As we take steps to return to our normal posting schedule, in lieu of a traditional episode, we are offering a special dedication to Nafees, our cohost, his sister Yasmine and every single one of our listeners who have lost a parent. Nafees & Yasmine lost their father Omar Hassan last month. This was a tremendous loss not only for Nafees, but to Omar’s entire family, his friends, and community who remain behind. We pray that God has mercy on Omar’s soul, that he is granted paradise, and that his memory lives on forever. Ameen.

We’ve given this dedication a special title, “Five before Five.” That comes from a hadith that reads, “Take benefit of five before five: Your youth before your old age, your health before your sickness, your wealth before your poverty, your free time before you are preoccupied, and your life before your death” *For our listeners who aren't’ familiar with hadiths, they are collections of traditions containing sayings of the prophet Muhammad (Peace & blessings be upon him) with accounts of his daily practice, or his sunnah.

I asked a few close friends and family to share with our listeners advice including any ways their view on this hadith may or may not have changed for them in their process of healing after losing a parent. I hope these words serve as a gift towards healing and are received with love.

It is so very important that we make space in our conversations after this type of loss. Even if it is a simple check-in daily or every other week to check on each other, doing so can do wonders to assist in healing our hearts. It is a form of therapy that we all deserve, and I pray that we receive this type of support. Ameen.

In every family we as parents, and our children come to a point where we drop out of things. We make brave decisions to stop doing things that are no longer serving us in a healthy way. During this dropping out process, we may experience emotional roller coasters. Our emotions run rampant at times and understanding what that looks like for each of our family members is very important. Creating the space to have honest conversations about these emotional periods is empowering and sometimes life-saving. Our guests share with us their strategies for managing these emotional roller coasters.

As we have experienced leaving behind a habit or commitment, it sometimes has caused a toll on our communal relationships. This conversation also discusses strategies for ways to manage community relationships if and when we are faced with this type of challenge.

Asha & her young men offered some very insightful and helpful tips during this episode. It was especially helpful to hear the passionate responses from Abdur-Raheem who has been showered with both support and love in his decision to drop out of things that were not serving him in the best ways. We are grateful for this entire family and their example. They are focused on commitment to God, each other, and being prepared for whatever life presents you with, with a strong team of family and friends rallying for your success at all times.

We hope you enjoy everything shared in this episode as much as we did!

*The Muhammad family mottos: “Be for Allah, and Allah will be for you.” “Suit up. Be ready.”

Asha is a mother, wife, librarian, teacher, and trainer. Info about her sons:

*Products advertised in this episode: Ruramai Cosmetics: Hibiscus face mask: Visit @ruramai.cosmetics on Instagram for more information.

*Asha is the niece to our beloved community doctor, Dr. Nevron Askari. Please show your support for Dr. Askari using this link: https://donorbox.org/dr-khadijah-askari

Many families have opted into the option of homeschooling or what many refer to as ‘Unschooling.’ The new traditional schooling process involves families making their own decisions about their family’s learning needs and process for family education overall. This process varies for different families, but what remains the same is a goal to not only think outside of the box at all times but to allow for free thinking and an education process that truly focuses on acquiring life skills in every way possible. There are many families who have also taken this approach as it relates to their career paths. They are committed to what we have labeled, ‘Uncareering’ where financial gains occur using family passions and skills.

In this episode, we engage in a conversation about what the process of charting one’s path really looks like from both the parent and young adult’s point of view. As parents who choose to follow these paths, it is important to develop healthy conversations about everyone’s expectations, challenges, and anything else that comes up. Conversations like these allow for a healthy and productive process to take place. It allows everyone to chart and support a collective family course and teaches our young adults who may one day be parents to learn early on the steps towards taking charge of their future in either the Unschooling or Uncareering process.

Liza and her two young men shared so many valuable tips on how they have approached this topic and how both Unschooling and Uncareering has impacted their lives. This family is focused on transparency and a commitment to being supportive of each other, which are extremely important steps towards healthy communication in any family.

We hope you enjoy everything shared in this episode as much as we did!

*The Garza/Lakes family mottos: “Remember who you are & have as much fun as you possibly can” “Be grateful” This family is big on transparency in everything they do.

* Liza is a musician, artist, poet, designer, and the other half to the band known as ‘Grow.’ Her work centers around love and identity. Info about her sons:

*Businesses advertised in this episode:

**Special for this episode: *Ezra Lakes: First person to DM ‘Free buckets to say that they heard this podcast gets a FREE SHIRT!**

For those born and raised in a faith practice, or even those families who have recently begun their commitment to one religious practice, discussing expectations vs reality as it relates to adherence is very much necessary. We cannot assume that anyone will automatically think or live the same way we do and cannot place that type of assumption on our young adults. Being intentional, strategic, and gentle in your approach when you do have this discussion will help in the long run. It will allow you and your young adults to feel appreciated, heard, and empowered.

We also have to be aware that just as we parents have questions regarding both interfaith and intrafaith practices, our young adults will have questions too. Including some space for those topics in your religious adherence conversation can be really helpful as well. It will offer tools for understanding others as well as tools necessary to navigate through those things we may not understand within our own faith practices.

