Latest / Aging ain't for Sissies / Adult Kids, New Rules
Transcript
- 0:05SPEAKER_00: Hello, and welcome to Aging Apefor Sissies.
- 0:08SPEAKER_00: My name is Marcy Backgus, and I am your host.
- 0:13SPEAKER_00: Wow, music got a little loud there.
- 0:16SPEAKER_00: Anyways, hey, welcome back.
- 0:18SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to Aging Apefor Sissies, the podcast where we say the quiet parts out loud about getting older.
- 0:26SPEAKER_00: And we do it with a whole lot of humor, a little bit of sass, and zero patience for nonsense.
- 0:31SPEAKER_00: I am your host, Marcy, and around here we try and we are not trying to be 25 again.
- 0:36SPEAKER_00: We are trying to feel good, live smart, and actually enjoy this stage of life.
- 0:42SPEAKER_00: Because let's be honest, aging isn't for sissies, but it can be done intentionally.
- 0:46SPEAKER_00: And that's exactly what we're doing here.
- 0:50SPEAKER_00: Oh, let's see, what's going on in life?
- 0:52SPEAKER_00: Life is good.
- 0:54SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, just when you think life feels okay, there's a way that it slaps you back down, isn't there?
- 1:01SPEAKER_00: I was feeling really good.
- 1:02SPEAKER_00: We've had great weather this week.
- 1:04SPEAKER_00: I've been exercising.
- 1:05SPEAKER_00: You know, I'm doing double workouts two days a week out of my five workouts.
- 1:12SPEAKER_00: And uh yesterday stopped me dead in my tracks.
- 1:15SPEAKER_00: I was at my Wednesday night church service getting ready for the service to start.
- 1:20SPEAKER_00: Thank goodness it hadn't started yet.
- 1:22SPEAKER_00: And I was in a pew in the front, and I was moving to another spot and just tripped.
- 1:29SPEAKER_00: There's a little brace that holds the wall in front of the front pew and went straight down on my knee.
- 1:35SPEAKER_00: Nothing horrible, few cuts, and I hit my breastbone, you know, between on your chest, uh, on the wall, and hit my knee on the ground.
- 1:46SPEAKER_00: So nothing broke.
- 1:47SPEAKER_00: Everything's just really sore.
- 1:48SPEAKER_00: And you know, the universe has a way of just knocking us back to our our knees, literally.
- 1:55SPEAKER_00: Um and I have fallen on that knee so many times that the muscle around it when I fall on it just has an issue.
- 2:03SPEAKER_00: So I've got it wrapped up, and that helps.
- 2:07SPEAKER_00: Um, I do have a gala to go to tomorrow night, funny enough, for our cathedral.
- 2:14SPEAKER_00: And uh yeah, we'll see how I do in heels.
- 2:17SPEAKER_00: I'm not quite sure what shoes I'm gonna wear now, but I've taken it easy today, didn't go to the gym, which just kills me.
- 2:24SPEAKER_00: And I, you know, I don't know who I am.
- 2:26SPEAKER_00: When I say that, I never thought in my life I'd have a day where I felt guilty for not going to the gym, but I do, and I need to give myself some grace.
- 2:36SPEAKER_00: So I'm giving myself some grace.
- 2:38SPEAKER_00: My husband brought home soup for lunch.
- 2:41SPEAKER_00: It was delicious, had lunch with me, went back over.
- 2:44SPEAKER_00: Craig works at the cathedral, went back to his office at the cathedral next door, and I've had a nice quiet afternoon.
- 2:52SPEAKER_00: Let's see, I've watched some good things.
- 2:55SPEAKER_00: And I don't know if I mentioned it last week, but if I didn't, I'm mentioning it now.
- 2:59SPEAKER_00: If you haven't watched on Netflix Dan Levy's new show, Big Mistakes, I'm telling you, watch it.
- 3:06SPEAKER_00: Um, the new season of Hacks started today.
- 3:09SPEAKER_00: So tonight was episode one of season five, Love Me Some Hacks.
