What Do We Carry Into The Next Chapter

Your kid is small until they’re suddenly not. I sat down with my 10-year-old son at the end of his lower school years, and what started as a simple check-in turned into a surprisingly honest conversation about growing up, letting go, and walking into middle school with confidence.

We talk about what he loves right now (math, swimming, golf), what he’ll miss most, and why his school has felt like a “warm hug.” From morning handshakes at drop-off to wearing red sweaters for performances and field trips, we dig into the tiny traditions that build belonging, pride, and a real sense of community. If you’re a parent thinking about school culture, elementary school milestones, or the transition to middle school, you’ll hear the details that actually matter to a kid.

Then we go deeper: COVID memories, moving from our farm to the city, and the question of whether home is a place or a feeling. We talk about optimism when a chapter ends, what adults misunderstand about kids, and how routines, reading time, and practice shape growth in a way motivation alone never can. We even touch screen time, friendship, and what a “good life” looks like through a child’s eyes.

If you’re closing a season, I think this will land. Subscribe, share with a parent or educator, and leave a review if it helps you pause and reflect. What transition are you standing in right now?

Transcript

A Season Ending For Our Family

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome back to Unfolding. Today is a little bit more of a personal discussion. I'm sitting down with my 10-year-old son at the end of a season that's meant a lot to our family. He's finishing lower school after being at the same school since he was four years old. So it's been seven years. And it's just one of those moments that the more I think about it, the more I realize how much it really holds. And then one day, you know, you're you're you send your four-year-old off. They don't even know how to read, they don't know how to tie their shoes or navigate the world. And then one day, without you realizing it, they're reading, writing, solving complex math, forming their own thoughts and their own perspectives. It's this quiet, like steady growth that happens right in front of you and somehow all at once. So today, this is a pause, like a chance to look back on this chapter and talk about what it's felt like to grow and to change and to step into something new from two very different perspectives. And really, this episode is for anyone who is finishing a chapter and about to step into a new one. I'm really glad you're here for it. I'm really um, you know, I do a podcast. This the Unfolding with KK podcast is a podcast about how people's life unfolds. And I think it's really easy to only think about talk sitting down and talking with adults. And when I was thinking about, you know, my next person I wanted to sit down and talk about, it really hit me that, you know, you were at a really big uh chapter of your life that was ending and another one that was beginning. And so you've been in lower school for seven years, seven years, and now you are a month away from finishing up. And I thought it was a perfect time for you and I to sit down and kind of take a moment to pause and to reflect and to think about all that's happened. So you okay with going kind of thinking through that with me?

Favorites And Fifth Grade Joys

SPEAKER_01 2:25

Sure. Having a discussion. So what are like what are some things? What are some of your favorite things right now?

SPEAKER_00 2:38

Well, math is math is one of my favorite subjects. It's pretty good. It's challenging though. You really have to pay attention in class, listen to what the teacher is saying. Um I like swimming in the pool. That's great. Golfing is a real big one. I love golfing. Super fun. Every Thursday I got with my friend to uh play golf on Thursdays.

SPEAKER_01 3:05

So that's a it's a that's not that's not something that you've been doing the whole seven years. You've been learning and and and practicing that for a long time. So Anders, it's hard to believe that you were four years old when you started at s at s at St. Chris. What is it like? What does it feel like to be finishing up?

SPEAKER_00 3:33

Actually, it feels kind of feels kind of wonderful because I get to uh go into middle school and there's more freedom there.

SPEAKER_01 3:41

What do you think? Do you have a favorite memory from lower school? Hmm.

SPEAKER_00 3:53

Not that I can think of, not really.

SPEAKER_01 3:57

What what do you what have you what are some of the things that you have looked forward to doing when you're in school?

SPEAKER_00 4:05

Look forward to my block B class a lot. What's block B? It's my sci oh no, not my science. My reading, language, arts, social studies class.

SPEAKER_01 4:18

Have those always been subjects you've liked?

SPEAKER_00 4:22

Yeah. I would say so.

