Jennie's Journal...She Graduated, and So Did I
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This is an iHeart Podcast. Hi, it's Jenny Garth. Feeling confident in my skin is non-negotiable, and that's why I choose Perricone MD. Their triple retinol renewal face and ice serums are my go-to. I use them every day, every night. I've seen such a difference in my skin. You might be thinking, can I use retinol in the summer? But I'm here to tell you that yes.

You can. I like to apply the retinol serums at night. Then I follow with a moisturizer and I never, ever forget that SPF during the day. Confidence starts with Perricone MD. Visit perriconemd.com and use code JENNIE for 40% off your order for a limited time. That's perriconemd.com, code J-E-N-N-I-E. For over a decade, 3rd Love has been the leader in making the best bras on the market.

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even through menopausal hot flashes and chills. Third Love thoughtfully designs solutions for every stage of your life. Visit thirdlove.com and use code podcast15 for $15 off your order.

Let's be real. Life happens. Kids spill. Pets shed. And accidents are inevitable. That's why you need a washable sofa that can keep up. Our sofas are fully machine washable, inside and out, so you can say goodbye to stains and hello to worry-free living. Made with liquid and stain-resistant fabrics, they're kid-proof.

Bye.

Starting at just $699, it's time to upgrade to a stress-free, mess-proof sofa. Visit washablesofas.com today and save. That's washablesofas.com. Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply. Over the years of making my true crime podcast, Hell and Gone, I've learned no town is too small for murder.

We ask parents who adopted teens to share their journey.

We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council.

You're listening to I Choose Me with Jenny Garth. Hey, everybody. Welcome to I Choose Me with yours truly. I was thinking it's been a minute since we've done a Jenny's Journal. So I feel like I want to share with you something relatively big that happened in my life. And I don't know. I just feel like sharing with you. So here's a little something from Jenny's Journals.

June 6, 2025. Oh my God, today was it. Fiona, my baby bird, she graduated high school. And yeah, I'm out here on the porch writing this, enjoying the night air, sitting down for the first time today, and it's just hitting me all over again.

Sitting there this morning on the metal bench in the hot sun with her sisters and Dave, her uncle, and Peter, and Lily, I can honestly say we were one big, very happy family in that moment. It wasn't lost on me that all the hard work our family has done to stay united had culminated into this highly anticipated and pivotal moment in all of our lives.

Watching her walk across that stage and, yes, being that family that yells out and pops off confetti cannons, basically making a spectacle of themselves to show her how proud we are of her. In that moment, she walked up to receive her diploma, her hand stretched out to shake the dean's hand. It felt somehow like my entire mom life just slashed before my eyes. And I could feel this sort of triumphant moment of not just...

our family, but her. All the crazy ups and the gut-wrenching downs that are high school, but mostly just this totally overwhelming feeling of awe for her and joy for me. Such relief. She made it. Her experience wasn't a cakewalk. Yes, we are privileged. Did she ask for it? No. But however you want to look at it,

She was lucky to be born into the situation she was. Others have had much harder times for sure. And her experience is hers. So I will let her speak about it. I'll just say for me as a mom, her high school years have been really hard to watch. Really hard on me. And it's been almost even harder to not jump in and fix it. Fix it all. It's so, so hard to watch your kid hurt.

She literally had to fight against the dumbest stereotype ever, being called dumb just because she looks a certain way. Mean kids labeled her too emotional. Oh, that one really got to me. I've had it said about me, and it's just a straight up attempt to belittle a person. But Fiona feels things beautifully and deeply, and I think that's actually one of her greatest strengths.

She was trying to figure it all out, but there were so many texts over the four years from her needing support or wanting to be anywhere but there. Please email the attendants. I need to leave. You know, those kind of texts. Do I think she was bullied? Yeah, I do.

Some kids think it's fun to hurt other people. I don't understand it, but I do recognize it. You just want to scoop up your kid and literally shield them from every single crappy word. And it wasn't just the mean kid stuff. It was the quiet stuff too. Some teachers were just total angels. She would tell me stories from classroom discussions she had had with some of them, and she just would light up whenever she talked about some.

They actually saw her, you know, saw past her appearance and the teen drama to the genuinely curious, caring, and intelligent girl she is. They nurtured her spirit. But then there were others who just didn't. They just completely missed her. And when someone in authority just doesn't see your kid, that can be just as damaging as any mean girl or bully.

