Is the relation between the present perfect/progressive and the present time merely coincidental?
This is from an interview with Britt Robertson (American actress).
Q: You're the oldest of seven kids. What's that like?
It's hard. You know, they're all much younger than me and they're growing. Every time I see them, they've grown six inches. They're changing so drastically and I miss all of that. Just them as people, I miss being around to see them grow, but the great thing about being away is you learn to appreciate your family when you do see them. Every time I'm home, I'm trying to make the most of it.
Unlike the present simple tense, which is not necessarily related to the present time, the present perfect and present continuous are said to be related to the present time.
But in the sentences marked above, the present perfect (have grown) and the present progressive (am trying) are not related to the present time.
Is the relation between the present perfect/progressive and the present time merely coincidental?
Solution 1:
The use of present perfect tense of your first emboldened sentence is fine. Each time she sees her sibling something has already happened - they have grown 6 inches during the time since he last saw them.
Every time I see them, they've grown six inches.
(I hope this is not literal though otherwise she only needs to see her siblings about 9 times for them to be fully grown at 6ft)
The second sentence you highlighted is not though:
Every time I'm home, I'm trying to make the most of it.
This sentence doesn't sound right. "Every time" is used to reference specific occasions in both the past and the possible future, so the twice-repeated "I am" just doesn't sit with that. It really should be either:
Whenever I am home, I try to make the most of it.
or possibly:
While I am at home I'm trying to make the most of it.
It reads like a transcript of a spoken interview, and in colloquial speech people do make these kind of errors - sometimes because they don't know any better and don't have a grammar checker, but also because when you are answering other people's questions you are thinking on your feet and may not know how your sentence is going to end when you begin it.