The Only Child Diaries Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Fifth year of the Only Child Diaries, and life still doesn’t hand out instructions. I’m checking in from the middle of a packed season where caregiving, health appointments, and constant time pressure are all competing for the same tiny slice of energy and focus. One bright spot I refuse to give up is Halloween decorating. I’m talking front-lawn chaos, hauling bins out of the garage, putting up our signature headless horseman, and getting humbled by a new animatronic velocir...

Send us Fan Mail Your phone rings and a calm voice says your cable is getting cut off today. They sound professional, they drop a specific dollar amount, and they act like this happens all the time. That’s exactly why scam calls work and why we wanted to talk about them out loud, with real examples and real red flags you can use immediately. I’m Tracy Wallace, and I break down the spam and fraud calls that show up on a predictable schedule: “debt relief” robocalls that mimic a real person, I...

Send us Fan Mail An 8 out of 10 tooth pain will humble you fast. I woke up in the middle of the night with pain shooting through my head, tried Motrin and Orajel, and realized I had to call my dentist the second the office opened. What followed was the kind of adult problem nobody trains you for: making a scary medical decision while you’re anxious, sleep-deprived, and hurting, then walking into the appointment alone because life logistics do not pause for panic. I tell the full story behind...

Send us Fan Mail Has it really been nine years? September 7, 2017 is a date I still feel in my body. My husband and I were rear-ended by a drunk driver in Las Vegas, and what should have been a simple vacation moment turned into a dramatic, pivotal memory that never really lets go. I’m re-releasing this story again because “drunk driving” can sound like an abstract warning until it becomes your life, your car, your marriage, your recovery, and your sense of safety. I talk through why t...

Send us Fan Mail The first cardiology follow-up after a long hospitalization sounds like a simple box to check, until you’re the one figuring out the wheelchair, the car transfer, the heat, the fatigue, and the portable oxygen all at once. I’m Tracy Wallace, and I’m sharing a candid update on taking my husband, Bill, to his first cardiologist visit after 58 days in the hospital and what that “one appointment” really costs in planning, energy, and nerves. We talk through the curveballs ...