3. The Little Things or alternatively KINDNESS

This episode is dedicated to Evan Brown--who is going to be REALLY SURPRISED by this mention! Surprise Evan!

This is a tougher episode. Gen talks about her difficult childhood and her alcoholic father. I wasn't sure she would or should share--I just got some of the details myself thirty years later, but she thought it was important to share...this is one of the reasons we called the Podcast Beyond the Neighborhood. No matter where you come from you can still make your life matter. You can be anyone you want to be.

So it's Homecoming weekend. We went to an all girls school called Lourdes. It was maybe 300 kids. We would take the CTA bus to and from school. We didn't put on makeup until we were on our way home in case we saw boys.

That Friday--Gen never showed up for school and never called. Turns out she was removed from her home that weekend and moved to some place called Barrington. It was 32 miles from Chicago. To me?  It felt like she had moved to outer space.

From Friday to Monday her whole life changed. My whole life changed. My best friend was gone. Her new school was huge. 1400 students!

The parking lot was filled with porsche and mercedes. High end cars. That students were driving.

WE did not have cars in the neighborhood. Like that. Or for our use. They were our parents' cars and they were usually station wagons.

They called Gen by her full name Genevieve --and they tended to say it with a french accent. Can you imagine? I would have paid money to see her face the first time it happened.

Our gym class was basically bouncing a ball around. Gym in Barrington...gymnastics...like, real gymnastics. Golf. Swimming. This is not something as inner city kids we were familiar with.

Neighborhood things: 

Garage BBQ’s
Going under the “pump”  Don’t know what that is? Ask me about it.
Viaducts
Youz guys
CTA
Rich people things:
Circular drives
Catering
10,000 square foot homes
Clinique compacts
Barrington Hills

The takeaway from this episode. Kindness doesn’t have to be a grand gesture. It can be a little thing that impacts someone in a grand way. Also, never underestimate the power of self encouragement. If you keep telling yourself you can do it--you may actually do it!

P.S. Evan did not get to be her best friend. It’s still me
P.P.S. Gen is still not a sports person. I blame Barrington High School.

Beyond the Neighborhood with T & Gen

The goal of this podcast is to share how you can live a life so much bigger than your circumstances and your neighborhood!

We talk about our friendship, people that have impacted us, our crazy adventures in travel, and how giving is important, especially in today's world. 

Share more of our story by following us on Instagram: @tgenpod @tslusher @jennybythereseslusher 

Original Logo Art by John K Schneider @angeleyesartjks