Episode Details

Welcome to another episode of Wonder in the Weeds! This week it was just me. No Gen Z counterpart in the chair, though I promise we talked about her plenty.

I just got back from five days on the road. I drove two of my three adult kids out to Colorado to see family, called the third one from the car so it would feel complete, and somewhere along those thirteen hours I realized this is exactly the relationship I always hoped I’d have with them. So this one is more wonder than weeds. It’s about what it actually feels like to parent your kids once they’re grown, the relationship you can build on purpose, and a little hope for anyone still in the thick of it. So grab a warm drink, get comfortable, and tune in.

Key Topics We Discuss

* The Sitting on the Beach Question: The one thing I ask every parent I work with, picturing the adult relationship you want years before it arrives.

* Friend vs. Mom: Why I hesitate to call my kids my friends, and the kind of teasing and honesty that only works because the love underneath it is clear.

* It Wasn’t an Accident (But It Wasn’t All Me): How intentional choices shaped these relationships, and how much my kids shaped each other in ways I never saw coming.

* The Humbling Conversations: What I learned hearing my kids describe the same memories completely differently than I remember them.

* Finding Your Identity in the Empty Nest: Figuring out who I am now that showing up for them isn’t my full-time job.

Episode Chapters

* Welcome to the Episode

* A Bag Full of Good Intentions

* The Relationship I Always Wanted

* The Sitting on the Beach Moment

* Still the Mom, and Also Just a Guest

* The First Time They Get Sick Away From Home

* Drop-Off Day: Two Kids, Two Very Different Stories

* Grace, Humility, and a Little Hope

* The Wonder: A Big Old World Out There

Resources Mentioned

* The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon — dense, not a quick read, but a rich story about a midwife in the late 1700s and a whole lot of early women’s rights. I almost gave up on it and ended up really glad I didn’t.

* Noah Kahan — still on the album, still not sorry about it. A lot of this trip was scored by him.

Leave a comment below and tell me what kind of relationship you’re hoping to build with your kids, or what you’re reading, watching, and listening to right now. I’m in a serious rut and I need the help.

Keep looking for the wonder in the weeds, and until next time, take care of yourself.