The Women Who Shaped My Story

As The Edwards Table celebrates one year, this week's episode is dedicated to the women whose influence has helped shape Amy's life and the story she continues to share.

Amy reflects on the lasting legacy of her grandma, whose love, strength, and example continue to impact who she is today. She also honors three incredible women who encouraged her to take the leap, launch this podcast, and keep telling her story—even when it wasn't easy.

This episode is a celebration of legacy, encouragement, and the people who believe in us before we're ready to believe in ourselves. Because sometimes the greatest gift someone can give us is the courage to keep going.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hi, I'm Amy Edwards and welcome to the Edwards Table. This podcast is all about real conversations, the kind that come from life, love, family, friendship, and all the messy, beautiful parts in between. I started this show because I believe in redemption stories and in sitting down together to talk about the things that shape us, heal us, and sometimes just make us laugh. So grab a seat, take a breath, and join me. Because there's always room for you here at the Edwards Table. Well, hey everyone, and welcome to the Edwards Table Podcast. I am Amy Edwards and have the privilege and pleasure of being the host of this podcast. So if you've been joining over the past uh few weeks, which is actually if you're joining in real time, it's the month of July. And you know that we've been doing a lot of celebrating here at the Edwards Table. For those of you new, welcome. You definitely have pulled up a seat to the right spot. Uh, but celebrating because this month marks our one-year anniversary. Um the Edwards Table Podcast launched July 23rd of 2025. And so I've just been taking these weeks during the month of July just to celebrate, celebrate fun things and milestones and uh people and whatnot to make this podcast what it is today and why it lasted all 52 weeks of this year. So, in terms of today, just want to continue that celebration trend. Definitely have on one of my favorite fun dresses that I like in the summertime. It reminds me of the beach. Um favorite hairstyle at full transparency on this. So my hair is, I think, naturally, it's always been naturally straight, but then you know, you have kids, hormones, and all the things, and then you kind of get waves in your hair sometimes, or vice versa. So this hairstyle for me is called a wet button. And what that means is is I literally just twist my hair up on top of my head, and you know, like I went walking this morning, took a shower, didn't wash my hair, it got kind of you know, a little wet or whatever, and it comes out and it looks like I actually styled it. So you're welcome. There's a secret there, but definitely a favorite way. It's a fun, it's fun, it's messy, it's not, you know, it doesn't have to be perfect, kind of a thing. So that's definitely a favorite. And um, if you are watching, you can peek in the background here off to my right, your left, and see there is a cake dome behind me, and in that cake dome are some of my all-time favorite muffins ever. And that is a big nod to my maternal grandmother. Uh, if you've been along for this ride, you definitely have heard me talk about her. She is one of the most influential women of my life. And um, when I was a little girl, she would make banana bread, and then she would also make nut bread. Now, I didn't like her nut bread because she put walnuts in it, and as a kid, those to me were not very yummy, but her banana bread was amazing. And because she is um someone who lived through the Great Depression, she also um was around for World World War, well, actually, to the Korean War and Vietnam. So she um, because of World War II and the Korean War, which is the one that my grandfather fought in, very, very frugal human beings. Like my grandparents' generation from back in the day, they were born in the late 19 teens to early 1920s, kind of that age group, and they went so far to save. So, for instance, they would take aluminum foil that had been used and they would wash it and hang it over the sink faucet to dry and reuse it. They would do that with baggies, um, like literally anything they could repurpose. And so the why behind why part of the reason I think banana bread for me is so nostalgic. One, it's delicious. And if you don't think so, I'm here to tell you I've got a killer recipe. Uh, so DM me if you'd like that. But two is um my grandmother was an avid coffee drinker. Now she wasn't one of those drink coffee drinkers like we are today, where you know, you pull up to Starbies and add 17 syrups and pick your favorite kind of nut milk to throw in there. Um, she drank straight black coffee and she bought a big can of coffee that was instant, and she would, or it would go, I lie. She would also do ground coffee to go in her coffee maker. But either way, depending on what it was, it was it always came in these great big like 48-ounce cans. I mean, I'm talking like huge, they were great big. Well, what my grandma would do is she would take and keep those cans, and