Latest / Coffee In The Park with Jennifer and Cam / A Coffee with Miss Emily and Alison from Sweet Freeze!

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A Coffee with Miss Emily and Alison from Sweet Freeze! · Coffee In The Park with Jennifer and Cam

0:00
Hi, this is Jennifer from Coffee In The Park with Jennifer and Cam.
0:05
On today's podcast, we have a very special guest whose name is Miss Emily.
0:10
Miss Emily is a beautiful person with a heart as big as the moon.
0:15
Miss Emily has autism and an extremely rare genetic disorder.
0:20
Despite her challenges, Miss Emily is full of life, love, and joy, and is a true entrepreneur who wants to make everyone feel good.
0:32
She is without a doubt one of the most amazing guests we've ever had on the podcast.
0:38
We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as Cam and I enjoyed meeting her and hearing her story.
0:46
Hello, we are Alison and Emily from Sweet Freeze, and you're listening to Coffee In The Park with Jennifer and Cam.
1:06
Well, good morning, Cam, on this, well, it's a bit of a rainy day here in Acheson.
1:11
It's a bit of a rainy day, and welcome everybody to another edition of Coffee In The Park with Jennifer and Cam.
1:16
And we are coming to you live from the Wall Coffee Roasters in the heart of beautiful downtown Acheson.
1:25
So if you hear some noise in the background, some coffee machines whirring, people talking, maybe kids screaming.
1:31
Any kids here today?
1:32
No, no kids today. No kids.
1:33
But it's because we're live at the coffee shop.
1:36
That's where we are.
1:36
It is.
1:37
And if you've never been to the Wall Coffee Roasters, we highly recommend you come on down and try one of their amazing drinks.
1:43
That's right.
1:44
They have lots of specials on, getting ready for spring and summer.
1:46
And we love the Wall Coffee Roaster.
1:49
So come on down, like Jennifer says.
1:50
And we want to say a very huge thank you to our sponsor, Wing Snob Canada.
1:56
Where the wings are fresh, never frozen, with 16 different flavors, four different rubs, That's right.
2:02
They're amazing.
2:03
I know.
2:03
They are the most amazing wings.
2:05
And so let me tell you folks, if you've never had a Wing Snob wing, you need to go down to Wing Snob, 10 locations, one in Grande Prairie, one in Calgary, eight in Edmonton, and try their wings.
2:16
They're absolutely incredible.
2:18
Best wings you will ever have.
2:20
No, they really are.
2:21
And I've had people tell me that.
2:22
I know.
2:22
We've had people listen to the podcast and tell us they went to Wing Snob because we told them about Wing Snob, and they say it's the best wings they've ever had.
2:30
That's right.
2:30
So check them out today.
2:32
At www.wingsnob.ca.
2:35
That's right.
2:35
If you don't know what to have for supper tonight, Wing Snob is your answer right there.
2:39
Jennifer, I'm going to tell you something right now.
2:42
This is probably, we're coming up to something very special.
2:45
Yes, Cam, you and I are coming up to our 100th anniversary episode.
2:50
Can you believe we've done 100 episodes?
2:52
And all of our guests.
2:54
And it's been phenomenal because when we started the podcast, we weren't really sure.
2:59
No, we really weren't sure.
3:00
We weren't sure how far it would go.
3:01
We thought only our family would listen.
3:03
And now we have people listening all over the world.
3:05
But I'm going to tell you something, today, because next week is our 100th podcast, but today, I'm going to tell you, I am so excited about, I don't think I have ever been this excited about a podcast.
3:17
This guest, Cam, I think our listeners are just going to absolutely fall in love with.
3:23
All right, so let's get into it.
3:25
Introduce our guests today, Jennifer.
3:27
Okay, our guests today are Alison and Emily from Sweet Freeze.
3:33
So welcome to you both.
3:35
Welcome.
3:36
Good to have you.
3:38
Thank you for coming.
3:39
Thank you for coming.
3:41
Thank you for having us.
3:45
So how do I start?
3:47
You can start however you want.
3:49
Should we ask a question to your mom first?
3:51
Yes.
3:52
Okay.
3:52
All right.
3:52
We'll start with that.
3:54
So Alison, for our listeners that don't know, maybe share a little bit about your family story.
4:02
Well, that's a lot to unpack right there.
4:05
We might need a little bit more coffee.
4:06
That's okay. Top up for that and some wings! We're at the Wall Coffee Roasters.
4:09
We can get a lot of coffee.
4:11
Coffee, lunch, dinner, breakfast.
4:13
What else you got?
4:14
How ever long you want, we're here.