SPEAKER_01 4:25

So do you do you look forward to like any of like your extras, like your art, your music, any of any of those?

SPEAKER_00 4:38

I look forward to some specials, which are enrichment classes. I do look forward to Spanish a lot. I practice. My art class is alright. The thing is, I've been doing art for a while, so it is kind of a great class. So yeah, I like some of the good subjects.

SPEAKER_01 5:04

What do you think you're gonna miss the most about lower school?

SPEAKER_00 5:09

I think I'm gonna miss like the warm hug type of feeling.

SPEAKER_01 5:17

Tell me more about that. What does that what does that mean?

SPEAKER_00 5:23

Well I'm kinda gonna miss the easy teaching style, which is a little bit easier. Middle school's gonna be more tough. It's gonna get a little more tough and tough each year as I progress.

SPEAKER_01 5:42

So if someone is listening to this or watching this podcast, Anders, can you kind of explain what a warm hug like feels like? What what does your school do that make you feel that way?

SPEAKER_00 5:56

Well, I think the teachers are really nice that the school hired some good teachers. Um I think that Miss Snyder, which is our principal right now, does a good job of running that directing. And Miss Brown does a great job of doing that as well. I think Miss Brown took Miss Snyder's old job, actually, which was basically like the student director.

SPEAKER_01 6:24

Um, something that really stands out to me as a parent that I think has been um that I wonder if you think is a warm hug, is when y'all

The Warm Hug Of School Culture

SPEAKER_01 6:35

get out of the car every morning, what is the ritual?

SPEAKER_00 6:39

What do y'all do? We shake the hands of whoever is letting us add the car, no matter if it's a kid or an adult. And then there's also special like morning clubs, like handbells, which is a handbell choir, which I'm in honor choirs after school till five on some Thursdays. There's the flag group in the um in the car group, which is the car group, like pretty much lets them out, which is the kids that let them out. Yeah. And the flag of people who raise the American flag every morning, and they also put it down.

SPEAKER_01 7:14

What is the culture like? Does everyone this isn't like a podcast about our your school, but I think you've talked about having like a warm hug feeling. Do your classmates are they encouraged to speak to you? To do y'all speak to each other when you pass each other in the hall?

SPEAKER_00 7:36

Yeah, definitely. And do you friends that I like to uh I don't know, just to get feedback from stuff like that?

SPEAKER_01 7:47

You feel like it's a happy place for you?

SPEAKER_00 7:49

Yeah. It's a tight community.

SPEAKER_01 7:51

Yes, that makes me happy to hear as your mom. Um, what's a tradition that you'll always remember that lower school has? Not really sure. Some maybe some like things to think about would be like Society Day or Chapel or the red sweaters. Yes. What happens with the red sweaters? What's the deal with that?

SPEAKER_00 8:23

Well, they're basically used on every performance. So, like maybe if you have a reading in chapel, you might not do it for that, but for like handbill choir, you'll do it for actual choir. You'll do it for art or choir, you'll do it for any really like any performance that you have that's been coming up. Usually if there's parents there.

SPEAKER_01 8:49

So it's like a special thing that you do. You wear your red sweater on and you wear it on and field trips too, right? Yeah. What's the logic behind that, do you think, wearing a red sweater on field trips?

SPEAKER_00 9:05

Well, I think it shows a lot about our school, so they know where we're from. I think that it's a great thing. It really shows what our school does.

SPEAKER_01 9:18

And you're it's about I kind of I was curious what you think. For me, it's like shows respect, right? And it shows like pride in your school. And it's your going out and presenting your you're a representative of your school. Do you feel like that here when you go to school? That do you feel pride?

SPEAKER_00 9:42

I do. I'm proud to be at St. Christopher's.

SPEAKER_01 9:46

What about do you feel like I know we talk about things like this in our household, but do you when you're going out into the world, maybe outside of school, do you also feel like pride to represent your family?

SPEAKER_00 10:03

Sometimes. Maybe I don't think about it in the moment.

