The Almost Empty Nest—Letting Go, Redefined: Parenting Teens and Finding Yourself Again—with Small Jar Coach
Are you stuck between wanting to guide your teen or college kid and knowing it’s time to start letting go? Welcome to The Almost Empty Nest Podcast, where moms of teens and college kids reframe what ‘letting go’...
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Episodes
Letting Go on the College Tour — A Mindset Shift for Moms of Teens | Ep. 75
I used to think the college process was all about helping my teen succeed. But this past week, during a whirlwind of campus tours with one son and Parents Weekend with the other, I realized just how much my own...
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Emotional Reasoning — The Trap That Makes Moms Believe Their Anxiety, Guilt, and Fear Are Facts | Ep. 74
Have you ever felt anxious, guilty, or afraid—and assumed it meant something was wrong with your teen, your parenting, or even you? In this episode, I explore one of the most powerful and sneaky mindset traps moms...
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Identity Crisis — Letting Go, Losing Yourself, and Starting Again as a Mom of Teens | Ep. 73
When my son started to pull away, I panicked. I thought I was losing him—and, in many ways, I was. But what I didn’t expect was how much of myself I’d lose in the process. In this episode, I open up about one of the...
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The Mindset Traps Moms Don’t Talk About — A Real Conversation on Perfection, Comparison, and Letting Go with Ali Flynn | Ep. 72
This week, I had the gift of sitting down with Ali Flynn, the creator of Hang In There, Mama, and a fellow mom walking the wild ride of raising teens and young adults. Our conversation was deeply honest—about...
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Personalization (aka Mom Guilt) — The Mindset Trap That Keeps You Stuck in Overthinking and Disconnection | Ep. 71|
Guilt used to drive my parenting. If my teen was struggling, it must have been something I did. If I lost my temper, I spiraled in shame. And if I tried to set a boundary? I felt selfish. In this episode, I dig deep...
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Perfectionism — Why Moms of Teens Struggle to Let Go and Still Don’t Feel Good Enough | Ep. 70
Being forced to slow down this week gave me the space to reflect on something that’s been simmering for a while: perfectionism. Not the kind we brag about in job interviews—but the kind that quietly runs the show in...
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All or Nothing — The Mindset Trap That Keeps Moms Overwhelmed, Burned Out, and Disconnected | Ep. 69
I used to believe that if I couldn’t do something perfectly, it wasn’t worth doing at all. That belief didn’t just show up in my goals—it showed up in my parenting, my marriage, my mindset, and my relationship with...
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The Comparison Trap — How Moms of Teens Lose Confidence and Connection Trying to Measure Up | Ep. 68
I didn’t think I struggled with comparison—until I realized how often I measured my parenting, my kids, and even my worth against what I saw in other moms. In this episode, we dive into the comparison trap, one of the...
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Validation Trap — How Seeking Approval from Your Teen Keeps You Stuck | Mindset #3 | Ep. 67
As a mom navigating the complexities of parenting teens, it’s easy to fall into the habit of looking to our kids for emotional validation, approval, and a sense of self-worth. But when our kids start pulling away,...
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Catastrophizing — The Trap That Keeps Moms Anxious, Overthinking, and Bracing for the Worst | Mindset #2 | Ep. 66
I used to think I was just being prepared. But what I’ve come to realize is that I was stuck in a mindset trap: catastrophizing—constantly imagining the worst-case scenario and calling it “planning.” In this episode,...
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Confirmation Bias — The Mindset Trap That Distorts How Moms See Their Teens | Ep. 65
In this episode, I open up about the powerful and often invisible mindset trap of confirmation bias, and how it can deeply impact our parenting experience, especially during the teen years and as we approach the empty...
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Running Out of Time Parenting Teens — Letting Go of Guilt and Holding On to What Matters Most | Ep. 64
When I first heard the statistic that we spend 90% of our time with our kids by the time they turn 18, my heart sank. That number hit me like a wave of regret, especially now that my son is officially an adult....
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