Courage Over Adversity: Brittany Tidwell's Journey through Strength and Sobriety

Transcript

Ernestine 0:00

Welcome to Bon Vivant Chic- Life Well Lived the podcast. For anyone who wants to cut through today's noise and just listen for a few minutes to meaningful conversations on the human experience and the power of connectedness, I'm your host Ernestine Morgan, and advocate for kindness with a passion for showcasing human interest stories that matter. Today. I'm glad to be sitting with Brittany Tidwell. Brittany has a decade. Nursing and leadership experience and currently serves as a nursing leader. Last year, Brittany was brave enough to step forward and share her path to recovery. Her journey is a powerful reminder that even in the darkest moments, there is a way forward. So let's get started. Brittany, thanks so much for sitting down with me today.

Brittany 0:47

I'm so excited to be here.

Ernestine 0:49

I'd love for you to share a little about where you grew up and what life was like.

Brittany 0:53

I grew up here. I'm 38 and I was actually born at Morton Plant, so I haven't journeyed too far from home. I was born into addiction. I was born, to two parents that struggled with addiction and poverty it's really funny because getting sober and being around lots of people who had similar upbringings, they always say that their life was like the only normal one they knew. And I feel like I was born thinking I got a raw deal. I would look around and be like, this isn't what it's supposed to be like. I think that's a little different than a lot of people that I've gotten to know in recovery. Life was just hard in the beginning. I'm grateful for that stuff, I don't look back on it angry anymore. But it wasn't the easiest life, I will say that.

Ernestine 1:37

Tell us a little bit about what it was like being a kid. Did you have a lot of friends? How'd you do in school?

Brittany 1:43

There's a lot going on at home, my mom left when I was four. She really struggled with addiction and mental health and I just had a dad, which wasn't normal back then. It's more normal now for dads to maybe step up. Back in the eighties, that wasn't something that happened a lot. So when you are going to school and they're having these, days like Mother's Day, things like that would make me feel so inadequate there's a lot happening at home and I would come to school and I was really good. I've always been really funny and I've been good at masking, so I think I just got really good at acting like everything was better than it was I think it's just like part of adaption. There would be domestic violence and cops at my house few times a week. And I had this stepmother that really puts a new light on Cinderella and I just learned to adapt and fit in with those around me, even though I might have not slept the whole night before. I would go to school and do my best, and I was funny and teachers like me, and so I think that helped me I did maybe feel that at home, so I would go other places and feel that because I had that personality even being a female with a dad is not the most natural. Like girls. I still struggle with fashion and. Girly stuff even parts of growing up that you need a mom for, I didn't have that and my dad did his best driving blind. I guess it also helped me figure out a lot of stuff. I'm very handy. I can change a breaker in a breaker box or air filters

Ernestine 2:58

Aw. what are some of your fondest memories?

Brittany 3:01

Although my dad raised me and he remarried, maybe not the best choice, and there was a lot going on. I had my dad's parents, my nanny and papa, who would take me on the weekend sometimes every weekend. And I would get a dose of sane and calm and dinner.

Ernestine 3:19

Aw.

Brittany 3:19

So I had this and my papa was just the most amazing man. He wasn't even blood. He was my nanny second husband. He would unplug everything from behind the TV and have me figure it out. Or he would take me into the wood shop and we would tinker and he'd let me do things that kids shouldn't be doing. Those, intentional moments really helped that might be why I was able to call out. This isn't normal, It gave me doses of what could be. That would be my fondest memory is probably my time with my pple.

Ernestine 3:46

Oh, that's sweet. Who had the biggest influence on you when you were young?

Brittany 3:51

I would say I was, surrounded by a lot of what not to do I had a economics teacher, I think I was in middle school saying, 'cause I grew up really poor, electricity was not always on and we didn't always have food. And I remember being in school and a teacher saying that you very rarely outgrow the class that you're born into. And I remember thinking challenge accepted. My whole life my dad wasn't able, because of his addiction, he wasn't able to ever really be super successful at anything. He was very paycheck to paycheck and that's putting it lightly. And he started dating someone when I was in high school. And it's just so funny. I woke up to tell him to take me to school and there's someone in his bed, and I'm like, dad, can you take me to school? We go out in the driveway and we get in this nice four runner. My dad's car like died at every red light. It was mortifying. And we get in this nice four runner and dad, what is this? And he was like, well, he started dating her. We moved in with her quickly. 'cause that was very common. I didn't have a lot of stability, so it wasn't rare for me to be living in a new house. And, we moved into a house and I remember things that most people think are normal, like matching towels or she had a pool. I felt like I was at the Ritz. And there's this woman she's a nurse. She bought her own house. She has matching towels in a pool. I'm like, what? What do you do for a living? And she was like, oh, I'm a nurse. And even though it was maybe not the most, storybook circumstance. how I met her, it was still very moving for me to see someone that did all that on her own and she didn't have anyone doing that for her. So I think that was really impactful on me at that age. 'cause I was 16 and. You know everything at 16.