4:17
Well, our family story, I think, is a lot like a lot of those stories that you hear out there with some interesting twists where a family, I guess, expected maybe a different path and ended up on a uniquely interesting journey.
4:35
For us, it was about welcoming Emily into the world in all her glory and embracing the uniqueness and the special needs that make up her personality and have affected really an entire community as well as our family.
4:53
So we've been navigating complex challenges since she was born 24 years ago, and we continue to this day to be in awe of her resilience and the lesson that she keeps teaching us.
5:06
That's fantastic.
5:08
And so you talked a little bit about life takes some unique changes and challenges and without going really deep into it, but how did you feel at that time?
5:18
What was your sense of where do we go from here?
5:21
What do we do?
5:22
I mean, was it or you just take it one day at a time?
5:26
Honestly, one day at a time is one of those things that you know is true, but you really kind of resent it at the time, right? Well of course! I would just like to say somebody standing on your head and at the same time, you're like, you know, I get it.
5:38
You know, God can't give me more than what I can handle.
5:40
You've heard those sayings too, but sometimes you're thinking maybe somebody overestimated me.
5:44
Right?
5:46
So the truth is, when we had Emmy, we were a young couple, known each other for a really long time, married and planned a family and didn't expect that anything would be other.
5:57
So we were quite taken back and surprised the way the journey quickly unfolded, I guess.
6:06
You wouldn't know to meet Emily, but she had a feeding tube for eight years.
6:09
Now she eats more than her dad.
6:11
Yeah.
6:12
Right?
6:12
She has had brain surgery, she's gone to five international hospitals and uncertainty, and she writes science every single day.
6:20
She's got one in a billion genetic phenomenon.
6:24
It's published in different miracle scientific journals.
6:29
For being as rare and complex as it is.
6:31
So we don't know what tomorrow looks like either, but just like them, we didn't know either, and it's true.
6:38
We do do it every single day, and we take it one day at a time because we have to. One day at a time.
6:42
Yes.
6:42
Well, that's awesome.
6:43
I mean, and Emily, you're beautiful, and we've been reading about you, and I want to tell you how I found out about you.
6:51
I was on Facebook, and it was the, I think it was the Spruce Grove, Stony, Acheson community page, and I saw you sitting on your, I don't want to quite give it away yet, but on your trike, and I thought, this is amazing.
7:10
And when you talk about one day at a time, so I just want to say this to our listeners, and I'm going to be really transparent about this today.
7:16
I don't think we would normally quite do it this way, but we had another guest planned, and she contacted us yesterday at about one o'clock in the afternoon, and said, I'm really sorry, I have laryngitis, I can't come on the podcast.
7:31
And Jennifer and I, we always look at each other and go, well, okay, now what?
7:35
And I saw your picture, and you had phoned the Acheson Business Association, and I had emailed you, we didn't know, I didn't know you phoned them, and they didn't know I emailed you.
7:49
And all of a sudden, we were just connected, and long story short, here we are today. Here we are. The world works in amazing ways.
7:55
That's too coincidental to be coincidence.
7:58
It is. So it's meant to be.
7:59
There's somebody looking out for us, that's right, on this one.
8:03
And we said that, and that's why I'm so excited about this, because I'm really excited about this story.
8:09
Um, so, when I was at, you remind me of somebody that is, uh.
8:26
You remind me of somebody that is at Full Form Countertops, and his name is Al Brunt.
8:36
And Al Brunt taught me how to do the lockdown drills and perform.
8:41
Okay.
8:42
Is he a nice guy?
8:43
Yes.
8:44
Well, that's good, because if I remind you of him, I want to be a nice guy, too.
8:48
Is he good-looking, Em?
8:50
Yes.
8:50
Yeah, there you go.
8:51
Okay.
8:52
It's a great day.
8:53
You just made Cam's day.
8:55
Emily, you and I can hang out forever now because you just made my day, and I'm so excited.
9:00
All right.
9:00
Well, why don't we start talking?
9:02
Sure.
9:02
A little bit about the story because it's a great story.
9:04
Well, it is, but, you know, I wanna, I wanna go back.
9:07
When you say it, it's one day at a time, and Emily has had some, you know, medical procedures and you talked about going to international hospitals.
9:15
As a young couple, I mean, how did you do it?
9:19
I mean, strain on the family, obviously, but how did you make it through?
9:24
How did the community, and was there a community that came together to support you through this?
9:28
You know, when they talk about it takes a village, I mean, really, I think sometimes we have to live our lives out loud, maybe sometimes more than what we would like.
9:38
That saying about, you know, you don't throw stones if you live in a glass house, and we are acutely aware that we live in a glass house.
