Mom's Secret Fort

Janel Schermerhorn is an American living in Berlin, Germany. She tells personal stories from her secret fort to talk about adjustments to daily life while being locked down during the coronavirus pandemic.

School in a Pandemic 05/28/2020

School in a Pandemic How does a primary school open during a pandemic? Janel takes us on a step by step tour of the social distancing and hygiene protocol at her daughter's primary school in Berlin, Germany. /episode/index/show/momssecretfort/id/14607806

Fourth Grade Flashback 05/28/2020

Fourth Grade Flashback There's something about the kids you grew up with. Janel gets tagged in her fourth grade class photo during the coronavirus pandemic and the nostalgia hits hard. Will our kids ever get back to a carefree childhood? /episode/index/show/momssecretfort/id/14607668

Silver Lining 05/20/2020

Silver Lining Nine weeks of closed hair salons during coronavirus lockdown means many of us have a big gray stripe in our hair. Janel has an appointment to get rid of hers but is hesitating. What on earth could be so important about some gray hair? /episode/index/show/momssecretfort/id/14497214

The Rules of Re-entry 05/14/2020

The Rules of Re-entry Coming out of lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic can be messy. Janel shares talks about navigating the many contradictions and the few things she knows for sure she can do to stay sane. /episode/index/show/momssecretfort/id/14419958

Damp Cloth 05/06/2020

Damp Cloth Janel faces sending her 10-year-old daughter back to a school during the coronavirus lockdown. A school whose initial hygiene plan wasn't exactly awesome. But with new information and perspective she happily walks her to school and even gets a second chance at a sweet moment she had missed last fall. /episode/index/show/momssecretfort/id/14310032

Lovely Day 04/29/2020

Lovely Day Janel wonders if she'll know exactly how many cups of coffee her husband drinks for the rest of her life. Having the whole family home during the coronavirus lockdown isn't always easy, but the good side can sneak up at any moment and point a water gun at you. /episode/index/show/momssecretfort/id/14207528

Dog Days 04/23/2020

Dog Days Janel goes into a slump after being attacked...well almost...by vicious lap dogs during a peaceful walk in the forest. She turns her slump into a campaign to show appreciation to those that are building community during the coronavirus lockdown. /episode/index/show/momssecretfort/id/14122181

Social Distance 04/14/2020

Social Distance Janel talks about how hard it is to stand directly in front of good friends and not hug them during social distancing. But why hadn’t she been hugging her family as much as usual? After a grumpy exchange over breakfast, she realizes what she’s been missing and remembers to hug it out with the ones she loves most. /episode/index/show/momssecretfort/id/13983980

Eddie Murphy's Home School 04/05/2020

Eddie Murphy's Home School Sooo much screen time, means seeing things we shouldn't. Oops. Janel shares how her lack of screening movies leads to an awkward conversation with her daughter. You'll end up with recommendations for what to watch and what not to (with kids) while we all start scraping the bottom of the Netflix barrel during the coronavirus lockdown. /episode/index/show/momssecretfort/id/13855607

Fifth Snack 04/01/2020

Fifth Snack Janel reports on how her family's excessive snacking during the coronavirus lockdown has driven her to lay down the law. From Mom's Secret Fort she confesses to her role in the problem and shares what she's doing about it. /episode/index/show/momssecretfort/id/13797872

Hamster Purchases 03/29/2020

Hamster Purchases Janel sneaks down to Mom's Secret Fort to talk about gaining perspective when her daughter starts kicking the most valuable item in the household like a Hacky Sack. What's round and square and making perfectly nice people say judgy and awful things about other perfectly nice people during the coronavirus pandemic? /episode/index/show/momssecretfort/id/13747445

The Squirrel 03/26/2020

The Squirrel It's day 11 of the coronavirus lockdown in Berlin. Janel shares how an uptick in video calls means being okay with letting friends see who she really is when she's lounging around the house. /episode/index/show/momssecretfort/id/13712120

Amanda's Bowl 03/24/2020

Amanda's Bowl Janel Schermerhorn is an American living in Berlin during the coronavirus lockdown. From her secret pillow fort, she reports on all the little adjustments to routine and perspective that drove her to carve out this private space in her basement. Hers is a much needed voice of hope and humor in a time of collective anxiety. If only for a few minutes, she invites everyone to join her in Mom's Secret Fort. /episode/index/show/momssecretfort/id/13678391

Mom's Secret Fort

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