Ernestine 5:21

Great timing though obviously made a big impression on you. That's wonderful.

Brittany 5:25

Yes.

Ernestine 5:25

Do you still keep in touch with her? I

Brittany 5:26

do. She's actually grammy To my kids has played a big role in my life and shaped a lot decisions that I've made and, changes and she's been a big part of my life since I was 16.

Ernestine 5:35

Oh, that's so special.

Brittany 5:36

Yeah.

Ernestine 5:37

I know there's. Been some pivotal moments in your journey

Brittany 5:41

mm-hmm.

Ernestine 5:41

And decisions that you've had to make That changed the course of your life. Are there any that really stand out to you?

Brittany 5:48

There are. There's a couple and I think I wanna touch on two. The first one is when I got sober, I didn't wake up one day and say oh, this isn't working. No more for me. I'm done drinking. It wasn't like that. I got arrested twice when I was 19 and two weeks apart, they were both silly. I remember thinking when it happened, I don't get arrested. I'm not. What do you mean I'm going to jail? And it was just like a symptom of what was going on. I remember getting out of jail and I got Baker acted and thinking oh, they're starting to figure out that I have something wrong. I need to mask some more, 'cause I've always been really good at masking and acting like everything's fine. Eventually you can't mask anymore. So I had a lot of things happen really close together. I never had a relationship with my mom and I got an email from this random website telling me my mom died. It was someone trying to find me and she had overdosed. And I remember reading that email and I had just started to have these thoughts,, I think I understand what my mom was dealing with because I carried so much hate for her for leaving. And I started to have a little bit of more maybe understanding and less hate and it was too late 'cause she died. Two weeks after that email, and I'm already not thriving. I had a boyfriend and I'm really good at, stonewalling. He had cheated on me, he had messaged me on Facebook Messenger and said, we've always been such good friends, I really need to talk. And I'm like. Kick rocks. I'm not the one, and he hung himself. And so I felt really responsible. Cause at that time, when you don't have a God, you think you're God and you're like that powerful. I believed my mom died of a broken heart and overdose because of me. Now this friend reached out and now he's gone. And then literally a few weeks after that, one of my dearest friends, we did a lot of naughty things together. He's calling me and calling me and calling me, and we're supposed to get together. And I've always had this thing with like shame and weight and when I'd put on weight, I'd go into hiding until I could get it back off. 'cause it's linked to my worth, and I was in one of these ebbs where I'd put on weight and I'm depressed and a lot had just happened. And I just ignored his phone calls all night. I remember waking up in the morning and seeing all these text messages that my friend had overdosed and the hospital he was at. So I rushed to the hospital and his mom came out and, I'll never forget, and now I know having kids and I can't imagine, but I remember her coming out and, being so broken. And she said to me he's not gonna make it, but you can.

Ernestine 8:06

Oh,

Brittany 8:06

and they had known that me and him were doing naughty things. So, that happened and I was not thriving, I was not doing well. I felt responsible for everything and I truly believed the world would be better without. Truly. And I thought about, taking my own life for years.

Ernestine 8:23

Wow.

Brittany 8:23

That was a solution for me, right? cause I didn't have a lot of skills. And, not too long after that, I was at a party, drinking, having a great time. And, I just decided that night was the night and I left. Nothing happened. I'd had a lot happen leading up to, but nothing happened. And I went. To someone's house. And I took a whole bottle of pills and I wasn't in the healthcare field. And so I thought it just happens it doesn't happen like that.

Ernestine 8:46

Mm-hmm.