- 3:15SPEAKER_00: If you haven't watched Madison, the Madison, the Madison, I believe it is, on um Paramount, another awesome one.
- 3:24SPEAKER_00: There's so much good stuff to watch out there, I tell you.
- 3:27SPEAKER_00: And I always fill in with my reality shows, Love Me Some Housewives.
- 3:32SPEAKER_00: Caught um, you know, Survivor 50 is on season 50, and I've never missed one episode or one minute.
- 3:38SPEAKER_00: I videotaped it when it first started.
- 3:40SPEAKER_00: I have not missed any Survivor episodes.
- 3:44SPEAKER_00: So that's what I've been up to working out.
- 3:49SPEAKER_00: Had a little problem with the place that I bought my new car, but I got that solved today, and I'm feeling really good because it was weighing heavy on me.
- 3:59SPEAKER_00: And uh got that all solved today.
- 4:02SPEAKER_00: Love my new car.
- 4:04SPEAKER_00: Uh, got a clean bill of health from my oncologist this week.
- 4:10SPEAKER_00: Took my cats to the vet.
- 4:11SPEAKER_00: That was something, let me tell you.
- 4:13SPEAKER_00: Patrick does not like the vet.
- 4:15SPEAKER_00: Patrick is my tripod, and he was hit by a car when he was young and lost a leg.
- 4:19SPEAKER_00: So, and he wasn't my cat then.
- 4:21SPEAKER_00: I wasn't the irresponsible one.
- 4:23SPEAKER_00: That's what I'm saying.
- 4:24SPEAKER_00: And uh I he just doesn't like the vet.
- 4:26SPEAKER_00: And he was super spicy.
- 4:28SPEAKER_00: Miss Pickles was sweet as can be.
- 4:31SPEAKER_00: We are going to uh gala tomorrow night.
- 4:35SPEAKER_00: We're going to a concert and to dinner with friends on Saturday night.
- 4:38SPEAKER_00: And then next Thursday, we fly to Denver to see my great nephew Chris at his school, um College of the Minds, the top engineering school in the United States.
- 4:52SPEAKER_00: And it happens to be right in the town where my son works.
- 4:55SPEAKER_00: So spend a few days with our son.
- 4:58SPEAKER_00: So that's what's happening here.
- 5:01SPEAKER_00: Hope life is good for you.
- 5:03SPEAKER_00: I hope you haven't had any sudden uh knee, knee injuries or anything else.
- 5:10SPEAKER_00: I hope life is good.
- 5:12SPEAKER_00: If it's not, let's always do what we can to make the best of it.
- 5:16SPEAKER_00: And with that being said, I wanted to talk this week about adult kids.
- 5:21SPEAKER_00: Because nobody warns you about this stage.
- 5:25SPEAKER_00: You spend years raising them, guiding them, telling them what to do.
- 5:29SPEAKER_00: And then suddenly you're supposed to just stop talking.
- 5:33SPEAKER_00: Like, excuse me, I have opinions, I have experiences, I have thoughts, but apparently, delivery matters now.
- 5:42SPEAKER_00: Now, my kids don't listen to my podcast, so um I can say anything I want.
- 5:48SPEAKER_00: And that's their fault for not listening.
- 5:52SPEAKER_00: You know, I have a good relationship with both my kids.
- 5:56SPEAKER_00: Um, with one of them, it hasn't always been that way.
- 5:58SPEAKER_00: We had one walk away for a little over a year and then came to their senses and realized we're not as bad as all that, or as the people around them were telling them.
- 6:09SPEAKER_00: It actually wasn't our child.
- 6:11SPEAKER_00: It was, there were some extenuating circumstances.
- 6:15SPEAKER_00: Those that you know me know.
- 6:16SPEAKER_00: And if you don't, it's fine.
- 6:18SPEAKER_00: We've muddled through that part of life, but we're still we're into this part where, like right now, we're flying in to see Alec next Thursday.
- 6:28SPEAKER_00: A couple days ago, I texted him, hey, you remember dad and I are coming, right?
- 6:32SPEAKER_00: And this time we're not staying with him and Sharon because they're getting ready to move.