SPEAKER_01 10:07

That's fair. Same, same. What are you most excited about when you think about your next chapter in middle school?

SPEAKER_00 10:16

Well, pretty excited about

Pride And Freedom In Middle School

SPEAKER_00 10:24

excited about all the different like clubs they have there for like reading and all the different stuff that they have that is used for learning opportunities and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_01 10:36

You mentioned freedom. So do you all have more freedom as middle schoolers?

SPEAKER_00 10:41

Definitely.

SPEAKER_01 10:42

What does that mean?

SPEAKER_00 10:43

Well, there's breaks between classes.

SPEAKER_01 10:46

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_00 10:47

And you get to use the darning hall, which has snacks and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_01 10:54

That sounds like really like things that anybody would look forward to, which is exciting. You know, I I haven't really thought that much about what is in store for you in middle school because you're my only child and I've never done it before. So I guess we'll be learning together. Is there anything you're a little nervous about moving from lower school to middle school?

SPEAKER_00 11:22

Not really.

SPEAKER_01 11:23

You feel prepared? Mm-hmm. It's a really good thing. So you've had so much going on this year, right? Yes. You've had so much to balance. What what was the what felt like the hardest thing to keep up with?

SPEAKER_00 11:42

Well, there's lots of tests in fifth grade, just for fifth grade. There's gonna be more and more, but it felt like you had to study a lot for all the different upcoming tests and grade classworks and all that.

SPEAKER_01 11:55

This was like the first year um that you were balancing, you know, things like different activities you were interested in and having to go to school before school started to participate, stay after you had different roles within the school. Did you did was it am I just putting words in your mouth? Was it hard to balance all of it? Definitely. Yeah. Wake up early. Do you have a handouts? Do you is there do you ever think about um what you may have to balance as you get older? Sometimes. Do you have any feelings or worry about that?

SPEAKER_00 12:47

Not really.

SPEAKER_01 12:49

You're feeling like it's it's progressing more and more.

SPEAKER_00 12:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:54

Can you look back and kind of see how much you have changed since you started at St. Chris?

SPEAKER_00 13:07

I don't know, because I started when I was so little. I'm not really sure.

SPEAKER_01 13:11

Yeah. Do you have any memories of of JK? None. I was so little. You are you were so little. You were you started on basically your fourth birthday. I did start on my fourth birthday. Yes, which is uh a kind of a as a parent a wild thing to think about. Sorry, your child out. But do you have like a first memory? Do you have any early memories of being at school? No? Well, as I can think of. That's normal. That's okay. Yes. One of the things, so you have been somebody that your school journey has included some other big things, not just school, right? COVID hit, and then we moved. Do you have any memories? I think you were in JK uh when COVID hit. Do you have any memories of COVID and being in school and wearing masks?

SPEAKER_00 14:18

Yeah, definitely. I think

COVID Memories And Moving Homes

SPEAKER_00 14:20

it was first grade when it hit.

SPEAKER_01 14:22

You were younger than that, but you were still wearing masks in first grade. Yeah. And was that easy for you or tough for you?

SPEAKER_00 14:32

It was kind of mixed because we done a lot off school actually.

SPEAKER_01 14:50

Yeah. I I remember when you were um in first grade, there were still masks. And um that's actually a really critical year with reading. And it really helps to see people's lips moving, especially your teacher. I remember that being a standout, but I don't I didn't re I don't know if you have any memories of it being bigger than just that. I think you're right about that.

SPEAKER_00 15:18

I don't really have any memories of that.

SPEAKER_01 15:20

Yeah, I think, and that's that might be a good thing because COVID was very disruptive for a lot of people. So, you know, I what I do for a living. Real estate. Yeah, help people buy and s sell their properties. What was it like for you to move?

SPEAKER_00 15:41

It was really sad. Because I was in the country, had a bunch of animals, donkeys, goats, dogs, a lot of it. Um It was a lot, honestly. We it was a lot on me because I was my third grade year. You felt like that was a tough year to move. 'Cause there was a lot with multiplication and division.