Brittany 8:47

And so, I got caught and ambulance came and I had to drink charcoal and it was this whole thing. And I ended Up at the hospital and it was like humiliating. And I got Baker Acted again. What was fascinating was I go to this psych floor, they bring in meetings like Alcoholics Anonymous, narcotics Anonymous. I remember being in there and it was just rock bottom and I was hopeless. And these strangers came in and they were like laughing and having fun and I couldn't remember the last time that I had laughed. And just that moment, they don't even know me. I don't know them. That changed I got out and I never drank again. And I went to a meeting every day and it was just like it wasn't even a conscious decision. It was just a God moment and then people that just sparked something in me. I really think that's one of my most pivotal. My other one is I'm sober. I'm in my first sober relationship. We're like five, six years in. We're engaged. I bought a house and. You do the next steps, right? Like you buy a house, you get engaged, you get married, you have kids at steps. And I was almost 30, and I had gotten engaged and I remember telling people are you supposed to feel like yuck. Like this isn't right. And they're like, oh, you're just nervous. Everyone would tell me. Everyone. And I'm like, are you sure? I just feel like maybe, no, he's a nice guy. And he was a perfectly fine guy. But I just knew in my stomach that it wasn't the one it just wasn't. So I broke up with him, which was so scary. It was the opposite of what I thought I was supposed to do. But I did it anyways. And if I hadn't done that and then I was 30 single and I wanted kids, that's super, women have a very stressful clock ticking on them. I'm so glad I did that. I did the uncomfortable thing because now I got to meet my husband who's my soulmate, and I have these three kids. And if I hadn't made that scary decision, I wouldn't have all of that I have today. So sometimes the next decision or the logical decision isn't the right one. I found a lot of my greatest gifts have come from the uncomfortable decisions that I've made.

Ernestine 10:40

Wow. Beautiful.

Brittany 10:41

Yeah.

Ernestine 10:42

You referenced God. A few different times. Did Faith play a role in this journey of yours? Coming out of this difficult time to where you are today?

Brittany 10:53

It did. And it's been a journey I remember being in elementary school and I shoplifted and my stepmom was like, you're gonna go to hell. And I'm like, oh, that's very scary. So maybe I don't need to believe in that 'cause that's scary. At such a young age, I had rejected that idea. And what kid wouldn't be scared of that? When I went into the 12 step fellowship to get sober. One of the steps is, came to believe in a power greater than yourself. And I'm like, well, I guess I'm not gonna be able to do this program. And I had a magical sponsor that told me, you don't have to have that right now. If you do the rest of these steps, you'll be contacted. And through those steps and through helping other alcoholics and I'm gonna have 16 years sober through that, it's grown into something so much bigger. Now we go to an amazing church and my kids pray there's something so sweet about your kids praying. My, daughter says we pray for lemon squares, and I don't even know where she got it, but it's just the cutest thing she says every night and I can look back and see God moments, I couldn't, but it's just grown so much. So it's a huge part of my story I don't wanna be out like slamming bibles at people because I hated that when I first got sober. So I try to speak more about spirituality and higher power, but God is such a big part of my story and my continued success.

Ernestine 12:06

Beautiful. So you've now built a very successful career in nursing and what are. Some of the most rewarding moments of being a nurse.

Brittany 12:15

There are so many gifts of being a nurse. It's funny, when I graduated high school, all my friends went to universities and I didn't even know if I could get into SPC because I didn't come from that world. And, I fumbled my way through nursing school 'cause I was still young and I got my bachelor's and then I went back and I got my graduate degree I was fortunate enough to have, a company that helped me get through all that and what I find the most magical about being a nurse and it's drawing back from like my younger, me when I was direct, directly involved with patients. There's something so magical about being with someone at their, most scary time, and they're trusting us as nurses to take care of them and be present with them. It's different than any other. Roll in the hospital. I remember this patient that was dying and her husband, is at bedside she passed away and he stayed by her bed for hours and that's fine. That's actually very normal. And I just popped in to say, is there anything I can get for you? Because there's not a lot you can say, right? There's never words, but sometimes you can just hold space for people. So I went in there and I said, is there anything I can get for you? And he just, broke down. And those moments when. I was able to just be there with them and provide something. Those are the times that I was like, this is just such a gift that I get to do this. I have this thing written on my forehead that has people, they just tell me everything. Strangers. I'm not even kidding. So He proceeds to tell me that he doesn't believe in the afterlife. They have no kids, no family, no pets. This is she's it. And now he has nothing. And it was days before Christmas. And I don't even know if you're supposed to do this, but I invited him to Christmas.

Ernestine 13:46

Aw.

