYC streets and my body told me, "That's enough."
I couldn't keep standing.
I couldn't walk myself home.
So I got in a cab.
One year later, I returned to those same streets.
I yelled.
I danced.
I rang my cowbells.
I jumped rope.
I cheered for people I didn't even know.
And somewhere between all that noise, I realized something:
I wasn't watching somebody else's comeback story.
I was standing inside my own.
That's why I refuse to measure progress only by how far I still have to go.
Sometimes I need to turn around and look at the distance I've already traveled.
Same woman.
Same streets.
Different strength.
Become your own evidence.
That's J.U.M.P.
Journey of the Underdog Making Progress. 🪢💚
Weekly Recap — Wednesday, November 5th 🧇 (2nd version)
The Vibe
This week I was flying. High off good work, high off the marathon, high off finally feeling like myself again. There's this thread running through everything — I showed up, I stayed loose, I let go of the death-grip on control, and things opened up. Nervous energy turned into flow. Survival mode turned into celebration. I wasn't just getting through the week; I was in it, cowbell in hand, cheering at the top of my lungs.
Top Wins
I nailed a live supervision session. Last time a supervisor observed me during practicum, a client walked out and I froze. This time? Night and day. I relaxed, I was me, and it flowed. That's not luck — that's growth I can measure.
I'm finding my footing with difficult clients. Taking my supervisor's advice to "take what the client gives me and run with it" lifted a real burden. I feel more comfortable in the role now.
The marathon was a full-circle triumph. Last year I was three months out from a bilateral pulmonary embolism — winded, sitting down, calling a cab because I couldn't even walk home. This year I yelled my heart out, rang those cowbells raw, jumped rope, and danced. My body carried me. Don't let that number slide past — that's enormous.
I picked up a second per diem gig and I did it on my terms, with schedule freedom baked in.
I showed up for my son at his next-steps meeting. I'm in his corner, fully.
Growth Edge
Here's the honest one: I move through my own body's signals fast. Shoulder MRI — "results are probably in, I'll get to it." Colonoscopy in two weeks — mentioned like a errand. Sore scalp, hands aching from the cowbells. I note these and keep it pushing. And I keep stacking — two per diems, the internship, the money worry for my son — all framed around what I can do for other people. That's a beautiful quality and an edge worth watching. The growth move isn't to do less; it's to actually feel the weight I'm carrying instead of narrating past it.
Quote to Remember
"This year, when I tell you, I yelled my heart out... I was myself."
That's the whole season in one line. Last year I couldn't. This year I could. Remember that when the week gets heavy.
Content Sparks
Ideas pulled straight from this week that could carry a post, a caption, or a whole series:
"From the sidelines to the cab to the cowbells" — a marathon recovery story, one year apart. This is the emotional heart of everything I said. People will feel it.
"What live supervision actually feels like" — demystifying the intern therapist experience for people entering the field. The froze-then-flowed arc is gold for anyone anxious about being watched.
"Cheering for strangers by name" — why I stopped tracking specific runners and started celebrating everybody. A little philosophy on rooting for people freely.
"Two per diems and a dream" — real talk on building a flexible schedule and stacking income while investing in your kid's future.
"Body maintenance is self-respect" — a lighter, honest piece on the MRIs and colonoscopies we'd rather not mention. Normalize it.
Mantra for Next Week
"I go with the flow, and I cheer for myself the way I cheer for the runners."
Areas I Might Be Missing About Myself
I hand out encouragement by the fistful — reading names off shirts, ringing cowbells until my hands hurt, showing up for clients, showing up for my son. But notice who isn't on my cheer list: me. I described the healthiest version of myself in a year and almost buried it under logistics about hair and meetings. I am, quite literally, the runner who came back from a serious health scare and is out here running again. That deserves a spot on the shirt. Next week, catch myself in one small win and cheer for that person too.
J.U.M.P. 🎤⬇️ Journey of the Underdog Making Progress — Last year I couldn't walk home. This year I danced in the street. Same girl, stronger heart. Still interning, still stacking, still showing up — and finally feeling it. That's not a comeback, that's a come-up. Catch me next Waffle. 🧇✌️
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