SPEAKER_01 16:10

Yeah, we made a move from our farm to the city so that we could be closer to your school community and be closer to school. And it was a hard decision for sure. What do you remember most about the farm?

SPEAKER_00 16:31

I remember that the farm had had a lot of memories for me, like on Halloween and stuff like that. Yeah. Like a lot of holiday memories, like Christmas, getting lots to open, lots of presents.

SPEAKER_01 16:50

Do you remember the day we brought the goats home?

SPEAKER_00 16:53

Yes, I do. And the donkeys, actually.

SPEAKER_01 16:55

And the donkeys. Uh we live next door to um an equestrian center, and I love to go on walks over there at night, didn't I? And you love to go with me. Did horses make you feel how did horses make you feel?

SPEAKER_00 17:16

They were quite scary because they were big. Um, I did like to ride them sometimes. That was great.

unknown 17:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:25

What was your experience having donkeys? A lot of people think donkeys are stubborn and maybe a little bit dumb, which is kind of mean to say. But what was your experience having donkeys? Actually, they were really sweet. They were really did you think they were smart? Yeah. Buddy was so smart. I think that's the most surprising thing about having donkeys to me was how smart they were. They're really emotionally intelligent uh creatures for sure. What do you think makes a place feel like home? Well there it's that's how for my whole life. Yeah. So do you think home is a place or a feeling? A feeling.

SPEAKER_00 18:18

It's a feeling.

SPEAKER_01 18:22

For anybody that's having to let go of s of a of a of a chapter, like a property they love, and move into a new chapter, what advice do you think you would give them?

SPEAKER_00 18:39

Spend lots of good time in your older house and to make good memories in it before you leave.

SPEAKER_01 18:48

Then what about once you've left and you've moved on?

SPEAKER_00 18:56

Well Once you've moved on, I think honestly that there's not much to do that you can do about it. Like it's just pretty much gone.

SPEAKER_01 19:16

And then do you I know we've had a lot of talks in our household about it. I was very sad with you. Uh it was a gorgeous chapter of of our life together. But I think there's also a lot of other beautiful chapters ahead of us. So do you think keeping a positive mindset is important?

SPEAKER_00 19:41

Definitely. Being optimistic is very important because it really changes your perspective on things.

SPEAKER_01 19:51

Do you think that do you subscribe to the to the advice that dad and I give you that you decide if you're gonna have a good day or bad day?

SPEAKER_00 20:02

Sometimes. Sometimes I just don't have a good day.

SPEAKER_01 20:06

Me too. That's that's the human journey for sure. What do you think adults in today's world misunderstand about kids?

SPEAKER_00 20:25

Tough question. I think that

What Kids Wish Adults Understood

SPEAKER_00 20:33

I think that they misunderstand some some tough things because sometimes they think it's easy, but it's still still a lot of work.

SPEAKER_01 20:43

So sometimes uh do you think as adults we oversimplify things and it's not as simple as we think? Sometimes. Not all the time. You know how do you have any specifics? If not, it's okay.

SPEAKER_00 21:00

Uh sometimes people overthink and that's okay. What do you think a good life looks like? Well, to be healthy, to be strong, to be like not sick all the time. Uh to be medicated well, to have a good house, good parents.

SPEAKER_01 21:23

What role do you think having good friends plays in that?

SPEAKER_00 21:27

A big Because I guess they give you I don't know, they're just a positive part of the day.

SPEAKER_01 21:38

To have someone to share something in common with. What do you think makes somebody a really good friend?

SPEAKER_00 21:48

Well it's not just that they're nice or anything like that. I feel like it's that they understand what you're saying. And they're I'm not really sure. I don't think about that.

SPEAKER_01 22:08

A lot of times we don't think about it, right? But I think what comes to your mind first is usually what stands out to you. So you know how I tell you that I've never been a parent before?

SPEAKER_00 22:23

Yeah, definitely, because I'm your only child.

