Life, Cancer, Etc.
Life, Cancer, Etc.
How to Be a Freaking Awesome Support Person with Sarah Emprimo Schwartz
Sarah Emprimo Schwartz is one of my favorite people on earth. She's a stellar human being, a fabulous chemo companion, and a friend par excellence. Sarah has great insights and gives great tips about how to support a friend or family member who's dealing with cancer. Plus, she's just a joy to be around.
NOTE: I am not a medical professional. Everyone on the "Life, Cancer, Etc." podcast is sharing their own experiences, not giving medical advice.
PC: Sarah
You can also find some episodes on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/LifeCancerEtc
Hi, I'm Heidi Bragg, and this is Life, Cancer, Etc. The goal of this podcast is to connect you with resources that will improve your life so you can be happier, more resilient, and less stressed. Today, I'm talking with my friends Sarah and Primo Schwartz. Sarah was an amazing support to me and my family after my cardiac cancer diagnosis. She's a fabulous chemo companion and a friend par excellence. She's also got some tips and insight to help you if you're trying to support a friend or family member who's facing cancer. Sarah's the one I mentioned last time who did the meals. Her mom helped her, had the good holy water. Not just the regular. Not the regular. And a lot of my friends are like, oh my gosh, the good holy water. That was so great. But that's so your mom and you. I just love that. I just love that. And I had quite a few different friends, five or six friends that drove me to things. But Sarah and my friend Lisa drove me all over the freaking place, like chemo, surgical procedures at the hospital, whatever. And how long have we known each other when that started?
SPEAKER_01:You know, I was thinking about that. And we did not know each other that well or that long
SPEAKER_00:prior to... Okay, so what year was Soph in Kev's class? Was that three years
SPEAKER_01:ago or four years ago? I think three. She's a junior now.
SPEAKER_00:Okay. So... Yeah, I think it was freshman year, right? Or was it eighth grade? But she skipped, so... Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:I
SPEAKER_00:mean, it was three,
SPEAKER_01:four years, but it was really very close to... the beginning I think
SPEAKER_00:yeah I think so too and we like connected it was it was t-shirts I had like my my friends use essential oils shirt on or all my friends use essential oils shirt and we were at a fundraiser for the school and Kevin already told me you need to meet this mom because I think you guys would really get along like you're very similar oh and then after the hurricane you guys were driving to your parents
SPEAKER_01:yes yep we're going to stay at my parents house So that was right after Hurricane Irma. And I mean, so we had probably met just a week or two prior to that, I would think. Because that was one of our earlier conversations. Like, hey, how'd you do with the hurricane? We're good. We're good too.
SPEAKER_00:That's right. Okay. And then I think like... Yeah, so six or eight months after that. So we realized we lived in the same neighborhood. And we would drive over to Sarah's and just say hi because she's got three great girls. And her oldest and our youngest were in the same class. And they were friends. It was just nice to have a friend in the neighborhood, like-minded, good person. Sarah, how long were you a teacher?
UNKNOWN:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:I was a
SPEAKER_01:teacher for eight years. In a
SPEAKER_00:lot of high needs districts, right?
SPEAKER_01:Well, my first, I was in Alachua County for four years, and the school was definitely a lower socioeconomic rural school. But my mom was a teacher. when I was growing up and retired from teaching. And she was at the very like high need schools. She was, you know, always the first person to kind of get in there and roll up her sleeves. Okay. And
SPEAKER_00:so Sarah gets that from teach and it's just, I don't know. It was just awesome. So, okay. I don't even remember how I told you, or you, I think you've heard from Kev or something and volunteered. You were just like, I'm there. What do you need? Do you remember that?
