Half Nester

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Finding your rhythm in the in-between.

Half Nester™ is a lifestyle brand for parents in the messy middle—when the nest is half-full, half-empty, and your rhythm matters more than balance.

10/24/2026

Tomorrow I give my second TEDx talk, this time in Houston. 🤍

Tonight was our dress rehearsal and I’m feeling all the feels.

Germany felt so real and connected. Afterward, parents and college students came up to me and told me they saw themselves in the story.

I hope to find that same connection in a completely different room.

I’m about to find out. ❤️

10/21/2026

I still pop into our practice L10 meetings sometimes.

For years, I was the one running them. Making the decisions. Figuring out what happened next.

Now it looks really different.

Someone asks what I think. I share what I would consider. And then I hand it back.

They decide.
They own it.
They grow.

And honestly, that’s exciting and a little hard at the same time. 😂

I’m still a dentist. I’m still part of the practice I built.

I’m just learning that leadership can look different in different seasons.

Sometimes it’s leading from the front.

And sometimes it’s knowing when to step back and let someone else lead.

Still needed. Just differently. 🤍

10/19/2026

Such a full-circle day at the Pediatric Dental Growth Summit. 🤍

I got to reconnect with colleagues I’ve known for almost 20 years, see clients I’ve helped grow their practices, meet new pediatric dentists, and spend time with some of my favorite DeWs.

And then I got to share a talk called **The Leadership Shift No One Prepares You For.**

Because at some point, growth stops being only about building the practice.

It becomes about growing into the next version of yourself.

What do I want to make room for now?
What am I still carrying that I don’t need to?
What kind of rhythm actually fits this season?

That’s the heart of Half Nester™.

Minal and Malika, thank you for creating this community and for giving me the opportunity to be part of it. It meant so much to share this message in a room filled with people who understand the practice, the leadership, the family, and all the messy in-between.

And to all the amazing women in these photos, I loved getting to connect, reconnect, and cheer each other on. 🤍

10/18/2026

Last week, I gave my TEDx talk, and Liv was in the audience. 🤍

The talk was about **how to grow up without growing apart.**

Parenting my 21-year-old looks so different now.

Less steering.
More staying connected.
More trusting that she knows I’m here.

She flew to Germany on her own during fall break to be there, and hearing myself talk about all of this with her sitting in the room made it mean even more.

That’s the part I keep coming back to.

Maybe that’s what growing up without growing apart really looks like. 🤍

10/15/2026

TEDx speaker.

Still feels a little surreal saying that. 🤍

For so long, I’ve been Dr. Val, pediatric dentist.

That part feels familiar.

Author. TEDx speaker.

I’m still growing into those words.

But when I’m talking about Half Nester™ and someone says, “That’s exactly how I feel,” the titles fade away.

Then it’s about the connection.

And that part feels like me.

10/09/2026

I’m sitting here in Germany the night before my first TEDx talk, and honestly, I keep thinking about how I even got here. 🤍

So many people helped me along the way, all in really different ways.

Tucker was there when I first blurted out “Half Nester™” and has been helping me shape the bigger message ever since.

Rachelle helped me figure out the whole TEDx application process and get this idea out into the world.

Yasmine has been my TEDxHSRW coach here in Germany and helped me make this talk stronger for this audience.

And Keeley + the Heroic Public Speaking team have been teaching me how to actually bring the words off the page and onto the stage.

Different people. Different parts of the journey.

And I’m so grateful for every one of them.

Am I totally calm? Definitely not. 😂

But I do feel ready.

Tomorrow, we go. 🤍

10/09/2026

Liv gets to Germany today. 🤍

Her college fall break happened to line up with my TEDx weekend, and after studying abroad in Italy last spring, she had no hesitation flying here on her own.

Tomorrow she’ll be sitting in the audience while I give a talk about **how to grow up without growing apart.**

There’s something really special about that.

So much of this Half Nester™ season is about learning how to stay close while our kids are becoming more independent and building lives of their own.

And tomorrow, my oldest gets to be there while I talk about exactly that.

I’m really grateful she made the trip. 🤍

10/08/2026

Late posting this, but Monday felt big. 🤍

I spent the day in Philadelphia with the Half Nester™ team, all of us in person and virtually around one table working on a book that won’t be out until 2027.

When this started, it was just me and an idea.

Now there’s a whole team helping me build it.

And with my first TEDx happening Saturday, it felt like the perfect reminder:

The stage is only one part of the story.

A lot of the real work happens around a table.

10/02/2026

Something happens in marriage when the pace changes.

For years, you divide and conquer.

You take this kid. I’ll take that one.
You handle practice. I’ll handle home.
You keep moving.

And then one day, the schedule starts to open up.

And you look at each other like… okay, now what? 😂

I think that part can feel really strange.

Not because anything is wrong.

Because you’ve spent years being really good at surviving the busy.

Now you have to learn how to be together in a different rhythm.

Mike and I are learning that too.

And I’m realizing this season asks for something more intentional.

Less divide and conquer.

More choosing each other again. 🤍

09/30/2026

I’m getting ready for a big strategy session, and the funny part is… I don’t really know what I’m preparing for yet. 😂

I’m usually the one who wants the agenda, the questions, the plan.

This time, I’m bringing the work, the questions, and a lot of openness about what comes next for Half Nester™.

It feels exciting and uncomfortable at the same time.

But I asked for growth.
I asked for clarity.
I asked to see what’s possible.

So here we go. 🤍

Address

41012 Grenata Preserve Place
Leesburg, VA
20175

Telephone

+17036460776

Website

http://www.halfnester.com/

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