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What if the quickest way to change a room is to walk through it like a lion? That’s Priyanka’ Bhattacharya quiet superpower as a mother of premature twins living with cerebral palsy - an everyday practice of confidence that turns stares into smiles and replaces awkwardness with warmth.

We sit down with Priyanka to unpack the mindset behind her family’s joy. She takes us from NICU shock to high-intensity parenting, where every milestone feels like a gold medal and the details - sleep, nutrition, therapy, and rest - matter more than timelines. She shares the simple tools she uses to reset on hard days, from a five-minute cry to an audiobook chapter that flips her energy. We talk about making disability part of mainstream parenting, not a siloed topic reserved for diagnosis pages. Her phrase “progress is a Prada” becomes a lens: celebrate real wins, fit them to the child, and stop competing with age charts.

Priyanka’s path winds through advertising, Bollywood management, and fine art, and it informs how she faces the public square. At the airport, on sidewalks, at therapy centers - she meets questions with grace, humor, and a steady belief that people want to be kind; they just don’t always know how. We dig into practical support: why strangers’ genuine smiles matter, how friends can show up consistently without taking a no personally, and how to build a village that sustains mental energy as much as time. She opens up about caregiver guilt, dreams of creating a learning space for children with CVI, and the daily choice to define success as shared laughter at home.

If you’re a parent, caregiver, educator, or ally, this conversation offers grounded inspiration and real-life tactics for resilience, inclusion, and joy. Subscribe, share with someone who needs this, and leave a review with one mindset you’re ready to practice today.

Check out Priyanka's Instagram page here!

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Host: Edit Kerekes, former diplomat, senior strategic advisor, mom of two.

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What if home isn’t a place on a map but the person who falls asleep in your arms? That’s the thread we pull as Alla Kamenskaya joins me to share how a decade-plus of living across Russia, the USA, the Maldives, Switzerland, China, and Singapore gave way to a new season shaped by a toddler, resilience, and a redefined career path.

We get honest about the gap between preparation and reality. Alla arrived at motherhood with checklists, courses, and a can-do mindset—and still found herself stunned by postpartum emotions, mom brain, and the slow, painful grind of a month of breastfeeding challenges. You’ll hear how she navigated the noise of well-meaning advice, chose what to keep, and learned to trust her instincts when nothing seemed to fit the handbook. The eventual breakthrough became more than a feeding milestone; it was a lesson in surrender, patience, and self-compassion.

From there, we talk community and identity. As an expat, Alla intentionally built networks—expat meetups, Russian-speaking groups, and mom circles that trade tips without judgment. She shares how hard it was to let others help, what finally shifted, and why reclaiming me time through tennis changed her mood, confidence, and outlook. Along the way, we explore stress relief that works in real life, the surprising joy of bedtime smiles after a stormy day, and how to balance ambition with presence when your industry expects long hours.

If you’re navigating a career pause, early parenthood, or a move far from home, this conversation offers practical steps and a gentle reminder: ask for help early, curate kind communities, protect your energy, and define success on your terms. Subscribe for more stories that blend candor, culture, and courage—and share this episode with someone who could use a little hope today.

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Host: Edit Kerekes, former diplomat, senior strategic advisor, mom of two.

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What if the fastest path to a calmer home and a stronger team is as simple as dropping ego and training your attention? That’s the heartbeat of our conversation with strategic leader and solo mother Daphne Lim, whose life philosophy turns chaos into rhythm through clear boundaries, mindful resets, and a bias for elegant solutions.

We dig into Daphne’s career pivots—from primary school teacher to managed services leader to steering a listed company through post-bankruptcy growth—unpacking how she standardizes complex work, aligns teams with transparent flows, and makes tough decisions without turning people into problems. You’ll hear how the Oceanus Ambassador program solved cross-department miscommunication, why standardizing deliverables doubled profits and cut overtime, and how choosing unpopular but necessary calls can be the most compassionate move for everyone involved.

On the home front, Daphne shares a refreshingly practical approach to parenting a teenager: grant freedom with responsibility, praise the ordinary good moments, and keep kindness non-negotiable. She talks about solo motherhood, staying present during hard transitions, and the weekly and daily resets — like cycling home or baking — that help her leave work at work and show up fully as a mom. Mindfulness isn’t a mood; it’s mental training that lets you notice ego, release control, and return to solving the real problem in front of you.

If you’re craving simpler decisions, fewer fires, and a way to live today like you won’t need to change everything tomorrow, this conversation will meet you where you are. Follow the show, share this with a friend who needs a reset, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway so we can learn from you too.

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Host: Edit Kerekes, former diplomat, senior strategic advisor, mom of two.

Follow us on social media:

▶️🔴 YouTube

📸 Instagram

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