SPEAKER_01:I don't know how, I don't know how I knew. I don't remember if you told me directly. I don't even know if we were that close at that point, but immediately it was like, you're a mom, you need help. So like, that's what you do. Like how, you know, I think about what you do. It's not what everybody does, but it was fabulous. Oh gosh. I think everybody would, um, I think I just don't have a filter that keeps me, that stops me, you know, because there wasn't a point of like, I just showed up and I'm like, hi, I'm here. Like we're, we're going to do this. It was so
SPEAKER_00:freaking awesome. You're like, I remember one phone call. You were like, I think it's after I had open heart surgery and I got home from the hospital and you're like, we're going to bring you two weeks worth of freezer meals. Is that okay? And I was like, well, you don't have to. You're like, no, no, they're already made. And that's when you told me the story about the good holy water from knock. Yes. And your mom praying the rosary over every single one of those meals. And it was just like... She did. We set everything up on
SPEAKER_01:her counter. And the minute I called her and I said, hey, there's... Yeah, I don't even know if you were my friend, Heidi, at that point. I think you were Sophie's teacher's wife, Heidi, at that point. Yeah. Hey, Sophie's teacher's wife, like... we need to get together. We need to, we need to take care of this. So yeah, we had a whole assembly line and my mom was nervous because she doesn't like cooking. But I found a bunch of recipes and that's a great tip. Those freezer recipes. I mean, they were so easy. And then we knocked out what, like two weeks of them in an afternoon. I mean, it was, it was fast. It was easy. It was inexpensive. And it was, in my mind, I, I don't know if it's coming from like my family, my, my heritage. I don't know what it is, but I, I am absolutely like a feeder. So if there is something wrong, I'm like, come here, let me make you a cake. Let me make you some spaghetti. Let me do, you know,
SPEAKER_00:let me feed you. So you've got all of the Irish plus the Southern raised in the South thing. So it's like, you got a double helping of the, Food is love, Jean. Yes,
SPEAKER_01:food
SPEAKER_00:is very much love.
SPEAKER_01:And food is, being a mom, and I've been a stay-at-home mom for 15 years, food is part of my job. It's a big part of my job. So thinking about you as another mom, man, if I can take that off your plate, like, that'd be amazing. I mean, just to have something, anybody in your house could toss it in the crock pot and have it be taken care of and to have, one less thing for you to think about
SPEAKER_00:because you had enough to think about exactly and it was really cool because even the kids and this is how long ago was this like two years yeah two and a half years ago so the kids were younger and we could just say go through the bag sarah sarah gave us find what you want to eat tonight and throw it in the crock pot because we would have to drive it was an hour and a half to get to radiation and then you're only there like half an hour
SPEAKER_02:but
SPEAKER_00:an hour and a half back. So before dinner, if they put it in, in the morning we had it, it was ready on time. And it was just, I don't know. It was just seriously one major thing off my plate. Off your plate and on your plate. So there you go. Yes. Pun intended. So there you go. I like that. That was good. Okay. So, so let's see. Tell me your story and your experiences with cancer, like your aunt. Was there one before that?
UNKNOWN:Yes.
SPEAKER_01:My story. I was born to two incredible people. Yes, you were. I like to give them a lot of credit because my mom and my dad have huge hearts. They moved me to Gainesville, Florida when I was two years old so that I could be raised with my grandparents because For us, family is where it's at. That's the whole point. That's our purpose, is our family. I love being raised in Florida and in Gainesville, particularly, especially, because I feel like it really shaped who I am as a person. It was a college town, so it was very liberal. Lots of diversity, lots of different kinds of people, lots of different kinds of experiences, but it was small enough that we were a community. So I liked that because I feel like it gave me an appreciation for people like me, people not like me, and also just kind of that smaller town thing of let's all pitch in. Like this is, this is not just your problem. This is our problem. And
SPEAKER_00:see,
SPEAKER_01:what's
SPEAKER_00:funny is that is, it's just who you are. Like, it's not like a thing. I was thinking about this. It's not like a thing you do. It is absolutely who you are at your core. I mean, we met at the school fundraiser, for heaven's sake. Yes, we did. I mean, schlepping stuff to people's cars at Culver's and making sure that it didn't run over our children because their order wasn't right. Yeah. Right?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
UNKNOWN:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So that was my story. I don't know anything about healthcare. In fact, I like to joke that I don't like sick people. Like if my partner had a cold, if my children had a cold, I'd be like, oh no, don't just, I don't know. I don't, you know, don't come to me with a loose tooth. Like don't come to me with, you know, a splinter. Like, So that's a big thing too, because I'm not like a medically savvy person. I'm not from a healthcare background. Wait, you don't do vomit either, right? No, God, no. I don't do vomit. I don't do needles. I don't
SPEAKER_00:do blood. Says the woman who drove me to chemo numerous times, but go ahead, go
SPEAKER_01:ahead. So I don't want people to think like, oh, medical stuff scares me. Medical stuff scares me. Going to chemo was scary.