then when it came time for her to cook banana bread or nut bread, she would actually line the cans and bake the breads in those cans, and then she could put the lid on and throw it in her suitcase, and when she would come for a visit, we would have two cans worth of bread, and it was it was so cool to me. Like as a little girl, I just thought that was the neatest thing ever. Um for her, you know. Honestly, I don't know. I never asked her uh how she felt about it, but like for me, that was the coolest. When my grandmother would come and she had this like um mustard yellow hardcase suitcase, and she would open it up and it had dividers that covered her things, and you would twist two little spots on there, and then it would lift off, and you could look under and see all of her clothes and whatever she had packed, but always on either side of her suitcase, opposite corners, there would be two cans, one of nut bread and one of banana bread. And so I had the um a bunch of bananas that I bought the other day, and I was like, you know what? They started kind of getting icky. Um, two weeks back, we had the fun of having our air go out actually on July the 4th that night. It was super fun. Uh, would not recommend one of five stars, zero of five stars, would not recommend kind of a situation here in central Texas. But um, because of that, right, like bananas sitting on the counter, they got brown in a hurry. So it wound up being really good. I could I could make banana bread and uh enjoy that, but also be able to celebrate a little bit about you know my grandma and her influence on me being here today. So if you've heard me talk about her in the past episodes, I sprinkle her in pretty often. Um, she was a woman way ahead of her time. Uh she was quiet uh in the public's eye. She wasn't someone that was, you know, super out there and showy or anything like that, but she was someone who behind closed doors, she had an opinion, um, but she was kind in how she shared it. She was not someone who was um really pushy, but if asked a question, she would give a direct answer. And she was always honest, like she would tell you the truth. So for instance, if you asked her opinion, maybe about you know, Grumma, does this look good on me or whatever? If it wasn't flattering, she would say so. She would say, it doesn't look bad, but it's not your most flattering outfit, you know. And so she always had a kind way of giving sometimes a really hard truth, and that I respected and admired of her for sure. Um, she was also exceptionally hardworking, like she worked full-time of all the time I remember her, you know, as a little girl and growing up. Um, I know I've shared the story of her being a telephone operator and getting to go to work with her, and just it's so much fun. Like I got really cool stories about her. But um, yeah, I've I've sprinkled my grandma in throughout because, like I said, she's integral in my story. She is a big reason why I am here today as the woman that I am today. Uh, probably the best advice my grandma ever gave me was when I got married, or excuse me, when I got engaged. John and I made the trek up to Indiana to go visit her. And um it was interesting because my grandma wasn't someone that, I mean, we chatted a lot, like we would talk a whole lot when we were together, but not necessarily were we getting into super deep conversations all the time. And so when she would give advice, it was it was it was a little bit um what am I trying to say? It wasn't often, okay? So it wasn't like she was, you know, throwing advice around daily every time we'd have a conversation. But when she would give advice, she would give like these really good nuggets that you would not want to ever forget. And so I will never forget this. Best advice she ever gave me was she and I were, I want to say cleaning up dishes from dinner, and John had gone out into the living room and was watching TV while she and I were in the kitchen cleaning up. And um, and she asked me, she said, Amy, do you know what your job is becoming John's wife? And um, and I was like, Well, I mean, I I think you know, to love him and support him and um you know, and and just be a good partner with to him, or something of that, you know, kind of that thing. And and she goes, Well, I'm gonna tell you, I think the most important thing you can ever be for your husband is his biggest cheerleader. And I sat for a minute and she said, It's your responsibility to encourage him to lead you well. And I sat back and I was like, that's really good. Like that is so good. Now understand, too, I was 22, 21, you know, like uh young and definitely needed as much encouragement as could be. And she and my grandfather were married um to one another until he passed away. And so, like, that was her only husband ever. Um, so for her advice and her input, I valued that because she had done marriage for so many years. And I mean, my grandma and grandpa didn't have the perfect marriage, but they and they would spat with one another. And for those of you not southern, that means squabble, fight a little, but more bickering. They didn't like have knockdown, drag out, screaming