Nafees & I learned so much from each other in this episode. This was a really good conversation, and we hope you enjoy it!

*We would like to dedicate our standard business mention to all of our listeners who are business owners and celebrating ‘Eid ul Fitr! We wish you an amazing Eid and hope you had time to spend with your families and loved ones. Eid Mubarak!

Discussing religion in both large and small families can be interesting. Whether it be traditional or non-traditional religious practice, it’s very important to have an open dialogue with your young adults about this topic. There may be differences in belief & adherence which may lead to some form of tension if everyone’s point of view and path is not supported. Knowing how to lead by example in both word and deed is a strategy that seems to work best for parents & guardians for young adults who are in the process of charting out their own spiritual/religious path.

In this episode, Naimah Abdullah and her four young men share tips on how they have approached this topic and how religion has an impact on their daily lives. This family is very open and supportive of each other, which is the first step towards success in any area.

We hope you enjoy everything shared in this episode as much as we did!

*The Abdullah family motto: “Be original, work hard, be grateful.”

*Naimah is a Virtual Assistant, fellow podcaster (Rock The Crown Podcast), model, mother, and wife. Info about her sons:

*Businesses advertised in this episode:

In this episode, our guests, Karimah & her son Samad Noble continue the conversation on the topic of Drugs, offering insight on their strategies for discussing Profit Abuse & Peer Pressure.

Conversations about drugs have expanded from the time that “This is your brain on drugs” tagline was a thing. We live in a society where drug sales and use has not only been legalized, but it has been normalized in the media, social spaces, and our homes. There are many families of color who have an interest in having healthy conversations regarding drugs as it relates to profit vs abuse. There is an interest in being a part of the changes taking place throughout the world regarding legal sales, education, and being proactive in protecting our bodies, families, and communities from drug abuse. It is imperative that families open up about what peer pressure really looks like for young adults as well as for parents in discussing this topic. We hope you enjoy everything shared in this episode as much as we did!

Karimah is a mother, wife, ELA teacher, and great friend. Samad is a rising senior at Morehouse College.

*The Noble family motto: “I’ve got your back.” “Together we’re strong.”

*Shirts: MXGM Black Control of Black Lives shirt & Camp Pumziko Shirt (visit cadnational.org)

Our household conversations about drugs don’t commonly include touching on the topic of drug use within certain faith practices and how that differs or is similar to recreational drug use. Being open to this discussion may help your young adult or even the parents to navigate the conversation with ease. It’s also important to include in your conversation what ways social trends have an impact on one’s view or usage of drugs either in a religious or recreational setting. We hope you enjoy this conversation!

*Product advertised in this episode: IWI Fresh BODY oil. Visit iwifresh.com

When we communicate with our sons, it’s inevitable that conflict will arise. One of us may become frustrated with the tone, lack of a clear explanation offered, and other things that cause frustration. Strategies to work through that frustration isn’t a one size fits all type of deal. It’s important that you and your son have identified and tried your own strategies before your frustration leads to conflicts that cause harm. And as we all continue to grow in our mother/son relationships we will also need to discuss our plans to adapt to change as it relates to how we communicate with each other.

In this episode, our first guests, Sudani & her son Qasim offer insight on their strategies for Resolving Conflict, Avoiding Tension and different ways to Adapt to Change. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

*Shirts advertised in this episode: WeBuyBlack short-sleeved shirt. (visit webuyblack (dot com)

Communication whether verbal or non-verbal is something that happens on a consistent basis in our lives. When mothers and sons communicate, they can face breakdowns and breakthroughs if they are committed to using healthy strategies as well as identifying any barriers that may exist in their communication. As we grow in our relationships, the importance of checking in with each other is vital to maintaining good communication. In this episode, Nafees and Jaasmeen offer healthy conversation starters to set the stage, strategies to be an effective listener, and the importance of checking in with each other.  We hope that you enjoy! 

*Shirts advertised in this episode: Fantastic Negrito ‘The Last Days of Oakland 2016’ tour shirt. Visit fantasticnegrito (dot com) for more information on this shirt and artist.

Continuing the very necessary conversation on mental health for mental health awareness month. This episode focuses on the self-esteem and the impact music has on mental health.

Just as many adults may suffer from self-esteem issues, it should be no surprise that young men & their Mamas deal with this issue as well. Discussing you and your son’s methods for keeping your self-esteem in a good space is powerful and allows for healthy mental health support.

It’s also important to understand how music may be impacting your mental health. Music can be used as a tool to heal when we are aware of it acting as a healing factor in our overall mental health as well as any ways music may cause negative triggers that may be harming that health. We hope you enjoy this episode and our discussion on the topic.

Happy & healthy mental health awareness month!

*Artist’s work advertised in this episode: Nafees, multi-media artist: @dangerouskimchi (IG) & his homeboy Zuri Rios, fashion designer @taavirue. Follow these two young men who use art as a healing tool in support of their mental health on IG.