In this episode of Connected Chaos: The Family Table, we talk about empty nesting, and all the complicated feelings that come with children growing up and moving toward their own lives. Shawn shares what it has been like navigating his daughter's high school graduation as a single father, watching their relationship shift from parent and child toward something more like two adults finding a new way to be close. The rest of us bring our own versions of that story to the table.

We talk about the grief that can show up even when everything is going well, the pressure to feel a certain way about a milestone everyone else seems to be celebrating without complication, and what it actually looks like to give yourself grace during a season that doesn't come with a roadmap.

We also talk about something that doesn't come up enough in these conversations: what this period can be for YOU. Not just what you are losing, but what quietly becomes possible when the shape of your days starts to change.

Everyone's version of this transition looks different. If yours doesn't match what you see on social media, you're probably doing just fine.

In this episode of Connected Chaos: The Family Table, we swap travel stories, and not the highlight reel kind. We talk about missed flights, difficult landings, a two-year-old with very strong feelings about missing a meal, and what it actually looks like to stay calm when everything around you is not. We also talk about what travel teaches families, about each other, about how we handle the unexpected, and about the kind of modeling that happens whether we intend it or not when our kids are watching us navigate hard moments.

Along the way, we share a few things that have actually helped: naming what is happening out loud, breathing before reacting, and the surprisingly effective move of just looking around and describing what you see when your nervous system needs somewhere to land.

Family travel can bring people closer or quietly reveal every fault line in the group. Sometimes both, on the same trip. If you have ever white-knuckled a connection, managed a meltdown at altitude, or discovered something unexpected about yourself at baggage claim, this one is for you.

     ... with Sonja Merritt, Shawn Bradbury, Lisa Brody, Melinda Burkhart, & Niyati Patel

With Sonja Merritt, Shawn Bradbury, Lisa Brody, Melinda Burkhart, & Niyati Patel

What happens when the plan changes, life gets messy, and a real conversation turns out to be more powerful than anything you originally set out to create?

In this debut episode of Connected Chaos: The Family Table, we share how this podcast was born from an honest, unfiltered conversation about parenting, family stress, personal struggle, resilience, and the very human work of trying to live well. You’ll meet the voices behind the podcast and hear the experiences that shaped each of us, from supporting families through job loss, teen conflict, and special needs parenting to helping parents reconnect with themselves and guiding people toward greater clarity, grounding, and connection.

At the heart of this conversation is one shared truth: there is no handbook for family life. There is no perfect formula. There is only the daily work of showing up, learning, adjusting, and loving people through hard things. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed, underprepared, or alone in the middle of family life, this table is for you.

p.s. 

In the beginning of this episode, you’ll hear us introduce the podcast by its original working title, 'Becoming the Resilient Family'. As it turns out, the conversation kept evolving, and so did we, which is how Connected Chaos, The Family Table was born!