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. DEC 17

    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

  2. DEC 11

    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

  3. DEC 5

    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

  4. DEC 3

    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

  5. NOV 26

    The Thanksgiving Visit: 7 Tips for Enjoying a Visit from your College Student

    Send us a text In this Thanksgiving episode, I am extra thankful for you being here! Many moms (including me!) are anxious to have their college students home for the holiday, but that doesn't mean it won't be without its possible challenges. We'll have a conversation exploring the joys and challenges of welcoming college freshmen back home for the holidays. As our families reconnect, we need to adapt to the changes our child has experienced in their first months at college, from newfound independence to identity growth, and how these shifts impact family dynamics, which have also had to adapt.. Whether it’s managing expectations, fostering open communication, or finding gratitude in the chaos, this episode is packed with advice to help families make the most of this special time together. Dr. Brubaker’s warm and relatable approach offers encouragement and empathy, reminding listeners to focus on connection, gratitude, and the love that binds families. Perfect for parents navigating their child's return from college, this episode is your guide to a meaningful and memorable Thanksgiving. Listen now on Reframing Me and connect on social media at @reframingme or at reframing-me.com. Support the show 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!

    39 min

  6. NOV 19

    Jen is Zen - Create Your Magic

    Send us a text Thank you so much for being here!  You can create your own magic.  You can create your own future.  You do not have to be chosen.  You do not have to wait to be chosen.  You are the creator of your own life. There's a moment that so many midlife moms quietly fear: the one where they sense that their purpose is fading just as their children’s lives are expanding. Being caregiving becomes an identity, and how losing that role can feel like losing yourself.  But you don’t have to wait to be chosen or validated. You can choose yourself. You can create your own magic. See this as an invitation for women to reclaim their purpose, trust their voice, and remember that midlife isn’t a decline; it’s an awakening. Support the show 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!

    21 min

  7. NOV 17

    The End of Youth Sports 2.0 and Ambiguous Loss

    Send us a text It's the home stretch for my years as a "Football Mom," and I am feeling the feels. When your kids are involved in an activity that becomes consuming of your time, energy, and money, and when we find ourselves on the sideline or in the stands or seats watching day after day, week after week, year after year, there comes a point when it all ends. For many, senior year is that end. But for some, it happens sooner, whether they don’t make the team or grow out of love with the sport or activity and just decide they are done – but wait! You might say – but what if I’m not done?  It’s the end of a chapter. There is a loss – a sense of grief – it’s the loss of an activity – of a group of people you’ve grown to feel a community with – the loss of something that you share with your child. It's ok to feel sad. It’s ok for us to look back and reflect. It just won’t be the same. And it’s ok to mourn that end – mourn the loss.  We may feel an ambiguous loss. At its core, ambiguous loss is about a lack of resolution. The loss of what could have or should have been. The loss of someone or something as it was.  But we aren’t the only ones who will feel the end because obviously, the kids will feel it even more than we do. So what comes next - what can we expect from our teen athletes post sports, and how you can help them find their identities. Support the show 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 7m

  8. NOV 14

    November Gratitude Meditation

    Send us a text  This month, the focus will be on gratitude. To show my gratitude to all of you, I've unlocked this November meditation, so you can have a peek inside, and because gratitude is something that you must have before you can receive. It’s not simply something you feel after something good happens. So today we’re going to cultivate that feeling of gratitude for what we do have so we can be open to the abundance of all that we want. Support the show 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!

    9 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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