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’ really means and stop second-guessing themselves to feel more connected, confident, and at peace in this chapter of motherhood.

Each week, you’ll learn how to:
• Break free from mindset traps like catastrophizing, mom guilt, and the illusion of control
• Build a stronger relationship with your teen—even when they pull away or test boundaries
• Strengthen your self-trust as you set boundaries, let go of anxiety, and explore your own purpose beyond parenting

Hosted by master life coach—and mom of two college kids—Jennifer Collins, this show offers grounded, relatable support and mindset shifts to help you stop overthinking and start showing up as the mom and woman you truly want to be.

🎧 Start with listener favorite Episode 85: The Empty Nest Straddle — The Emotional Tug of Parenting Teens and Facing the Empty Nest.

Latest Episodes:

“I Feel Lonely”—Thoughts Moms Parenting Teens and Adult Kids Are Ashamed They Think | Ep. 292 Sep 30, 2026

Show notes

Have you ever had a moment when the house feels too quiet, your kids are busy living their lives, and you suddenly wonder, when did I start feeling this alone?

In this episode, I’m exploring the different ways loneliness can show up during the teen and empty nest years. Sometimes we simply miss our kids. Sometimes we’re grieving the closeness or relationship we thought we’d have. And sometimes motherhood has shifted so much that we’re beginning to see just how much we want more friendship, community, connection, or purpose of our own.

I’ll help you look beneath the thought “I feel lonely” and understand what your loneliness may actually be asking of you. Because some loneliness is meant to be felt, and some may be inviting you to create something new, without making your kids responsible for filling the empty spaces in your life.

💡 Interested in learning more about how to create peace, confidence and connection as you raise and launch your teen? Join me for my next free masterclass: https://www.thesmalljar.com/class.

💪 Curious about coaching? Check out our Mom 2.0 coaching programs (both group and 1:1): www.thesmalljar.com/Mom-2-0. Know you’re interested in group? Visit: www.thesmalljar.com/momcollective.

❓ Have questions or want to share your feedback? I'd love to hear from you! You can email me at jennifer@thesmalljar.com.

This empowering podcast offers life coaching for moms and parenting support for midlife mothers raising teens as they approach the empty nest, teaching them how to let go of control, stop overthinking, and shift their mindset, while also helping them set boundaries, improve communication, reduce anxiety, release mom guilt, and find purpose in the evolving journey of parenting teens and motherhood.

What if this Is Hard AND Everything You've Ever Wanted When Parenting Teens and Navigating the Empty Nest?| Ep. 291 Sep 26, 2026

Show notes

Have you ever noticed how quickly your mind can skip right past what’s going well and land on the one thing that still feels unresolved?

Parenting teens and navigating the empty nest can hold so many contradictions at once. You can be proud of your kid and worried about them. Grateful for this stage of motherhood and grieving what has changed. Happy for their independence and still struggling with letting go.

In this episode, I’m talking about why our brains keep scanning for problems, why the finish line with our big kids keeps moving, and how that habit can fuel anxiety and overthinking.

You’ll learn how to make room for what’s hard without letting it become the whole story, and how a simple mindset shift can help you feel more grounded, present, and connected to the life you have right now.

💡 Interested in learning more about how to create peace, confidence and connection as you raise and launch your teen? Join me for my next free masterclass: https://www.thesmalljar.com/class.

💪 Curious about coaching? Check out our Mom 2.0 coaching programs (both group and 1:1): www.thesmalljar.com/Mom-2-0. Know you’re interested in group? Visit: www.thesmalljar.com/momcollective.

❓ Have questions or want to share your feedback? I'd love to hear from you! You can email me at jennifer@thesmalljar.com.

“I Feel Like a Failure as a Mom”—Thoughts Moms Parenting Teens and Adult Kids Are Ashamed They Think | Ep. 290 Sep 23, 2026

Show notes

When your big kid is struggling, pulling away, or making choices you don’t understand, how quickly does your brain start asking, “What did I do wrong?”

In this episode, I’m talking about the way we moms can use our kids’ choices, struggles, relationships, and happiness as evidence of how well we’re doing in motherhood. That gets especially painful as we move through parenting teens and the empty nest years, when our instinct to help is still strong but our ability to control the outcome has changed.

I’ll help you separate making mistakes from being a failure, understand why self-blame can actually feel safer than letting go, and rethink what success looks like in this stage of motherhood.

💡 Interested in learning more about how to create peace, confidence and connection as you raise and launch your teen? Join me for my next free masterclass: https://www.thesmalljar.com/class.

