Latest / Yes And Land / Cinderella and the Courage to Find Joy | Kamille Bauer on Grief and Happiness
Transcript
- 0:00so i had the fairy tale i was married to prince
- 0:03charming and we had three little babies and my
- 0:06husband wasn't feeling super well and they said
- 0:09you have six months to a year left and he lived
- 0:12in another 18 months so it was like really a
- 0:15crash course on how to not freak out how to not
- 0:19be depressed how to deal with mental health but
- 0:21then how to find joy when you know the impending
- 0:25doom is coming and in here cinderella It is not
- 0:30fair. It is not fair to have to go through that.
- 0:33But how did she respond? And I loved it. She
- 0:35was gracious. She was meek and she was kind.
- 0:39And real life isn't going to be that easy. But
- 0:41I do think it's a very good example that you
- 0:43can actually still be kind, even when you've
- 0:47had to experience something really hard in those
- 0:49relationships around you. And kindness makes
- 0:51a difference. i gave it up to god and i'm just
- 0:54like i'm i'm never gonna be happy and i just
- 0:57felt this distinct impression from my creator
- 0:59he was just like if you're waiting for cancer
- 1:01to be gone you're gonna waste the days that you
- 1:05have i have all right to be bitter ornery and
- 1:09miserable but i'm not gonna do that you get to
- 1:13make a different choice welcome to yes and land
- 1:19where we say yes to the reality of yesterday
- 1:21and today, and we say and to the possibility,
- 1:25growth, and imagination of tomorrow. All right,
- 1:35welcome to another episode of Yes and Land. And
- 1:39we are very excited today because we've got a
- 1:41terrific guest on, Camille Bauer, who is an incredible
- 1:45inspiration to many, many people. Camille has
- 1:48had her fair share of grief and loss that she's
- 1:52experienced and is now a happiness advocate,
- 1:55which I just think is like the coolest, the coolest
- 1:58title. And today going to share with us some
- 2:02inspiration about how to deal with grief and
- 2:06loss and how to find hope and joy and happiness,
- 2:09but also how to become the hero in your own story.
- 2:12And we're going to do that today. by also looking
- 2:15at the movie Cinderella, which is a great example
- 2:19for some of this stuff. So very excited to have
- 2:21you on. Pretty much any Disney movie. Hope, tragedy,
- 2:24loss. We were talking before, right? Yeah, that's
- 2:27exactly right. Many, many Disney movies. It was
- 2:30kind of like the tale that they always had for
- 2:32a very, very long time. And even now, still sometimes
- 2:35do it. But Cinderella fit the bill for sure.
- 2:37It was right there along with many of the other
- 2:39classic Disney movies. So it'll be a great one
- 2:41for us to talk about today. So, Camille, where
- 2:43I want to start, I always like to talk kind of
- 2:45about background. And so for our audience, if
- 2:49you wouldn't mind kind of giving a little bit
- 2:51of the backstory to kind of how you became a
- 2:55happiness advocate and what that experience was,
- 2:57the grief and loss and tragedy that you suffered
- 3:00and kind of what brought you to where you are
- 3:02today. Yeah, so I had the fairy tale. I was married
- 3:06to Prince Charming and we had three little babies
- 3:09and my third baby was eight months old and my
- 3:13husband wasn't feeling super well. He had been
- 3:15an 11 -year cancer -free. So it had been, you
- 3:21know, a good stint. After five years, usually
- 3:23they're like, hey, they send you a card in the
- 3:25mail. Congrats, you're cancer free. So this was
- 3:28year 11. And we found out it had returned. And
- 3:32so it was a really rare cancer called chondrosarcoma.
- 3:35It was a bone cancer. And it was four years from
- 3:40diagnosis to when he passed away. So it was.
- 3:4612 years or 12 surgeries in those four years,
- 3:50experimental chemos. I mean, they'd said you
- 3:53have six months to a year left and he lived in
- 3:57another 18 months, you know, so it was like really
- 4:01a crash course on how to not freak out and how
- 4:05to not be depressed, how to deal with mental
- 4:07health, but then how to find joy when you know
- 4:12the impending doom is coming, right? And and
- 4:16so, yeah, after he passed, you know, being a
- 4:20single mom, I had I've always I've always historically
- 4:23and all my family were entrepreneurs. So I had
- 4:26retail stores about a year after he passed. I
- 4:30sold one. I sold my shop and just kind of marinated
- 4:34with my babies until my little one went to junior
- 4:38high. And then I got back and now I'm back into
- 4:41entrepreneurship and run a wellness spa. I think
- 4:46during all of that and the hard knock life you
- 4:50would say that I've been through, you have to
- 4:53look for the rays of sunshine in the dark clouds.
- 4:56I remember specifically one instance when it's
- 5:00just like, and for those listening, I'm. guarantee
- 5:05everybody can relate that someone has had cancer
- 5:07that they know is currently going through a cancer
- 5:11diagnosis or has lost somebody that has dealt
- 5:14with cancer. And it is very, very hard to find
- 5:20the happiness in the moment when your life is
- 5:23really crappy. You know, like I found, I was
- 5:27like, okay, I have. Three months. We have three
- 5:31months to get ready. And if you are dealing with
- 5:34a cancer diagnosis and you're listening, my heart
- 5:36goes out to you. You have the scansiety is a
- 5:38real thing. After three months, we did the surgery,
- 5:42and we were hoping everything's going to go away.
- 5:45And then you get the news that you don't want.
- 5:51Those listening. You know, I feel for you. If
- 5:55you get good news, yay. But if you get the bad
- 5:58news, then I found myself in a cycle of telling
- 6:01myself I'll be happy when cancer is gone. I can
- 6:05I can be happy when it's gone. And so for the
- 6:09first, you know, three, another three months,
- 6:11then it went six months and then it went nine
- 6:13months, you know, and then it went a year. And
- 6:15I remember just like, what? I'm never I'm never
- 6:19going to be happy. If I'm putting conditions
- 6:22on my happiness, right? Yeah. And let's just
- 6:26say I was a mom and you pretend you're happy.
- 6:30You do what you need to do for the people in
- 6:32your life. You show up. But inside, I was very
- 6:37depressed. I didn't have internal happiness.
- 6:39I had a fake. I'm a mom, and I got to put on
- 6:43my big girl pants and just pretend everything's
- 6:45okay. But inside, I wasn't. And so that's what
- 6:50I learned. After a good while, maybe at least
- 6:54massively over a year, I remember I gave it up
- 6:58to God, and I'm just like, I'm never going to
- 7:01be happy. Cancer's not going away. And I just
- 7:04felt this distinct impression from my creator,
- 7:06and he was just like, if you're waiting for cancer
- 7:09to be gone, You're going to waste the days that
- 7:12you have. And it was almost like a light switch
- 7:17moment, right? Like those cartoons when the light
- 7:21bulb is just like, you know, it's like, okay,
- 7:24that is so valid. I don't want to just sit there
- 7:28and mope around and be sad. Why? I have the love
- 7:32of my life sitting here with me, right? And yeah,
- 7:36was it hard? And was there? You know, certain
- 7:40things that you can't change, correct. That's
- 7:44true. But when you focus on what you have in
- 7:49the here and the now, instead of worrying, then
- 7:53you can find happiness and joy. So I was able
- 7:56to, you know, imperfectly, but I was able to
- 8:00feel that internal happiness more when I realized
- 8:04I can't put conditions on happiness. And I think,
- 8:09you know, one of the things I've heard you say
- 8:11before in some of the content you have out there
- 8:13is I think sometimes in life we are always saying,
- 8:17well, when that next thing happens, right? When
- 8:20I get my garage, right? When I get that next
- 8:23house, when I get that next promotion, I'll be
- 8:26happy. And, you know, yours is a very extreme
- 8:30example with your husband's cancer diagnosis.
- 8:33But I think it universally applies to us that
- 8:35too many times we get stuck in that. I'll be
- 8:38happy when that next thing happens instead of
- 8:41being happy now. It's good to have growth and
- 8:42goals, but you can't put your happiness tied
- 8:48to those, anchored to what you think your life
- 8:52should look like before you deserve to be happy.
- 8:55So, yeah, for sure, you hit it right. Mine was
- 8:59a garage. Dang, if I only had a garage, my life
- 9:03would be perfect. That was before cancer, you
- 9:06know, a baby was eight months. I don't know.
- 9:08You got that car seat. You're carrying two gallons
- 9:11of milk. You're carrying your groceries. You
- 9:14know, you go up flights of stairs. It's just
- 9:16like I just dreamt of a garage. And when I was
- 9:19thinking about the idea of, you know, wanting
- 9:22the next thing, I mean. Again, we've all probably
- 9:25had that, but I can remember thinking about like,
- 9:28oh, and my last kid's finally out of diapers.
- 9:30It'd be so nice when they're out of diapers.
- 9:32But then you take a step back if you can and
- 9:35realize like, okay, but what are the things that
- 9:37I have in the moment and how can I live better
- 9:39in this moment and appreciate the things that
- 9:41I have now and the joy that I can feel now? And
- 9:45it's not, like you said, it's not that you don't
- 9:47want to continue to have growth. We all should
- 9:50and still continue to push with goals. And it's
- 9:53that balance, right? The balance of something
- 9:56that we're shooting for in the future while still
- 9:58experiencing and enjoying the growth and the
- 10:01journey that we're on in that path. And that's
- 10:04a mental game, man. That is sometimes minute
- 10:07by minute where you, that's why you need a higher
- 10:12power. Whatever you believe in, you know, mine's
- 10:15Jesus Christ and a heavenly father that loves
- 10:17me and knows my heart and will help give me strength
- 10:20when I don't have my own. And you need it because
- 10:25you've got to show up and appreciate the life
- 10:27you have. And I think to your point, whatever
- 10:31that deity is for somebody, having faith in something
- 10:38beyond yourself is something that I think is
- 10:41really important for people. Whether or not it's
- 10:45a different religion they practice or they believe
- 10:48in nature being that, but believing that there's
- 10:51more. There's more out there. And it's an underlying
- 10:54theme in every hero's journey, right? Whether
- 10:57it's your family, your ancestry, your people
- 11:00that you love that cheer for you, the higher
- 11:03power, getting that faith and that buoying up
- 11:06that you can do insurmountable, impossible things
- 11:11is in everybody's hero's journey. So take me
- 11:19back for a second. Your first finding out that
- 11:25the cancer was back after, I think you said,
- 11:2711 years cancer -free. That long, I mean, that's
- 11:31just unusual for it to come back. And you're
- 11:34living, like you said, the life that you had
- 11:37dreamed of. You had your Prince Charming. What
- 11:40were the kind of emotions that you experienced
- 11:42then? I think a lot of, oh, we got this. We can
- 11:48do this. natural optimist I'm a glass half full
- 11:55we got this you know I'm annoyingly optimistic
- 11:58my kids would say so for me it was like oh what's
- 12:04the next step you know of course it was devastating
- 12:06was super hard and because my spouse had gone
- 12:09through this already he was he was extra sobered
- 12:14like he was extra quiet in that waiting room
- 12:17I mean in that doctor's office because it was
- 12:21the same surgeon who had done his surgery 11
- 12:24years prior was the same one that came in and
- 12:27told him it was back and so I did have to ask
- 12:29him you know like hey we got this what's going
- 12:33on and he just was real quiet and he said I To
- 12:37something to the extent of now I have to put
- 12:39you guys through this. Now it's not just me going
- 12:42through cancer. Now it's me and my kids that
- 12:45have cancer. He was on the way to that. Yeah.
