Almost Grown Up

We took a break.

And somehow ended up more tired than before.

Season 2 kicks off with Nic and Janna catching up on what was supposed to be “time off” — which turned into car wrecks, kid chaos, and the kind of parental burnout you can feel in your bones. It’s equal parts honest, funny, and mildly unhinged.

They talk about surviving the end-of-school madness, the myth of the magical summer, and why “rest” as an adult feels like a setup.

Then they close it out with the first Caffeine & Coping of the season — this one is not for the kids...

This one’s for anyone who’s ever said, “We just need a break,” and then immediately regretted saying it.

They lied to us again. And by they, I mean our parents, teachers, church leaders, and literally every adult we trusted in the 90s.

This week, Janna joins me for part two of our ongoing breakdown of the weird shit we were told growing up. Myths like:

• Swallowing watermelon seeds = watermelon growing in your stomach

• The 5-second rule is basically science

• You’ll die if you go outside with wet hair

• Quicksand is everywhere and coming for you

• Flashing your headlights will get you murdered

• You only use 10% of your brain (but what if… superpowers?)

• You can get pregnant from a public toilet

• Jesus could literally come back at any second

• And yes… that permanent record they threatened us with still haunts me.

We’re laughing, unpacking, and remembering what it felt like to grow up with so much fear wrapped in folklore. It’s nostalgic, hilarious, and a little unhinged just like childhood in the 90s.

Plus, in this week’s Caffeine & Coping segment, Janna and I talk about the small stuff helping us feel grounded: new shoes, good coffee, and rewatching The Bear like it’s therapy.

If you ever felt like adulthood is just trying to unlearn all the dumb things you believed as a kid… you’re in good company.

In this episode of Almost Grown Up, I’m asking the question I think a lot of us secretly wrestle with:

Did I already live the best version of my life—and what the hell do I do if I did?

Back in 2009, I was on fire. My wife and I were helping start a brand-new church. I was leading music, surrounded by a group of talented, passionate weirdos who felt like family. Every week was electric—playing music, recording albums in someone’s musty basement, building something from nothing. I felt seen. Needed. Fully alive.

And now?

I picked up my guitar the other day and couldn’t even hit the same notes. My voice cracked. I felt like a stranger in my own skin.

This episode is a deeply personal reflection on:

• Losing the intense emotional spark you used to have

• What it feels like to be mid all the time

• The grief of becoming someone new

• Why some of us confuse emotional maturity with disconnection

• Whether you can ever really “feel alive” again without going back

I also talk about why I started this podcast in the first place—and how small moments (like watching my daughter draw adventure maps) have slowly started to bring me back to life.

Whether you’re burnt out, numb, nostalgic, or just trying to figure out if you’ve “changed too much,” this one’s for you.

Stay till the end for a Caffeine & Coping segment about Stranger Things, breakfast rituals, and finding new meaning in old habits.

Remember when swallowing gum meant a 7-year digestive sentence? Or how Pop Rocks + soda would literally blow your insides up? Yeah… turns out, most of what we were told growing up in the ‘80s and ‘90s was straight-up bullshit.

In this solo episode, I’m diving headfirst into the hilarious (and slightly unhinged) myths we were raised on — from Santa surveillance and poisoned Halloween candy.

We’ll hit the classics:

• Swallowed gum = stomach cement

• Shaving = thicker hair (good news, teen boys)

• MSG = instant death + third eyeball

• And yes — razor blades in candy were 100% a thing… supposedly

But I’m not just listing them. I’m breaking down what it felt like to actually believe this stuff as a kid in a world without Google — where the grown-ups’ word was law, and fear was low-key the parenting style of the decade.

Expect unfiltered storytelling, dark humor, and plenty of “wtf were we even doing?” moments.

Plus, a new Caffeine & Coping segment where I talk about how life has finally slowed down, why my wife’s recent success is a huge win for our family, and how I accidentally became a pipe guy. (Yes, like Sherlock Holmes — but with ADHD and YouTube tutorials.)

No heavy life lesson at the end. No moral of the story. Just good old-fashioned childhood trauma, wrapped in nostalgia, and delivered with love.

Let’s just say it up top:

If your version of masculinity requires silence, dominance, emotional shutdowns, and your wife walking on eggshells around your moods… you’re not strong.

You’re just emotionally constipated.

And it’s bleeding into every part of your life.

This episode is not a TED Talk on men’s mental health. It’s a raw, personal unpacking of how toxic masculinity screws with our heads, our marriages, our kids, and our capacity to actually feel anything at all.

I talk about the real cost of being raised to suppress emotions—from childhood pressure to “man up,” to church teachings that glorified male control.

But it doesn’t stop there.

We dig into what it means to unlearn all this bullshit, and why it takes more than therapy quotes and “doing the work” to actually change.

We’re talking ego dismantling. Systemic deconstruction.

We’re talking about what happens when you start listening to people who’ve been on the other side of your silence.

Voices like:

• ​ Jo Luehmann — “Healing without dismantling oppressive systems is just self-help for the privileged.”
• ​ Cindy Wang Brandt
• ​ Flamy Grant
• ​ Kevin Garcia

If you were raised to be “the man of the house,” but now you’re trying to raise kids who aren’t scared of you—or be a partner who doesn’t disappear emotionally—this episode is for you.