💪 Curious about coaching? Check out our Mom 2.0 coaching programs (both group and 1:1): www.thesmalljar.com/Mom-2-0. Know you’re interested in group? Visit: www.thesmalljar.com/momcollective.

❓ Have questions or want to share your feedback? I'd love to hear from you! You can email me at jennifer@thesmalljar.com.

Why the Right Boundary Can Still Feel So Wrong When Parenting Teens and Adult Kids | Ep. 289 Sep 19, 2026

Show notes

What happens when you set a boundary, hold it, communicate it clearly… and absolutely nothing changes?

In this episode, I’m talking about why boundaries can feel so confusing when you’re parenting teens, college kids, and adult children. At this stage of motherhood, we often judge whether a boundary “worked” by looking at what our kid does next. Did they change the behavior? Take it seriously? Learn the lesson?

I’ll help you rethink what a boundary is actually meant to do, so you can stop overthinking every decision and putting pressure on yourself to find the perfect consequence or the perfect words. You’ll learn how to get clearer about what you are willing to support, pay for, participate in, or be around, while letting go of the part you cannot control.

That shift can help you feel more grounded, confident, and peaceful even when your big kid is still figuring things out.

💡 Interested in learning more about how to create peace, confidence and connection as you raise and launch your teen? Join me for my next free masterclass: https://www.thesmalljar.com/class.

💪 Curious about coaching? Check out our Mom 2.0 coaching programs (both group and 1:1): www.thesmalljar.com/Mom-2-0. Know you’re interested in group? Visit: www.thesmalljar.com/momcollective.

❓ Have questions or want to share your feedback? I'd love to hear from you! You can email me at jennifer@thesmalljar.com.

“I Can't Stop Worrying About My Kid”—Thoughts Moms Parenting Teens and Adult Kids Are Ashamed They Think | Ep. 288 Sep 16, 2026

Show notes

Have you ever checked your big kid’s location, reread a text, or offered one more piece of advice because you were hoping it would finally help you relax?

I’ve been noticing this in my own life lately, and it made me curious about what’s really underneath all that worry. In this episode, I’m exploring why anxiety can feel so hard to put down during the parenting teens and empty nest years, and why constantly seeking reassurance rarely gives us the certainty we’re looking for.

I’ll help you see the connection between worrying, trying to influence your child’s choices, and the belief that being a good mom means preventing things from going wrong. You’ll leave with a different way to think about letting go: not caring less, but trusting yourself more, knowing what belongs to you, and allowing your big kid’s life to belong to them.

💡 Interested in learning more about how to create peace, confidence and connection as you raise and launch your teen? Join me for my next free masterclass: https://www.thesmalljar.com/class.

💪 Curious about coaching? Check out our Mom 2.0 coaching programs (both group and 1:1): www.thesmalljar.com/Mom-2-0.

❓ Have questions or want to share your feedback? I'd love to hear from you! You can email me at jennifer@thesmalljar.com.

Mindset Traps of Parenting Teens and the Empty Nest—Trap #12: The Approval Trap—Why Your Big Kid’s Disapproval Makes You Doubt Yourself | Ep. 287 Sep 12, 2026

Show notes

How many times have you felt clear about a decision as a mom, only to watch that confidence disappear the moment your big kid became upset?

As we parent teens and navigate the empty nest, our kids’ disapproval can feel like evidence that we’re setting boundaries incorrectly, damaging the relationship, or failing at motherhood. Before we know it, we’re overexplaining, backpedaling, or changing a decision just to keep the peace.

In this episode, I’m unpacking the Approval Trap and why letting go of your need for your kid’s agreement is essential to building self-trust. You’ll learn how to tell the difference between thoughtfully reconsidering a decision and reacting to someone else’s disappointment. I’ll also give you practical questions to help you stop overthinking, stay grounded when your kid pushes back, and listen to their perspective without abandoning your own.

You don’t need everyone’s approval to become the mom you want to be.

💡 Interested in learning more about how to create peace, confidence and connection as you raise and launch your teen? Join me for my next free masterclass: https://www.thesmalljar.com/class.

💪 Curious about coaching? Check out our Mom 2.0 coaching programs (both group and 1:1): www.thesmalljar.com/Mom-2-0.

❓ Have questions or want to share your feedback? I'd love to hear from you! You can email me at jennifer@thesmalljar.com.

“Nothing Matters to My Kid”—Thoughts Moms Parenting Teens and Adult Kids Are Ashamed They Think | Ep. 286 Sep 09, 2026

Show notes

Have you ever walked away from a conversation with your teen thinking, Did any of that even register?

Maybe you set a boundary, explain why you’re worried, or tell them how much something hurt you… and all you get back is a shrug, an eye roll, or a flat “okay.”