- 12:47And so I did it in my naive state of mind. You
- 12:52know, I didn't quite grasp the heaviness that
- 12:54he felt. Obviously it was so sad and I shed buckets
- 12:58of tears and, you know, it was hard. But, you
- 13:00know, that vein of, hey, we can beat this. you
- 13:05know, was there. So for me, it waned on heavier
- 13:08throughout the years when it was like, you know,
- 13:12experimental chemo. Oh, it's working. You know,
- 13:14then the next three months. Oh, it's not. And,
- 13:17you know, oh, let's have surgery again. And so
- 13:20that's where, you know, it wore on me. And and
- 13:24over time, when you kind of have that, you know,
- 13:27light bulb moment and you realized, you know,
- 13:31enjoy the time that you have now. What what did
- 13:35that look like for the support you were then
- 13:38able to provide for your kids? Because I imagine
- 13:40that they were experiencing some hard things
- 13:43during that time, too. Yeah, it's impossible
- 13:46to wrap my mind around what my kids have had
- 13:50to go through. You know, my dad's still alive.
- 13:52My mom's still alive. Like they're literally
- 13:5410 minute drive from my house. So I'm sure they
- 14:00saw. me being maybe too happy i know and to them
- 14:08that's me trying to overcompensate it's like
- 14:11hey everything's okay trying to shield them but
- 14:13you can't shield them only so much but just trying
- 14:17to age appropriately tell them what's going on
- 14:20um but it was hard and it still is hard and for
- 14:24those of you who've lost a parent who are listening
- 14:26and if you were little you know like it doesn't
- 14:30go away i'm 11 years out this year this september
- 14:33will be 11 years since my spouse passed away
- 14:35and my kids it's a nightmare like it is horrific
- 14:40like the ripple effect of that in their life
- 14:43is so sad like my daughter got married last year
- 14:46so sad like a great happy occasion but when you're
- 14:51missing a dad that's not going to walk you down
- 14:53the aisle that's sad you know like it's just
- 14:55this You know, I have a daughter who's oldest
- 14:59and then I have two boys. And I remember my son
- 15:02was going into high school and his grief really
- 15:05kicked up. And he was just, you know, I could
- 15:09read him like a book went down in his room. And
- 15:11I'm like, hey, you know, kind of tell me what's
- 15:14going on for you. And he just was like, I should
- 15:17be over this by now. You know, like, I don't
- 15:19understand. And he just sat there and sobbed
- 15:21and sobbed. And it's just like, OK, first off,
- 15:24you turn it into a man. You got. Testosterone
- 15:27coursing through your veins. And you just want
- 15:30your dad around. That makes total sense. You
- 15:33know, I think it's just you wish you would have
- 15:36this hard thing that you got over and then you
- 15:39can leave it in the past. You can't leave it
- 15:41in the past on someone you loved eyes because
- 15:44you carry it with you every day. And so, you
- 15:48know, I had to tell my kids each tear is a drop
- 15:50of love. And that's we loved him so much. So
- 15:54it's. I remember being in the funeral line. We
- 16:02did like a viewing. And so I'm standing in front
- 16:04of the casket and someone comes up to me and
- 16:07says, how long are you going to be sad for? And
- 16:12I was just like. And this was, mind you, my late
- 16:17spouse's uncle that thinks he's funny and says
- 16:21stuff that you're just like, I roll, OK? And
- 16:25I just, you know, those times in life where you're
- 16:28like, you look back and you're like, dang, you
- 16:30have all the right words. But in the moment,
- 16:32you're just like, I got nothing. Okay. Like,
- 16:35I just was so shocked. And I'm usually like pretty
- 16:38quick witted. I mean, but in that moment of like,
- 16:42it's so inappropriate. Number one, whatever you
- 16:44just said to me was so inappropriate. Like, I
- 16:46just was so taken aback. Like the home alone,
- 16:49creepy uncle who says weird stuff that you're
- 16:51just viral. That's extreme. OK, that's what he
- 16:55was. And I just like I just couldn't even. And
- 16:58now fast forward, you know, years I was I would
- 17:02say to him, well, how long is he going to be
- 17:04dead for? You know, that's the truth. You will
- 17:10forever want them to be with you. And so it's
- 17:13just that that grief is just learning to manage
- 17:16the pain. And when you get those milestones in
- 17:19the life. yourself and your you know your children
- 17:23like that's the part that just it hits yeah it's
- 17:27hard when when you were going through the the
- 17:32battle with cancer during those four years what
- 17:35what did it look like when people were able to
- 17:38give you support you know because I think a lot
- 17:41of times When you really care about somebody,
- 17:44you love somebody, and they're going through
- 17:45a hard time, you want to provide support to them.
- 17:47And so many times people just have no idea. What
- 17:50does support look like? How can they be supportive?
- 17:52What can they do? What did it look like for you
- 17:54when people actually were able to support you
- 17:56and it made a difference for you? I love that
- 17:58question. And it's actually one of the questions
- 18:00I get asked a lot. And it's actually my number
- 18:04one YouTube video, what to say and what not to
- 18:06say, because I'm very passionate about this.
- 18:11Number one, treat us like normal. Don't have
- 18:16hushed conversations or look at us like, oh,
- 18:21you're dying. I'm so sad. There's a look that
- 18:25people get on their face and you're just like,
- 18:27gosh, please don't. Please just treat me like
- 18:30normal. So number one, just being who you are
- 18:35and still honoring the relationship that you
- 18:37have with. that person in its authenticity. You
- 18:41know, you don't need to not talk about your problems
- 18:44because they have problems. I mean, I remember
- 18:47sometimes people would be like, oh, well, that's
- 18:49nothing compared to what you're going through.
- 18:51And it's like, oh my, please, please bring it
- 18:53on. Bring me all your problems. I want to hear
- 18:56about them because I'm sick of hearing about
- 18:58mine. Like it's a vacation for me. Also, if you're
- 19:03thinking about them, text them. If you don't
- 19:05know what to say, say, I don't know what to say.
- 19:08It's way better than not saying anything like
- 19:11my daughter was in sixth grade and she went back
- 19:15after the Funeral and I mean we took I think
- 19:18it was like a week. They didn't go to school
- 19:20after that We call it diarrhea days at our house.
- 19:25You know, it's like you can't you can't go if
- 19:27you had diarrhea. Like we'd be like, do you need
- 19:30a diarrhea day today? So like the whole week
- 19:33after it was like diarrhea day all day, every
- 19:35day we just tried to do. We went on a hike and,
- 19:38you know, whatever they wanted to do. But she
- 19:40went back to school and not one person would
- 19:43talk to her. And she sat alone at lunch. That's
- 19:46even worse. It was so bad. So if you have little
- 19:49people. that their friends are going through
- 19:52stuff, you just need to stress, like, hey, still
- 19:55talk to them. Because I think they were so freaked
- 19:57out. Like, who, I mean, really, who has a dad
- 20:02that dies in sixth grade? Not a lot of people.
- 20:05And my son was in, what grade was he in? He was
- 20:10eight. So whatever grade that is, I think third
- 20:13grade, maybe. Which his friends were more supportive
- 20:17than hers, but I just, it's. It's hard. You just
- 20:21have to say, open your mouth. Don't alienate
- 20:24people or not talk to people because it's uncomfortable
- 20:27for you. So definitely that. Texting people even,
- 20:33you know, like, hey, I'm thinking about you.
- 20:34Here's something funny I saw the other day, you
- 20:37know, made me laugh. Like, I remember one time
- 20:39we were super low and I was just like, I'm calling
- 20:42in all the funny memes. Any stand -up comedians
- 20:45that you love, like, send them our way because
- 20:49Clint is in a hard spot right now. And laughing
- 20:53is so powerful. Like, we, the line that we got
- 20:58to was like, at least our pet's heads aren't
- 21:00falling off. Like, what up, man? A little dub
- 21:02and dubber reference. Right? Good for you, yeah.
- 21:04It's totally like that. Like, we had to get to
- 21:08that point where it's like, hey, our pet sets
- 21:10aren't falling off. We're good. You know, like,
- 21:12how much can we actually handle? It's crazy.
- 21:16And also, if you want to give meals, I think
- 21:21that's great. Cleaning service is another great
- 21:25one that I would have loved if someone was like,
- 21:29hey, I'm going to donate. So whether you wanted
- 21:31it or not, you know, I would love to have a house
- 21:34cleaner come. Once a whatever, you know, that's
- 21:39appropriate if you feel that you're close enough
- 21:41to that person. People did freezer meals, which
- 21:44I loved somebody that had just because I owned
- 21:49a yarn shop. So I did knitting and crocheting
- 21:52classes. So I was pretty prevalent in the community
- 21:54with and our story was out there. People knew.
- 21:58And so, you know, I remember this lady that was
- 22:01an acquaintance and a customer at this at the
- 22:03yarn shop. And they would come every week and
- 22:08sit and knit sometimes. Or she would come to
- 22:10a class. But I remember her vividly having a
- 22:14frozen meal delivery brought to my house. And
- 22:17I thought that was so great for me as a mom.
- 22:20Because I didn't want to say, oh, bring me a
- 22:24meal. It was great to have it in the freezer.
- 22:26Because then I could actually pull it out and
- 22:29put it in the oven when it was ready for us.
- 22:30And I felt like... I did something, you know,
- 22:34like it was really great to be able to have that
- 22:37charity component. So yeah, just, I think feeding
- 22:42us, helping us, just letting us know that you
- 22:46still care about us, not avoiding us and talking
- 22:50to your children. If they have a friend to just
- 22:53say, don't, don't alienate them. Don't ignore
- 22:57them. Let's go out of our way. What can we do
- 23:00to. help them feel extra. Yeah, that's great
- 23:04advice. After he passed and you're kind of going
- 23:10through, you know, all the emotions that you
- 23:14do, did you ever have a time where maybe you
- 23:20were doing something fun and enjoying it and
- 23:23then felt guilty because you were supposed to
- 23:25be sad? Yeah. Did you ever have that? Oh, absolutely.
- 23:28People put conditions on your grief, like what
- 23:33it should look like. It's so bizarre. People
- 23:36do this. So that's another thing. Don't come
- 23:41to us and say, if I was going through this, this
- 23:44is what I would do. Like, don't do that. Don't
- 23:47give us advice unless you have personally gone
- 23:50through this and you have the ground to stand
- 23:52on. You have the street cred. Sure. You could
- 23:55come to me and say, my spouse or my dad had this
- 23:59same cancer. This is what I did. You know, then,
- 24:02yes, please share. But if you're like, oh, my
- 24:05gosh, my aunt's friend's cousin's neighbor's
- 24:08uncle had this and they used this essential oil
- 24:13and it went away, man. You know, you're just
- 24:16like, thank you. You're like, gee. Yeah. So you
- 24:21need to have the authenticity to be. If that's
- 24:24your story, share it, please. Your words matter.