SPEAKER_00:But well, and we talked about it ahead of time and I'm like, okay, is this going to freak you out? It's okay. But these are the days and you're like, no, no, I can do this. And you did. And you were just like, I don't know. Anyway, sorry. Your story. Go ahead. Okay. Um,
SPEAKER_01:my, uh, so I've had a couple instances of cancer in my family. Um, and I had a good friend mentor who came down with cancer and then my close aunt also had cancer. My friend maybe two years prior to you and then my aunt, I think like one year prior. Yeah, I think so. She was just kind of finishing up, I feel like. Neither one of those were I hands-on involved with, but... I think we talked before about me not having that filter. So I don't mind saying... We've talked numerous times about that, but sure, go ahead. Just, hi, how are you? What's going on? Tell me about, you know, if my... if my aunt was worried, if she was frustrated, if, you know, my, my friend, my, my mentor was telling me about losing her fingernails and losing her toenails and how they were, they would pack her hands and feet in ice when she was having her treatments. And, you know, just letting her, letting her talk like, Oh, I didn't even know that was an option. I didn't realize that happened. Tell me more. Like, so how did you, hear about this, just kind of asking questions. As much as I like to pretend I'm very much a curmudgeon, I think I like people. I'm interested in people. And I'm interested in people's experiences. So I had never had anything very personally, very directly, but I had experienced it enough, I guess, in a variety of ways that it wasn't that scary. It was more of like, my friend is going through this thing and, and we're going to face it together. I don't know. It wasn't so mysterious.
SPEAKER_00:You were, and the thing was, it's like, we were, we had, we were getting to know each other kind of And once this happened, this bonded us in a way that I don't know that anything else would have necessarily. I don't know if you feel like that, but I sure do.
SPEAKER_01:No, I absolutely do. We spent a lot of time, like one-on-one time together, like driving to appointments, driving home from appointments. You were in a position where... you needed to be vulnerable. You were vulnerable and you needed somebody to make space for that. And I mean, I'm just a big bundle of emotion. So I'm like, yay, it's sharing time. We're all gonna like bare our souls. Let's go, like I'm here for it. So we did. I think we- It was super real. It was so real. And when somebody is facing- their mortality like that, you just gotta, all the facade has to drop away. I mean, this is as intimate of a moment as you can have, I think.
SPEAKER_00:I think that's a lot of it. And I think when you told me all this stuff, like I don't do vomit and blah, blah, blah. And I was like, but you also said I'm there. Yes. Together. I'm there where you are not in this alone. I'm there for you. I'm there for your family. And you were, and it was funny because I, I, um, I, I'm, you know, I'm pretty open bookie kind of person anyway, but it's like when your hair's falling out and, you know, you're concerned about whether or not you're going to be around for your kid's next birthday and all those kinds of things to have somebody who just I mean, people use the phrase hold space. Who holds space and lets you just be and do what you need to be and do at that point is a huge gift. And I don't know, I don't ever want you to get cancer. But God forbid, literally. All right. But I don't, I just, I still feel like I wish there was some way I could repay that because I don't know that you still realize that. how much that meant to me. I'll probably start crying, but it did. Okay.