matches and cussing and throwing things, and it wasn't out of control, it was just more of different opinions, and then they would bicker with one another, and typically it would always wind up in both of them laughing. My grandmother, usually first, and then my grandfather laughing because she was laughing and they get the giggles together. And so their marriage for me was always kind of my litmus for what I wanted, and if I was in a good space in my own married life, uh it tended to go back to that picture of my grandmother. So, yeah, I definitely wanted to celebrate her this month and um and just give her a big old nod because of who she is and what she means to me and what she's been in my life, even in her absence. Um she wound up having um a diagnosis of dementia and survived with that for 13 years. She had dementia, wound up, we found out then that she had cancer and it had metastasized, so it was breast cancer, metastasized in her lungs. She also had emphysema, and she lived with all of that for those 13 years, and then it wound up she had a really bad accident in the nursing home she was in, and that within the week of that happening, she succumbed to her injuries. But I I think about too the because of that dementia um and having had it for so long. I mean, 13 years is a very long time to have that on top of cancer and emphysema, right? But then also um one of my favorite memories of that time of her life, as hard as it was, uh we the kids and John and I had gone down to visit at the time she was in a nursing home down in Florida. And um we uh went to go visit, I think it was Thanksgiving. And um I want to say, you know, kids were like elementary, middle school aged or whatnot. So my grandmother had been there for a while. She had been there for a long while and uh she had lost like who we were, she didn't know any of us, kind of a thing. Thought my stepfather at the time was like Steve Jobs or Bill Gates or something crazy. I mean, you know, like just random things. Um but she would still like have conversation with you if you wanted to talk to her, and she was kind of in a good headspace for that day. She would chat with you. Um, but we went and I had not heard her talk to me directly and like have good conversation with me for maybe I'm trying to think. I mean, it was several years, maybe eight years, nine years. Could have even been ten at that point, nine or uh eight, ten. I don't know. Just know this. It had been many years that I had not really had good conversation. Like we might have talked about the weather or whatnot, but she was always on the fence whether or not she knew who I was, kind of a thing. And so um it was exceptionally painful for me to watch my grandmother be in this state of mind because she was someone who, you know, from the time I was really little, she wrote me a handwritten letter every week. And uh we talked on the phone regularly. I spent my summers with she and my grandfather. Um, and so losing her mentally, but still having her here physically was so hard. It was so hard. So anyway, so back to the story. John and the kids and I went down for Thanksgiving to celebrate with my family, and we went to the nursing home for a visit, and um as we were going back to my grandmother's room, like she had had her her lunch. We sat there with her while she ate, and um uh she uh got in her bed uh because it was time for them to rest or whatnot. And I will never forget, she grabbed my hand and she looked me in the eye and she said, Amy, do you know how much I love you, sweetheart? And I was very startled because she had not called me by name in years and definitely had not given me eye contact that wasn't empty for that long, too. And I said, Yes, ma'am, yes, grandma, I know how much you love me. And she said, You know I will always love you, right? And I said, Yes, ma'am. And she said, Never forget how much I love you, my love. And uh with that, her eyes glazed over again and she went to mumbling and looking off in the distance, and um that was one of the most tender moments. It was so beautiful uh that God kind of pulled back that dementia for just a minute long enough for me to be able to honestly be able to say goodbye to her. That was a goodbye for me, uh, even though she was sick for several more years after that. Um her mental health just completely declined and um it was like I said, definitely so painful to watch. You don't want to see anyone that you love um lose their their mind that way. Um and so I was so thankful for that moment to have with her, and um it was just it was precious and priceless, and so for that I was so excited. But my grandmother passed away um after we moved out here to Texas, and um at the ripe old age of 89. Uh like I said, had she not had the accident in the nursing home, she probably would have lived a few more years at least. But um she was a force in nature, and I I really, really, really loved my grandma and just all the things about her. So definitely good memories and uh excited to bunch on some banana bread when I stop recording today. But um the other thing I was thinking about today, like in celebratory fashion of this