- 24:27But if it doesn't, don't say it. I am very passionate
- 24:31about that. I mean, someone was like, hey, I
- 24:34mean, a very, very, very close family member
- 24:36of mine. Very close. OK, not my mom, not my dad,
- 24:42but closer than you. All right. I'm not going
- 24:45to shout out this person. but they said i don't
- 24:48know dang i would never remarry after my spouse
- 24:51passed away i love them too much yeah and that's
- 24:56like what it's just not fair at all to say no
- 25:00and i just sat there and looked at her and i
- 25:02just like do you understand what that means like
- 25:09do you understand what you just said in my mind
- 25:11i was saying this to myself like Oh, so you love
- 25:14your husband more than I loved my dead husband.
- 25:16That's what you're saying to me. Like, what are
- 25:19you doing? And we do this all the time. People
- 25:22do. They say the dumbest stuff. And you have
- 25:26to get thick skin when you go through a diagnosis
- 25:28like this or any diagnosis, let's say, that's
- 25:31visible. Not a, you know, one that you're dealing
- 25:34with behind closed doors people don't know about.
- 25:36But if it's like more of a prevalent tragedy
- 25:40that people know about, they say the dumbest
- 25:42stuff. And it is very hurtful at times. And I
- 25:45had to, I mean, we had to go over this so much
- 25:47with the kids too. It's like, hey, at least they
- 25:49said something. Like, let's try to give them
- 25:52grace. You know, giving people grace all the
- 25:54time. And sometimes you just want to punch them
- 25:56in the face straight up. But it's like, okay.
- 26:00And I just have got to this point where it's
- 26:01like, okay, at least she doesn't know what it
- 26:06feels like to lose her spouse. okay, I'm going
- 26:10to give her that card. But it's like, why would
- 26:12you say that? That's a very gracious approach
- 26:16for you to take. I think my perspective there
- 26:19is she's not going through that. There's no way
- 26:22she could understand that. And you've got to,
- 26:27on your timing and in your way, be able to start
- 26:30finding happiness again. And if that's starting
- 26:34to date, if that's finding a way to move on,
- 26:36then... The last thing someone should be doing
- 26:39is either shaming you for it or making you feel
- 26:42guilty for it. Oh, absolutely. And I think I
- 26:43was very surprised. I did not expect after he
- 26:47passed how judged I would be. It's hurtful. Yeah.
- 26:54And by people who do not have a clue and have
- 26:58not walked my shoes. And that part was just a
- 27:02very, I didn't plan on that. I mean, what we
- 27:06were going bowling and it's like me and the kids
- 27:08and it's like, oh, I remember somebody like a
- 27:11neighbor acquaintance, you know, not a super
- 27:14good friend being like, oh, you guys look like
- 27:15you're doing real good. I'm surprised you're
- 27:17out bowling. You know, it's just like. What are
- 27:22we supposed to be doing? Wearing black when putting
- 27:25a veil over our head and be sitting in our basement
- 27:27crying, eating chocolate for weeks or months
- 27:29like, no, we need to get back out there. And
- 27:31honestly, like I wanted to do that, but I'm a
- 27:33mom. When you're a parent, you've got to show
- 27:35up. My kids need to eat. They've got to go to
- 27:37school. They've got to have their clothes washed.
- 27:41I did want to crawl in a hole, but I couldn't.
- 27:46I had to show up. And it's like we've got to
- 27:50live and laugh. And for those people who do pass,
- 27:53that's what they want. They want us to have a
- 27:56life full of joy and happiness. Oh, for sure.
- 27:59They don't want us to be sad in a basement sitting
- 28:01there not doing anything. Because that shows
- 28:04we're martyrs and we really loved them. That's
- 28:07our badge. You know, like I love them more than
- 28:10you do because I didn't do anything. You know,
- 28:12it's like, wow, that's actually we live for him.
- 28:15We have joy and happiness because that's what
- 28:18they want. That's what he would want. Yes, absolutely.
- 28:21No question. So, okay. So I'm going to bring
- 28:25this to our Cinderella story. So I've got a couple
- 28:27of quotes here. So the first one that I got.
- 28:31is right at the very beginning where the narrator's
- 28:32talking and i think it kind of sets the stage
- 28:34well for the story of cinderella cinderella overall
- 28:37which most people probably know uh but if they
- 28:40don't well sets it up but i also think it directly
- 28:42applies to things we're talking about here so
- 28:44here's here's the the quote from and this is
- 28:46the narrator speaking it says it was upon the
- 28:48untimely death of this good man however the stepmother's
- 28:51true nature was revealed cold Okay, so that sets
- 29:20the stage for us for Cinderella. Let's bring
- 29:24into this kind of discussion like what is Cinderella
- 29:29kind of experiencing here and what are we kind
- 29:31of learning from what she's going through and
- 29:34then how she starts to respond and deal with
- 29:38the grief and the emotions of first off her mother
- 29:41having passed away first because that happened
- 29:42first, right? Yeah. And then her dad passing
- 29:45away and then her, I mean, becoming a servant
- 29:48because of this cruel and horrible stepmother.
- 29:50It's totally unfair. Yeah. It is not fair. And
- 29:54I think that is a huge vein of what little people
- 29:58you think life should be fair, right? It's like,
- 30:00oh, that's not fair. They took my, you know,
- 30:03that's not fair. You hear that a lot, right?
- 30:05All the time. From my six -year -old, all the
- 30:08time. She's always saying it's not fair. But
- 30:10in every Disney movie, it's not fair. And in
- 30:12here, Cinderella, it is not fair. What they did
- 30:16to her is not fair. It is not fair to have to
- 30:19go through that. And then extra. To the massive
- 30:23extremes that she had to go through and how she
- 30:25was treated, definitely not fair. But how did
- 30:30she respond? And I loved it. She was gracious.
- 30:33And she was meek. And she was kind. She was incredibly
- 30:40kind, right? Like, you've got this stepmother
- 30:43and stepson who's treating her horribly and cruelly
- 30:46and terribly. And yet, in all the relationships
- 30:49that she had, and again, in the movie, it's...
- 30:51It's the mice. It's the birds. It's all those
- 30:54things. And she's just kind. And you can tell.
- 30:57And that's not easy to do. And obviously, it's
- 31:00a Disney movie. So she's kind all the time. And
- 31:03real life isn't going to be that easy. But I
- 31:05do think it's a very good example that, like,
- 31:07you can actually still be kind. Even when you've
- 31:11had to experience something really hard in those
- 31:15relationships around you. And kindness makes
- 31:17a difference. Yeah, I think that's why I love
- 31:19the live, you know, the real people version of
- 31:22Cinderella too. Because she does show, the actress
- 31:25was incredible. And she shows such true, great
- 31:30emotion. Where you could see that depth so much
- 31:35more than the cartoon. And so you do see that.
- 31:39she's hurt and sad and you know there is that
- 31:42internal emotions but she uses her discipline
- 31:46and holds back that and chooses over and over
- 31:52again to be kind and I love especially I love
- 31:58how you reference the little mice like she even
- 32:01loved the little people and was kind to people
- 32:03that It didn't matter to the world, right? Like,
- 32:07totally insignificant, little pests that meant
- 32:11nothing. But to her, kindness was everything.
- 32:15And she shared that with all the little people.
- 32:18And I love, like, I find in my own personal life,
- 32:23like, I can have so much joy in just the little
- 32:27stuff around me after going through what I have
- 32:29been through. Like we have two dogs and I sing
- 32:32to them every single day. Like they know I adore
- 32:38them and I love them. Like it's so important
- 32:42to just be kind and put out because what you
- 32:45put out comes back. And I love that this story
- 32:50is a huge example of. Hey, you might be, where
- 32:56are you in life? If you're listening and you're
- 32:58in that pocket of those stepsisters being horrific
- 33:01to you, and let's be honest, there's actually
- 33:04some real sisters in your real lives that are
- 33:07horrific. So you never know what that will look
- 33:13like down the road. Before we jump back in, can
- 33:17I ask you a quick favor? If you're enjoying the
- 33:20journey so far, will you like, rate? and subscribe
- 33:24to our show it helps us reach more people like
- 33:27you we can design and create and build the most
- 33:30wonderful place in the world but it takes people
- 33:33to make the dream a reality yeah and and you
- 33:38know to your point with the live action one one
- 33:39of the things i particularly love about this
- 33:42this topic in the live action is the phrase that
- 33:45cinderella learns from her mother her mother
- 33:47originally teaches her the phrase and then she
- 33:50has to bring it back up so that she can act in
- 33:53that way, which is to have courage and be kind.
- 33:56And, and I think some of the things that you're
- 33:58talking about in those moments to be kind takes
- 34:01a great deal of courage. Oh my gosh. So much.
- 34:03Because it's so, it's so much easier at times
- 34:06if we just lash out, if we just lash out, we
- 34:08let the emotions just come out of us and we are
- 34:12cruel or we're reactionary or we're, we're abrasive
- 34:15and it, it, it takes a great deal more. to say
- 34:19in those moments, I'm going to put that goodness,
- 34:22I'm going to put that kindness out there. And
- 34:24I also think there's a really important difference
- 34:26between kindness and nice. Oh, absolutely. And
- 34:31so for you, I always like to ask people this,
- 34:33for you, what is the difference between being
- 34:35nice and being kind? I think being kind comes
- 34:38from your heart, what's your true intention.
- 34:43Nice is like, hey, oh my gosh. Your aunt just
- 34:46gave you something that you hated at Christmas
- 34:48time. Be nice and say thank you. You know, like,
- 34:50hey, thanks, Aunt Fanny. I love it. You know,
- 34:54but really inside you're like, oh, hell no. Ain't
- 34:58no way I'm going to wear this. But kind is, you
- 35:04know what? I want to do something nice for somebody
- 35:07because my heart is in the right place. Yeah,
- 35:11kindness is born from empathy. And it becomes
- 35:15something that's much deeper and much truer and
- 35:18connects people so much more effectively than
- 35:20the surface level. Sometimes even fake or phony
- 35:24nice because that's sometimes what nice is. Sometimes
- 35:26it's just fake. Sometimes it's not authentic
- 35:29at all. Agreed. But kindness has to be because
- 35:32if it's not, it's not kindness. Yeah. And, you
- 35:35know, the Cinderella does do a wonderful job
- 35:38of kind of displaying what kindness can look
- 35:40like in really difficult times. It's a really
- 35:43great example for us. You know, when you were
- 35:45talking about the mice and, you know, what she's
- 35:48doing for the little ones, right? It made me
- 35:51think of, you know, in the moments that we have
- 35:55in life where there's certain people around us
- 35:58that maybe are not physically the little people,
- 36:02but maybe the people who are not. unnoticed,
- 36:05that people don't pay attention to, or the person
- 36:07sitting by themselves, or the person that seems
- 36:10to be a little bit more the outcast. When we
- 36:13take the moments, even if we're going through
- 36:15something hard, to be kind to that person comes
- 36:20back to us, just like you said. Absolutely. And
- 36:23I think when you are tempered by life, when you
- 36:27go through hard experiences in life, there's
- 36:30no other way to be taught to be empowered. to
- 36:34have that empathy and that compassion and that
- 36:36kindness because my kids are incredible, incredible
- 36:40people because of what they've gone through.