SPEAKER_01:No, no, no. No, don't cry. Cause if you do, then I will. But there, there was, there was no debt incurred whatsoever because the best way for me to be there for you was to be open and vulnerable with you, I think. And so it was, it always just felt very mutual. You know, you were never like, oh, poor Heidi, like, let's, let's go take care of her. It was very much this experience that, you know. It was like
SPEAKER_00:two friends hanging out. We just happened to be in the
SPEAKER_01:chemo room. Exactly. I mean, exactly. We, you know, sitting, sitting in, in, and getting your, um, Your IVs and stuff. And we would just, okay, like we're going to sit and read our books and be quiet for a little bit. We're going to gossip for a little bit. We're going to, you know, talk about what we're going to, what we could possibly eat afterwards. It was hanging out. It was spending time with a friend. Just instead of shopping or going to Starbucks, we went someplace
SPEAKER_00:else. And I think, weren't you, you were the one there. Yeah, you were the one there when I had the reaction to chemo. Oh yes. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:That was scary.
SPEAKER_00:You were just, but you were so good. Okay. So, um, it was the first time I had chemo. I had two different chemo drugs, but one week I'd have one by itself. And the next week I'd have that one again, plus another one. And they were, it was gemcitabine and dox, docetaxel, which are both really pretty virulent. They're pretty awful. Um, and, um, So I hadn't had this one before. It was, I think it was the second visit, not the first visit, but when they gave me the second one the first time
SPEAKER_02:and
SPEAKER_00:all of a sudden I started feeling, they said, well, you may feel a little this, you may feel that. Well, I started feeling hot and then something, I told you guys you were going to hear my phone ring and whatever else. But anyway, I forgot to turn it off because I'm classy like that. So I started feeling hot and I started feeling like I couldn't breathe and my pulse was going up. And I was like, I think I'm having a reaction. And the nurse tells you, okay, it's rare, but it is possible. And they get, get anyway. So I started to say something and you just kind of looked over and you went, you were like, nurse, we need someone here right now. I mean, you, you were just very like large and in charge, like.
SPEAKER_02:Somebody
SPEAKER_01:who knew a little more than me needed to do something. I was like, Oh, Oh, there's side effects. There's side effects. Please. I need a grownup in the room, please. It is not me.
SPEAKER_00:No. And they give you, I don't even know what they gave me. Like I was just high. Or something. And it took a while and then it got back to normal. And then I was able to finish my infusion and whatever, but having someone there who like took charge of, I know you were freaking out inside because we talked about that later. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Having someone who was like, okay, we need this. We need a nurse. Because I just couldn't. I was so busy trying to breathe and stuff that you just did it. You just took care of it. So when you say, I don't do medical and I don't do all these other things, I just kind of laugh.
SPEAKER_01:Well, I wouldn't want anybody to think that. And I guess that's why I brought up me not having that filter of like, that they need to have certain requirements to help a friend. Like, oh, what could I possibly do? I'm scared of the doctor. How could I possibly help my friend who is sick? Or, you know, I think that people frequently think that they don't have gifts to share, or maybe they just don't realize that. Or they don't think they've got to get to that level. Exactly. Yes. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. Immediately when you said, let me be on your podcast, I was like, I'm such a dork. Why? But you know, here we are now sitting in our
SPEAKER_00:closets, making a podcast. Okay. Here's the funny thing. Like I'm so classy. And Sarah was like, Sarah asked me earlier. So like, are we doing video on this? Do we need to dress up? And I'm like, you know, like put makeup on. I'm like, Oh, Oh heck no, no, no. I'm doing it in my closet and you guys can't see it. I ought to take a picture, but there's like, there are clothes hanging behind me. There's like a massive blanket hanging from my closet door because it helps muffle the sound. But we're just, I don't know. It doesn't have to be perfect to be good. I guess is what we're
SPEAKER_01:saying. So much that it doesn't, Whatever you think is good enough, it's probably fine. You're probably fine where you're at.
SPEAKER_00:It just meant the world to me. It totally did. Okay, so now I'm going to go through my list of questions with you.
UNKNOWN:Okay.
SPEAKER_00:Okay, so what are things you wish you had known ahead of time, or is there anything you'd do differently if we were in this situation again? Okay.
