Girls Night #263: How She Does It: A Single Mom’s Story of Adoption with Joanna Gott

Girls Night with Stephanie May Wilson

Hey friends! Welcome to Girls’ Night!

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I’m so excited about today’s episode. Today we’re talking with my new friend, Joanna Gott. ​ Joanna is a first time single mom through international adoption and the Content Director for Emily Lex Studios — Emily Lex is an amazing watercolor artist, author, and her childhood best friend!

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And today, Joanna is sharing all about her story and what the adoption journey looked like for her!

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I wanted to have this conversation because I know there're so many women — both single and married — in our community who are interested in adoption, but aren’t sure where to begin. You might be asking questions like, “Is it harder to adopt a child as a single parent?” or “How much does adoption cost and are there any ways to find support?” Joanna is going to help us through all of this!

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Before we dive in, I want to let you know that we ran into a few technical issues when starting the episode, so her introduction and part of the first question is missing. Because of that, Joanna was so gracious to give us a little recap of her introduction and some context for her background and story.

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So, as I mentioned, Joanna is a mom and the Content Director for Emily Lex Studios. Her fun fact is that she knows the entire dance to Michael Jackson’s Thriller video and she once won first place in a Michael Jackson Thriller dance contest. Incredible. Right!?

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After this, I asked her the first “How She Does It” question, which was this –

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"Here on the show, we’re talking about what I like to call… The Everything Era — ​ this weird, wonderful, and wildly difficult span of years between our late 20s and early 40s during which we make the most biographically significant decisions of our lives ​ (Career, marriage, motherhood, and more!) —all at the same time—and in front of an audience, no less. It’s a LOT. There’s so much pressure, specifically on women, for our lives to look a certain way, and by a certain time.

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So, to start, can you tell us what this has looked like for you? What are some of the biggest “supposed tos” you wrestled with during your Everything Era?"

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Here was Joanna’s answer:

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“The biggest challenge for me in this era was that I was at a point in my life when things should be getting "settled" and it all kind of fell apart. My marriage of 10 years ended, my career came to a screeching halt, I was not actively pursuing a relationship with God, and suddenly this "life plan" I thought I had just didn't exist. So in my mid to late thirties I made the decision to start all over. I sold everything I owned (my house, car, all my furniture) and moved to Waco, TX where I did not know a single soul and started a brand new job. It was terrifying and hard to let go of how I imagined my life would look, but it was also such a beautiful season of growth and refinement.”

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Okay, more on that in the episode! Joanna is the best and her story truly embodies what it looks like to create a life you love on your own terms.

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Again, our conversation will start a little abruptly, but you’ll catch on really fast!

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Alright, let’s dive in!

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