- 36:43I mean, example, my son, who's 15, just tried
- 36:49out for the high school baseball team. It's a
- 36:53big deal. It is big, and it's even bigger for
- 36:56our family because my late spouse was a college
- 36:59baseball player and had a scholarship to play
- 37:02college baseball. And so it's just, it's a trigger
- 37:05already for grief because he wished his dad was
- 37:07here to help him, to coach him. And then his
- 37:09dad's dad, his grandpa, just died two years ago.
- 37:13And that was the one who would take him to the
- 37:16batting cages. And he taught, his grandpa taught
- 37:22his dad his little league team, you know, that
- 37:25took state. And, you know, there's just all this
- 37:27unsaid pressure, not that we applied it. But
- 37:32baseball is triggering in our family for grief
- 37:35because that was their dad's favorite game. Okay.
- 37:38So Wyatt makes it to the third round of callbacks.
- 37:43And that night he finds out he doesn't make the
- 37:46team. And so he's sitting on the couch and he
- 37:49is, you know, him and I are the only ones home.
- 37:52And I'm just sitting by him and he's just crying.
- 37:57And sometimes. You just got to let people cry.
- 38:02I think so many people want to grab a tissue
- 38:05and fix somebody like, oh, oh, stop. What can
- 38:09I do? Let's go do this or do that or, you know.
- 38:12But sometimes the gift is just sitting there
- 38:14in silence with somebody. So I did. I just sat
- 38:17there and just held his hand and he just cried.
- 38:20And then he maybe 10 minutes goes by and he said,
- 38:26hey, mom. And he, you know, snuffs his nose a
- 38:30little and wipes his eyes. And I get up to go
- 38:33to the bathroom and come back. And he's like,
- 38:34hey, I told Grayson we're bringing him dinner
- 38:39next week. And I'm like, huh? What? What are
- 38:44you talking about? And so there's this new kid
- 38:47that hasn't been a longtime friend. He just met
- 38:49him from baseball practice. And he just made
- 38:51the team that night. But his mom was just diagnosed
- 38:55with cancer and had. just had, was just going
- 38:59to go through surgery. Well, I didn't know the
- 39:01mom. I don't know this son. I didn't know his
- 39:04friend Grayson. There's no, you know, and so
- 39:07I'm just sitting there and I'm like, Oh, okay.
- 39:10Um, okay. We, sure. I was sure we can bring him
- 39:16dinner. How about you tell them next Tuesday?
- 39:19Um, we'll, we'll take him by dinner. And he's
- 39:21like, okay. And you know, he shoots off a little
- 39:24text and I just sat there and I'm, Just was so
- 39:28proud of my son that here on, like, really probably
- 39:32one of the worst days of his life, he was thinking
- 39:36about other people. What 15 -year -old would
- 39:39ever do that? Not very many. Not many. And it's
- 39:44because of what he's gone through. He knows a
- 39:48cancer diagnosis, that is massive. That is life
- 39:51-changing. And people showed up for us, and people
- 39:54brought food. And he knows the drill like he
- 39:59knows. And that's just so intuitive in his heart,
- 40:02that level of depth and compassion. Like I just
- 40:05I was so proud of him. And then fast forward
- 40:08to that Tuesday, we go and get the meals and
- 40:12he goes up and gets a get well card out of my
- 40:14little like Rolodex of blank cards. And I had
- 40:18to snap a picture and read what he wrote like
- 40:21to this person he doesn't know. And it was something
- 40:24through the lines of. Like, hey, my dad passed
- 40:27from cancer. I know how you guys are feeling.
- 40:31I'm going to include you in my prayers and hope
- 40:34you recover. Just something like an old, let's
- 40:39just say, an old 45 -year -old would say or whatever.
- 40:43Like, who are you? And I just was so proud of
- 40:46him. But it was just like, wow. But that's because
- 40:51of what he went through. He can empathize in
- 40:54a way that others just couldn't. And, you know,
- 40:57I've seen that principle to be true, which is
- 41:00if we look outside ourselves and we serve others,
- 41:03it helps us work through things we have. Why
- 41:06do you think that is? Why do I think that is?
- 41:11When you can look for others when they're going
- 41:15through their hurt, it helps you somehow get
- 41:19over your own hurt. I mean, how many times can
- 41:22you just sit there in your own feelings and think
- 41:25of all the things you're depressed about, but
- 41:27then when you look out and help others, you just
- 41:30feel better? I'm sure Cinderella felt better
- 41:34helping the mice and protecting them from the
- 41:37cat. I'm sure she did. The payoff is so much
- 41:42greater, and I've seen this over and over again
- 41:44throughout the years. What you give comes back
- 41:47tenfold. And when you can reach outside of yourself
- 41:51and help others, you get help yourself. I think
- 41:58to some degree it really helps us to break free
- 42:01from the inclination we might have to wallow.
- 42:04Because there's also this interesting difference
- 42:08in line between needing to feel the emotions
- 42:13of a situation that we encounter because we need
- 42:15to feel them. But then there's a crossover. to
- 42:19where it then just becomes wallowing and we can't
- 42:22pull ourselves out of that wallowing or that
- 42:23depression. And so it's this balance of like,
- 42:27where is that crossover? Where, okay, we need
- 42:30to experience it and now we need to find a way
- 42:32to move on. And I think when somebody can find
- 42:35that right place, one of the ways to do it is
- 42:37by serving others. And again, I don't know exactly
- 42:40why that is, but I think like you've said it,
- 42:42you're thinking outside yourself, you're thinking
- 42:43about somebody else. And when you're serving
- 42:45somebody else, you get... you get certain feelings
- 42:48of joy and happiness because you are serving
- 42:52somebody else, which helps us to kind of move
- 42:55past that difficult thing we're feeling, those
- 42:58difficult emotions that we're feeling. Not that
- 43:01we're trying to stamp them out, but we've experienced
- 43:04them, we felt them, and now we can move to the
- 43:07next phase. How did you find that line between
- 43:10experiencing and accepting that you're going
- 43:14to have these emotions? And then finding the
- 43:16point where you can move on from those emotions
- 43:20in the moment or in the weeks of the month so
- 43:23that you can start to feel a bit more of that
- 43:24happiness without falling too much into wallowing.
- 43:27Yeah. Good question, because it's a fine line
- 43:31to know. Are you being depressed and it's impeding
- 43:36your progress in life or are you just being authentic
- 43:38and feeling your feelings? And I get asked that
- 43:42often, and I think, okay, is it impacting your
- 43:45day -to -day routine more than a day, more than
- 43:49a week? If it is, then you need to look at mental
- 43:53health support or other things that can help
- 43:56you. And I don't love move on. I like move forward
- 44:00because you're never going to move on from someone
- 44:03who you love that has gone on. But you can move
- 44:07forward. And am I moving forward? And that's
- 44:11what I find myself asking myself, you know, am
- 44:14I, am I moving forward with the love that they
- 44:19deserve? Am I honoring my life because they would
- 44:23do anything to have their own, their own life
- 44:27still here? You know, like I find like, are we
- 44:29taking for granted the days we have? And, yeah,
- 44:33that doesn't mean, yeah, I'm a happiness advocate.
- 44:36I got to be happy every day, all the time, 24
- 44:38-7. No. If you have a bad day, if something tragic
- 44:43happens, if you're just not feeling good, you
- 44:47know, it's okay to feel those feelings. You bottle
- 44:51them up and they're going to come out somewhere
- 44:53else, at someone else maybe. You know, you've
- 44:56got to work through those, but you also can't
- 44:59let it stop you from moving forward. in your
- 45:02journey in life. Yeah. So there's a quote I came
- 45:07across that I wanted to get your take on. It's
- 45:09from Jay Shetty. Oh, I love him. So good. He's
- 45:12awesome. And in his eight rules of love, he said
- 45:15this, everything we love goes. So to be able
- 45:19to grieve that loss, to let go, to have that
- 45:22grief be absolutely full is the only way to have
- 45:25our heart be full and open. If we're not open
- 45:28to losing, we're not open to loving. Yep. I think
- 45:32it's a really interesting way to look at it.
- 45:33So give me your take on that. Yeah, because if
- 45:35people won't take the risk and the chance because
- 45:39something bad might happen, you're never going
- 45:41to have anything in life that you want. You're
- 45:44going to be stuck. And you'll be like living
- 45:48in a rock in a dark hole. Like, okay, don't go
- 45:51outside. Don't drive your car. Don't chew food
- 45:54because you could choke and die. Like, I mean,
- 45:56you could don't. You could make a list of all
- 45:59the things. Don't take this risk because this
- 46:01bad thing can happen. But then you're also stopping
- 46:04yourself from all the good things that could
- 46:05happen. So, yeah, speaking to loving again, you
- 46:09know, getting married again after losing somebody,
- 46:13you know, that's it takes courage. It does. Was
- 46:17that was that hard? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean,
- 46:20there's a lot of great things. And but, you know,
- 46:24it's not easy. chances are most people listening
- 46:28are a blended family blended families are hard
- 46:30yeah some days it's like it'd be way easier to
- 46:33not have blended a family sure but you know what
- 46:35is the good outweigh the bad absolutely and um
- 46:40you have to you know take that risk because you
- 46:44deserve it i remember my late spouse was like
- 46:49when i passed to the other side i'm gonna send
- 46:52you a black doctor you know and i was just like
- 46:55oh really because i was raised on the west side
- 46:59of town like i have an inner black lady and i
- 47:02just I love like I'm all fabulous that way. I
- 47:06love hip hop. I love all the things. And so we
- 47:09live in Utah. We're talking here in Utah. So
- 47:12I'm just saying there's not a lot of diversity
- 47:14here. So I was like, baby, what are the odds
- 47:17of that going to be happening in Utah? You know,
- 47:20so he was thinking selflessly, like, I want you
- 47:26to move forward and have I mean, it was a he
- 47:29half joking. Yes. But, you know, it was just
- 47:31that. Look at him being selfless instead of being
- 47:34like, you're my woman and you better not date
- 47:36anybody or love anybody or kiss anybody else.