SPEAKER_01:I don't know. On one hand, there's the typical control freak nerd half of me that's like, I wish I had gotten a degree in oncology so I would know exactly what's going on and I would understand everything. Because I don't know. I mean, all the news was a surprise to me. I wasn't pulling out any medical opinions or, you know, half the time when you would send me texts. I would have to Google like, okay, what does this mean? What does that mean? Um, but on the other hand, it's not, I think that's the wrong answer because it's not how much do I know about cancer? It's how much do I know about Heidi? Yeah. So, um, Man, I don't, I don't think that there's no way that you can prepare for it. I don't think, or plan for it.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And I typically am not known as someone who rolls with the punches or like goes with the flow. I'm a little high strung, but man, that's almost like your best option is just to, this is the problem in front of us and we are going to deal with this problem. And then we'll deal with the next one and we'll keep dealing until we get to the end.
SPEAKER_00:So, cause I just, I think you were brilliant. Kev thinks you were brilliant. We are family. Like the fact that when we were gone every day for radiation, our kids knew Sarah was just around the corner. That was huge. And I think it's like, you know how Glennon Doyle says, just do the next right thing. Renee Brown says it too. I don't know who said it first, but I heard it in an interview with both of them. Okay. They're both amazing. Yeah, for sure. So just do the next right thing. And that's what you did. And I think that's what felt so, I mean, we don't have biological family here, but you have become our family because of how, sorry.
UNKNOWN:Sorry.
SPEAKER_00:Because of how you have been there like a sister to me in a way that I desperately needed and our family desperately needed. And Kev knew he could go to work and Sarah was just around the corner. I mean, it meant the world to us. And that's because of just the kind of person you are. And I don't care that you're high strung. I just think you're brilliant. Because, you know, high pot, I'm kettle, you know, whatever. Yeah, that might
SPEAKER_01:be why it works so
SPEAKER_00:well, right? Yeah, for real. And it was just to have somebody there who's like, you never made me feel like anything I was doing was wrong. because I was going through this for the first time and I didn't know how to negotiate all this stuff. You never made me feel like I was doing anything wrong. You just validated me as a person and were there for me. And that was awesome. Oh no. I think that's a big,
SPEAKER_01:big deal too. I know I had made the joke with you about being St. Cancer and I think, and that had come from an experience I went through with my family where I once somebody gets that, once somebody gets cancer, that's kind of, it's very easy for that to be all they are. Yeah. And it was just so important to me that you still were Heidi.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And, you know, I can remember one time we were chit-chatting while you were getting an infusion, and I kind of had this out of body experience where I'm looking down and I'm like, I cannot believe I am complaining about, you know, getting the wrong order at a restaurant while I'm sitting here with my friend who's getting. But your friend would be pissed if you couldn't say yes, but yes, you know, I didn't want to tiptoe around you and just be like, Oh, poor, poor, poor Heidi. Let's just, you know, even if you're, especially if you're sick, especially if you're worried and stressed, you need to have some, as much normalcy as, as you can. You know, like if I had a bad day, I still felt like I could call you. And even if it was just to say, Hey, I'm having a bad day. Just wanted to share. Um,
SPEAKER_00:because, and that's what makes it, that's what makes you family to me. You know what I mean? Yeah.
UNKNOWN:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:That's what makes you family. It's true, though. It's true. I think if you are trying to help a family member or a friend who is sick, just remember they're a person first. You know, they're not St. Cancer. They're just Heidi.
SPEAKER_00:It's so true. No, because the next thing I was going to ask you is what have you learned and what's your biggest takeaway from the experience? And I'm like, well, okay, same wavelength. Look at that mind meld. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:It was scary. It was really scary. And there were a couple times where I would shut myself in my closet and cry and think, you know, I could lose my friend and that is not fair. What is my biggest... takeaway. We talked about that too, right? Yes. Admit you're scared. Life is scary. Life is hard. And the quicker you can be honest and vulnerable about that, I think the easier it's going to be.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:I
SPEAKER_00:think that's true. I don't know. Is that a word of wisdom? Yeah, for real. Because I mean, we didn't know. I had this 5% shot of surviving.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, your numbers were not good.