In this episode, I’m exploring what happens when we interpret our big kid’s reaction as proof that they don’t care, haven’t learned anything, or that we’re no longer getting through.

I’ll help you see why their outward response may tell you far less than you think, how anxiety can turn uncertainty into a painful story, and why letting go of the need for immediate reassurance can change the way you approach parenting big kids. You’ll leave with a more grounded way to communicate, set boundaries, and trust yourself in motherhood, even when you can’t yet see the impact you’re having.

💡 Interested in learning more about how to create peace, confidence and connection as you raise and launch your teen? Join me for my next free masterclass: https://www.thesmalljar.com/class.

💪 Curious about coaching? Check out our Mom 2.0 coaching programs (both group and 1:1): www.thesmalljar.com/Mom-2-0.

❓ Have questions or want to share your feedback? I'd love to hear from you! You can email me at jennifer@thesmalljar.com.

Letting Go of the Invisible Contracts that Make Parenting Teens and Adult Kids so Hard | Ep. 285 Sep 05, 2026

Show notes

Have you ever been surprised by how much a late text, an eye roll, a messy kitchen, or a kid who barely talks to you can get under your skin?

Sometimes the behavior itself isn’t really the whole story.

In this episode, I’m exploring the invisible contracts we create with our big kids.... the unspoken expectations about how they should respond, appreciate us, follow through, or stay connected... and what we make it mean when they don’t.

If you’re parenting teens, navigating the empty nest, or learning the art of letting go, this episode will help you recognize where disappointment and resentment may actually be coming from. You’ll learn how to separate your kid’s behavior from the story your mind creates about your relationship, their future, or your motherhood, so you can stop overthinking, set boundaries intentionally, and feel more grounded in the mom you want to be.

💡 Interested in learning more about how to create peace, confidence and connection as you raise and launch your teen? Join me for my next free masterclass: https://www.thesmalljar.com/class.

💪 Curious about coaching? Check out our Mom 2.0 coaching programs (both group and 1:1): www.thesmalljar.com/Mom-2-0.

❓ Have questions or want to share your feedback? I'd love to hear from you! You can email me at jennifer@thesmalljar.com.

“I Don't Know Who I Am Anymore”—Thoughts Moms Parenting Teens and Adult Kids Are Ashamed They Think | Ep. 284 Sep 02, 2026

Show notes

What happens when the role that gave your life so much structure, purpose, and meaning starts to change?

In this episode, I’m talking about the identity shift so many moms experience while parenting teens, launching big kids, and moving toward the empty nest. When your kids need you less, it can stir up thoughts like, “I don’t know who I am anymore” or “Who am I, if I'm no longer needed?”

I’ll help you understand why those thoughts make so much sense, how motherhood can become deeply intertwined with your sense of value, and why letting go doesn’t mean losing the parts of yourself that mattered most.

You’ll come away with a new mindset for this next chapter... and a more empowering question than “Who am I now?”

💡 Interested in learning more about how to create peace, confidence and connection as you raise and launch your teen? Join me for my next free masterclass: https://www.thesmalljar.com/class.

💪 Curious about coaching? Check out our Mom 2.0 coaching programs (both group and 1:1): www.thesmalljar.com/Mom-2-0.

❓ Have questions or want to share your feedback? I'd love to hear from you! You can email me at jennifer@thesmalljar.com.

The September Reset—Three Steps to Build Your Emotional Capacity for Parenting Teens and Navigating the Empty Nest | Ep. 283 Aug 29, 2026

Show notes

There’s something about a new school year that feels like a fresh start. But for moms in the teen and empty nest years, September doesn’t always feel fresh. Sometimes we arrive already exhausted... bracing for the school year, the college transition, the empty house, the next hard conversation, or whatever we fear might be coming.

In this episode, I’m exploring what it means to stop spending so much emotional energy preparing for impact and start building your capacity to handle what life actually brings.

If you’re parenting teens, navigating an empty nest, working on letting go, or trying to stop overthinking what could go wrong, this episode will help you think differently about anxiety, uncertainty, and motherhood.

You’ll learn why capacity isn’t about becoming tougher. It’s about trusting yourself to stay grounded, feel what you feel, and meet the next moment without needing to know exactly how everything will turn out.

💡 Interested in learning more about how to create peace, confidence and connection as you raise and launch your teen? Join me for my next free masterclass: https://www.thesmalljar.com/class.

💪 Curious about coaching with Small Jar? Check out our Mom 2.0 coaching program: www.thesmalljar.com/Mom-2-0.

❓ Have questions or want to share your feedback? I'd love to hear from you! You can email me at jennifer@thesmalljar.com.

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