- 47:38You know, like those possessive emotions, you
- 47:41know, like he chose like that quote, right? You
- 47:45love somebody, you let them go. You want them
- 47:47to have the fullness of what their life could
- 47:50be. And yeah, it, you know, I think back on that,
- 47:55like he wanted my happiness at all times. And
- 47:58it's like, I deserve. To honor him, you know,
- 48:03he deserves that he deserves for me to have a
- 48:05beautiful happy life Because that's what he would
- 48:08want and the same for his kids for sure, you
- 48:11know and and When when I when I came across this
- 48:15quote it struck me in a couple of different ways
- 48:17One is is the obvious which is exactly we're
- 48:20talking about where somebody actually does pass
- 48:22away The other thing that I thought about in
- 48:24the context of and this is that means because
- 48:27it's my profession what I do is the loss that
- 48:30people experience through divorce. Because even
- 48:34though you're getting divorced so you're not
- 48:36having the great feelings of that person when
- 48:39the relationship ends, it's still a grieving
- 48:42process of that. And then sometimes people are
- 48:45afraid to take that step again because of the
- 48:49loss they experienced from that relationship,
- 48:51the death of the relationship. and and fearful
- 48:55that is a death it is absolutely a death and
- 48:58so for you know what advice you have for people
- 49:00who you know might not experience the death of
- 49:02a spouse maybe go through a divorce and are scared
- 49:05about you know what that next step looks like
- 49:09scared about inviting love back into their life
- 49:11again it's a case -by -case basis so let's just
- 49:18say you should never be forced to do something
- 49:20that you don't feel comfortable doing And the
- 49:23timeline is your own. Grief is not linear. It
- 49:27is up and it's down and it's in a circle and
- 49:30it's backwards and it's forward. And it's as
- 49:34unique as your fingerprint. divorce that death
- 49:40of a relationship you definitely have to weigh
- 49:43in what's best for you what do you feel is right
- 49:46for you and your appropriate timeline and if
- 49:48you find you're just scared or you're just apprehensive
- 49:51but you know you should and you feel that's good
- 49:54for you then um you need to realize you deserve
- 49:58to have a beautiful life and it's just a chapter
- 50:03and it's not the end of your story And for people
- 50:07who make that the end of their stories, that's
- 50:09sad. Like, whatever, what movie do you ever watch?
- 50:14And it's like, it just, oh, this bad thing happens,
- 50:17the end. It's like, come on, no. And I find myself
- 50:21saying to my friends, like, one in particular
- 50:23that's getting divorced after 20 -something years,
- 50:26you know, and it's just like, girl, you're the
- 50:29leading lady in your life. Heck no. Get out there.
- 50:35And to Wanda, you know, little fried green tomatoes
- 50:38quote there, you know, like, so she texts me
- 50:41the other day, like, hey, I went and did this
- 50:43to Wanda. And I'm like, go, girl. Like, it does
- 50:46take courage, but you deserve it. And I'm like,
- 50:49this is just a chapter. And you're going to look
- 50:51forward to other beautiful chapters and look
- 50:53back and be like, wow, I'm glad. And look what
- 50:56I learned. And that is so powerful because it's
- 51:00so hard to see that when you're in the hard.
- 51:02It's so hard. It is like, no way. My life is
- 51:06horrible. Like all these things are going wrong.
- 51:08How is this going to benefit me at all? But you,
- 51:12everything has to come to an end, you know, like
- 51:16nothing lasts forever. Like keep moving forward
- 51:19and you'll look back and be glad. And if you're
- 51:24not glad you're different and you might have
- 51:27more grace for somebody. Cause I totally remember.
- 51:33Like, you just don't understand. When you haven't
- 51:36been through it, you have no clue. And now when
- 51:38I hear someone, like, bring up a cancer diagnosis
- 51:41or a death, and it's like, oh, my gosh. Like,
- 51:45I just instantly, like, have the feels. So you've
- 51:50got to move forward. You've got to, if you feel
- 51:53it's right for you, you just got to take that
- 51:55courage and do it. Yeah. It fits. Where you're
- 52:01going with that fits perfectly in line with another
- 52:03quote that I found from Brene Brown, who I also
- 52:07adore. Owning our story and loving ourselves
- 52:10through that process is the bravest thing that
- 52:13we'll ever do. What is your take on that? Especially,
- 52:21I think, linking to that one that she always
- 52:24quotes about the man in the arena that so many
- 52:27people love to judge. berate and talk about because
- 52:32oh look they're doing it so imperfectly um you
- 52:37just you deserve you deserve to move forward
- 52:41and have a beautiful life you deserve to um love
- 52:46the imperfections that you have you know do i'm
- 52:51looking back now you know it's been over a decade
- 52:53and i look back and i'm like dang you know like
- 52:56i could live in regret even after he passed,
- 52:59you know, like, dang, there's some things I wish
- 53:01I could go back and change or do differently.
- 53:04And I just, I can't get stuck in that mindset.
- 53:09So you have to learn and then not get stuck and
- 53:12then give yourself grace and move forward because
- 53:16you're who you are today because of the choices
- 53:19and the experiences you've been through. And
- 53:23totally loving, that's hard, especially if you
- 53:26live with regret. It's really hard. And how do
- 53:30you move forward if you live with regret? People
- 53:34get stuck. They do. And I think this is where
- 53:37it comes back to for me, the willingness we have
- 53:40to serve others and look outside ourselves. Because
- 53:43if we experience things that are really hard
- 53:46and we just don't understand why we had to experience
- 53:48them, I think sometimes that answer is so that
- 53:51we can help somebody else too. Sometimes that
- 53:54helps us to empathize with somebody else that
- 53:56needs someone to listen, a caring hand that can,
- 54:01to some degree, understand. Because, like I said,
- 54:04life isn't fair. It's just not. It's never going
- 54:08to be. And if we can accept that it's not and
- 54:13accept that we're going to have really hard things
- 54:15that we experience, but we can also help others
- 54:19to experience hard things, then it brings us
- 54:21some degree of... I think happiness when we get
- 54:24to help somebody else. Absolutely. There just
- 54:28is something to be said about giving the gift
- 54:33of kindness to somebody. We all get on autopilot.
- 54:41We've got these busy lives, and we just think
- 54:43of our little bubble, and to just pop outside
- 54:46of it is uncomfortable and abnormal. Unless you
- 54:52are looking for those opportunities, they're
- 54:54going to pass you by. So if you're listening
- 54:57and you're like, dang, maybe I need to be kinder,
- 54:59you know, it's like, okay, put on your kindness
- 55:01radar. Beep, beep. You know, like what can you
- 55:04do? And when somebody's having a hard time, think,
- 55:07oh, maybe I could go out of my way. And like
- 55:11one of my favorites is take and bake pizzas.
- 55:14Because I don't have to. Oh, Papa Murphy's taking
- 55:16back. Yeah, I know. I should get some stock or
- 55:19some royalties because there's so many times
- 55:21I recommend Papa Murphy's. Like, that's my jam,
- 55:24okay? And an employee at my wellness center,
- 55:30my spa, she was going through a hard time, like
- 55:33extra hard. And her daughter and her, you know,
- 55:36ER, hospital visit, like just all the things.
- 55:38And so we're covering, doing all the things to
- 55:41cover for her. And I just reached out and was
- 55:46like, hey, I'm bringing you. And that's another
- 55:49thing. You don't ask people, how can I help you?
- 55:51They're never going to say, oh, let me tell you
- 55:55what you can do. Let me know if you need anything.
- 55:58Yeah, they're never going to. Nobody is ever
- 56:00going to let you know. And then you're putting
- 56:01the burden back on them, too. Like, oh, you have
- 56:04to let me know when you need something. And then
- 56:05you're putting the burden back on the person
- 56:06who needs the help. No, you just have to think.
- 56:07And so I said, hey, I'm going to bring you by
- 56:10dinner Friday. What's your favorite kind of pizza?
- 56:14I didn't say, can I bring you dinner? Maybe I,
- 56:17you know, you could say, I'm going to bring it
- 56:19by what night is better. Like that's a way to
- 56:21propose it to somebody. But it's like, hey, what's
- 56:25your favorite kind of pizza? What's your husband's
- 56:27favorite kind of pizza? It's not going to take
- 56:30any extra effort. I'm just going to go to a take
- 56:32and bake so you can cook it whenever you want.
- 56:33You know, like there's little ways, even if you're
- 56:36so, so, so busy, there's little ways that you
- 56:38can listen for the. those that kindness radar
- 56:42to go off and how can you just take that 10 15
- 56:4520 extra minutes and for me it didn't it wasn't
- 56:49that much you know maybe it meant a lot maybe
- 56:51it didn't you know she said it was good and it
- 56:54was amazing they got a new detroit style crust
- 56:56yeah it was bussing so bussing yes is that a
- 57:01term i'm supposed to know for the kids these
- 57:02days it's bussing all right at our house we have
- 57:04a rating is it bussing or discussing Oh, my.
- 57:08And if it's buzzing, we make it again. I'm going
- 57:10to have to ask my teenagers about this. They're
- 57:12like, hold on. They're like, dad, no. That's
- 57:14what they always tell me when I come up with
- 57:16some phrase. Dad, no. You'll probably get a dad
- 57:19no on that one. But we have fun with it. I like
- 57:22it. I want to embrace this. My goal in life is
- 57:25to just embarrass my children, right? Oh, 100%.
- 57:28I said, why be normal when you can be awesome?
- 57:31Okay, I like that. That is like our tagline.
- 57:33That's a good tagline. I sing the awesome part.
- 57:36Be normal. You can be awesome. See, that's the
- 57:39way to do it. That's the way to do it. I have
- 57:40a terrible singing voice, and yet I do things
- 57:42like that all the time because I'm just having
- 57:44fun, you know? You gotta have fun, especially
- 57:46with my kids. That was one of the gifts I did
- 57:47not get was song. Same. Girl, same. I'm a terrible
- 57:52singer. It's the worst. I wish I could sing.
- 57:54Except when I'm in the car and I turn the radio
- 57:55up real loud. I am so good. Oh, yeah. It's amazing.
