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
Reframing Me
Jen is Zen - Words are Weapons... or Tools
Order Reframe the Moment: Choose Your Zen and 'Twas the Night Before Move In NOW!!
Thank you so much for being here!!
This week officially marks my 20th year teaching at UNCW. I sat in my annual faculty retreat meeting the other day, and I've realized that I have somehow become a village elder.
If I do even more math, it’s my 25th year teaching because I taught one year at Ohio State during my Masters program, three years at Kent State during my doctoral program, and one year at Toledo as a visiting professor before I moved here and took this position.
I mean it all tracks – no matter how many times I count because there is literally no way it’s correct, but alas, it is. I was 23 when I taught my first class – THAT is absolutely insane in retrospect. At 23, I had no business teaching anyone about literally anything.
It did of course make me stop to think about what I would want to teach that 23-year-old me to make these 25+ years easier. If I could tell her something – I would tell her that your thoughts and words are either weapons or tools, and you get to decide which they are.
Words are powerful. Thoughts are powerful. Both can be weapons if we choose to use them that way, but that means they are also tools. Tools to build the person we want to be. Tools to convey that person to the world. Tools to build the life we want to live.
Or they can be weapons. Weapons to attack ourselves. Weapons to destroy our hopes and our dreams and our relationships. Weapons to hurt other people and perpetuate a vicious cycle.
So 23-year-old, 1999 Jen - Use them wisely. (And STOP TWEEZING YOUR EYEBROWS!)
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!