9:45
We find ourselves to the mercy of community quite often, certainly never taking it for granted, but, you know, when you've got an Emily who's got so much spirit and joy, and has this drive and determination inside her soul, you don't quit on that.
10:02
You work through it, and you find the next opportunity.
10:06
A long time ago when we were taking her to the International Hospitals for Support, wasn't funded, and so we threw ourselves to the mercy of community.
10:15
We actually ran a campaign called Have A H'art, H apostrophe A-R-T.
10:20
And it was Emily's little tiny hands at the time.
10:23
She was just three years old.
10:26
She had to go.
10:27
There was no more time left.
10:29
We didn't know if she was going to make it.
10:34
So, these little hand prints on to cards, and then we cut them into heart-shaped notes.
10:40
Then the community came out behind us and supported that and bought a gazillion of them, enough that it actually afforded us the opportunity to go south for medical support.
10:54
And thankfully, get us some more time.
10:57
Yeah.
10:57
Wow.
10:59
That's amazing.
11:00
I mean, yeah.
11:00
The power of community.
11:01
You're right.
11:02
It does take a village.
11:03
It does.
11:03
What a lesson today, especially.
11:05
I think today we really need to take that lesson hard.
11:08
And it's something that, you know, the word you said, joy.
11:12
It's true.
11:13
I mean, this is our first time meeting you, Emily, and you exude joy.
11:18
Oh, yeah.
11:19
Doesn't she?
11:19
You made me happy today already.
11:21
You got joy.
11:23
Joy, joy, joy down in my heart. Oh going to sing?
11:26
I'm not going to sing it, but that's what you bring.
11:28
So, Alison, what is it about Emily's spirit that just lights up the room whenever she walks in?
11:34
I can see it.
11:35
Emily, you want to tell us?
11:38
What is it about your spirit, Emmy?
11:53
Well, what brings me joy is that people like speaking the word, joy, is connecting with the community and putting it out there, putting it step by step in instruction and doing it first.
12:19
That's fantastic.
12:20
And you are a joy to the community.
12:23
Yes.
12:23
Yes.
12:24
And spreading my wings to fly to a new chapter.
12:30
So can we talk about that?
12:32
Can we talk about your journey and your chapter?
12:34
It sounds like when you were very young, you were an entrepreneur.
12:38
You wanted to make, do business.
12:40
You wanted, tell us about the very first business you did.
12:43
What was it?
12:46
So my first business was Wags Cookies.
12:56
My first business was Wags Cookies, where I get to make, where I was, I got to take the cookies to the Grammy Awards.
13:06
You went to the Grammy Awards?
13:08
The Grammy Awards.
13:09
You took your cookies to the Grammy Awards.
13:12
Yes.
13:12
What kind of cookies were they?
13:13
They were for people or dogs?
13:16
Pets.
13:20
They were for dogs.
13:22
They were for dogs, but I'm not going to lie, that Alan Brunt that she talked about, he might have consumed a few himself. Really? Oh, yeah.
13:30
And the late night snackers.
13:32
You never know what you're going to get in the cupboard, right?
13:34
But I'm sure they were very healthy cookies.
13:36
I'm sure they were like human edible.
13:38
I mean peanut butter, right.
13:41
But why did you start making dog cookies, pet cookies?
13:45
Why did you start doing that?
13:49
To spread awareness, to do a kindness act for other dogs in need.
13:56
Right.
13:57
Because you had a very special dog, didn't you?
14:00
Yes.
14:01
Can you tell us about that dog?
14:02
Yes.
14:04
So my special dog died. In 13 years.
14:14
He was part of my life.
14:15
And he was part of my life.
14:19
And he was part of my life.
14:22
And he died in 13 years. And he needed to go to Heaven, puppy Heaven.
14:35
So was he your service dog, Emmy?
14:37
He was my service dog.
14:39
And what was his name?
14:41
His name was Levi.
14:42
Levi.
14:43
So for 13 years, Levi was your service dog.
14:48
And for 13 years, he needed his wings to fly.
14:52
Yeah.
14:52
So he helped give you your wings to fly, right?
14:55
Yes.
14:56
Yeah, he was this dog that came into our world, into her life.
14:59
I think he saw all of her potential, all of that joy that we talked about, and decided that he was going to dedicate his life to her.
15:07
And he did.
15:08
And together, they moved mountains.
15:10
And I heard that you and Levi used to go to different places.
15:13
Yes.
15:14
Tell us about the places you went.
15:16
And he took me to the restaurant as well.
15:18
Okay.
15:19
And you took him to a school.
15:22
Did you take him to the school in Stony Plain?
15:25
Yes.
15:27
And to the seniors?
15:30
And also to the seniors' residence as well.