It can make them feel invisible or maybe unworthy. And that's a tough, tough feeling for any kid to carry around. There was also a toxic relationship. I'll let her share that if she wants to. But it affected basically all four years of her experience.

My heart literally ached watching her go through it, trying to figure out those insane feelings, the confusion, the constant ups and downs. There were so many times when I just wanted to jump in and yell at her or give him a piece of my mind. Sorry, that kind of sounds like my grandma.

But to see her finally break free and start putting herself back together after all that, honestly, it was like watching the most glorious sunrise ever. It was such a relief. And it reinforced to me just how incredibly strong she is. Hi, it's Jenny Garth. Feeling alive.

Feeling confident in my skin is non-negotiable, and that's why I choose Perricone MD. Their triple retinol renewal face and eye serums are my go-to. I use them every day, every night. I've seen such a difference in my skin. You might be thinking, can I use retinol in the summer? But I'm here to tell you that yes, you can. I love it.

like to apply the retinol serums at night. Then I follow with a moisturizer and I never, ever forget that SPF during the day. Confidence starts with Perricone MD. Visit perriconemd.com and use code Jenny for 40% off your order for a limited time. That's perriconemd.com, code J-E-N-N-I-E. For over a decade, Third Love has been the leader in making the best fitting, most comfortable bras on the market.

Now they have taken it to a whole other level with their latest innovation. TempSync bras and undies are the first of their kind made with breakthrough thermoregulating fabric designed to keep you at the perfect temp before ever breaking a sweat.

This technology has been seen in men's apparel for years. Now made to combat hot flashes and chills. This is the only bra and undie collection engineered to keep you at the perfect temp. Third Love thoughtfully designs solutions for every stage of life, including perimenopause and menopause. 60 plus sizes, including exclusive half cup sizes for a perfect fit.

Staying cool, more lift, back smoothing, and so much more. Wear tested on real women. Made from top quality materials for lasting comfort and support from a AA to H cup. Visit thirdlove.com and use code podcast15 for $15 off your order.

Aging is a natural process, as we all know, and we, at The Deep Dive, we embrace it. But I will tell you one thing about aging that I don't care for. It's the symptoms that stem from changing hormones, especially as you get closer to perimenopause and menopause. That's why, listeners, I want to tell you about Happy Mammoth's Hormone Harmony. It's all over social media.

Happy Mammoth, the company that created Hormone Harmony, uses science-backed ingredients that have been proven to work for women. Hormone Harmony is perfect for those menopause symptoms that put a woman's life on hold. Hot flashes, night sweats, racing thoughts, low moods, poor sleep, gas, no desire to be in bed next to someone, if you know what I mean. Yeah, Hormone Harmony can help with all of these things. I've never heard of it.

I've noticed a little extra pep in my step since I started taking the Hormone Harmony supplement, and I love feeling more energetic. For a limited time, you can get 15% off your entire first order at HappyMammoth.com. Just use the code JENNY at checkout.

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Upgrade now at WashableSofas.com. Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply. Camp Shane, one of America's longest-running weight loss camps for kids, promised extraordinary results. Campers who began the summer in heavy bodies were often unrecognizable when they left. In a society obsessed with being thin, it seemed like a miracle solution. But behind Camp Shane's facade of happy, transformed children was a dark underworld of sinister secrets.

Kids were being pushed to their physical and emotional limits as the family that owned Shane turned a blind eye. Nothing about that camp was right. It was really actually like a horror movie. In this eight-episode series, we're unpacking and investigating stories of mistreatment and reexamining the culture of fatphobia that enabled a flawed system to continue for so long.

You can listen to all episodes of Camp Shame one week early and totally ad-free on iHeart True Crime Plus. So don't wait. Head to Apple Podcasts and subscribe today. I guess beyond being just a proud mom, I have learned along the way, too. All this reminded me how important it is to really listen to my kids. It made me wonder, have I done a good enough job? Sometimes the stuff they're not saying is way more important than what they are.

The complaints about school, the out of nowhere mood changes, the wanting to be alone. Those are usually signals for something deeper going on. And I get it. All the absolute bullshit the kids have to deal with today and grow up subjected to. Don't even get me started. I've tried to create a space where each of the girls know they can actually tell me anything. But I know there have been times when my workload has

has deprived one or another of much needed mom time or wife time for that matter, but that's a different entry for another day. So many times I've wished I could wave a magic wand and make everything better for everyone, but you have to teach them to stand up for themselves. There were definitely times when I wanted to storm the school and raise hell, but I knew I had to find that balance with Fiona and

Both Peter and Dave were always my reminders to take a deep breath and calm down, think things through. I believe things always work out and it was quite possible I did actually need two dads to get me through this with my feet on the ground. I was a full-time life coach and therapist and cheerleader all wrapped up in a mom costume.