SPEAKER_00:No. But, I mean, this is me. And here we are. And here we are. And I believe, I mean, that I've got a Father in Heaven who loves me and that this is my belief. I get it. And I'm not imposing that on anybody. I've got lots of friends who are atheists or agnostic. But I believe that I have a Father in Heaven who loves me and I believe that I have a Savior who's suffered in Gethsemane And understands exactly how I feel. And for me, it's not just, I don't believe that Jesus Christ was only about sin. I just don't get that. I don't believe that. I believe he went through what he went through so that he could lift us up in the way we needed when we needed it. And I felt like that divine... I feel like we're supposed, if you're, I'm Christian, okay, but I feel like if you're really a follower of Christ, not just Christian the brand, you know what I mean? If you're really trying to follow Christ, yeah, don't even get me started, but if you're really trying to follow Christ, we're supposed to be his hands on the earth, right? Yeah, you're supposed to be Christ-like. Yeah, and you were that for me. You met, you did what he would do if he was you, right?
UNKNOWN:Wow.
SPEAKER_00:I hope so. Well, like for real, I shouldn't say, right. You did. Yeah. I mean, if Jesus would drive you to chemo,
SPEAKER_01:right. He would, he would, he would buy you really good Mexican afterwards and he would, you know, go for Thai food with you or he would go for Thai food with you or he would, call you up and tell you an off color joke when you were so, so sad that you just needed. Okay.
SPEAKER_00:I don't know about that one, but I think he would, but I, I like you were his hands for me. If that makes sense. You were his hands. Yes. It makes sense. Yeah. Okay. Um, now let's do, uh, any other tips and tricks? Cause you covered a lot of those during the thing. The freezer meals are a big one. The freezer meals are a big one. Um, The being real and being open and treating your, not the don't do the sake cancer thing. That was, that's another really good one.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, definitely don't do that. Yeah. Remember that your friend is a person first. Yeah. Just like ask, talk, don't be afraid of it. You know, I, I wasn't afraid to say, how was your appointment today? What happened? What did you hear? What, you know, like, yeah, Maybe it's not the time to be like polite. It's the time to just... Be real.
SPEAKER_00:Just, yeah, be real. I remember after Kev and I had had this conversation talking with you about, okay, we discussed funeral arrangements. Like, what do you want? And what do you want to do? And we had a friend who does that for... That's his job. And he came and I wasn't willing to purchase anything yet. But it's like... we had this outline and it was while our kids were at camp and just in case, what do you want? And, and I needed to, I had, we had Kevin, I had heart wrenching conversations, but then I could talk through that with you too. And, and it made it less, not secret because it wasn't supposed to be secret, but it made it, it kind of normalized it, I guess. Does that make sense? Well, yes. You
SPEAKER_01:know, I was thinking about how, In our society, we're so separate from the mechanics, the naturalness, the intensity, the emotions of birth and death. It's almost like if you're coming in and you're going, it's a very separate experience from all the people who are here. And I was very fortunate in that I was able to be a caregiver for my grandfather. I helped him plan his funeral. many times because he he liked to change his mind a bit and your grandma didn't like what he said not a fan of the plans he was making um and to to be there when you know he was in his transition i guess i wasn't there for his actual passing but i was there for kind of that transition period um That
SPEAKER_00:time when they've got one foot in both worlds, kind of. Yes.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. We're so separate from that as human beings. Like we're so scared to acknowledge that and be honest about it because it's terrifying. You know, it's the idea of dying is so scary, but not talking about it isn't going to make it less scary at all. You know, not making, you know, trying to ignore it or trying to, tiptoe around it just kind of, I don't know, makes it worse, makes it so much more scary.
