THE REFRAMING CIRCLE

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Reframing Me - Self-Development & Parenting Teens for Midlife Moms

Dr. Jennifer Brubaker
  • 4.9 (10)
  • SELF-IMPROVEMENT
  • UPDATED SEMIWEEKLY

Your kids are growing up - but so are you. Reframing Me is the podcast for moms of teens ready to reframe family, identity, and self-development in midlife. Parenting teens is hard -and parenting while rediscovering yourself in midlife can feel even harder. Reframing Me is the parenting podcast for moms raising teenagers who are also navigating the transition out of hands-on motherhood, identity shifts, and the search for balance, fulfillment, and self-development. Hosted by Dr. Jennifer Brubaker, a Communication Studies professor, mom of three teens, and intrapersonal communication expert, each episode blends family communication strategies, honest conversations about parenting teens, and self-reflection tools to help moms strengthen family relationships while rediscovering who they are as women.  Together we’ll talk about the issues moms face but don’t always say out loud: changing family dynamics, feeling invisible, letting go of control, and creating new purpose. Through research, theory, and compassionate conversation, you’ll find support, strategies, and a sense of community in this season of parenting and personal growth. Join the Reframing Me community to connect with other midlife moms, share your stories, and reframe how you see yourself, your family, and your future. Send emails to jen@reframing-me.com; or on socials: Reframing Me on FacebookAND join the Facebook group Reframing Me: The Podcast Community; @reframingme on Instagram; Reframing Me on YouTube @reframingme on TikTok

  1. 1D AGO

    Jen is Zen - Control the Controllable

    Send us a text Thank you so much for being here! What does it look like for you to reclaim a sense of control in your life? This Jen is Zen episode explores what it truly means to reclaim a sense of control when life feels overwhelming. Rather than focusing on fixing everything or forcing positivity, the episode reframes control as creating steadiness and orientation in the midst of uncertainty. The reflection begins by acknowledging that chaos doesn’t only exist on a global scale. It often shows up in everyday life – within homes, relationships, careers, bodies, and demanding seasons of parenting and midlife transition. Through personal examples, the episode illustrates how small, repeatable rituals – such as maintaining simple routines, tending to one intentional space, or returning to basic practices like movement, meditation, and gratitude – can help regulate the nervous system when things feel out of control. The episode then explores gratitude in a nontraditional way, focusing on appreciation for situations that feel problematic or unfinished. The episode addresses parenting teens during uncertain and unsettling times. It responds to common questions about how to comfort our teens when reassurance feels dishonest and explanations feel incomplete. The key message is that comfort does not come from certainty, but from presence. Honest acknowledgment, emotional steadiness, and shared containment offer more safety than promises or solutions. The episode also highlights the importance of helping teens identify their own stabilizing anchors – routines, activities, creative outlets, and structures that provide a sense of agency and regulation. These behaviors are reframed not as control-seeking, but as coping strategies that help young people feel grounded. Steady presence, intentional rituals, and emotional grounding are powerful tools for navigating both personal and collective uncertainty. Thank you for listening and being part of this community! Let's get social. Follow me on Facebook, on Twitter @reframing_me, on Instagram @reframingme and on TikTok @reframingme I hope you enjoyed the episode! Please leave a review, catch up on any missed episodes, and be sure to follow the show, so you don't miss new content!

    26 min

  2. 5D AGO

    When Your Nervous System Is Overwhelmed but Parenting Doesn’t Stop: Raising Teens Through Unsettled Times

    Send us a text Right now, many of us are being asked to function normally while living through ongoing instability, fear, and institutional breakdown, and that disconnect is exhausting. If you’re struggling to focus, feeling emotionally overwhelmed or numb, pulling back socially, or finding yourself more irritable or fatigued than usual, this isn’t a personal failure. It’s a nervous system responding normally to prolonged stress. For parents of teens, this season is especially complicated. Our teenagers are old enough to understand what’s happening in the world but don’t yet have fully developed emotional regulation or perspective. They may respond with anxiety, withdrawal, cynicism, or emotional shutdown - not because they don’t care, but because their nervous systems are protecting them. This is not a season for flawless parenting or emotional certainty. It’s a season for gentleness, honesty, and regulated presence. Feeling overwhelmed doesn’t mean you’re failing -it means you’re human in a moment that is genuinely heavy. Thank you for listening and being part of this community! Let's get social. Follow me on Facebook, on Twitter @reframing_me, on Instagram @reframingme and on TikTok @reframingme I hope you enjoyed the episode! Please leave a review, catch up on any missed episodes, and be sure to follow the show, so you don't miss new content!