15:33
And they probably loved him.
15:34
Yes.
15:35
Yeah.
15:35
Wow.
15:36
So we were blessed, there was an art teacher who kind of took him under his wing.
15:42
She really loved him.
15:43
I mean, who wouldn't in the classroom setting, the school.
15:47
But she actually had an entire grade one class paint him.
15:51
So they used him as like their muse so that they could create these art projects.
15:56
And I still have one on my wall in our laundry room at our home.
16:01
And it was these beautiful inflection points of what the kids could see.
16:05
And it was interesting because they mostly look like him.
16:10
But it was always the sparkle in the eye that made the difference with how the kids saw that and how they painted that back.
16:16
So Emily, then Levi got sick.
16:18
Yes.
16:19
And you knew that he was going to go to heaven.
16:21
But you told me a great story.
16:24
Before he went to heaven, he got a special treat.
16:28
Yeah, he got a special dinner.
16:29
Where did you do?
16:31
I took him to McDonald's.
16:33
And you let him have McDonald's?
16:35
Yes.
16:36
What did he have?
16:38
He had a full size Big Mac meal.
16:43
Oh, wow.
16:46
Did he get fries with that?
16:48
Did he have fries, french fries too?
16:50
Yes.
16:51
Wow.
16:52
Well, you know the difference is, service dogs aren't meant to eat people food.
16:57
I mean, no disrespect to McDonald's.
16:58
I'm not sure how many dogs are supposed to eat McDonald's.
17:02
Big Mac's.
17:03
Having said that, though, you know that the time has come.
17:06
And so this dog gets this Big Mac.
17:07
And honestly, we wondered if maybe for a second, he wasn't going to get a new lease on life.
17:11
If he was going to be like, you know what?
17:13
We're just going to push that heaven thing back a little bit.
17:16
We're just going to.
17:17
Yeah.
17:17
What else did he have?
17:18
He loved it.
17:19
He loved his Big Mac.
17:22
And it was like my little.
17:24
He ate it all.
17:26
I bet he did.
17:28
And when we talk about joy, I bet you Levi had a lot of joy.
17:32
Man, that is fantastic.
17:34
You gave him a huge joy in his life to have a Big Mac meal.
17:38
And then he went to heaven.
17:40
Maybe he's eating Big Macs in heaven.
17:41
I don't know if we're going to eat Big Macs in heaven.
17:43
Maybe not, but he got a Big Mac meal.
17:47
And then also another, and then also another, also we have three dogs at my mom's.
17:57
Oh.
17:57
And to replace, so long behold, I have a purse dog and her name is Leela.
18:08
Leela.
18:08
Oh, Leela.
18:09
Oh, beautiful.
18:11
Okay.
18:11
So when Levi went to heaven, then you thought I'm going to make dog cookies.
18:16
And you started making dog cookies.
18:18
How did you get on the Grammys?
18:20
How did they find out about your dog cookies?
18:25
They found out, they recently found out about my dog cookies because the Grammy Awards wanted, like different celebrities wanted my swag bags.
18:41
That's fantastic.
18:42
They did.
18:43
The swag bags with the official Grammy Awards.
18:45
Really?
18:46
In that, sorry, in that season.
18:48
Yeah, yeah.
18:49
They were doing a big promotion for local businesses or businesses that had some attachment to a charitable cause or a giving cause.
18:56
And it just happened, you know, with timing, not unlike today.
18:59
That's incredible.
18:59
Where they invited her cookies into the gift box.
19:01
Do you know what stars got cookies?
19:03
Well, Emily will tell you.
19:05
What stars got cookies, Emily?
19:08
Who got your cookies that year, do you remember?
19:10
Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber.
19:13
Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber?
19:15
Are you kidding?
19:16
Yes.
19:17
That's fantastic.
19:19
Yes.
19:20
Wow.
19:21
And so they fed them to their dogs.
19:23
Yes.
19:24
Or ate them in the middle of the night.
19:27
I mean, funny how we go full circle here, right?
19:29
We don't know.
19:31
But listen, Emily.
19:32
Justin Bieber was just at Coachella.
19:34
Apparently, it didn't go well.
19:36
So yes, maybe he was.
19:37
One never knows.
19:38
Right.
19:39
Well, and you know, Miss.
19:41
Emily here.
19:42
Cam, when we talked about a brush with fame.
19:46
Yes.
19:46
Emily, you were telling us that you were on Larry King Live.
19:50
Yeah.
19:51
You went on Larry King?
19:52
You went on Larry King.
19:53
Wow.
19:54
So World Autism Awareness Day.
19:56
Yeah.
19:57
Which is April.
