Podcast 13: A Glimpse Into the Relationships of Parents and Their Young Adult Children

We're pleased to present the 13th episode at long last! Please know that we are aware of some technical issues--Kelly has a lot of static on her mic, but believe us when we say that it was much worse before Brendan got a hold of the files! Please bear with us while we work through some of these issues (which will likely exist on the next podcast, too, since we recorded them at the same time).

• Situation of the Week (Jenn): Helping a toddler cope with fears and enjoying his self-awareness

• Topic: A view of what it's like to be the parent of a young adult (begins 7:06)

• Q & A: Does parenting involve sacrifice? (begins 20:09)

As always, feel free to send questions, suggestions, and critiques to cultivatingthevirtues@gmail.com. And we have a new place for you to send questions for future podcasts: check out our Google Moderator page. Please add your own questions and vote for existing questions that you like.

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Livy Growing Up, Me Learning to Adjust

(originally posted at Reepicheep's Coracle)




Last weekend, I was getting dressed to go to a party. I had chosen my shirt but couldn't decide which jeans to wear with it. I tried on both pairs for Aaron and asked which looked better. After he gave me his opinion, Livy came out of her room crying.

"Why do you only ask him things? I'm big enough to know what's pretty!"

I comforted her for a second, assured her that I would love her opinion, and offered to go put the other pants back on so she could compare. But that wasn't good enough. She didn't really care that much about my outfit. She wanted me to value her opinion and acknowledge that she getting so much older.

I thought for a second, and I realized that she was right. She is old enough to know what's pretty. Honestly, her fashion sense might be better than Aaron's. But I was stuck thinking of her as my baby still, not a person who has valuable opinions to share.

So, I explained that I had forgotten for a moment how grown up she was and that I would try not to forget again. And I will try. I don't want to be that mom who can't learn to see her child as an adult. I want to practice seeing all her maturity now and changing my perception of her as she actually changes, so that when she really is all grown up, I see her adult self clearly.

An Era is Ending

(Originally posted at Rational Jenn)

I haven't carried a diaper bag in months. The bag I used as a diaper bag is now used for carrying podcast recording equipment to and from Kelly's house.

We don't have any more sippy cups. Well, we have the cups, but no lids, and everyone just uses them as regular cups. Somehow, Sean went straight to open-topped cups, with hardly a pause in Sippy Cup Land.

Yesterday I noticed that Sean got his last two molars, for a total of 20 teeth! You know what that means, don't you? NO MORE TEETHING EVER AGAIN!

And while a part of me is a little sad about all of this, most of me is HAPPY and ECSTATIC and MAKING PLANS FOR THE FUTURE! :o)

Every little milestone he passes means that we're done with that milestone for good (sniff). But we've got so many exciting adventures to look forward to, and the beautiful, glorious, wonderful NOW to experience.

Life is pretty good.