    49 min

  3. 6D AGO

    Jen is Zen - The Only Opinions That Matter

    Send us a text  Thank you so much for being here! The only two people whose opinions should matter are the 9-year-old version of you and the 90-year-old version of you. In this first Jen is Zen episode of 2026 - my 50th birthday year! - I reflect on aging, identity, and why I look and feel better now than I did four years ago despite cultural narratives that tell us midlife should look like decline. Someone I love showed me a past photo and described as “old” and “stringy.” Former Jen would have felt insecure, but current Jen saw it as catalyst for deeper reflection. My mantra for 2026 is: The only two people whose opinions should matter are the 9-year-old version of you and the 90-year-old version of you. Many of us begin to edit and manage ourselves between ages 9–12, slowly drifting away from our authentic selves in response to expectations, approval, and responsibility. Midlife, maybe isn't about reinvention or fixing what’s broken - it’s about remembering who we were before the world taught us to hide. Also, stay tuned because I'm inspired to create an upcoming podcast and social media series based on 50 things I wish I had known sooner. Every insight on the list somehow traces back to this core mantra and a deeper realization: When the world feels out of control, the only thing we truly control is our own behavior - and our behavior sets the energy. For me, small, genuine acts of kindness created a ripple effect in my life, leading to joy, gratitude, peace, confidence, and grace. This shift helped my nervous system soften, both emotionally and physically. I openly acknowledge the role my (borderline obsessive!) wellness practices and investments play in how I feel and look today, emphasizing that there is no single magic fix - only a thoughtful combination of supports and an aligned mindset. I don't gatekeep, so follow me on socials and I'll share what I love. I invite you to reflect on your own life through the lens of the 9-year-old and 90-year-old versions of yourself - not as a form of self-improvement, but as an act of remembering - and carry that clarity forward into the new year.  Thank you for listening and being part of this community! Let's get social. Follow me on Facebook, on Twitter @reframing_me, on Instagram @reframingme and on TikTok @reframingme I hope you enjoyed the episode! Please leave a review, catch up on any missed episodes, and be sure to follow the show, so you don't miss new content!

    29 min

  4. 12/28/2025

    Merry Twixtmas and Happy 2026!

    Send us a text Happy Holidays! Merry Twixtmas! Happy 2026! I am so grateful to have you here! In this New Year’s episode of Reframing Me, I reflect on Twixtmas - that quiet, in-between week where time has no meaning and our perspective widens. My family’s New Year’s traditions have evolved, making me really think about what it means to grow alongside our children, to grieve what was while embracing what is, and to let traditions change without losing their meaning. This episode invites you to pause before rushing into resolutions and instead close out the year with intention because the New Year is a true “line in the sand” – a moment of delineation between who we were and who we are becoming. I ask you to consider what no longer serves you, what you are ready to leave behind, and what you want to consciously carry forward. Through reflection, honesty, and a guided metaphor of packing a suitcase for the year ahead, I encourage you to release old narratives, limiting beliefs, and roles that no longer fit. Rather than doing more, I'd love to see you step into the new year by embodying the woman you've been waiting to be – grounded, aligned, and true to yourself. See you in 2026! Thank you for listening and being part of this community! Let's get social. Follow me on Facebook, on Twitter @reframing_me, on Instagram @reframingme and on TikTok @reframingme I hope you enjoyed the episode! Please leave a review, catch up on any missed episodes, and be sure to follow the show, so you don't miss new content!

    19 min

  5. 12/17/2025

    Connected, Yet Isolated: The Parallel Between Teens and Midlife Moms

    Send us a text Thank you for being here!  This episode is an honest reflection on feeling deeply connected yet quietly alone – a place many women find themselves in during midlife and parenting the teen years. Moving between lived experience, parenting observations, and relational insight, the episode explores the surprising parallel between teen loneliness and adult invisibility in a hyper-connected world. Rather than offering solutions or tidy conclusions, this conversation sits inside the discomfort of being needed but unseen, productive but unmirrored, surrounded by people yet craving resonance. It reflects on how digital connection can replace depth, how identity shifts disrupt belonging, and why loneliness often shows up not as isolation, but as a lack of reflection. Thank you for listening and being part of this community! Let's get social. Follow me on Facebook, on Twitter @reframing_me, on Instagram @reframingme and on TikTok @reframingme I hope you enjoyed the episode! Please leave a review, catch up on any missed episodes, and be sure to follow the show, so you don't miss new content!