and whatnot, you know, fun outfit, fun hair, yummy food, good memories of my grandma, um, is just thinking about some of my friends who got me on this journey. So I know that I've shared in different spaces and places that um I have a very dear friend who I wound up during the virus that shall not be named and all the lockdowns and all that garbage that was going on then. Um I knew that I was really lacking community. And as much as I am, I am an introvert. And so for me, community is necessary, but also very painful sometimes because I don't know about y'all, but like, look, I I'm I'm good being around people, but also if you're just sucking me dry, I need to step away and go take a nap or something. So community then was even messier. Um because there was so much, you know, opposing opinions about whether or not you should be in person, whether or not you should, you know, do all these different things, whatever. I'm not rehashing that past because been there, done that, got the t-shirt, not going back. But suffice it to say, if you lived during that time as an adult or old enough as a young person where you knew what was going on, it it was hard. Like it was hard navigating that. This is something none of us had ever been through before. And so our church that we attend, they offered online Bible study or small groups, and they break it out like uh for women. You can go to a group for men, you can, you know, young people, married people, single people, like you just kind of pick what fits you, right? So I go on there and it's a larger church, so there are many options. And um we have what's called Radiant Sisters, and that is our women's ministry. And so I picked a Radiant Sisters group and I've looked at the days that were available when they were meeting and the times, and I found one. It met, I think it was Monday nights at like seven o'clock. I was like, oh, that's perfect because my work schedule, I usually would finish up between five and six, grab a bite, and then I could jump online. Back online again because I worked remotely as well. So, in any case, I picked this one, had no idea who the leader was, um, had no idea who the people were, but I thought, you know what, I'm gonna do this. And so I joined the first time, and um we went around the virtual room and introduced ourselves, and it was a really, really good mix of women at different ages and stages of their life, of kind of where they were on their journey, uh, things that they, you know, were sharing and things like that. I mean, we didn't get super in the weeds of like, you know, personal lives and whatnot, but it just it seems like a good group, and so I stuck with it. Well, that leader um wound up becoming one of my dearest friends, so much so that John and I are actual godparents to she and her husband's uh children now. Um, but at the time she was dating a fella, and um over the course of these years that I've known her, she got engaged, they got married, they have a family, and so it's been so beautiful in getting to know her and being able to do life alongside of she and her husband and their children. Um, but she is by far one of my loudest and most um passionate cheerleaders. She cheers with intention, which I so appreciate. Um, she and I are wired very similarly in that um we call each other out, like if we see one of one of us is slipping or one of us is avoiding or one of us is minimizing or making excuses, we call each other out on that uh in Jesus' name and in all the kind ways of saying things. But but in all honesty, joking aside, she is someone who has cheered me on so big and um leans in when she knows that I'm not doing what I need to be doing in order to tell my story. Um, and how that came to be was I confessed that to this group of women along the way of getting to know them and us sharing our stories and whatnot. And um I said, you know, I knew that God wanted me to write my story and and tell it. So anytime I get an opportunity, I need to be out there telling it to someone or to a group of people or or whatever. And for me personally, in front of a group is where I love to be. I love one, because you get audience response. So you kind of know, you know, are you tracking, you know, are people in engaged and and and listening? And is what you're sharing actually going somewhere? Um, if you remember last week I talked to you, I love some theater kind of situation, musical theater, just regular theater, loved being part of all of the things when I was like high school, college age. Um so she has been one of my my absolute largest cheerleaders and encouragers. Like, not she when she calls me out, please understand she does it in a very loving way. Uh, she'll say something tongue in cheek, you know, about like, hey, how's that book coming along? You know, for two years she asked me that, and I had Written the first word. But because of her, I have gorgeous photos because she actually has done photography on the side. And I also have just gorgeous encouragement and cheering along the way. Another friend who I used to work with, she heard a part of my story, and her big push to me was so sweet because she kept