Brittany 13:46

And he came, and he sobbed the whole time and drank wine, but he still wasn't alone. And we would talk on the phone once a week and he would just tell me about what he was doing. My husband went and change some plugs for him, and not every encounter ends up like that. That was extreme, but he needed that. And eventually he joined some club and he's fine. How many professions get that interaction, like that magical, where you can just be there with people in their lowest, darkest times. That's probably my most rewarding thing about nursing is those moments.

Ernestine 14:16

Yeah. Oh, that's so sweet I did watch the video you did for Thrive. That was very powerful. That must have been really difficult to do.

Brittany 14:24

Yes, i've never been someone who introduces himself and says, hi, I'm Brittany and I'm alcoholic, and I'm sober. Never. And the past few years I've felt a pull from God that I'm supposed to help people and. I've never shared any of my story. That was my first, so I went from nothing to that video. It's a very vulnerable video. And it shares a lot of details and I felt like a raw nerve. I remember when it came out, I was just sitting in my bed I just don't wanna make eye contact with anyone ever again. Because it was so exposing. But on the other side of that, it has been so magical, not only to own who I am, but also to give other people permission to be me too. I can't even tell you how many messages I got from people that were me too. And we've continued to talk and I can provide them support or Thank you for sharing. I have a family member that struggles with addiction because a lot of things are so stigmatized, suicide, people feel really uncomfortable talking about that, and now they say things like unli and like suicides become a bad word. I don't think it should be because it's very common. Lots of people have thoughts about it and lots of people are successful in doing it. I think if we talked about it more that it might not have such a bad connotation.

Ernestine 15:25

The stigma that goes along with it. Exactly. Tell me about the Thrive organization you're involved with.

Brittany 15:30

Tampa Bay Thrives is a local not-for-profit that does a lot of work with, mental illness and addiction. And they do a lot with schools. They actually are building, safe spaces in schools and middle schools where kids can come and get some type of intervention, which I think is so cool. If a teacher says oh, something's going on.

Ernestine 15:48

Mm-hmm.

Brittany 15:48

And they actually are staffed with mental health resources.

Ernestine 15:51

Oh, that's wonderful.

Brittany 15:52

They do a lot with the community. And I think they're helping one of their main missions is to reduce stigma. So it just really resonated with me and a friend put me in touch with the, CEO and it was a really amazing experience to do all of that.

Ernestine 16:04

Mm-hmm. Yeah, there is definitely a big push to get rid of the stigma. That comes along with addiction. Mental health.

Brittany 16:11

Mm-hmm.

Ernestine 16:11

I'm glad that we could sit down here and talk about it.

Brittany 16:14

Yeah. I am too. I think there's a lot of stigma with lots of things. I remember I had my first miscarriage and. I thought no one had miscarriage. Just 'cause no one talks about it. And I'm like, oh, only I have had it. and then you Have one and next thing you know, everyone's oh, I did too. why don't more people? cause it happens to almost everyone. And if everyone knew that, they maybe wouldn't feel so alone. In such a dark time.

Ernestine 16:33

What lessons about family and relationships would you pass along to the younger generation?

Brittany 16:39

I am a big believer that everything I've been through happened for a reason. I don't look on it with anger anymore. But I will say I carried anger for a really long time. I was really mad about a lot of things that I didn't get a mom, that my dad picked substances and people over me and it's such a poison to be mad and angry. It doesn't hurt anyone except you and I spent so many years toxic. And if I could tell my kids say that isn't worth it. It's not worth it to stay. Even if it's now as an adult, if I get mad at someone, I really work to let that go. Not for them, for me. 'cause I don't need to carry it and everything's not such a big deal.

Ernestine 17:18

Mm-hmm.

Brittany 17:18

Sometimes things feel like it's such a big deal and you look at it logically and you're like, this is so silly. Let go of that. And a really good thing that works for me if I'm holding onto something I can't seem to let go of is praying for the person. Say I'm really mad at someone. I'll pray for them to have everything amazing every night. God give them the most amazing life filled with peace and mean it. And after 30 days you get so sick of praying for 'em, you're like, I am so not mad at you anymore.

Ernestine 17:42

And it's come natural to you, raising kids in the way that you raise your three kids. Mm-hmm. Which is so different than how you were raised.

Brittany 17:50

Yes. I'm working on a book intermittently and I've spent so many years looking for a mom without realizing it, in people and things, and I'm was perpetually looking for a mom? And I'm working on this book. And it was so crazy. I'm writing and thinking and I became the mom that I needed, I don't have to find one.