19:59
Okay.
20:01
In 2008.
20:03
Hang on.
20:05
I think it was this month.
20:07
Yes, April.
20:08
You're right.
20:08
Do you know what day?
20:09
And is it, do you know which day it is?
20:11
I think it's the third or the fourth.
20:13
Okay.
20:13
So we passed, but we're going to make it here for our sake here today is World Autism Day.
20:18
And if you live in my world, it's World Autism Awareness Day everyday.
20:22
That's right.
20:22
That's right.
20:23
And so yeah, for you every day, for us today.
20:25
Okay, good.
20:26
Okay.
20:26
So you went, yeah, you went on Larry King.
20:28
Got to go to Larry King.
20:30
I had to go on Larry King Live with my, I had to go on Larry King Live with my, with my service dog, Leela, Levi.
20:42
I had to go on, I had to go on Larry King Live with Levi, because he, he, he, he was, he was so famous.
20:52
Wow.
20:52
He was pretty famous.
20:53
So millions of people heard your story and heard about Levi.
20:57
Yes.
20:58
That's fantastic.
20:59
2008.
21:00
It was 2008.
21:02
How old were you?
21:03
Em was just a peanut.
21:04
So, Em was born in 2001.
21:07
Okay.
21:07
But inviting a service dog into a community at that time, we were rural medicine hat.
21:12
And in order to do that successfully, we needed to help move the goalpost a little bit for the rest of the community too.
21:18
And the end result of going on to Larry King was that we were able to have a conversation, a larger conversation in community about service dogs.
21:26
Yes.
21:27
To create some access opportunities for Emily as well.
21:30
But also we're so proud that after that, another young family received a full donation for a service dog in the same community.
21:40
That's fantastic.
21:41
From the same trainers.
21:42
Emily, you've touched so many lives.
21:44
You've helped so many people.
21:46
This is incredible.
21:48
But now, something big.
21:52
Emily's entrepreneurship is moving forward.
21:54
That's right.
21:55
And this is what caught our eye, was your new job or your new business.
22:05
I'm very excited to share.
22:07
Okay.
22:07
Okay. You share Emily! Me too.
22:09
I'm very excited to hear about it and to partake in it when you get it going.
22:14
All right.
22:15
So tell us about your brand new business.
22:22
So, I want everybody, I would like everybody to be aware that this is very exciting, and I want to show it to the whole world that this is my new career.
22:40
It's called Sweet Freeze.
22:44
And Sweet Freeze is going to be, it is my new employee and new career, and my new career is to make my heart shine and bring some joy.
23:00
And Emily, what are you going to sell with Sweet Freeze?
23:08
I'm going to shoot, I'm going to sell lots of tubs of ice cream and connect with the community and spread awareness and bring lots of joy into the community, and including my mom and my dad and everybody, and including my whole team.
23:39
I don't know about you, but I am super excited for Emily's ice cream.
23:43
Emily, you told us, what's one of the flavors that you're going to sell?
23:49
I'm going to sell birthday cake.
23:51
Oh, Emily, that's my favorite flavor.
23:53
I can't wait for birthday cake.
23:55
Another flavor for, what was the other flavor?
23:57
What kind of popsicles?
23:59
Popsicles for?
24:02
I'm going to sell popsicle, watermelon popsicles for the dogs.
24:06
For the dogs, that's awesome.
24:10
Which is very excellent.
24:12
Yeah, it is excellent.
24:13
She's brilliant.
24:13
But how are you going to sell your ice cream?
24:16
Like, what are you going to do?
24:18
You got?
24:19
Is it a truck?
24:20
Is it a bike?
24:24
I have a truck that I get to sell ice cream and I get to perform my awareness to the whole community and make connections.
24:34
So, that's what I saw yesterday on Facebook, was an image of the trike, which is still being, they're wrapping it, I guess, still.
24:42
Is that right?
24:43
Yes.
24:43
So, tell us a little bit about that.
24:45
So, you got the trike.
24:47
So, we've got a trike, a three wheel, side by side, adapted mobility trike.
24:53
Okay.
24:54
That's going to get macked out.
24:56
Yeah.
24:57
Macked out. I like that.
24:59
That's good.
24:59
It's a mack kind of day.
25:00
Yeah.
25:01
And what color is it going to be, Emily?
25:06
It's going to be pink.
25:07
It's going to be pink.
25:08
In Emily's world, if you don't have pink, you're nothing.
25:12
Okay.
25:12
Just so we're clear.
25:13
And if it's not shiny, I still think, like, you're still at, like, you're not quite there yet.
25:19
Right.
25:19
Well, I saw it yesterday, and it's very pink.
25:22
It looks very pink.
