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. 23h ago

    The Fat Lady Has Sung: When Sports, High School, and Childhood End All at Once

    Send us Fan Mail Thank you so much for being here!!! This week's episode is a reminder that endings and beginnings often exist side by side. After losing the state championship lacrosse game in golden goal overtime, my son's high school sports career came to an end - as well as my role as a sports mom, and my family's identification as a sports family. With graduation this week too, we find ourselves in a strange emotional limbo, and it would be easy to think this is a story about sports. But the more I think about it, the more I realize it's so much more than the end of sports. It's about transitions and grief and identity. The end of sports, the end of high school, graduation, and the uncertain summer before college have all collided at once, leaving our entire family feeling a little lost. In this episode, I explore why these endings feel so much bigger than a game. We talk about identity, grief, and the difficult space between chapters of life. For years, our kids have known exactly who they are: athletes, teammates, captains, performers. Then suddenly the season ends, the uniform comes off, and they are left asking a much bigger question: Who am I now? We'll discuss why our teens may seem directionless before they seem excited, why they're losing far more than a sport, why grief often shows up months later, and how we can support them without rushing them into the next version of themselves. We'll also talk about the transition parents experience as our own identities, routines, and family rhythms begin to shift. If your family is navigating graduation, the end of sports, or any major life transition, this conversation is a reminder that endings and beginnings often exist side by side. 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

  2. 3d ago

    Jen is Zen - Your Summer Body is Here

    Send us Fan Mail Thank you so much for being here! In the U.S. (and especially living at the beach!), Memorial Day is the "official" launch of summer! And never is our unappreciation of our bodies as great as it is during the summer. Can we say that we love our body... and mean it? What if instead of crititicizing all of our flaws based off of narratives that have been planted in our heads we appreciated and loved our bodies for all that they do? 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!

    13 min

  3. May 16

    From the Other Side: Top 20 Things I Learned Parenting a Teen to 20

    Send us Fan Mail  Thank you so much for being here! In honor of my oldest's graduation from the teen years, here are the top 20 things that I learned about parenting teenagers. Not as someone who has all the answers - because clearly I do not - but just as someone who has not only survived the teen years for one child, but actually loved them!! My favorite parenting stage, so far! It's crazy how somehow the years that felt endless while you were in them suddenly feel impossibly short.   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!

    50 min

  4. May 10

    Our Bodies, Our Identities

    Send us Fan Mail Thank you for being here! There’s a conversation happening right now between wellness culture, aging, fitness, femininity, and identity, and I think many women are quietly struggling with it more than we admit. In this episode, I talk honestly about the emotional side of body change in midlife. Not from a “diet culture” perspective or a “just love yourself” perspective, but from an identity perspective. Because sometimes we are not just grieving a body. We are grieving the version of life that body belonged 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!

    39 min

  5. Apr 29

    I Gave Them Space... Now What?

    Send us Fan Mail Welcome! Thank you for being here! There’s a phase of motherhood that no one really prepares you for. It’s not the chaos of little kids, and it’s not the emptiness of the empty nest. It’s the in-between—when your teenagers are starting to launch, and everything is quietly shifting. In this episode, I explore the tension we all feel between staying connected to our kids and allowing them the autonomy they need to grow, and what that same tension looks like for us. Because while our kids are becoming more independent, we’re being asked to rediscover parts of ourselves that may have been tied to being constantly needed. And that’s not something we always talk about. I share a moment that caught me completely off guard, realizing how much I miss the built-in community that came with earlier stages of parenting, and how easy it is to feel socially full, yet still disconnected. And then there’s the piece I truly wasn’t prepared for: the “revolving door.” The friendships, relationships, and extended circle that become part of your life through your kids… and then slowly begin to change, fade, and move on. This isn’t just about our kids growing up. It’s about identity, connection, and learning how to move through a season where everything is evolving at once. If you’ve ever felt like you’re in that quiet, shifting space - still deeply in it, but also starting to feel the pull toward something more - this episode is for you. 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!

    56 min

  6. Apr 20

    Just Be Her: Things I Wish I Knew Sooner - #41-50

    Send us Fan Mail Welcome back! I'm so happy you're here! This is part 3 of my Things I wish I knew sooner series - #s 41 through 50. I just turned 50 last week, and to count down, I stepped drastically out of my comfort zone and started recording and posting reels/TikToks every day of things I wish I had known sooner - things that would have made my life a lot easier. In that process, I learned a number of other things, starting with I can do hard things.  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!

    27 min

  7. Apr 20

    Are you Hypernormalizing? (Probably!)

    Send us Fan Mail Thank you so much for being here!! I am so appreciative of you for tuning in! Last year, we had a conversation about hypernormalization that I think it's important to revisit. We’re living in a time when the world feels increasingly chaotic, and somehow we’re expected to keep functioning like everything’s fine. In this episode, I explore the concept of hypernormalization - how dysfunction becomes our default, and what that does to our minds, our bodies, and our relationships. From the global to the personal, this is a reflection on what happens when we stop noticing what’s not okay. If you’ve felt off, numb, or overwhelmed by the news cycle, the silence in your own home, or the heaviness in your chest that you can’t quite name, you’re not alone. This one is for your nervous system. We cannot normalize hypernormalization. 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

  8. Apr 12

    Things I Wish I Knew Sooner: #16-41

    Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I continue my 50 Things I Wish I Knew Sooner series, walking through lessons 16 through 40. This part of the list shifts from what we do to how we experience our lives - our thoughts, our habits, our self-image, and the way we show up in our relationships. This isn’t about having everything figured out. It’s about learning how to think differently, trust yourself more, and move through your life with a little more awareness and a lot more intention. 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
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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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