And if you’re someone who’s been on the receiving end of that damage?

I see you too. You’re not imagining it. And you’re not broken for being tired of carrying what he never learned to hold.

We also get into my Caffeine & Coping segment:

• ​ ☕ Caffeine: New job vibes as a Senior Strategist (aka being paid to professionally overthink)
• ​ 🧠 Coping: Watching House of the Dragon spiral into generational trauma while trying not to spiral myself

This one’s for the men doing the work, the partners holding space, and the people navigating the ripple effects of silence.

You’re not who you were.

And that counts for something.

Part 2 picks up right where we left off: two old friends, mid-story, trying to remember how we got here.

This half goes a little deeper though. Some of the messier stuff from our time in Huntsville, what it looked like to stay connected even when life got weird, and why we’re still friends even though we barely talk and took totally different paths.

Plus, Caffeine & Coping:

• I had a final interview in Chicago for a job that actually fits. Still processing....

• Stranger Things Season 5 got a release date and I’m not okay. That’s it. That’s the coping.

Listen if you’ve got a long time friend who knows too much about you and somehow still sticks around.

This is the story of how an unexpected friendship turned into a decade long bond full of chaos, kids, bad haircuts, late night hotel stories, and one questionable church season in Huntsville, Alabama.

In Part 1 of this two part catch up, I sit down with my longtime friend Jason Cagle (someone who’s known me through multiple versions of life) to remember how our families met, the weird way we became instant friends, and all the unhinged moments that followed.

We talk:

• That one night in a hotel (yep, the naked one)

• How our daughters gave each other “surprise” haircuts at church

• The wild energy of being young parents in a weird church bubble

• What it’s like to form real friendship without meaning to

This is two old friends sitting down to tell the kind of stories you only share when someone’s been around long enough to know where the bodies are buried.

There’s laughter, nostalgia, and maybe a few “oh no, I forgot that happened” moments. Come eavesdrop...we won’t tell anyone.

What comes after the unraveling?

In Part 2 of my conversation with life and faith transitions coach Leslie Nease, we move past the internal shifts and start talking about what happens when your beliefs have changed, your identity feels different and now you have to go out into the world and be a person again.

This one’s about the messy middle:

• Trying to make friends post-deconstruction (without small groups or Christian lingo)

• Feeling unrecognizable to old communities and unsure in new ones

• Building connection when you don’t fit cleanly anywhere

• Living in the in-between without a roadmap or label

We also talk about what it means to keep becoming when the idea of “arriving” just doesn’t hold up anymore.

Leslie offers grounded wisdom from her own journey and I share what it felt like to go from worship pastor to spiritually unbranded dad, mowing the lawn and questioning everything.

This part of the conversation is for anyone who’s still trying to figure out where they belong after shedding a version of themselves that once felt like home.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Honoring the Journey by Leslie Nease: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CJYNZJK3

• Leslie’s Coaching & Podcast: https://www.leslieneasecoaching.com

We’ve all told ourselves the lie: Once I get the job. Once I make the money. Once I leave that system… I’ll finally feel at peace.

But what happens when you actually hit the milestone and it still doesn’t fix the internal chaos?

In Part 1 of this conversation with author, speaker, and life + faith transitions coach Leslie Nease, we dig into the myth of arrival: that illusion that healing or clarity is just one big decision away.

We talk about:

• The identity unraveling that comes after leaving ministry or faith systems
• Why success doesn’t automatically equal emotional peace
• The burnout of performance culture inside and outside of church
• How grief shows up even when you’re doing “the right thing”
• The slow, awkward process of becoming someone new

Leslie shares how years of quiet inner work led her to a deeper, less polished version of healing and I share my own story of chasing career and spiritual milestones that didn’t deliver what I thought they would.

This part of the conversation sets the foundation and how we’re just telling the truth about how weird it feels when “getting better” doesn’t feel how you hoped.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Honoring the Journey by Leslie Nease: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CJYNZJK3
• Leslie’s Coaching & Podcast: https://www.leslieneasecoaching.com

What kind of parent hates playing with their kids?

Apparently… me.

In this episode, I’m saying the quiet part out loud: I don’t like pretend play. I love my kids deeply, but crawling on the floor doing silly voices while holding a Barbie? It drains me. And if you’ve ever felt that guilt—the kind that creeps in when you say “not right now” or zone out halfway through a game—you’re not alone.

I talk about how my relationship with play and connection has changed over the years, especially as my kids have gotten older and I’ve gotten… tired. We dig into the pressure to be everything for your kids, how social media and shows like Bluey mess with our heads, and what it looks like to connect with your kids in ways that are actually sustainable.

You’ll hear what play looks like for me now—card games, Xbox, lawn mowing, watching Stranger Things, and saying “yes” to the stuff that feels real.

And of course, I wrap it all up with this week’s Caffeine & Coping segment featuring Sleep Token’s new album and—yes—Quaker rice cakes. Don’t judge me.

In this episode:

• The guilt of not wanting to play with your kids

• Why connection doesn’t have to look like pretend play

• The cultural pressure to be the “perfect parent”

• What showing up looks like in real life

• Caffeine & Coping: Sleep Token’s Even In Arcadia + the chaotic utility of rice cakes

This isn’t parenting advice. It’s just real talk from someone trying to stay present without burning out.