- 6:37SPEAKER_00: So I got a hotel.
- 6:39SPEAKER_00: Um, we also rented a car, which last time they picked us up.
- 6:43SPEAKER_00: You know, I try to make things as easy as I can, but it's like, hey, dude, we're coming.
- 6:48SPEAKER_00: I get nothing, nothing.
- 6:49SPEAKER_00: Crickets, crickets, crickets.
- 6:51SPEAKER_00: But let me tell you, when they need something, I better answer that phone.
- 6:56SPEAKER_00: But let's let's get into that a little bit later.
- 6:59SPEAKER_00: Here's the truth: parenting doesn't stop, it just changes.
- 7:03SPEAKER_00: Okay.
- 7:04SPEAKER_00: And for those of you that think it just stops, well, it doesn't.
- 7:09SPEAKER_00: And if you're one of those parents, then either listen or don't.
- 7:12SPEAKER_00: But parenting changes, and that change is not easy, and it's not easy for any of us because you go from decision maker, fixer, problem solver, and I am a fixer.
- 7:25SPEAKER_00: I have learned probably in the last five years that I am a fixer for everyone and everything.
- 7:36SPEAKER_00: It's just it's who I am at my core.
- 7:40SPEAKER_00: And now we have to be an observer, a supporter.
- 7:45SPEAKER_00: Try not to say anything unless we're asked person.
- 7:48SPEAKER_00: And let's be honest, the last one is a struggle.
- 7:54SPEAKER_00: Oh, and by the way, quick little side note before we get too deep into this.
- 7:57SPEAKER_00: If you caught last week's episode about travel, I made you a super simple nonsense travel checklist.
- 8:05SPEAKER_00: It's on my website, it's easy, it's printable, it's actually useful.
- 8:10SPEAKER_00: And I also put up a picture of the Sudoku trap packing concept because we are not overcomplicating life anymore, especially not travel.
- 8:23SPEAKER_00: Here's the thing: why do we always sound like a nag even when we don't mean to?
- 8:29SPEAKER_00: I want to call this out.
- 8:31SPEAKER_00: We're not trying to nag.
- 8:34SPEAKER_00: We honestly, honestly are trying to help protect and share what we've learned.
- 8:40SPEAKER_00: Okay?
- 8:41SPEAKER_00: And I know that to be true for myself, and I'm sure it's true for you.
- 8:46SPEAKER_00: I am I don't want to nag, but did you get your taxes done?
- 8:51SPEAKER_00: You know, I mean.
- 8:56SPEAKER_00: But what they hear is criticism control, and you don't trust me.
- 9:02SPEAKER_00: And that's where things go sideways.
- 9:04SPEAKER_00: Now, I'm gonna toot my horn here a little bit.
- 9:08SPEAKER_00: I have worked on my communication with my kids, and this is why I'm sharing this episode, and it can get better.
- 9:15SPEAKER_00: And especially my oldest, we really would butt heads.
- 9:21SPEAKER_00: And I was never trying to do any of those things, but again, that's what they heard.
- 9:27SPEAKER_00: And I have learned how to phrase things, how to say things to not let that happen anymore.
- 9:37SPEAKER_00: And our communication has really gotten better, and I'm so grateful.
- 9:41SPEAKER_00: So I'm hoping through this episode that if you're struggling with this, you can too.
- 9:47SPEAKER_00: Because our intentions are good.
- 9:49SPEAKER_00: Our delivery needs a little editing.
- 9:52SPEAKER_00: And I'm gonna be honest with you.
- 9:54SPEAKER_00: Uh for years I thought, uh, why do I need to change?
- 9:58SPEAKER_00: Well, if you want a good relationship with your kids, you need to change.
- 10:03SPEAKER_00: And my delivery did need editing.
- 10:06SPEAKER_00: All of my best intentions weren't being heard.
- 10:09SPEAKER_00: So I needed to edit how I said things, how I delivered things, and have some deep, honest conversations with my child.
- 10:18SPEAKER_00: And I did.
- 10:19SPEAKER_00: So I want you to see.