25:23
So it's going to stand out wherever it goes and wrapped.
25:26
Yeah.
25:27
So somebody's wrapping it for you.
25:28
That's pretty cool.
25:29
And Emily, you're going to travel all over the place on your trike.
25:36
So I'm going to take it to dog parks and public venues.
25:40
Okay.
25:40
And I saw on your website that if somebody was interested in having you come to their event, you'll arrange to get your trike to that event and sell ice cream at their event.
25:51
Um, um, um, did, did, uh, did you know I'm going to take it to the baseball diamond?
25:56
Um, uh, somebody was trying, somebody was, some, one of my, um, neighbors, um, out at, uh, Jackfish Lake, what was this, what was, uh, discussing, um, how, um, how smart I should, uh, sell my, uh, ice cream bike at the baseball diamond.
26:23
I agree.
26:23
I agree.
26:24
You need to talk to this lady right here, Jennifer.
26:27
She is the manager of a baseball team.
26:30
Not a professional baseball team.
26:31
No, no, no, no.
26:31
Not like the Blue Jays.
26:32
No judgment.
26:33
No, no.
26:34
No judgment.
26:34
Thank you.
26:35
No, thank you.
26:36
She's the manager of the team.
26:37
I am and I'm already thinking when we host, I would love to have Emily come out to our tournament.
26:41
Yes.
26:42
And we've got to find a way to get Emily out to Acheson to go to all the businesses and we'll do something that way.
26:49
But Emily, this is really incredible.
26:50
I'm, I'm so excited for you.
26:53
Once I saw your trike on, on Facebook, I thought this is a, because, you know, secretly, secretly deep down inside, I'd like to do the same thing. He would.
27:00
I'd like to sell ice cream.
27:02
You know, who wouldn't?
27:02
What at all wouldn't, right?
27:04
But you're doing it.
27:05
So this is fantastic.
27:07
Now something else, and we're going to announce it right here and right now on Coffee In The Park with Jennifer and Cam.
27:14
And I'm so excited about this that we are going to sponsor your trike, Emily.
27:21
That's right.
27:21
We are going to sponsor Sweet Freeze.
27:23
We are.
27:24
And we are going to sponsor you and your business so that everybody knows and we're going to talk about it.
27:30
We're going to talk about it on our podcast and hopefully put it on your trike.
27:34
And everywhere you go, we want people to know about Sweet Freeze.
27:36
Okay.
27:37
But, but if, hey, why stop here?
27:41
No, yeah.
27:42
Right.
27:42
Why stop here is right.
27:43
Exactly.
27:43
In fact, we, I believe we might have secured a second sponsor for Emily in the coffee shop this morning.
27:49
That's right.
27:49
So we're putting it out to all our podcast listeners.
27:52
We're giving you a challenge, everybody.
27:53
A challenge.
27:54
Listen, this is the greatest deal ever.
27:56
I'm telling you, Emily is amazing.
27:58
Her trike is amazing.
27:59
Her ice cream is going to be amazing.
28:01
She's got ice cream for dogs.
28:02
I know.
28:03
And if you are looking to sponsor something, this right here is the best thing you could do.
28:08
You will not find a better use of your money than to sponsor Emily and Sweet Freeze.
28:13
So we're doing it.
28:14
I'm going to call him out because he said he was going to do it.
28:17
Benny Loates this morning, The Good Realtor company, he's going to do it.
28:21
And so I'm putting it out there.
28:23
I'm challenging you.
28:24
If you've got a business and you're listening to us, you need to sponsor Sweet Freeze because it's phenomenal.
28:30
It is.
28:30
And I think you remind me of Candice and Al Brent.
28:39
It's true.
28:39
Who are Candice and Al Brent?
28:40
The same as before.
28:42
Yes.
28:42
Yeah, Al that we were talking about.
28:44
But what I will remind us is that Emily is the mobile joy spreader.
28:48
Right.
28:48
She is.
28:49
You're not only getting ice cream, you're getting joy.
28:52
You are.
28:52
So you sponsor Emily.
28:55
She comes to an event, you get great ice cream, but more than that, you get joy.
28:59
And who wouldn't want that?
29:01
In our world today, joy, joy, joy.
29:03
I could sing it.
29:04
Joy, joy, joy, joy.
29:05
Anyway, I won't sing it.
29:06
But anyway.
29:07
So Emily, this is very exciting.
29:08
So when will you be, it's a little cool today.
29:12
When do you think you'll be up and running on your trike?
29:16
I'll be up and running on my, I already know the date.
29:22
I already know the date.
29:23
Can you share it with us?
29:25
May 31st.
29:26
May 31st.