Ernestine 18:10

Oh wow. Yes.

Brittany 18:10

And it was such like an aha and it lifted a weight off me like instantly. Now does parenting come easy? And am I perfect? No, but I know a lot of what not to do and there's a lot of resources to help you learn how to parent maybe more correctly. That was a really interesting thing that, was an aha moment for me.

Ernestine 18:26

That's interesting.

Brittany 18:27

Yeah.

Ernestine 18:27

What are some life lessons that you wish you had known earlier?

Brittany 18:32

I think one is, that you don't have to learn everything the hard way. I really think I've learned almost everything in my life the hard way and, it isn't always necessary and sometimes I find myself why did I do the Tampa Bay thrives? Why am I doing this podcast? Why am I working on a book? Why do I tell people things? I think what I really enjoy is giving people permission to not be perfect, if someone's postpartum. I remember having my first baby and looking down and being like, I just messed up my whole life. And it wasn't cause the baby wasn't perfect, she was perfect. I had postpartum it's really traumatic to go from no kid to one kid overnight. Your whole life is different. Moms feel really bad acknowledging that dark space. Anyone that's a new mom, when I talk to 'em, I'm like, it was really dark for me. And I'll tell them everything I felt and they might look at me like I have six heads. Other ones look at me and they're like, oh my God, me too. I'm like, don't feel bad. It's gonna get better. So I think giving people permission to not be perfect is probably one of my biggest missions.

Ernestine 19:27

That's great. If you could give advice to someone who may be interested in a career in nursing, what advice would you give?

Brittany 19:34

I think if you're interested in nursing, that you should, work in it. There's a lot of roles where you can work and get subjected to that role, 'cause it's a lot of schooling. But there's so much you can do in nursing. If you get sick of one type of nursing, you can go into another, or if you want to go into education or leadership or consulting, there's thousands of different avenues that you can take, and I think that's what's really cool about nursing.

Ernestine 19:58

That's great.

Brittany 19:58

Yeah

Ernestine 19:59

you had a mentor as you went through school,

Brittany 20:01

I did, actually when I got hired on at the hospital, I was working in dialysis and I loved it. It was outpatient. And after a year, I'm like, I gotta go to the hospital. And they're like, why? 'Cause I don't wanna just learn one thing. And so I actually took a pay cut to go work at the hospital. After I did it, I'm like, why did I do this? It's so much harder. I had to take a pay cut and it was another moment. I wouldn't have met my husband if I didn't do that. So it was like another where I did something against the grain and it worked out okay

Ernestine 20:28

Uhhuh.

Brittany 20:28

And at the hospital, my manager, who soon became a director was really instrumental in okay, what's next? Now you got nursing, now you have your associates. Now what? Bachelor's. Okay, your bachelor's is done now what? And kept pushing me. Mm-hmm. And challenging me and I needed that 'cause I didn't get raised by people that necessarily challenged me in certain ways. I don't even think my dad ever asked to see a report card

Ernestine 20:49

Uhhuh.

Brittany 20:49

So to have someone like challenge me in that professional way was really important for my growth. I don't think I probably would've done all those things without that because I wasn't raised to look for what's next. I was just raised to get by. I do think mentoring's a really cool part of nursing too, is there's a lot of people looking to grow you.

Ernestine 21:07

And your husband's a nurse leader as well? He is. So how does that work for the two of you?

Brittany 21:12

It's interesting. We did work at the same hospital and, we made that work. I wouldn't recommend it. But what's cool now is we're in different areas, and, I understand his stress. And he understands mine and I think that helps us. We do have to be careful not to talk about just work or kids. Sometimes we'll go out on a date night 'cause it's just me and my husband and the kids. We don't have family around to help. It's always us and the kids. When we do have a date night, we're like, okay, no work, no kids, and then we'll just look at each other and we're like, what do you think the kids are doing? We try to talk about other stuff. I would say that is an opportunity where we could probably get better, but I also think it's really cool that we understand what we're doing and thankfully. I'm bossy at home and he's bossy at work. We balance each other. People Joke like, how do you guys get along? You're both so bossy and it's like, 'cause we're bossy in different areas.

Ernestine 21:55

What do you think is the secret to a fulfilling and happy life?