SPEAKER_01 22:25

Yes, and I'm still learning and I make a lot of mistakes.

SPEAKER_00 22:29

Never.

SPEAKER_01 22:33

What mistakes do you think maybe dad and I have made during your elementary school years? Is there anything that that we've done that you think, oh my gosh, you don't know what you're doing?

SPEAKER_00 22:51

Not wearing socks, remembering my red sweater, my dress shoes. It's really the only thing I could think of. Off the top of my head.

SPEAKER_01 23:02

Are we doing okay as a j as a parent? Def. Actually, yeah. Okay. It's okay if we're not. We're this is an honest conversation. Do you think that adults feel like they know what they're doing, or do you think that we're still learning too?

SPEAKER_00 23:22

I think that really depends on how life's going for them, because sometimes they make mistakes too. I think that they do a good job.

SPEAKER_01 23:42

Yeah, that is that's that's the that's the truth. That's the way you see it. And I think that as a as an adult and as a parent, um we're human, just like our kids are human, and it's it's normal to make mistakes. Is there anything you think I don't get right? No, sometimes sometimes I think that No, actually no.

SPEAKER_00 24:20

I can't think of it.

SPEAKER_01 24:22

I know we're real big on screens. That's a conversation that comes up a lot. What is your imp what is your thoughts on kids and screens?

SPEAKER_00 24:35

I don't have thoughts about it, but just I don't like to play a lot.

SPEAKER_01 24:41

Do you notice yourself? Do you feel better when you're when you're playing and on screens a lot? Do you notice a way that you feel if you've been on screens a lot?

SPEAKER_00 24:52

Sometimes. Sometimes I'm more happy where I'm not on screens.

SPEAKER_01 24:57

And that's not just me and dad saying that. That's how you really feel.

SPEAKER_00 25:01

Well, sometimes.

SPEAKER_01 25:04

Yeah. But you're a guy that likes to get out and get active and spend time outdoors as well, which I think is a great thing. You know, it's kind of funny to think about you entered into school, Anders, and you weren't able to read and do math problems and even funny things like pour drinks for yourself and tie your shoes. What does it feel like to have like mastered so many things?

SPEAKER_00 25:44

It feels good because I get to it feels actually happy just because I get to uh know a lot of things that are very useful for life, even if like tying your shoes, like that's still a useful, useful skill in life.

SPEAKER_01 26:00

What have you learned about reading? Because you've gone from have you gone you've gone from a guy who kind of fought us about reading, and now you're you're reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid at rapid speed. What do you think what do you think has gotten you into reading so much?

SPEAKER_00 26:27

Just having a couple minutes in my day or in my schedule that is set for that. So a schedule is really helpful. Really helpful.

SPEAKER_01 26:37

What other things do you try and schedule into your day? Do you follow a routine every day? Yeah. What does that look like? Is your morning routine pretty important? Yep. Brush my teeth, floss, deodorant, all that, shower.

SPEAKER_00 26:54

And then you come downstairs and what do you do? Eat breakfast, pack my snack, do my water bottle.

SPEAKER_01 26:59

Yeah. You check your list the whole way through, right?

unknown 27:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:05

Hair product, all that.

SPEAKER_01 27:08

And we get to school. You know, sometimes when you're an adult, Anders, and you don't have any schedule to follow, it's up to you. We stop doing the things that we need to do. And so a routine is can be something that's really important. Do you think it's a part of why you've been uh so successful

Routines Practice And Learning To Read

SPEAKER_01 27:30

in lower school?

SPEAKER_00 27:32

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 27:33

Talk to me about practic practicing things.

SPEAKER_00 27:38

Say more.

SPEAKER_01 27:39

Yeah. Well, so sometimes not no one is born being good at everything, right? And it takes practicing to become good at something. Like this podcast is a great example. You know, I'm still a beginner in it. And so the more I do it, the more I practice, the more I watch people and listen to people doing podcasts, the better off I am. What has practicing taught you about the results you get?