- 57:59Shania Twain. Oh, is that your jam? There we
- 58:01go, man. See, if I crank a little like, I want
- 58:04it that way, Backstreet Boys. and it's really
- 58:06loud, I could be the sixth Backstreet Boy. Just
- 58:10right there with them. It's amazing. So there's
- 58:14another one that I have in the quote that I have
- 58:15that I think fits really well with this. And
- 58:18this is from Tony Robbins. And he says, it is
- 58:22not what we get, but who we become, what we contribute
- 58:26that gives meaning to our lives. And a lot of
- 58:30that's what I was hearing with some of the things
- 58:33that you've done. with the grief that you had
- 58:35which is you're identifying and seeing things
- 58:38that other people need you're choosing to find
- 58:42growth in yourself for things that you can grow
- 58:45and learn from and if you have setbacks then
- 58:48you know take an approach again and try to learn
- 58:50from it and and to me that it's what he says
- 58:53it's that that's what gives meaning when we can
- 58:55grow and we can contribute when we can do something
- 58:57for others then we have meaning in our lives
- 58:59um and so for you what what do you see as What
- 59:04is the contribution that you want to make to
- 59:07others? And what have you learned about yourself
- 59:09through experiencing this unfair tragedy? What
- 59:15have I learned about myself? I think that I am
- 59:19courageous and I am kind. And I am able to handle
- 59:27a lot of unfair, hard things. With grace. Was
- 59:36it like this in the beginning? No. It took a
- 59:39lot of times that life has dealt me a plate that
- 59:44I didn't want to eat to get to this point. But
- 59:49I am really grateful and I admire that in myself
- 59:53that I know I'm a kind, good person. And I feel
- 59:56like I'm thoughtful because of what I've gone
- 1:00:00through. And I'm able to have that level of compassion
- 1:00:05and empathy. And I often say, you know, I have
- 1:00:09a lot of thank yous to cancer. Thank you for
- 1:00:12making me who I am. And thank you for what you've
- 1:00:17taught me. Because I would never have the perspective
- 1:00:21that I have now without cancer. And I am so grateful
- 1:00:27for the life that I have. and the health that
- 1:00:31i have and i mean the perspective that that tragedy
- 1:00:35has subsequently you know it just ripples into
- 1:00:38every almost every aspect of my whole life in
- 1:00:42a good way and that's i mean that's the thing
- 1:00:49that's really hard for people to do at times
- 1:00:50is look at look at and change the narrative of
- 1:00:54what that story is but when we do And we can
- 1:00:58do some really great things for others and also
- 1:01:00for ourselves. Not easy. Not easy. Super hard
- 1:01:03thing to do. Okay, so here's the last quote I
- 1:01:06have, which is from Cinderella. It's a lovely
- 1:01:08one. No matter how your heart is grieving, if
- 1:01:12you keep on believing, the dream that you wish
- 1:01:15will come true. Quintessential. Right? It's just
- 1:01:19like so perfectly that. So what's the dream that
- 1:01:24you keep believing that you will? That you want
- 1:01:28to one day come true. What's the dream that you're
- 1:01:30striving after that you're chasing? I think showing
- 1:01:36up every day and giving my all and giving gratitude
- 1:01:41and helping others. Yeah, I love it. It's impact,
- 1:01:47right? You're having impact on others, helping
- 1:01:51them through their difficult seasons, helping
- 1:01:54them through what they're experiencing um they
- 1:01:58know they're not alone absolutely and if you
- 1:02:00can get to that point where you could see the
- 1:02:03lesson in in the trauma then you're able to help
- 1:02:09teach others in their trauma and their hard spots
- 1:02:12like hey you know i remember like that friend
- 1:02:15i just talked about that was going through divorce
- 1:02:16you know it's like you don't know fast forward
- 1:02:21five ten years you don't know who you're gonna
- 1:02:23help because you've done this hard thing And,
- 1:02:27you know, I'm so proud of you. You should be
- 1:02:29proud of yourself. And, you know, you don't know
- 1:02:33what, you know, whether fast forward 10, 15 years,
- 1:02:36you're going to have a kid deal with the same
- 1:02:37thing. Or you might have, you know, a neighbor,
- 1:02:40an acquaintance. You know, it's like, do we ever
- 1:02:42want to choose any of these tragedies? No, no
- 1:02:45way. But if it's dealt to us, we have to be able
- 1:02:50to figure out what to do with it. And are we
- 1:02:53going to be bitter and angry and upset and let
- 1:02:58it ruin our life because we're living in the
- 1:03:01past and thinking about how unfair it is? Or
- 1:03:04are we going to use that and help it propel us
- 1:03:06to have a great life? And my dream is that my
- 1:03:12children will see their happiness too throughout
- 1:03:15their life and my posterity and just that ripple
- 1:03:20effect of those. people that i'm around and i've
- 1:03:24been told you know well i know i can do it because
- 1:03:27you can and to me like you know that brings tears
- 1:03:31to my eyes because it makes it not that it's
- 1:03:36worth it but it it validates the the trauma you
- 1:03:41know validates the hard and it's like hey if
- 1:03:44i could go through that and it helps somebody
- 1:03:48And I remember one time because when Clint was
- 1:03:51going through treatment, I like went to social
- 1:03:54media because, you know, so many people were
- 1:03:56like, oh, hey, how's he doing? How is he doing?
- 1:03:59You know, and I just got sick of saying the same
- 1:04:01thing over and over. Right. So I just thought,
- 1:04:04you know what, I'm going to post it, you know,
- 1:04:05post with updates. And to that, it was for our
- 1:04:09immediate friends and family and, you know, whoever
- 1:04:11else in the little community. Well, before long,
- 1:04:14it got larger than just the community. People
- 1:04:16were sharing it. And I remember someone through
- 1:04:21when Clint was still alive, but someone reached
- 1:04:23out and sent a private message and said that
- 1:04:27they wrote Clint's name on a pack of cigarettes.
- 1:04:30And every time, and Clint was my late spouse.
- 1:04:34That was his name. And every time they went to
- 1:04:37smoke, they looked at his name. And they quit
- 1:04:40smoking. And, you know, she's like, I don't know
- 1:04:44you. I've never met you guys. I don't know how.
- 1:04:48You know, I just saw something somebody shared
- 1:04:51one day. And I've been following along for, you
- 1:04:53know, years. And I just want you to know what
- 1:04:56a difference you made in my life. Even though
- 1:04:59I don't know you, you've changed my life. And
- 1:05:02that is the power. of sharing and being vulnerable
- 1:05:08when you're going through hard instead of just,
- 1:05:11oh, you know, just suck it up. Don't just pretend
- 1:05:14everything's okay. You know, like that there's
- 1:05:17a disservice to others in that because when you
- 1:05:20can be vulnerable and you can share what you're
- 1:05:21going through, it helps others. And that's what
- 1:05:25all life is about is helping others. You know,
- 1:05:29true to the vein of everything we've talked about
- 1:05:32today, you know, like the thread. If you pull
- 1:05:35the thread, it's how can you help others because
- 1:05:37that is where true joy lies. I think to your
- 1:05:40point, you know, life is not meant to be lived
- 1:05:43alone. You know, we're here and we're social
- 1:05:48creatures. You know, we're meant to live life
- 1:05:51with other people and living life with other
- 1:05:53people. Our lives are enhanced by the relationships
- 1:05:56and the friendships and the people that we're
- 1:05:59around. And so when we can have a positive influence
- 1:06:01on the other people that we're around. it makes
- 1:06:04our life better it makes their life better and
- 1:06:06that's really to me part of the joys of life
- 1:06:09is how we can as social creatures help and support
- 1:06:13each other through difficult times to find more
- 1:06:16joy that's so true and when it shares the power
- 1:06:19of perspective when you share what you're going
- 1:06:22through and you're vulnerable that perspective
- 1:06:24you don't know the ripple effect that that'll
- 1:06:27have on people and perspective brings happiness
- 1:06:30too because how you know look at it you could
- 1:06:33write a list of all your problems and then you
- 1:06:35could write a list of all the blessings that
- 1:06:37you have. And there's people that are just praying
- 1:06:41that their lives could be your problems. Sure.
- 1:06:49You know? Yeah. I mean, it's true when you think
- 1:06:51about this, people, people would do anything
- 1:06:53for your problems for sure. And that's, that's
- 1:06:57a one to chew on. No doubt. People are praying
- 1:07:02for your biggest things. I'm grateful now. I
- 1:07:09am so grateful for what I have. We bought a house
- 1:07:14that wasn't supposed to be a fixer -upper and
- 1:07:16it ended up being a fixer -upper. And I find
- 1:07:20myself having to dig in and use my power of positivity
- 1:07:24quite often the last year. Sure. Let's just say
- 1:07:27some sketchy people and there's nothing we could
- 1:07:32do because they were about about a month away
- 1:07:35from foreclosing on their house. And so, you
- 1:07:39know, standing water and black mold in the basement
- 1:07:41after we get the key like it's been nasty. And
- 1:07:45so like we have had so many things happen. And
- 1:07:48if you're listening to this, I'm sitting here
- 1:07:51smiling because I just we just. have to laugh
- 1:07:55to not cry. Like, my mom the other day is like,
- 1:07:59everything breaks at your house. And I mean,
- 1:08:01it literally was only built in 2015. Like, it's
- 1:08:04not that old of a house. It's not like I bought
- 1:08:06an 1894 house. Like, it is crazy. And it's just,
- 1:08:12you know, whatever. Like, at least our pet's
- 1:08:15heads aren't falling off. Like, look at our cute
- 1:08:18dogs and have a house and have, you know, at
- 1:08:22least we have a house and we have... like i just
- 1:08:25look at all the things that i do have because
- 1:08:28if you focus on the bad oh man i could be depressed
- 1:08:32i could have if you stood in front of a judge
- 1:08:35today with me and i laid out all the reasons
- 1:08:38why i am going to not be happy the rest of my
- 1:08:40life the judge would be like agreed okay sounds
- 1:08:44good i can i rule in her favor she can be depressed
- 1:08:47the rest of her life you know like it is so valid
- 1:08:50like i i could i have all right to be Bitter,
- 1:08:54honorable, bitter, ornery, and miserable. But
- 1:09:00I'm not going to do that. You get to make a different
- 1:09:02choice. Why? Why would I do that? No, it doesn't
- 1:09:04feel good. It doesn't feel good to sit and live
- 1:09:07that kind of life. And I know we all know people
- 1:09:10like that. Do you want to be around those people?
- 1:09:13No. No, it's hard. No. Do you want to be the
- 1:09:17stepmoms and the evil stepsisters? No. No, that's
- 1:09:22not at all what you want to be. No. But sometimes
- 1:09:24we have those tendencies, right? But we can't.
- 1:09:27It doesn't serve us. It doesn't serve the greater
- 1:09:30purpose at all. And true joy is being able to
- 1:09:34look at what you do have and be happy with it.
- 1:09:37If you can't be happy with what you have, you're
- 1:09:39never going to be happy with more. Exactly right.
- 1:09:43Well, okay. So now I want to take it to a little
- 1:09:44fun segment. Okay, good. Okay, you good for that?
- 1:09:46You ready for that? Yeah, I got my tissue. We
- 1:09:49got the tissue. We're ready. So this segment
- 1:09:51is this or that segment. So, you know, just whichever
- 1:09:54one you choose to go with and be prepared to
- 1:09:57defend a controversial pick if that so happens
- 1:10:00to be the case. No, it won't be like that. Okay,
- 1:10:03so here's the first one. Glass slipper or enchanted
- 1:10:07pumpkin carriage? I would say glass slipper.
- 1:10:12Okay. Fairy godmother or Prince Charming? Prince
- 1:10:17Charming. Okay. Grand ballroom or cozy cottage
- 1:10:21kitchen? Cozy cottage kitchen. Oh, okay. You
- 1:10:25like the cozy. Okay. Midnight magic or sunrise
- 1:10:30fresh start? Oh, midnight. Midnight all the way.
- 1:10:33I'm such a night person. No, I'm not a morning
- 1:10:35person at all. Dancing in a ball gown or running
- 1:10:39barefoot through the garden? Ooh. Dang, that's
- 1:10:43hard. I'm going to go with both on that one.
- 1:10:46Oh, I have to do one? You got to do one or the
- 1:10:47other. Okay, I'd say the ballroom, because as
- 1:10:49a mom, we don't get dressed up fancy very often.
- 1:10:52Oh, say everyone wants to buy you a little fancy.
- 1:10:53I'm with you. Yeah, I'm with you. Okay, of the
- 1:10:57two mice, and see, now I'm going to get this
- 1:10:59name wrong, because I wrote it down, but I don't
- 1:11:01know how to pronounce it, because now I'm not
- 1:11:02remembering how to say it. But I want to say
- 1:11:04it's Jacques or Gus. Gus, Gus, and Jacques. Yeah,
- 1:11:07so Gus, Gus, or Jacques. Oh, Gus Gus. All the
- 1:11:10way, man. His cheese. Walking with all those
- 1:11:13cheese wedges. I was always a big Gus Gus fan.
- 1:11:16Oh, it's so cute. From the time I was little
- 1:11:17and first saw it, Gus Gus was my favorite in
- 1:11:19the whole show. Mine too. Love Gus Gus. Car road
- 1:11:23trip. Yes. With my aunt. My sister's in the front.