29:28
Okay.
29:28
That's fantastic.
29:29
That's perfect timing for ice cream.
29:30
And people have three months to get involved with us, to get behind us, to call us out, to have us there.
29:35
So we can see thousands of people.
29:38
You have a great website.
29:39
I have to say that we were looking at your website yesterday.
29:41
It's a great website.
29:43
So folks, we'll give you the URL in just a minute for the website.
29:48
But yeah, book it.
29:50
Book it now.
29:50
Book her all summer.
29:52
Book her all year.
29:53
Book her for the next ten years, because this is going to be amazing.
29:57
This is going to be phenomenal.
29:58
So this is great.
30:00
Emily, you want to sell ice cream?
30:04
Do you have any other big dreams?
30:05
What else do you want to do?
30:08
When I'm on my ice cream bike, I want to find a boyfriend.
30:12
Okay.
30:13
Hey.
30:15
You heard it here first.
30:16
You heard it here first, people.
30:17
But just so you know, don't worry about going through me.
30:20
Worry about going through her dad.
30:21
Yeah.
30:22
I was going to say, because I have a daughter.
30:24
So dads are very protective.
30:26
Dads are very important.
30:26
Very protective.
30:28
But we've always said that Coffee In The Park isn't really a dating service. But maybe it is?
30:33
But now that we know Emily, you not only have to go through her dad, you got to go through us.
30:38
Because if you ain't the right person, Emily, we want the best for you.
30:42
But I know where she can go for a date.
30:44
Yes.
30:44
I mean, start with Coffee.
30:46
Yes.
30:47
And end with wings.
30:49
Come to Coffee In The Park.
30:50
And go to Wing Snob.
30:51
And we'll arrange it so you can go to Wing Snob and get wings.
30:54
Yes.
30:55
And then ice cream.
30:56
Yeah.
30:56
Then ice cream on the truck.
30:57
It's perfect.
30:59
Man, this is fantastic.
31:01
I'm not kidding.
31:02
No offense to anybody.
31:05
This is the best podcast we've had.
31:07
I'm not even kidding.
31:08
And I know some of you will get your nose bent out of shape.
31:10
I don't care.
31:11
This is the best podcast ever that we've ever done.
31:14
Emily, you've made my day, my week, my month, my year.
31:20
You're amazing.
31:21
I want to introduce you to everybody.
31:22
I know.
31:23
We're going to introduce you to everybody.
31:24
We're going to introduce you to everybody.
31:25
So listen folks, mom, you're amazing.
31:30
Well, thank you.
31:31
I think getting to be her mom is the biggest privilege of my life.
31:35
It's not easy, but I'm her tour guide and I'm all in.
31:40
You're all in.
31:42
From when we talked yesterday, you are all in.
31:44
All in.
31:45
You are all in.
31:47
Let's not ever forget.
31:52
How important it is to have that family support.
31:56
You and your husband are doing amazing work.
31:58
You know what?
31:58
I want to give a shout out because Emily's best friend is here too in our audience.
32:03
I want her to say hello.
32:05
Hi Maddie.
32:05
Maddie is here.
32:06
Miss Maddie.
32:07
Miss Maddie and she's been sitting quietly.
32:10
Anything you want to say, Miss Maddie?
32:11
Just no.
32:13
Emily is literally the most joyful, happy, outgoing person.
32:20
She makes me so happy being with her.
32:23
I don't know. I'm so excited for you Em! Yeah.
32:25
It's cool.
32:26
It is.
32:27
And she's living in a new place, which is great.
32:30
She's got that going.
32:34
Can I explain?
32:35
Sure.
32:35
Yeah, of course.
32:38
So when I'm at Fenwyck Heights, I call, I cause trouble.
32:50
But good trouble, right?
32:52
Good trouble, Emily?
32:52
Yes.
32:54
I hear they love you there.
32:55
I hear they absolutely love you.
32:59
They absolutely love me because the staff are so nice and it feels like you're on a cruise.
33:08
It's true.
33:09
I agree.
33:09
I said I could move in.
33:10
Yeah.
33:11
I know.
33:12
Do you know, we actually took a tour of that facility when it was being built.
33:15
They invited us and we got to go through it as they were building it.
33:18
We knew it was going to be a very special place for sure.
33:21
I have a feeling though that they're going to buy all your ice cream.
33:25
You're never going to get out of there.
33:26
They'll just buy all your ice cream.
33:27
Well, you know, we've made a promise, a big commitment to the seniors at Fenwyck Heights, that they can have free ice cream whenever their hearts desire.
33:34
I heard their ice cream machine is down right now.
33:38
So again, this is meant to be.