SPEAKER_00 28:20

Well, practicing makes you better for sure. Even on tests, all that sorts of stuff. It's really important for everyday life because you do a lot of things a lot of times, actually.

SPEAKER_01 28:34

What is something you can think of where practicing really paid off? It can it doesn't have to be school, it could be like swimming or tennis or golf or actually golf because I guess a lot of my friends play it.

SPEAKER_00 28:48

It's fun to just go out in the course and hit.

SPEAKER_01 28:51

So practicing you think makes a big difference in your golf game?

SPEAKER_00 28:55

Yeah. Because it's a hard sport.

SPEAKER_01 28:59

What do you think it is about golf that you like?

SPEAKER_00 29:04

Well, it's not just calm. It can be it can actually be really frustrating. Right but I think that it's it's calm. Calm. Because it you think with your brain about your about your style of hitting the ball, all that.

SPEAKER_01 29:34

Do you like that it's such a challenging sport?

SPEAKER_00 29:37

Yeah. Because then it gives me something to work work towards.

SPEAKER_01 29:41

So that comes back to the whole practice thing. Yeah. It's so funny. It as humans, we get frustrated that we're not good at something immediately. And then when you stop and think about it, common sense tells you, of course I'm not. I need practice. But then we don't want to practice because that can be boring or frustrating. And so it's this constant cycle we're always on of how to how to trick ourselves to love the practice, not just the results. Do you have any um do you have any questions for me? I'm gonna turn the turn the podcast on its head.

SPEAKER_00 30:25

Well, what do you find most interesting about real estate?

SPEAKER_01 30:30

Oh, um, that's not a planted question, I promised you. What's most interesting is for me, everybody in every property is a puzzle. Nobody is the exact same. And I love trying to figure out that puzzle for people and to help them put together a game plan to help them achieve their results. That is what I find the most interesting.

SPEAKER_00 31:00

I can agree with that. How do you make friends with so many people in real estate and have so many clients that you can refer to? That is such a great question.

SPEAKER_01 31:15

Well, the truth is, it's been 22 years for me in the business. So I've had a long time. And there's a book, Andrews, that I love. It's called Chop Wood Carry Water. And it's about doing the mundane things over and over again to become a master in just the most fundamentals. And so for me, it's been about building meaning how I have gotten been so fortunate to have so many people that um I've become friends with, both as agents and clients. It is just building a really important relationship with that person and making sure that my my relationship with them is more important than just helping them buy or sell a house, that I want to be a part of their life, helping them with if there's a role that I could play in helping them with their life, not just the transaction, then I'm a part of that. Did you think I would say that?

SPEAKER_00 32:29

Not really. Honestly, no. But I don't really have any more questions. I think we answered them perfectly.

SPEAKER_01 32:38

Do you have any questions about me in school and moving on from middle school elementary to middle?

SPEAKER_00 32:44

Not really.

SPEAKER_01 32:45

Okay, that's great. Um I kind of think that you know, we've been talking about endings and new beginnings. Is there any other questions that you want to ask me about? Doesn't have to be real estate, because I'm Well, I guess. Sure, I'll ask.

SPEAKER_00 33:07

Yeah. How was your transition from lower school to middle school?

SPEAKER_01 33:13

It's been a long time. Oh yeah. Because I'm 45. So what I can remember is um I think I don't think I had the same level of confidence you do going into this big transition. I was really nervous about middle school, but I also remember being really excited because our middle school was going

Real Estate Relationships And Consistency

SPEAKER_01 33:40

to incorporate two different elementary schools. So I was going to get to see people that I had not seen, like I might have known socially. Um, so I was excited about getting to know more people. Um, you know, I think middle school for a lot of people is it's a big, it's three years of a lot of change. So it can be a little, a little kind of wonky. But I don't think everyone has that experience. I think some people find middle school to be uh just an extension of lower school. I remember feeling I remember feeling nervous about it.