I tried to do my best. I'd encourage Fiona to talk to her teachers, to speak her mind, to take charge of things and claim her power. When it came to the boy, we'd talk about boundaries. We talked about what she deserved and how important it was to put herself first, to choose herself. I think teaching our kids to find their own voice is one of the best things we can do for them.

And as excruciating as it was to watch her go through all that, those experiences, the dumb labels, the emotional rollercoaster, they didn't break her. Not at all. They actually built something incredible inside her. She learned how strong she is. She learned to trust her gut. And she learned what she will and absolutely will not put up with in relationships moving forward. Those aren't easy lessons.

But boy, oh boy, are they important ones. I honestly envy that she received these big life lessons this young, because I didn't. And I know there will be so many more. But let's just get through this big event today, please. It's just part of her story now. It's not her whole story. But she did it. She pushed through. She learned.

She grew into this amazing young woman. Like I've always told all the girls since we saw the help back in 2011, you is smart, you is kind, and you is important. She learned to be resilient no matter what. Yeah, she's got some scars, sure, but she's also got the wisdom and the strength that came from going through tough times. We had a sweet family party for her. Lola, Dave, and I did the prep. Luca made a fun game to celebrate her graduation.

She called it Fiona Jeopardy. Supani, my friend, treated us all to such inspiring Thai food. I can't even tell you how good it was. Peter made a through the years movie of her and there were flowers and family and dear friends. We laughed and we cried. My baby bird is officially ready to fly and I'm just here watching her take off. My heart is so full of gratitude. It could burst. And not only am I proud of her, but I'm proud of me too.

This last one has been the most challenging, but hey, let's go out with a bang, right mom? That's all I had to say about that. But I'm curious, did you have a kid that graduated? Did you have a kid that had a tough time in high school? I don't know. Are you like me? Are you out there trying to hold everything up for everybody all the time and you're just making it up as you go? Being a mom is the hardest, most rewarding job you will ever have. And I see you

As far as I'm concerned, all moms are superheroes. I mean, that's how I look at my mom now, which is much different than how I used to look at her. But I just want you to know that it's okay to take a moment to choose to allow yourself to take a deep breath and just revel in this moment of accomplishment, not just for your kid, but for you. You did it too. You graduated from high school all over again. And I'm so proud of us.

Hi, it's Jenny Garth. Feeling confident in my skin is non-negotiable. And that's why I choose Perricone MD. Their triple retinol renewal face and eye serums are my go-to. I use them every day, every night. I've seen such a difference in my skin. You might be thinking, can I use retinol in the summer? But I'm here to tell you that yes, you can. I love it.

like to apply the retinol serums at night, then I follow with a moisturizer and I never ever forget that SPF during the day. Confidence starts with Perricone MD. Visit perriconemd.com and use code JENNIE for 40% off your order for a limited time. That's perriconemd.com code J-E-N-N-I-E.

Let's be real. Life happens. Kids spill. Pets shed. And accidents are inevitable. That's why you need a washable sofa that can keep up. Our sofas are fully machine washable, inside and out, so you can say goodbye to stains and hello to worry-free living.

made with liquid and stain-resistant fabrics. They're kid-proof, pet-friendly, and built for everyday life. Plus, changeable fabric covers let you refresh your sofa whenever you want. Need flexibility? Our modular design lets you rearrange your sofa anytime to fit your space, whether it's a growing family room or a cozy apartment. Plus, they're earth-friendly and trusted by over 200,000 happy customers.

Starting at just $699, it's time to upgrade to a stress-free, mess-proof sofa. Visit washablesofas.com today and save. That's washablesofas.com. Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply. Over the years of making my true crime podcast, Hell and Gone, I've learned no town is too small for murder.

We ask parents who adopted teens to share their journey.

We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council.

I've seen a lot of stuff over 30 years, you know, some very despicable crime and things that are kind of tough to wrap your head around. And this ranks right up there in the pantheon of Rhode Island fraudsters.

I've always been told I'm a really good listener, right? And I maximized that while I was lying. Listen to Deep Cover, The Truth About Sarah on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast. ♪