hearing me say how afraid I was to write my story. Writing for me feels permanent and it feels big and it feels overwhelming. If you've listened along the way, you heard me tell the story about when I first tried to start writing my book and the devastating thing I did when I lost it on my computer. Forever and ever. Amen. And so, albeit that was hard, but also I didn't like the way that it sounded. I didn't like the voice of it. It just didn't sound like me. It sounded dry. It sounded, I don't know, stiff and just rigid. And I didn't want that. I wanted something that was going to be this, a conversation where it feels like you and I are sitting down together and we're having a chat. And I've got some muffins, you know, that I just popped out of the oven, and I'm making you a hot tea or getting John to make you a nice um latte and his fancy pants machine. Uh, but but all this to say, because of my friend that I worked with, she just was such a big encourager of podcasting. She had done a podcast, she had helped produce podcasts for others, and um she was just an open book for me and just not only being an encourager, but also willing to listen, willing to watch things, give me feedback, tell me what she thought, you know, help drive my direction, help me when I'm making decisions be a good sounding board. Um, and she's also one of those people who you love having her in your camp because she is such an encourager. Like she is such a big cheerleader and someone who um even if maybe she doesn't agree with a certain direction you're going, she will find a very, I'm trying to think of the word, I mean it is it's kind, but um a very good solution to a, hey, I see you doing this, I would recommend doing that instead. You know, that kind of a thing where it's not just, you know, your podcast is terrible, um, scrap it and start all over, you know. It's it's it's truthful, but it's also in a way that is easy to receive. The way that she communicates for me is very easy to receive. And so she's been amazing along this journey. Um, obviously, I have family that supports me very well, my husband, my daughter, um who have supported me along the way. And um, and it's interesting because I I do this and I'm not very out loud about it. Like, you know, people who know me, unless they follow me on social media, probably don't know I do a podcast. It's just it's not something that I'm going around just yammering on about all the time, right? But um, but I have several women around me that do watch and listen and do give me feedback. One in particular who is actually on my book writing team, um, who is an avid listener and watcher, well, actually watcher, and definitely comes to me when she has feedback and um presents it in such just the sweetest of ways. But I wouldn't be here if it were not for people like her, like the way that she um she's very careful to listen and she not takes and then she'll share her notes. And I've actually I've had multiple listeners do that for me. People who know me that maybe I didn't know were listening. Um and y'all the the folks that have come out because of like out of the closet, if you will, not really. It's not out of the closet, that's silly, but out of the woodwork. Like folks that I haven't talked to in years and years and years who caught the wind that I was doing a podcast and um have reached out and and whatnot. So, in terms of celebrating, definitely wanted to celebrate my grandma today and how integral she is and has been on this journey called life and getting me here. Um, but then also the men and women that have been alongside of me these past several years and just encouraging me to tell my story. There are so many of you out there that maybe I haven't mentioned a specific, for instance, but just words of encouragement along the way, people checking in to see how I'm doing, how you know, with this, writing my story, telling my story, um coming and being a part of the listening community. Like it's just incredible to see and incredible to watch. Um, also hilariously ironic because I was not a podcast watcher or listener until uh my friend recommended I do this. So um I just wanted to take some time today to be able to celebrate a little more with you all and especially people. People are a big part of why I'm here. And um I'm just so glad that y'all came and celebrated with me today. I can't wait for next week, y'all. Um, speaking of celebrating, I have a ton of like awesome information to be able to share when it comes to all of the different people from around the world that have been listening to this podcast, and I'll give you more of that information next week, and then also celebrating what's coming next. So um, yes, there will be a season three coming out in August, and yes, it is going to look a little different than it does right now, but there's more to come about that next week. So you definitely need to tune in for that. In the meantime, I hope you all have an amazing rest of your day, evening, week, month, whatever it is that you are in the midst of right now. And always remember you have a seat right here at the Edwards table. Till next time, see ya.