Episode 131: Call Your Parents!

Do you want to deepen and strengthen your relationship with your parents (or grandparents or mentor or really anyone)? Call them every week. Texting doesn’t count. Connecting on a weekly basis allows you to get closer and share what’s going on in your life. You never know how much time you have with your loved ones - so don’t miss the opportunity to call your parents!

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With gratitude, Stephanie❤️

Transcript

A Simple Relationship Challenge

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Want to strengthen your relationship with your parents or maybe a mentor or a caregiver or just somebody in your life. This is the way to do it. Hi,

Why This Lesson Matters

SPEAKER_00 0:16

I'm Stephanie, and I am the host of the Giving Your Best Life podcast. Thank you for being here. And I'm also author of, so if you've been following this podcast recently, I've switched over to chatting for uh 20-something women. And um I actually get a lot of my questions and uh like lessons from this book that I wrote. It's called Uncommon Growth: 224 Lessons to help you live an extraordinary life in a common world. And I actually wrote that book because uh my best friend's son was graduating high school, and I sat down one morning and I thought, what are some of the things that I wish I would have known? Um, or life lessons that I'd learned since I graduated. So you can always get a copy of that on Amazon or from me directly. And I will say I will be updating it. So depending on when you listen to this, the version might be different.

Call Weekly Texting Does Not Count

SPEAKER_00 1:06

But the lesson that I want to talk today is um, and the question I asked is want to strengthen your relationship with your parents um, or really anybody in your life. And my quick lesson in the book just says, call your mom and dad every week. Texting does not count. And I'm 48 and I talk to my parents on the phone every week. And I'm still grateful that my parents are still here that I can talk to them. And we've always been pretty close, but I will say I had a season in my life where um texting was easier. Um, or like I just said that in my head, like,

Building A Rhythm With Your Dad

SPEAKER_00 1:48

oh, I don't have time for a phone call. Um and then it was really like, no, what are my priorities in life? Um, my priorities are my faith and my relationship with Jesus Christ, my husband, too. And then third is family and friends. And so it was like, if I was doing other things that were falling below that most of the time, work, um, it's like, no, I have time to call my parents. And so I really started, I kind of noticed this pattern, especially with my dad, is my dad would text me and it's just like, hey, what's going on this week? How are you doing? You know, like, give me an update. And for a long time, I would just text back uh and give him an update. And then a couple of years ago, years ago, I don't even know when it started, is I really started like, no, like when I get that text from my dad, is I either call him immediately or um I wait until I have an opportunity to kind of call him in the day. Maybe I've got meetings coming up or something like that. And uh, so now I just love that we have this rhythm. And some days I just call him, like if something pops up or whatever during the week is I'll just call him. Um, but you know, a lot of times it really is prompted by him of asking me a question, or you know, he he uh will be working on a project or something

Longer Talks And Time Together

SPEAKER_00 3:09

like that. And so um, but what I found is typically on Thursdays is my day that I chat with my father. And then uh my mom and I uh we have longer sessions and they tend to be on Saturday mornings. We're both like really early birds, and so we get up in the morning really early on Saturday morning and we might talk for an hour or two hours. Um, and it's just really like a way for us to catch up and strengthen our relationship.

Aging Parents And Future Regrets

SPEAKER_00 3:37

And, you know, I often think as my parents get older, my father's in his 70s and my mom is 69, we'll be 70 in January. And um, you know, it's just like I've had friends, a lot of friends, that have already lost their parents. I had friends when I was your age in college that had lost their parents, one or two of their parents. And so it's just like I um I just want to encourage and challenge you because you know, our parents aren't always going to be here. And I never want to miss that opportunity or have regrets or look back and go, oh, I wish I would have taken time to uh make a phone call to my mom or to

If Parents Are Not In Your Life

SPEAKER_00 4:19

my dad. And maybe you don't have a parent in your life. And so just think of somebody that um is important to you, whether that's a grandparent, whether it was a caretaker, um, maybe as a teacher, a mentor, I don't know who it is for your life. But um, I really just want to say is if you want to strengthen your relationships with your parents or someone else, take time to pick up the phone, call them, have a conversation, and texting does not count.

Key Takeaway And Ways To Support

SPEAKER_00 4:49

So that's my lesson for this week of how you can get to giving your best life. Thank you for listening to the Giving Your Best Life podcast. If this episode encouraged you, would you please share it with a friend or family member? Also, we'd love it if you would rate and review this podcast. Finally, if you want to connect with us, subscribe to our YouTube channel or follow us on TikTok and Instagram at GivingYourBest Life. Have a fabulous day.