Reframing Me
So many prepare us for the transition to motherhood, but no one prepares us for how hard the transition out is, and once our kids become teens, it also can feel very solitary. The issues we face with teens are often ones we need to talk about, yet feel we can't or shouldn't. Together, we can create a community of women who, faced with growing children and changing families, are relearning how to mom, and relearning who they are as women. Grounded in family communication theory, join Dr. Jennifer Brubaker to have those conversations to help you better understand this new chapter of your life. Episodes focus on both family communication with our teens and reflection and self discovery. Dr. Brubaker has her Ph.D in Communication Studies and is an Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where she has taught for 17 years. Prior to UNCW, she taught at The Ohio State University, Kent State University and the University of Toledo. Originally from Ohio, Jen lives in Wilmington, NC, with her husband, three children, three dogs, cat and a menagerie of small animals. She loves spending time with her family, traveling and all things fitness, sports and wellness. Reach out with your questions, issues or experiences to begin the conversation. Or reach out to say hi and let me know you’re listening :) Join the Reframing Me: The Podcast Community Facebook group to connect with others who are looking to relearn how to parent, now that their kids are teens, and rediscover who they are as women, beyond the framework of motherhood. 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
Episodes
Thank you so much for being here!! I am so appreciative of you for tuning in!
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 i...
Thank you so much for being here!!
It wasn’t about the berries! In this episode of Reframing Me, we explore how small, everyday moments—like an almost missed berry picking trip—can trigger deeper emotional responses in parents of teens. Grounded in Family Systems Theory, Relational Dialectics Theory, and Metaphor Theory, this episode explains how family rituals carry symbolic meaning, and how their disruption can sig...
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...
Welcome to the show! I'm so happy that you're here!
If you’re a mom, especially a mom of teenagers, you are probably feeling tired. All. The. Time. But what if your exhaustion isn’t just about lack of sleep? What if it’s about the type of rest you're not getting?
There’s a powerful framework I want to share with you today - I was introduced to it in the book The Hustle Cure by Sophie Cliff, but it comes ...
Thank you so much for being here! It's our 200th episode!! And today, for the first time, "Reframing Me" is ranking in France, so I am dusting off my high school French (well... that may be a BIT of a stretch...).
“You are the sky. Everything else—it’s just the weather.”
Or, maybe more simply: You are not your feelings. You are the one who feels them. Emotional complexity is the ability to separate yourse...
With prom season in full swing, and graduations upon us, and wedding season – tryouts – the post-college decision day aftermath - and of course the always a favorite "What are you going to do after graduation?” question that may be looming in the air, I wanted to revisit a favorite conversation of mine because Sometimes it’s almost as if your teens didn’t see your parenting vision board, isn’t it? What happens wh...
Thank you for being here today! In celebration of Mother's Day, let's revisit our special Mom episodes! When these first aired, I was excited about our upcoming 50th episode. Now, here I am, about to record our 200th episode!
In part 1 we talked about the struggles that working moms face, so we continue our conversation by looking at the struggles of stay-at-home moms. SAHMs report feelings of sadness, lone...
Thank you for being here today! In celebration of Mother's Day, let's revisit our special Mom episodes! When these first aired, I was excited about our upcoming 50th episode. Now, here I am, about to record our 200th episode! I guess I was right: Girls CAN do anything!
In part 1 of this MONSTER-sized mom episode, we're celebrating moms, girl power. Girls can do ANYTHING and be ANYTHING, but telling gir...
Thank you SO much for being here! Today’s Jen is Zen is episode number 199! As I approach 200, I can't help but reflect on what a transformation I have undergone over these last couple/few years!
Through my curiosity, I discovered myself, who I am underneath and who I wanted to be. And by focusing on what I wanted, rather than what I didn’t want - I found my passion. And once I found my passion, my purpose became...
With summer creeping up, college students about to come home, and teens ready to enjoy summer break at home, I’ve been thinking a lot about how much the dynamic in many of our homes is about to shift. For some of us, the daily routines we’ve gotten used to will be flipped upside down - again. And even though we love having our kids back under our roofs, let’s be honest, it’s not always as smooth or idyllic as we imagi...
Thank you so much for being here! Today, I invite you to hold two truths at once: I can celebrate her. And I can believe in me.
They’re not opposites. They’re connected. They make each other stronger.
And as we start living from that place of abundance - of lifting each other up instead of tearing ourselves down - we create a world that’s bigger, brighter, and more beautiful for all of us.
So where can you choose admirat...
I've been reading the book "Power Manifesting" by Paul McKenna, and he talks about a process called "Clean and Clear" to do an ecology check on your goals. An ecology check is how you ask, If I change one thing—will the rest of me still thrive?
And the questions are simple:
- What are you willing to do to reach this goal?
- What are you not willing to do?
But what they reveal?
Our true character doesn’t lie in not getting mad or upset or angry or jealous or disappointed – or feeling any of that negative energy. Our true character lies in how quickly we can shake that feeling off and refocus on what we need to do now.
Like many of you, I’ve always been one to hold myself to a really high standard – whether it’s in my career or being a mom or a wife or a daughter or hosting a holiday or worki...
In this final episode in our Matrenaissance conversation series, we chat with Amy—a nurse, mom, and now med spa owner—who opens up about rediscovering her identity after years of being “just mom.” Amy shares her emotional journey from full-time motherhood to launching a thriving aesthetics and wellness business, all while navigating grief, guilt, and the fear of failure.
Together, we unpack the deep societal messages t...
Join me on my birthday for a conversation about contextual age and its profound implications on our sense of self and well-being. Delving beyond mere chronological age, we explore how factors such as biological age, social roles, perceived age, and subjective age shape our identity and outlook on life.
Let's challenge conventional notions of aging and embrace an ageless mindset. By redefining our relationship with...
Today, you get to choose, what are you going to focus on? It’s very easy and natural for us to want something different – if I could just go back to the past, or if it could just get to the future already. For years we just wanted to get older, and now, if we could only be young again… It’s ok to have those reactions. Honor wherever you are and however you feel, but let go of that and instead choose to focus on how yo...
In this special birthday episode of Jen is Zen, I share my top five reasons I feel more peaceful, grounded, and fulfilled at 49 than ever before. From daily gratitude and intentional movement to supplements, intermittent fasting, and deep self-reflection, i share the habits and mindset shifts that have helped ne stay “Zen AF” despite life’s challenges. Perfect for women navigating midlife, this uplifting episode is a ...
When Kris Janik realized that "you only live once!" also meant, "you DO ONLY live ONCE," she realized that she wanted to make it really mean something special - something that she and her family could be proud of. In this third episode of our Matrenaissance series, I have a conversation with contemporary artist and mother of three, Kris Janik, to explore the beautiful, nonlinear journey of rediscov...
Thank you so much for being here! What would it feel like to fully trust the space between who I was and who I am becoming?
This question isn’t about naming where you are. It’s not even about clarity, or about your goals, about or knowing your vision or about manifesting your future self. It’s about trust. Trusting yourself and trusting where you are and trusting the process.
I am still over here in my healing era, stu...
Before we were moms, we were women—whole, vibrant individuals with passions, dreams, and a sense of self. But somewhere along the way, our identities began to revolve around our kids. And now, as they grow into their independence, we’re left asking: Who am I now?
In this special Matrenaissance re-release, I revisit a powerful conversation with Certified Life Coach Marybeth Cale of Estuary Coaching—someone I’ve long adm...
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