33:39
Emily is going to bring her cart there.
33:44
She's going to travel to and from so she can come visit everyone else in the community and give the seniors what they need, which is a hug, right?
33:51
That's amazing.
33:51
This has been amazing.
33:53
Okay.
33:53
Well, we normally have a specific final question, but I want to change this one up a little bit.
33:58
This is our final.
33:59
Yeah.
33:59
We're going to veer away a little bit.
34:01
We are.
34:01
So, Alison, for someone listening that has a loved one with a disability or is navigating their own challenges, what do you hope they take away from this story today?
34:14
That's always a loaded question.
34:16
I am not an expert.
34:18
I don't presume to be, but I think the best thing that we can give to other people is connection and belonging and letting people know that there are other people out there that are willing to lend a hand.
34:34
And there are other people out there that are willing to get down in the trenches with them too.
34:38
And that's me.
34:38
And if somebody needs to hear today that they're not alone and that it's a struggle sometimes to provide the kind of care that you can be proud of and the kind of responsibility that feels insurmountable sometimes.
34:52
But at the end of the day, I know that we're all doing the best that we can.
34:57
And if somebody is out there and they need to know that we see them and that they're trying their hearts out, they need to know that from me that they matter.
35:11
And you know, I see them, I feel them.
35:16
You say you're not an expert, but you are.
35:18
You know, you're an expert of the heart.
35:20
That's what you are.
35:21
And that's more important than anything else.
35:24
You're amazing.
35:25
We have a knack for learning things the hard way.
35:27
I'm not going to lie.
35:28
Sometimes wayfinding is a challenge in forging new paths and new direction.
35:34
But what I will say is that we have been successful for whatever that means, because of the community around us and the love and the support and the community spirit that wants us to succeed, that wants her to succeed.
35:48
And thank God they do, because look at her, look what we'd be missing.
35:52
Absolutely.
35:52
100%.
35:54
Now, where can people go to learn more about Sweet Freeze?
35:59
Well, they better come on to the website, SweetFreeze.ca.
36:02
Yeah, SweetFreeze.ca.
36:04
That's right.
36:04
That's it.
36:05
These are the best.
36:05
And we're going to take a picture of Emily's business card because they are.
36:08
Yeah, they're amazing.
36:10
Yeah, and we'll take a picture of those.
36:11
But yeah, SweetFreeze.ca, that's where you can get a hold of them.
36:14
And yeah, get on there, get in touch with them.
36:17
You want to sponsor, which you got to sponsor.
36:20
So get in touch with them about that.
36:22
You want to have Emily come out with her trike to sell some ice cream at your event.
36:25
Get in touch with them about that.
36:28
Or you just want to know more about these wonderful, amazing people who are just incredible.
36:34
Get on their website.
36:35
And I know they'll get back to you on that as well.
36:37
Emily, I can't say thank you enough.
36:41
You're amazing.
36:41
We hope you had fun today.
36:43
Hey, thank you.
36:45
You're amazing.
36:46
Alison, thank you for making this all work.
36:49
Maddie, thanks for coming along.
36:51
Beautiful.
36:51
Thanks, everybody.
36:52
And hey, don't forget, Wings.
36:56
Wing Snob.
36:57
I was going to say.
36:57
You don't know what to make for dinner.
36:59
That's right.
36:59
www.wingsnob.ca.
37:01
Check them out.
37:02
16 flavors, four rubs, garlic, garlic, garlic fries, corn bread.
37:08
The list goes on.
37:09
The list goes on and on and on.
37:11
And listen, here's the most important thing.
37:12
We want you to tell somebody about the podcast and tell your friends, tell your neighbors, tell your co-workers, tell your enemies.
37:20
If you don't have any friends, now let me tell you about this one.
37:23
If you don't have any friends and you've listened to this podcast, this is how you're going to make friends.
37:29
You need to be with them and you're sitting there at the table and you nudge them on the shoulder and say, I just listened to the most amazing story you're ever going to hear.
37:39
www.coffeeinthepark.com or wherever you get your podcasts and they're going to be your friend for life because you've introduced them to Emily and that's going to be amazing.
37:47
So, hey, tell everybody about the podcast and we need you to subscribe.
37:51
Subscribe, subscribe, subscribe.
37:54
I know that's a tough one, so that when you're ready, it goes pop up and there it is.
37:58
And there's Emily.
37:58
That'll be fantastic.
38:00
So thanks, everybody.
38:01
We appreciate it.
38:01
We hope you have a great day.
38:03
Next week, our 100th episode.
38:07
That's right.
38:08
It's going to be phenomenal.
38:09
You're not going to want to miss it.
38:10
Thanks, everybody.