- 10:21SPEAKER_00: Here's your new filter.
- 10:22SPEAKER_00: Before you're saying before you say something, ask, am I helping or am I trying to control the outcome?
- 10:31SPEAKER_00: That is a really important question.
- 10:33SPEAKER_00: And this is what I ask myself now.
- 10:37SPEAKER_00: Am I helping or am I trying to control the outcome?
- 10:42SPEAKER_00: Because those are two very different things.
- 10:45SPEAKER_00: Support sounds like, I'm here if you want to talk it through.
- 10:52SPEAKER_00: What are you thinking about doing?
- 10:54SPEAKER_00: Control sounds like you should.
- 10:57SPEAKER_00: Why don't you just if I were you?
- 11:01SPEAKER_00: So listen to those again.
- 11:02SPEAKER_00: Here's what a supportive comment may be.
- 11:06SPEAKER_00: Oh, I'm here if you want to talk it through.
- 11:09SPEAKER_00: I say that to Kyle a lot now.
- 11:14SPEAKER_00: I'll ask Alec, what are you thinking about doing?
- 11:18SPEAKER_00: It's much better than you should.
- 11:20SPEAKER_00: Why don't you just, if I were you, why don't you?
- 11:24SPEAKER_00: Why don't you?
- 11:25SPEAKER_00: Why don't you?
- 11:28SPEAKER_00: And after you say it and listen.
- 11:35SPEAKER_00: And listen, we have great ideas.
- 11:38SPEAKER_00: That's not the problem.
- 11:40SPEAKER_00: We've lived a lot more life than they have.
- 11:42SPEAKER_00: The problem is they need to arrive at things in their own way.
- 11:46SPEAKER_00: We all do.
- 11:47SPEAKER_00: Think about your parents.
- 11:50SPEAKER_00: Now we have ways to communicate, texting, like I just talked about, texting.
- 11:54SPEAKER_00: Texting, our parents didn't have.
- 11:57SPEAKER_00: So the problem is we are in communication a lot more.
- 12:00SPEAKER_00: Think about communicating with your parents.
- 12:02SPEAKER_00: We really didn't much.
- 12:04SPEAKER_00: We had to wait till the weekend, till the price went down.
- 12:07SPEAKER_00: Remember those days?
- 12:08SPEAKER_00: Putting in your um, oh my gosh, the name just went, but putting in your code.
- 12:14SPEAKER_00: Remember the code, the the long distance code?
- 12:17SPEAKER_00: Anyways, but they need to arrive to things on their own in their own way, just like we did.
- 12:27SPEAKER_00: If you want to encourage your adult kids without pushing them away, here's what works.
- 12:32SPEAKER_00: And am I perfect at this?
- 12:34SPEAKER_00: No.
- 12:34SPEAKER_00: Am I better at it?
- 12:36SPEAKER_00: Yes.
- 12:38SPEAKER_00: Instead of you need to do this, try what's your plan?
- 12:44SPEAKER_00: They come to you with a problem, go, okay, what's your plan?
- 12:48SPEAKER_00: Let them think.
- 12:50SPEAKER_00: Let them lead.
- 12:53SPEAKER_00: And it doesn't mean you can't help.
- 12:57SPEAKER_00: But not every situation requires your input.
- 13:00SPEAKER_00: I know, painful, right?
- 13:03SPEAKER_00: But sometimes the sport is just listening without fixing.
- 13:09SPEAKER_00: And for a fixer, that's really hard.
- 13:14SPEAKER_00: I am a fixer, and that is hard, but I'm doing my best to listen without fixing.
- 13:24SPEAKER_00: Affirm before you give advice.
- 13:27SPEAKER_00: Start with, I trust you, you've got this.
- 13:33SPEAKER_00: And then if they're open, you can add, do you want my thoughts?
- 13:37SPEAKER_00: Ooh, game changer.
- 13:39SPEAKER_00: That gives them the opportunity to open up or not.
- 13:43SPEAKER_00: Do you want my thoughts?