Brittany 21:59

This is another recent realization. It's really incredible when you write how much you can gain from that. I had a falling out with someone and holidays turned a lot smaller, so it was just me, my husband, and the kids, and I'm feeling wow, this is a little bit sad. And then I had this realization what's sad about me and my perfect kids and my husband on a holiday?

Ernestine 22:20

Yeah.

Brittany 22:20

Actually how happy. And sometimes it takes those, hard moments for you to reframe and think no, this isn't a raw deal. This is how lucky am I that I have three healthy, thriving kids and a husband i'm still learning, I have lots of years to learn. I've learned a lot I continue to stay open to learning. I think another is I really try not to compare myself sometimes because I grew up so poor money can make me uncomfortable. And I'll go to these philanthropy events and I'm rubbing elbows with someone who maybe just came on a private jet. And then I have to remind myself I was invited here. And it's not like I snuck in the back we all put on our pants the same way. I have to not compare. We all have a message, we're all waking up doing the same thing. I think that's another one is don't compare myself.

Ernestine 23:00

What keeps you motivated and inspired to. Balance all the things that you're doing?

Brittany 23:06

I really think my kids are a big fire. For me, I really wanna be the best me I can be in a lot of different ways. Scream sometimes, and I'll be in bed at night and why did I scream? And it's because my middle daughter's me, right? I got the gift of me back and I'll put her pants on and she's like, these pants don't feel right. Why? She stretched them. And I'll find myself like stretching the ankles on these pants for five minutes. And then finally I'm like just put that pants on. And then at night I'm like, oh God, I yelled today. I wish I hadn't yelled. And it's like I just try to wake up and be a better me. And not just for them, but for other people too and for myself, we're mirrors, if I'm looking in the mirror being like, oh, I'm so fat. My kids are watching me and how I talk to myself. then they're gonna emulate that. And so I found myself now we don't say the F word we don't say fat. I think my kids are a big motivator to make me wake up and be better than yesterday.

Ernestine 23:53

Aw. i've been in the philanthropic world for quite some time, and philanthropy does mean different things to different people. What does philanthropy mean to you?

Brittany 24:03

I feel like philanthropy to me means giving back, and I can't always give back financially, but I really do give back, emotionally, and I really do provide a space for people to feel safe to talk. I'm not kidding. When I say people, even in elevators, will just dump this secret and they just feel safe and I feel like that's why I'm here. I just had to get an MRI the other day. And I walk in, she's putting my IV in, and she's like, how are you? And I'm like, oh, just dying of soul crushing anxiety because I hate MRIs.

Ernestine 24:32

Yeah.

Brittany 24:32

And she's like, oh, me too. And she proceeds to tell me everything going on in her life. I've known her 30 seconds. And it's just something that happens and it always happens. I feel like that's how I give back. Sometimes I absorb it, like I'll be okay, if one more person tells me something, I'll hide for a little bit I do think there's a balance of not absorbing while providing a safe space, but I just think it's such a gift that I have that there's this one time, me and my best friends were getting permanent bracelets. They'd gotten there before me. I get there maybe half an hour later, and she's doing my bracelet. They've already gotten theirs and she tells me everything that her husband just cheated. She's trying to figure out where she's gonna live. They just moved here. She's just unloading. Finishes my bracelet. I hug her, we leave and my friends are like, what is that? We've been there for 30 minutes. She hasn't said two words to us. And you walk in and now we know her whole life story

Ernestine 25:19

you have a special gift.

Brittany 25:21

That's what philanthropy is to me.

Ernestine 25:22

Oh, that's beautiful.

Brittany 25:23

Yeah.

Ernestine 25:24

It was great sitting down with you sharing your heartfelt journey.

Brittany 25:28

I think it has been so much fun to come here and do this. This is another thing where, I was scared and anytime something makes me scared, it makes me wanna do it. It was just another way for me to maybe give back God's gift but like I've broken quite a few, generational chains and changed some stuff. So if there's anyone that is looking to. Talk or need advice or just wanna hang out. I'm always here and there's a judgment free zone here that I think I can provide. I appreciate the opportunity to be able to do this with you.

Ernestine 25:56

Oh, it's terrific. Thanks again for sitting down with me today. Thanks for listening to Bon Vivant Chic Life Well Lived. I hope you'll tune in for more meaningful stories on the human experience and share with family and friends. A special shout out to Will Cooper out of Nashville, Tennessee for creating this season's music. All the episodes are available wherever you listen to podcasts, including my website. bonvivantchic.com Till next time, remember, every day is a gift. Live it with kindness.