SPEAKER_00:I think so too. I think you just have to have those conversations. Um, okay. Now, uh, these are for you. Let's see. Bucket list items. Give me a
SPEAKER_01:I was born in Colorado and my brother lives in Denver. And so we're supposed to go to the Rocky Mountains for my birthday this year. And unfortunately, COVID has delayed our plans a little. So I really want to be there with my kids and have them experience the Rocky Mountains. Gosh, everything that's popping in my head right now is all travel related. Can you tell this? This closet is my 2020. You're coming to Oregon. We already discussed this. Yes, absolutely coming to Oregon. I cannot wait. I'm probably going to have to ship out a box ahead of time of like extra sweaters and sweatshirts and jackets and, you know, like long johns and things like that. But I am coming no matter how much I have to wrap up. I don't know. 2020 has been so hard, but one of the things that I appreciate about it is being forced to kind of stop and slow down. Yeah. To reset. So my bucket list has just gotten very simple as a result, you know, like I'm just excited to see who my kids become. Like I'm, I'm excited to see what house you buy in Oregon. I'm excited to see what college your son decides to go to. It's almost like the little moments are my bucket list because it's scary for me to try and think about anything larger than that
SPEAKER_00:right now. Especially, yeah, right now, for sure. Okay, so your favorite place to be. That's the last question.
UNKNOWN:Okay.
SPEAKER_00:And it can be a few. I did like three.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, that's fair. All right. My soul lives in a couple different places. I'm going to say that there is a piece of my soul that lives in St. Augustine on St. George Street, sitting on a bench in the sunshine, drinking some Diet Coke with my mom. Sometimes Gainesville was close enough that we could just go and sit. I love St. Augustine. And there was something just nice about that for us. We'd just drive over for the day, sit on St. George Street, get some lunch, drive home. Is that the oldest street
SPEAKER_00:in the world, that one that's got all the cobblestones? Yeah, the one that's like shut down.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah, yeah. That place is awesome.
UNKNOWN:Right?
SPEAKER_01:we used to make stories up about the people walking past us. Like, Oh, he bought that shirt at Macy's. And when he bought it, he bought it for his vacation. Like, you know, like just trying to, I don't know. So there's a, there's a part of my soul that's there for sure. There is absolutely a part of my soul that is in Gainesville. That's my, that's my like spiritual recharge. That's my home. And yeah, No matter how long I've gone from it, it's still, when I think of home, it feels like Gainesville. Yeah. I like the person that I became. And I feel like I learned a lot of good stuff from growing up there. So I'm appreciative of that. There is a piece of my soul in Dremelig, Ireland. which is where my grandfather was from. There was a castle that his mother walked by every day, Castle Donovan, and I have a picture and a painting of it in my house. And being able to stand there knowing my grandfather, who is the most important person to me in the world, and to stand there knowing that Like his mother had walked there. Like it was weird to be in a place for the first time and also know that I belonged to that place.
SPEAKER_02:It was,
SPEAKER_01:that was incredible. So, um, and then number four is just wherever, wherever my kids are, wherever they are. I love, I love those little girls
SPEAKER_00:too.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Well, um, they're full of badness. Um, Clara has a little speech impediment because she's a baby and also she just has a little bit of a speech impediment. And for like a year she called your husband Mr. Heaven because she couldn't say Kevin. Like I totally agree
SPEAKER_00:with that, but you know, it's probably not. It's so cute. Oh, it's Heidi and Mr. Heaven. He is Mr. Heaven for me, for sure. He is for sure. He makes you so happy. Yeah. she's maybe just kind of clairvoyant or something, you know, she's channeling my inner thoughts. You know, I love you, right? I love you so much. You're just awesome. You have made my life infinitely better by being in it. So thank you.
SPEAKER_01:Well, you have made my life infinitely better. I mean, this, this absolutely is a mutual friendship in every way. Every possible sense. It's, I can't imagine doing all this without you. So I'm glad everything worked out.
SPEAKER_00:Me too. Me too. Well guys, that brings us to the end of today's discussion. And I know it's on zoom. So sometimes the sound quality is not great, but I hope it's still something you enjoy listening to. So this week, Please look for the good and count your blessings and make it a really great week.