- 1:11:26I'm in the back. And I'm the baby of the family.
- 1:11:28And I kept saying. A happy birthday. Yes. And
- 1:11:33my sisters, after about 50 times, my sisters,
- 1:11:36because I love Cinderella. I have since I was
- 1:11:38little. You know, they're like, come out. Shut
- 1:11:40up. And I'm just like, a happy birthday. And
- 1:11:45I had my Barbies. Oh, yeah. Gus Gus is for sure.
- 1:11:49100%. He's amazing. He's absolutely fantastic.
- 1:11:52All right. Movie night on the couch or night
- 1:11:55out on the town? Night out on the town. Okay.
- 1:12:00You've been an extrovert or just sometimes it's
- 1:12:02nice to go out? I definitely am extrovert for
- 1:12:06sure. But I do love to fat dog. That's what we
- 1:12:09call it. We fat dogging it, laying on your couch
- 1:12:11like a fat dog. Oh, I mean, for sure. Fat dog
- 1:12:13nights are really appropriate, but they're more
- 1:12:15often than not. So I would say it'd be fun. If
- 1:12:18I had to pick, I'd say, hey, let's get up. Yeah,
- 1:12:21I like a good mix of the two. Yeah. Because there's
- 1:12:22definitely times where like. I just want to chill
- 1:12:25on the couch. I just want to watch a show. Just
- 1:12:27put something on. Watch a good Disney movie.
- 1:12:29Bat -dogging. Bat -dogging it. All right. The
- 1:12:32last this or that. This is an important one.
- 1:12:35We'll see. We'll see. We'll see. Disneyland or
- 1:12:38Disney World? Land. Land. Are you kidding me?
- 1:12:41There's not even in the same ballpark. Not even
- 1:12:43in the same arena. I think for people who grew
- 1:12:46up going to Disneyland, that's going to almost
- 1:12:49always be the answer because there's the nostalgia
- 1:12:51for Disneyland, especially for us more out west.
- 1:12:53I think for people who maybe grew up east and
- 1:12:56went to Disney World, that became their nostalgic
- 1:12:58place. But I grew up going to Disneyland. So
- 1:13:00for me, of course, it's Disneyland. Disneyland.
- 1:13:02All the way, people. Okay. I'll take that to
- 1:13:05the grave. Let me throw a curveball at you then.
- 1:13:07Disneyland or Disney California Adventure? Land.
- 1:13:11Still Disneyland? Land. Absolutely. If you had
- 1:13:14a three -day hopper. No, not a three -day hopper.
- 1:13:17Always get the three -day hopper. If you had
- 1:13:18a three -day that was not a hopper. Oh, dang.
- 1:13:20So two days had to be in one and one in the other.
- 1:13:22Which one's the two? Two Disneyland, absolutely.
- 1:13:24I think we've become, because my kids are at
- 1:13:27the age, I think we've become two days at California
- 1:13:29Adventure. I know. What? It's because so many
- 1:13:32of the new rides they've done are so good. Like,
- 1:13:34we love the Guardians ride there. We love the
- 1:13:37Spider -Man. Did you hear that? Don't tell me
- 1:13:39that. They're changing Guardians back to the
- 1:13:41Tower of Terror. I thought that was an April
- 1:13:42Fool's joke when I read it. Really? That's what
- 1:13:45I thought. Now, we're going to have to research
- 1:13:48this and find out. I sure hope it doesn't. Because
- 1:13:51I love the change. Behind the scenes, please
- 1:13:52check on that, please. I love the change. I thought
- 1:13:54that Guardians was so fun. I do love Guardians.
- 1:13:56But, yeah, we've just started really loving that.
- 1:13:59My youngest, who's now six, she just barely turned
- 1:14:02six, Monsters, the Monsters ride, is like her
- 1:14:05favorite. Web Slingers, come on. Web Slingers
- 1:14:08is good. That is so fun. It is a blast. And even
- 1:14:11she can do it. Like she'll get up there and she's
- 1:14:13just like rock and roll. My 10 -year -old daughter,
- 1:14:15she loves web singers. And she's actually really
- 1:14:18good. Even grandmas can do that too. Totally.
- 1:14:20That's what I love. Totally. So there's some
- 1:14:22rides that are really fun. I'd prefer a four
- 1:14:24-day pass, so there's two at each. That's what
- 1:14:26I prefer, right, if I really got to choose. Okay,
- 1:14:29here's our rapid fire. So this is just the first
- 1:14:31one that comes to your mind. Okay. Probably a
- 1:14:33lot of Disney -related stuff, but we're going
- 1:14:35to see where it goes, okay? Favorite Disney movie.
- 1:14:40Oh, gosh. How can you choose? It's like choosing
- 1:14:42your kids. Which one's your favorite? Right now,
- 1:14:44I do have a favorite kid, though. So, let's see.
- 1:14:50Dang it. Does it have to be cartoon or regular?
- 1:14:54I'm going to say, I'm going to go super old school.
- 1:14:56I'm going to go Snow White. Okay, you're going
- 1:14:59the original. OG. Straight up OG. We're not even
- 1:15:03going to talk about the other one. OG Snow White.
- 1:15:07That new one wasn't my favorite. Favorite Disney
- 1:15:09song? Whistle Why You Work. If it's in my wheelhouse,
- 1:15:15right? We'll see if this next one falls in line.
- 1:15:19Favorite Disney princess? I would say either
- 1:15:25Tangled. Do I have to pick just one? That's so
- 1:15:28hard. It's very hard. Rapunzel's a great one.
- 1:15:32She's awesome. I would go Rapunzel. That frying
- 1:15:36pan, she rocks it. She does. My daughter just
- 1:15:41turned six. She turned six while I was actually
- 1:15:43out of town on a work trip. So we're doing her
- 1:15:46birthday party next week. And we're definitely
- 1:15:49bringing Rapunzel. We're definitely hiring Rapunzel
- 1:15:52to come in. She better have a frying pan. She
- 1:15:55better have a frying pan and she better sing.
- 1:15:57Because I like it when they sing. They don't
- 1:15:58sing. I'm like, come on, I want the songs, right?
- 1:16:00I like the songs. Okay, favorite Disney villain?
- 1:16:04Ooh, I would say Maleficent. Such a good one.
- 1:16:08That's a really popular one, too, for villains.
- 1:16:11She's a very popular villain. She's epic. She
- 1:16:13is. I mean, come on. She turns into a huge dragon.
- 1:16:16Yeah, pretty cool. Okay, favorite food at Disneyland?
- 1:16:21Oh, this is going to be a hard hill to die on.
- 1:16:23Let's see. Gosh dang. I can't pick just one.
- 1:16:27The popcorn is magical. There's just something
- 1:16:30about Disneyland popcorn. It just tastes magical.
- 1:16:34Okay, corndogs. Garlic cheese pretzel bun. Corndogs
- 1:16:38are what my wife loves. She loves their corndogs.
- 1:16:40They're so good. Although we had one during the
- 1:16:43Oogie Boogie Bash one time and they put black
- 1:16:47food coloring in it and they must have done something
- 1:16:49different with it too. It was disgusting. Which
- 1:16:52was super disappointing because normally it's
- 1:16:53like the best corndog ever. If I had to pick
- 1:16:55one meal in Disneyland. Okay, let's hear it.
- 1:16:57Monte Cristo, hands down. Really? Where at? Where
- 1:17:00do you get that at? Cafe Orleans or the Blue
- 1:17:03Bayou. Oh, they have it at the Blue Bayou. I
- 1:17:06guess they would have it at the Blue Bayou. Cafe
- 1:17:07Orleans or the Blue Bayou. And if you have gone
- 1:17:10recently, within the last year, there is a walk
- 1:17:14-up. of Monte Cristo sandwich. You can order
- 1:17:16right where you get the bread bowls and soups.
- 1:17:20It comes in a little cardboard square thing and
- 1:17:23it's like two wedges. Or maybe one. I don't know.
- 1:17:27But it's a smaller portion of a Monte Cristo.
- 1:17:30Hot dog. And that's like my fave. Have you ever
- 1:17:35had the beignets? Yeah, but I'm not a fan. So
- 1:17:39do you not like beignets in general? No. I've
- 1:17:42had beignets at Café du Monde in New Orleans.
- 1:17:45Those are good beignets. Have you had the beignets
- 1:17:47in downtown Disney? Yes, they're better than
- 1:17:51the ones in Disney. The ones in New Orleans Square
- 1:17:54that are shaped like a Mickey. They're not good.
- 1:17:55Mediocre. They're totally mid. But the mint juleps
- 1:17:58there. The mint juleps are luscious. That's true.
- 1:18:00Luscious. Yes, they are good. I've realized.
- 1:18:04drinks that have a little bit of mint in them
- 1:18:06i've become a big fan of because i i don't drink
- 1:18:08alcohol yeah and so one time when we were in
- 1:18:11mexico at an all -inclusive resort i started
- 1:18:13getting um virgin mojitos oh my goodness like
- 1:18:17i love them now i'm like yes give me a virgin
- 1:18:20mojito anywhere i go this little mint in there
- 1:18:22which is like deliciousness so mint julep's right
- 1:18:25in that vein i love me a mint julep there it's
- 1:18:27fantastic um Okay, besides Cinderella, because
- 1:18:32maybe Cinderella would have been an answer, or
- 1:18:34maybe not, what Disney character do you relate
- 1:18:36to most? What Disney character do I relate to
- 1:18:42most? Dang. I know, it's hard. I'm coming at
- 1:18:47you with hard questions here. Come on, man. We
- 1:18:49don't go easy questions in our rapid fire. I
- 1:18:56don't know, Ryan. Oh, wow. You didn't prepare
- 1:19:02me with this one. I already picked Cinderella.
- 1:19:04Well, you could go with Cinderella. Okay, I thought
- 1:19:06long and hard about this movie theme. So I would
- 1:19:10have to stick with, like, I mean, each one deals
- 1:19:12with super unfair hard things. For sure. But
- 1:19:15let's just say when I go to cancer camps or help
- 1:19:17in a nonprofit, my nickname is Snow White. i
- 1:19:20have dark hair light skin oh okay so that is
- 1:19:23like some people's and some of them you don't
- 1:19:25even know your first names you just know your
- 1:19:27nicknames so sometimes people are like snow white
- 1:19:29and i'll be like yeah you got it um i have dressed
- 1:19:32up as her on halloween on multiple occasions
- 1:19:34i do have snow white dress like i do love snow
- 1:19:37white yeah so so either snow white or cinderella
- 1:19:41those are good answers those are good answers
- 1:19:43um well what uh what we always like to do at
- 1:19:46the end of every episode is we like to end with
- 1:19:48three actionable takeaways. So three very specific
- 1:19:52things that somebody could put into effect and
- 1:19:55take action on in their life today or this week,
- 1:19:59specifically relating to whatever topic it is
- 1:20:02that we talked about. So for you, what are three
- 1:20:05very specific things that somebody could do this
- 1:20:07week in their lives to... Overcome grief or find
- 1:20:14more hope amidst those things or help somebody
- 1:20:18else going through a hard season in life. Yeah.