- 13:46SPEAKER_00: So here's a really big thing that has happened between Kyle and I.
- 13:50SPEAKER_00: And Kyle said it was a complete game changer for Kyle in talking with me.
- 13:55SPEAKER_00: And I didn't even know I did it, and I did it.
- 13:59SPEAKER_00: So Kyle is a hoarder.
- 14:02SPEAKER_00: I am the opposite of a hoarder.
- 14:04SPEAKER_00: I am a thrower-awayer.
- 14:06SPEAKER_00: Kyle comes from it honestly.
- 14:07SPEAKER_00: Kyle's grandmother on Craig's side, a bit of a hoarder.
- 14:11SPEAKER_00: Craig, a bit of a hoarder.
- 14:13SPEAKER_00: Kyle, a bit of a hoarder.
- 14:17SPEAKER_00: I have offered Kyle my help to clean out Kyle's storage unit.
- 14:24SPEAKER_00: And Kyle keeps turning me down until I said, you know what, Kyle?
- 14:30SPEAKER_00: I am happy to help you on your terms.
- 14:33SPEAKER_00: I understand you don't want to get rid of everything, but can we organize it?
- 14:40SPEAKER_00: Can I help you organize what you have?
- 14:42SPEAKER_00: You don't have to get rid of a darn thing, but what you have needs to be organized so you can get to it.
- 14:48SPEAKER_00: Kyle loved it.
- 14:50SPEAKER_00: I finally said what Kyle needed to hear.
- 14:53SPEAKER_00: I was willing to do it on Kyle's terms, understanding, and it has been a recent revelation about people that hoard stuff for me, that it is a meant not a mental illness, but it's a mental thing that they can't get rid of things.
- 15:08SPEAKER_00: Just like it's a mental thing for me to have anxiety when there's too much stuff.
- 15:17SPEAKER_00: So I affirmed Kyle before I gave my advice.
- 15:22SPEAKER_00: So you can start with things like, I trust you, you've got this.
- 15:25SPEAKER_00: And then if they're open to it, do you want my thoughts?
- 15:28SPEAKER_00: Again, it's a game changer.
- 15:32SPEAKER_00: I want to give you a quick reminder: if you're planning on any traveling coming up, the checklist I mentioned is on the website.
- 15:38SPEAKER_00: So you don't have to remember everything because let's be honest, none of us are remembering everything anymore.
- 15:44SPEAKER_00: Sorry, just wanted to say that again.
- 15:47SPEAKER_00: Don't want you to forget.
- 15:50SPEAKER_00: And oh my gosh.
- 15:53SPEAKER_00: Here is my I'm not doing this anymore segment for this week.
- 15:58SPEAKER_00: This week, I'm not feeling bad for taking naps.
- 16:02SPEAKER_00: Nope.
- 16:02SPEAKER_00: If I'm tired, I'm tired.
- 16:05SPEAKER_00: I don't sleep great at night.
- 16:06SPEAKER_00: I'm a lady of a certain age.
- 16:08SPEAKER_00: We don't sleep great.
- 16:09SPEAKER_00: Three o'clock is our witching hour.
- 16:11SPEAKER_00: I'm awake from three to five most nights.
- 16:15SPEAKER_00: Um, if I'm tired, I'm tired.
- 16:18SPEAKER_00: I'm not pushing through to prove anything, pretending I have endless energy, or acting like rest is a weakness.
- 16:24SPEAKER_00: Because let me tell you something.
- 16:26SPEAKER_00: Naps are not laziness, naps are survival, naps are self-care with a blanket.
- 16:31SPEAKER_00: And at this stage of life, if anybody wants, I'm sorry, if my body says sit down, I'm not arguing, I'm listening.
- 16:39SPEAKER_00: We are not feeling guilty for resting anymore.
- 16:44SPEAKER_00: All right, back to our regularly scheduled program.
- 16:49SPEAKER_00: The hardest part is watching our adult kids make mistakes, take different paths, and do things you wouldn't do, and not jumping in.
- 16:58SPEAKER_00: Both of our kids went to college.
