Title: Big Time Adulting with Caitlin Murray

Description:

In this funny, refreshing, and irreverent conversation about parenting, Jen welcomes Caitlin Murray to the show to talk about her Big Time Adulting community space, the blog (and now podcast) that Caitlin started when her 5-year-old son was in cancer treatment for Leukemia, as a place to connect with other moms and parents craving funny, provocative, no-nonsense entertainment to distract themselves from the hamster wheel of life

Like a big sister, Jen offers encouragement to guide Cailin through the years to come, with the two ultimately agreeing that early childhood is hard but middle school is the real shit show.

They commiserate over:

• Spirit Weeks, PTA obligations, and signing reading logs
• The idea of the 'Hardship Olympics' that creates unnecessary competition among women / moms
• Comparison parenting and why authenticity resonates more with their communities than curated perfection
• How community and humor that can be found in the everyday chaos of parenting

***

Thought-provoking Quotes:

I had begun writing as a therapeutic outlet to family and friends. It was really just for me to put out there how I was feeling on these long days at the hospital and the things that I saw going on around me – the emotion and the stress of it all. I felt like I was protecting myself by saying exactly how I was feeling about what we were going through rather than having anyone assume what I was feeling or thinking. – Caitlin Murray

By the time I had been through hell and back for over three years of pediatric cancer with my son, I knew my worth as a mother. I don’t give a f*ck about what anyone has to say about who I am. I know I am a good damn mom. – Caitlin Murray

The things that you lay in bed at night and obsess over – things that you did poorly, when you lost your shit, you missed something or you messed up – it just falls right out of your kids' brains. It’s not the bones; it’s the soft tissue that sticks and makes it into their adult psyche. ‘I was deeply loved, I lived in a safe, secure home / family, my mom was into me, my mom thinks I’m funny, we laughed a lot in our home.’ That’s the stuff that lasts. Everything else turns into funny, comedic material. – Jen Hatmaker

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

McSweeney’s article - Did You Even Consider Every Possible Lived Experience Before Recklessly Posting Your Chili Recipe on Social Media? - https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/did-you-even-consider-every-possible-lived-experience-before-recklessly-posting-your-chili-recipe-on-social-media

Anne Lamott - https://amzn.to/4h6cwcO

David Sedaris - https://amzn.to/3E48Qtm

Edith Eger - https://amzn.to/4hoXdM4

You’ll Grow Out Of It by Jessi Klein - https://amzn.to/40oiSNm

Guest’s Links:

Caitlin’s website - https://bigtimeadulting.blog/

Caitlin’s Big Time Adulting podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/7nBEnM3JLnpSsyzxWyKZJJ?si=3b76f80afad345b7

Caitlin’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bigtimeadulting/

Caitlin’s Twitter - https://x.com/Caitlin98714163