    38 min

  6. 12/11/2025

    Jen is Zen - Just Begin Again

    Send us a text Thank you so much for being here! Today, I'd like you to think about this: You can begin again anytime. Not next week. Not next semester. Not when life “calms down” because we all know that’s never. Not when the kids launch or when the holidays end or when the stars realign. Just… begin again. What if beginning again is simply the next breath you take? The next thought you choose? The next decision you make without dragging your past self into it? YOU are the one who decides when the new chapter begins - not the calendar, not other people, not the version of you who accidentally fell into an old habit, or forgot her goals for a few weeks, or made a mistake that felt like a setback. You can begin again the moment you choose to. Thank you for listening and being part of this community! Let's get social. Follow me on Facebook, on Twitter @reframing_me, on Instagram @reframingme and on TikTok @reframingme I hope you enjoyed the episode! Please leave a review, catch up on any missed episodes, and be sure to follow the show, so you don't miss new content!

    20 min

  7. 12/05/2025

    Are you Fighting for the Fun of It? Recreational Arguing in Families

    Send us a text Welcome back to the show! I’m so grateful you’re here! And I’m so happy to have my voice back to normal after an icky cold that I may have rambled a bit more than usual – hahaha! But today, we’re talking about something many families do without ever naming itn - recreational arguing. You know the dynamic: nothing is actually wrong, but yet somehow you’re in a debate about tone, or not listening, or why someone “waited until now” to mention something. But underneath the surface-level conflict is something surprisingly human: connection attempts very ungracefully disguised as friction. I walk through why teens (and adults) use tension to create closeness, how patterns from childhood homes show up in present-day relationships, and why some people only feel seen when things are slightly dramatic. We talk about how conflict can become ritualized, how certain personalities need emotional activation before they can bond, and why disengaging can change the entire system. This isn’t an episode about fixing anyone. It’s about understanding the function behind the friction, and remembering that sometimes a raised voice isn’t hostility – it’s actually a clumsy, but familiar, way to reach for connection. And when you can see it clearly, you don’t have to take the invitation to argue to still meet the need underneath it. Thank you for listening and being part of this community! Let's get social. Follow me on Facebook, on Twitter @reframing_me, on Instagram @reframingme and on TikTok @reframingme I hope you enjoyed the episode! Please leave a review, catch up on any missed episodes, and be sure to follow the show, so you don't miss new content!

    1h 2m

  8. 12/03/2025

    Jen is Zen - Redirection from Rejection

    Send us a text What if it wasn’t you after all? What if that rejection was a redirection to something better or to where you are supposed to be? Thank you so much for being here! In today’s Jen is Zen, I’m inviting you to look at rejection through a completely different lens. What if the “no” you got wasn’t about you at all? What if it wasn’t a failure or a flaw or proof that you’re not enough, but a quiet nudge redirecting you toward the place you’re actually meant to be? If this realization had hit me sooner in my own life, how much peace could I have given myself! Yet, many of us instead take every “no” as a personal indictment instead of a sign of alignment. This is your reminder that the universe does not give you peace in situations that aren’t right for you, and sometimes the disappointments that sting the least are the ones speaking the loudest. Thank you for listening and being part of this community! Let's get social. Follow me on Facebook, on Twitter @reframing_me, on Instagram @reframingme and on TikTok @reframingme I hope you enjoyed the episode! Please leave a review, catch up on any missed episodes, and be sure to follow the show, so you don't miss new content!

    25 min
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4.9
out of 5
10 Ratings

About

Your kids are growing up - but so are you. Reframing Me is the podcast for moms of teens ready to reframe family, identity, and self-development in midlife. Parenting teens is hard -and parenting while rediscovering yourself in midlife can feel even harder. Reframing Me is the parenting podcast for moms raising teenagers who are also navigating the transition out of hands-on motherhood, identity shifts, and the search for balance, fulfillment, and self-development. Hosted by Dr. Jennifer Brubaker, a Communication Studies professor, mom of three teens, and intrapersonal communication expert, each episode blends family communication strategies, honest conversations about parenting teens, and self-reflection tools to help moms strengthen family relationships while rediscovering who they are as women.  Together we’ll talk about the issues moms face but don’t always say out loud: changing family dynamics, feeling invisible, letting go of control, and creating new purpose. Through research, theory, and compassionate conversation, you’ll find support, strategies, and a sense of community in this season of parenting and personal growth. Join the Reframing Me community to connect with other midlife moms, share your stories, and reframe how you see yourself, your family, and your future. Send emails to jen@reframing-me.com; or on socials: Reframing Me on FacebookAND join the Facebook group Reframing Me: The Podcast Community; @reframingme on Instagram; Reframing Me on YouTube @reframingme on TikTok

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