- 17:01SPEAKER_00: Neither one of our kids is doing what they went to college for.
- 17:05SPEAKER_00: But I will tell you something about both of my kids.
- 17:07SPEAKER_00: Both of my kids are living their best life, doing jobs they love.
- 17:12SPEAKER_00: Are they making a fortune?
- 17:14SPEAKER_00: No.
- 17:14SPEAKER_00: Are they making enough to get by?
- 17:16SPEAKER_00: Yes.
- 17:17SPEAKER_00: Are they happy with their jobs?
- 17:19SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
- 17:23SPEAKER_00: And Craig, more so than I, wants to fix that piece all the time.
- 17:29SPEAKER_00: And I think I finally got him convinced that our children's happiness is more important than money.
- 17:38SPEAKER_00: They need to make enough to get by, they need to figure things out.
- 17:41SPEAKER_00: Have I helped financially here and there?
- 17:43SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
- 17:44SPEAKER_00: I'm a mom and I'm a fixer.
- 17:49SPEAKER_00: But here's the truth: growth comes from experience, not from perfectly following advice.
- 17:56SPEAKER_00: And if we're honest, we didn't listen to everything either.
- 18:00SPEAKER_00: And I will tell you, Kyle has gone through probably the hardest of my two children.
- 18:05SPEAKER_00: But guess what?
- 18:08SPEAKER_00: Kyle has also paralleled a huge amount of things in my life.
- 18:12SPEAKER_00: A lot of the bad things that Kyle didn't even know I did.
- 18:16SPEAKER_00: Kyle has done.
- 18:21SPEAKER_00: Nature versus nurture.
- 18:27SPEAKER_00: Just a reminder, I have two other episodes, I have two other podcasts inside Marcy's Mind and Unbottled, which is all about sobriety, real talk, and actually looks like to change your life from alcohol.
- 18:40SPEAKER_00: Everything lives on my website, MarcyBackusMedia.com.
- 18:44SPEAKER_00: You can find it all there.
- 18:45SPEAKER_00: The checklists, the pictures, anything I talk about on here, you can find there.
- 18:51SPEAKER_00: What is the relationship you want now with your kids?
- 18:54SPEAKER_00: At this stage, you're not raising them anymore.
- 18:57SPEAKER_00: You're building an adult relationship.
- 18:59SPEAKER_00: And it needs to look like respect, trust, and space.
- 19:02SPEAKER_00: And yes, a little biting your tongue.
- 19:05SPEAKER_00: It's not going to kill you, people.
- 19:10SPEAKER_00: So if you're feeling that urge to jump in, fix, or guide, just pause for a second.
- 19:15SPEAKER_00: Ask yourself: do they need me to lead or just to support?
- 19:21SPEAKER_00: Because sometimes the most powerful thing we can do is step back, trust them, and still be right there when they need us.
- 19:30SPEAKER_00: And trust me.
- 19:32SPEAKER_00: I've been right there when both of them have needed me.
- 19:34SPEAKER_00: And both of them have needed me in some really powerful ways as adults.
- 19:38SPEAKER_00: And we are working through that.
- 19:43SPEAKER_00: And it's hard, but the best thing we most powerful thing we can do a lot of times is step back, trust them, and still be right there, just like I said.
- 19:53SPEAKER_00: Because around here, we're not aging quietly, we're aging intentionally.
- 19:59SPEAKER_00: Thank you for spending this time with me today.
- 20:02SPEAKER_00: If this episode made you laugh, think, or maybe pause before giving advice, make sure you follow, share, share it with a friend and come back next week.
- 20:12SPEAKER_00: I am losing my mind here because we've got a lot more life to live, and we're going to do it our way.
- 20:19SPEAKER_00: I hope this episode was beneficial to you and your relationship with your adult kids.
- 20:25SPEAKER_00: It's an important relationship.
- 20:27SPEAKER_00: It needs to be respected on both ends.
- 20:32SPEAKER_00: And I hope, hope you found something in this episode to do that.
- 20:36SPEAKER_00: All right, everybody.
- 20:38SPEAKER_00: See you next week.