SPEAKER_00 34:27

I hear a lot of add on, add on, add on, because you learn multiplication, adding, subtraction, division, all this simple, simple mechanics, and then they just add and add and add on.

SPEAKER_01 34:40

Life is like that. It's like leveling up, right? We level up. And sometimes we take the skill sets and we take the knowledge we have from where we were before, and then we add it on. Is there anything else you want to talk about that we didn't that we didn't talk about?

SPEAKER_00 35:01

I think we went over a lot of the important stuff that's important for me as well.

SPEAKER_01 35:06

Yeah. What would you say to parents that are feeling kind of sad that it's coming to a close this chapter and their kids are going on to the next chapter? What would you say to those parents?

SPEAKER_00 35:20

Well, to keep an optimistic attitude.

unknown 35:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:24

And to be happy for your for your kid, your daughter, your son, whoever.

SPEAKER_01 35:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:30

Because it's gonna be important for a lot of things in life because those add-ons they play a big big impact.

SPEAKER_01 35:42

How so? How do you think? There's no right or wrong answer.

SPEAKER_00 35:51

We're just curious what you Oh, I think that the skills are used in surprisingly pretty much every job you do.

SPEAKER_01 36:01

Yeah, you're learning like the building blocks of everything. So Anders, I ask um everyone these two questions at the end. You okay if I ask you these? Sure. Okay. So this is kind of like the closing of of our podcast. So who do you think you're becoming right now?

Middle School Nerves And Leveling Up

SPEAKER_00 36:33

I think that I'm becoming more of a man because I'm getting older. And I hope to be serving all the people around. I hope that all the people that I'm uh meeting are trustworthy and are polite to other people actually.

SPEAKER_01 36:59

One thing I didn't expect, Anders, as um, as a parent was watching you as you went through as you've gone through different years in school, how much I would be changing as a human being. Because when you the one of the one of the gifts of being a parent is getting to see the world from your perspective. So things like that you wouldn't like, that you were so busy and didn't see anymore, even though they were right there, it's like become really beautiful and you notice things again, like when you were a little boy, like loving flowers or pointing out birds or things like that. So I didn't expect myself to change so much as a as a human being when you were going through school. I could say that that's a great thing. Yes. So do you what do you think I'm becoming?

SPEAKER_00 38:11

Better parent every day because you listen to my feedback.

SPEAKER_01 38:16

Well, thank you. What would you say to someone who says who has the mindset that they aren't capable of changing? That they aren't that they're stuck.

SPEAKER_00 38:34

How to write a list of all the things that are going right in your life and all the things that are going wrong in your life. And you'll look at the list and you'll most people will realize that it's actually not that much.

SPEAKER_01 38:54

I think that's a great perspective to to maybe that is

Who We Are Becoming Next

SPEAKER_01 39:00

being, you know, grateful for what you what you're good at and what's going your way. Do you think everyone has it? Um you think everyone has things on both sides of that list? Yes. And I and it certainly would be insensitive of me to not say that some people certainly have more things on their list that are negative, right, than positive. Some people are born into really tough situations. But I think that being positive and looking at what you have is really important. Is there anything else you want to share?

SPEAKER_00 39:45

Oh, I think we really went over everything.

SPEAKER_01 39:47

We've got to get you more sleep, guy. You're over there yawning.

SPEAKER_00 39:53

I yawn up like four times already.

SPEAKER_01 39:55

It's all right. You're growing. You're you're certainly growing. Um, you know, I think what I'm taking from this as we sit here and and talk about this is how important it is to recognize the seasons that we're in, and especially the ones that are ending. Because I think they shape us in ways we don't really see right away. Does that make sense to you? Yeah. And maybe that's what unfolding really looks like. It's not just moving forward, but I think carrying pieces with us and letting them become a part of who we're becoming next. Anything to add to that? Well, I am really grateful that you took a moment to sit down with me and pause and reflect upon the last seven years of your life. I'm really grateful that you wanted to be a part of the discussion. And I can't wait to watch what you do next, buddy. Thank you. You're welcome. It was so fun.