- 1:20:21I would write down what you have that you love
- 1:20:26or that your blessings are or that you're grateful
- 1:20:29for. And number one, write that down. What do
- 1:20:34you have that is going for you? And repeat when
- 1:20:39you get depressed. Go back to number one and
- 1:20:42look at that. Two would be to find that happiness
- 1:20:47radar that we talked about. You know, turn that
- 1:20:49on and tune in a little bit more this week. You
- 1:20:54know, what's one thing that you can go out of
- 1:20:57your bubble and do for somebody else? And three
- 1:21:02is give yourself grace. Absolutely. You know,
- 1:21:06don't beat yourself up this week. Don't think
- 1:21:07about. That you're too fat or that you're not
- 1:21:10fast or that you don't have this or that you
- 1:21:12don't have that. Like, love who you are and be
- 1:21:16grateful for you. Those are terrific. Yeah. Those
- 1:21:19are absolutely terrific. Number four, book a
- 1:21:20trip to Disneyland and eat a Monte Cristo. And
- 1:21:23then get a Harbor Galley chocolate chip cookie.
- 1:21:25Oh, my goodness. Well, that's going to be number
- 1:21:27one on my list. I have ate my feelings so many
- 1:21:29times. So let's just say. I've been dying to
- 1:21:32get back to Disneyland. I love Disneyland food
- 1:21:34so much. There's so much good there. I revolve
- 1:21:36my schedule around what I want to eat, and we
- 1:21:39eat our way through the parks. Now, I will say
- 1:21:42I was disappointed I didn't hear churro anywhere
- 1:21:44in that mix. Okay, there is a churro. It's magical.
- 1:21:46They're amazing. It's just a given. You have
- 1:21:49to eat at least three churros a day. You do,
- 1:21:51right? You do. I can't eat a churro anywhere
- 1:21:54else. Why is it not good anywhere but Disneyland?
- 1:21:57Either it's like gooey on the inside still somewhere
- 1:22:00else or that I'm always just like, I wish I was
- 1:22:02at Disneyland. Yeah, exactly. Someone the other
- 1:22:04day was like, Costco's churros are so good. And
- 1:22:06I was like, okay, maybe I need to try it again.
- 1:22:09And then I was like, ew. Of course my 15 -year
- 1:22:13-old ate it, but I was like, no. So yeah, there
- 1:22:15you go. See, my whole family loves them, too,
- 1:22:17so whenever we get them, we have to get one for
- 1:22:19everybody because no one will share any more
- 1:22:21either. They have to all have their own, which
- 1:22:24I can appreciate. Okay, the raspberry macaron
- 1:22:26as well is so good. I love macarons. Have you
- 1:22:30had the raspberry macaron? I don't know that
- 1:22:33I had the raspberry one. It's right in Disneyland
- 1:22:36when you walk in. On Main Street? Yes. Is it
- 1:22:40on the left -hand side? Well, you can do the
- 1:22:43mobile order. You can walk up and get it. I don't
- 1:22:46remember the name of it, but you can get the
- 1:22:48Berea grilled cheese there, and you can also
- 1:22:51order the raspberry macaron. That's one that
- 1:22:54I believe, unless I'm mistaken, I believe that
- 1:22:56my niece, Danica's daughter, Boston, that's like
- 1:23:02her favorite. The raspberry macaron? Yeah. She's
- 1:23:04on a mission right now in Chile, but that's like
- 1:23:06her thing. Yeah, it's so good. I had one that
- 1:23:08was the little pop -up temporary ones they do
- 1:23:11at California Adventure. It was like a Snickers
- 1:23:14macaron that was shaped like Mickey. It was divine.
- 1:23:18Yum. Yeah, delicious. I'm a foodie. I could just
- 1:23:20eat, like, all day long there. And when they
- 1:23:22pop up, like, the food tents down the downtown,
- 1:23:26no, in the California Adventure, when they put
- 1:23:30all the, like, little trucks out, it's like the
- 1:23:32food tasting. It's like, oh. Yeah, it's a good
- 1:23:34time. You guys go on rides. I'm just going to
- 1:23:37eat my way down the street. You are definitely
- 1:23:39a Disneyland person, but I got to ask you, have
- 1:23:41you been to Epcot? I have. I do love that. Because
- 1:23:43they've got great food there. And let's just
- 1:23:45rewind on your question, Disneyland versus Disney
- 1:23:48World. Yes. If you have seven or more days, go
- 1:23:53to Disney World. If you have less than that,
- 1:23:56go to Disneyland. It's hard to do otherwise.
- 1:23:57Because it's just so overwhelming having born
- 1:24:00and raised, growing up to Disneyland, going to
- 1:24:03Disney World and only having, you know, four
- 1:24:05days or whatever. It's like... what i it's such
- 1:24:09a disservice to myself like i felt like well
- 1:24:11i'm missing so much because it's so huge and
- 1:24:13it's so hard to get all that square footage yeah
- 1:24:15and you can't do two parts in one day no it's
- 1:24:17impossible we tried doing that once we tried
- 1:24:19doing um animal kingdom and disney hollywood
- 1:24:22studios in the same day it didn't work because
- 1:24:24you just it's too far away there's too much distance
- 1:24:26and it just didn't become a good experience i
- 1:24:28remember people on a tram one day they were riding
- 1:24:30with saying they were going two weeks and they
- 1:24:33were at disney disney world and they had a two
- 1:24:34-week pass and i was like holy moly my first
- 1:24:39off what what do you do for a living you go two
- 1:24:42weeks at disney world but second was like okay
- 1:24:45genius i could love that because then you could
- 1:24:47take a chill day here or there but then you know
- 1:24:49you could see everything and not miss anything
- 1:24:51if i was doing that i'd probably have to build
- 1:24:53in like two or three days to go to universal
- 1:24:56as well Yeah. Because I've never been there.
- 1:24:58I've never been to Universal. I haven't been
- 1:25:00in Atlanta. Because I go and I'm like, why would
- 1:25:02I go to Universal if I could go to Disneyland?
- 1:25:04And I think the reason why I would is the dual
- 1:25:06Harry Potter land. Yes, yes, yes, yes. Because
- 1:25:08I've been to the one in L .A. and it's really
- 1:25:12good, but it's just not enough. Yeah. So if I
- 1:25:15had the two Harry Potter lands, okay, now it's
- 1:25:18probably worth it for me to take a little break
- 1:25:19from Disney World, even though. I love Disney
- 1:25:22World and Epcot. Epcot's my favorite of all the
- 1:25:24Disney World stuff. Yeah, it's really fun. I'm
- 1:25:25surprised you didn't ask what my favorite ride
- 1:25:27was. What's your favorite ride? Let's hear it.
- 1:25:29What's your favorite ride? What's your favorite
- 1:25:30ride? At which land? Disneyland. At Disneyland.
- 1:25:33In Disneyland, it's probably Rise of the Resistance,
- 1:25:37though I really love Mickey's Runaway Railway.
- 1:25:40it is so underrated and it's so cute to do with
- 1:25:43my daughters like i just there's so much fun
- 1:25:46to it yes my friend was going and i was like
- 1:25:49go on this ride and she got back and she was
- 1:25:51like that was our favorite ride i am so like
- 1:25:53my she has a daughter that's nine and then two
- 1:25:56older boys 15 18 and she they were kind of like
- 1:25:59eye roll you know they went over to toontown
- 1:26:01she's like hey camille said let's go on this
- 1:26:03ride and They were like, you know, but she's
- 1:26:06like, I am so glad you did. Of course, I told
- 1:26:08her to get the little donuts or something that
- 1:26:10you get right off the ride. It was like one of
- 1:26:11my food stops. But I was like, hey, when you
- 1:26:13go get that, go on this ride. And she was like,
- 1:26:17it was our favorite. It was so good. You walk
- 1:26:20out of just feeling fun and singing a little
- 1:26:22song that they do in it, right? It is so good.
- 1:26:24Okay, mine used to be Splash Mountain. Yes, I
- 1:26:27used to. And I just. I don't have good feelings
- 1:26:31right now. I don't like Tiana's Bay Adventure.
- 1:26:33I don't have that. Hot take, hot take. I think
- 1:26:35they did a terrible job. It is horrible. There
- 1:26:36is no climax. There's no problem. And it's not
- 1:26:39because Princess and the Frog. Because if they
- 1:26:43had just followed the story from the movie, it
- 1:26:45would fit into it perfectly. The dark magic,
- 1:26:48whatever. There's none of that. So I'm sorry.
- 1:26:51I'm sorry, Disney Imagineers. I don't mean to
- 1:26:53knock on your work. I know you guys do a great
- 1:26:55job. I know you do great work. But that is not
- 1:26:58my favorite. Oh, I love Splash Mountain so much.
- 1:27:01When that came out when I was a kid. It's my
- 1:27:03favorite. Oh, I loved it. That's the first one
- 1:27:05I wanted to go on. I would go on it as many times
- 1:27:07as I could. So Splash Mountain at Disneyland,
- 1:27:09but not anymore. What is it now? I would say
- 1:27:12Rise. Rise of Resistance. It's not even a ride.
- 1:27:14I don't think you can say that's a ride. Yes,
- 1:27:17it is a total experience. That's what I told
- 1:27:19Bob Weiss. I was visiting with him last week.
- 1:27:21He's the former president of Disney Imagineering.
- 1:27:23And he had a hand in that. I was like, Bob, that
- 1:27:26ride was incredible. It's transformative. It
- 1:27:28changed the game. Like, what is a ride? What
- 1:27:34they were able to figure out you could do. To
- 1:27:36immerse yourself. Yeah, it's a total experience.
- 1:27:37Go on that. It's amazing. What's your favorite
- 1:27:39at California Adventure? I would have to do Guardians
- 1:27:45of the Galaxy. Yeah, that's why I'm really hoping
- 1:27:47they don't change it. Now, I love Tower of Terror.
- 1:27:49That was my favorite ride before. And so I was
- 1:27:52nervous about that, kind of like I was nervous
- 1:27:54with Splash Mountain. And then they changed to
- 1:27:56Guardians, and I was like, okay, they nailed
- 1:27:57it. Like, it's incredible. They made it so fun,
- 1:27:59such a great experience. It would be cool if
- 1:28:02they could do that tandem, kind of like they
- 1:28:04do with the Haunted Mansion, you know, where
- 1:28:06they change it out. But I'm sure that's probably
- 1:28:08too much. But it would be fun if they could.
- 1:28:11Like, certain times of year. But why I feel like
- 1:28:13they should just leave it, because they've got
- 1:28:14Tower of Terror still at Disney World. And Hollywood
- 1:28:18Studios still has it, Tower of Terror. Oh, that's
- 1:28:20true. And so I feel like why change? Who goes
- 1:28:22to Disney World when you can go to Disneyland?
- 1:28:24We already went over this. Touché. Touché. That's
- 1:28:27awesome. Well, thank you so much for being on,
- 1:28:30sharing your story, being vulnerable with us,
- 1:28:33but also having some fun because, you know, life
- 1:28:36can still have fun. Yeah, absolutely. As you
- 1:28:40lead this conversation, remember that, yes, the
- 1:28:43past can hurt. And you can either run from it.
- 1:28:46or you can learn from it. So here's to learning
- 1:28:49and finding joy in the journey. See you real
- 1:28:52soon.