2 Dads No Plan
Honest conversations, questionable wisdom, and plenty of laughs as we talk about the realities of being dads and men. From mental health to movies, collectibles, hobbies, and random facts, nothing is off the table.
2 Dads No Plan
First ever Episode
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Hello and thanks for listening! We are 2 Dads with no Plan. Just a little intro into who we are and what we are all about.
Is this thing working? It is. Hey, yours is working too? It is. Oh man, we've done it. Anthony, two dads, no plan, live for the first time ever. Like this is the this is the the the launch. This is the the absolute craziness. This is uh yeah, man, this is where we start. Hey, you know what? I mentioned this to quite a few people about doing this podcast, and everyone was like, you know, what what made you think about this podcast? And I think before I get into that whole uh sort of making the dreams come true reality thing, how about uh you introduce yourself, Anthony, uh, and uh how we met, and we'll uh we'll jump from there.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I met Rob in uh Punta Cana, if memory serves me correctly. 2019. Yeah, we were at the same our wives got along, we got along, the sun was shining, the drinks were flowing, and the sand mites were biting, and we just had a great old time in Punta Cana. And then by coincidence, Rob lives in the same city as me. We're on opposite ends, so we don't get to see each other very often, but uh yeah, we maintained a nice connection, and Rob's just one of those really genuine good people, good dads. Awesome. So when he reached out to me uh with his dream, I figured, hey, let's do it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, absolutely. And uh to add to that, to make it, I guess, a little bit more interesting, I think is that uh if I don't if I remember correctly, we we found a connection, we had no idea we're from the same city until um a very let's just say colorful individual from we'll say south of us had mentioned castration and we had this little joke, yeah. Do you remember? And I said, Oh weiss, you got it. I said, Yeah, I got sniffed Dr. Weiss, and you said me too.
SPEAKER_01And I was like, get out of here bonded by uh oh my god, snippy snippy.
SPEAKER_00That's right, exactly snippy, yeah, you got it. So, yeah, that gives you a little bit of an idea of how Anthony and I came to uh be good buds and uh the same with the wives. I mean, the wives get along perfectly, like you said, and yeah, man, it's crazy. So let's go back uh a couple weeks. I'm not one of those people that believes in, like, oh, you know, your dreams tell you something, and you have to, you know, if the dream tells you to paint the house green, you gotta paint the house green. But I had a dream, it was very specific. So, a picture, if you will. I'm in a I guess a recording studio, I guess by definition from what it looked like. It was being produced, it was a live show. I remember that uh kind of like in a like a news report or something, they always like point their finger at you and they cue you, right? Like three, two, one and hit it. Yeah, exactly. And after doing that, uh I turned, looked at my co-host, and I said, Wow, what a great question! What do you think, Anthony? And brightest day, there you were, looking right back at me. And I woke up and I was like, that is absolutely crazy. That uh, you know what? Again, I'm not one of these people that believes that uh, you know, it's it's destiny and stuff, but this is just making one of those you know, quote unquote dreams come true. Uh because indeed I did reach out to you and said, Yo, dude, what do you think of this? Like, this is a crazy dream, but man, I I I think it'd be great. You know, you have a great, great, great personality to do this uh as well. I mean, you're an amazing father, you're uh one of those uh social media, social media and yeah, man, you guys you do so much with the girls in your family and stuff, so I'm uh very much in awe, right? Because I miss those days. Uh how old are you?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. How old are your daughters now? God, I should know this, right? 10 and 9, I believe.
SPEAKER_00Wow, brilliant. And and for those that uh need to know as well, mine's uh 32.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, there you go. So there's gonna be a lot of uh before and after type of conversations here. Absolutely at different stages in life, but yeah, you know, like I said, yeah, like one of the things that bonds us and what brought us together here is that we're both family men, you know, loyal to our wives, we're happy, uh genuine, genuine, genuine. Yeah, yeah. I know you know your son and and your family is everything to you, and uh my daughters, you know, they drive me bad shit crazy, but they are everything to me, and uh yeah, life. And you know, kind of circling back to your dream of having a podcast, you know, it kind of made me think of uh Doc and Back to the Future there who created the uh what is it, the flux capacitor or whatever based on a dream. So, you know, based on Marty McFly and all that, I gotta I gotta follow your dream here.
SPEAKER_00So so so are you saying I'm doc and you're Marty? Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I guess I guess the age uh age definitely yeah, definitely plays into as well. Oh that's awesome, buddy. That's awesome. For those of you that don't know, I'll give a quick background about me. The other thing, actually, I guess before I even jump into that, another unique bond that and Anthony and I actually have is that we both had sort of, and I don't know if you want to talk about it, but uh we both had a sort of life-altering sort of experience. Yeah, for myself, I had a very serious car accident, uh, it'll be 10 years ago, this August, and it rocked my world. I uh I've had numerous surgeries. I suffered through what they terminate, not terminate, but the term is uh traumatic brain injury. So it really affects my short-term memory and my multitasking. My eyesight was whacked. There was just, I mean, it was just a whole crazy stuff, and it threw my life into a spiral and gave me a whole new perspective. Um, so you know, I was I was asked the other day, I'll never freak yeah, this is actually crazy, but uh by a person who shall rename shall remain nameless, yeah, but their name rhymes with Derek said to me, Okay, well, what makes you so uniquely qualified to do this podcast? And I said, dude, it's called Two Dads, No Plan. No plan. We don't have any idea. Yeah, exactly. You know, you know what I mean? Like, I mean, and aside from the fact that the the you know title says it all, we're just two dads talking shit, right? That's yeah, basically what this is gonna be about. We're gonna bounce some stuff back and forth, but we'll come up with some you know topics, that kind of stuff, but it's really gonna be off the cuff, non-scripted, you know, craziness, and yeah, we'll jump from there.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, hell yeah. Uh pretty much. Uh the you know, I think what was the the the thing that we said? I I know we don't have a plan, but we did say like that we were gonna kind of approach a topic of like, I guess what what is it about growing up or being an adult that surprised us, or that we weren't like you know, planning. Yeah, I think the the the more I think about that, it it kind of falls into the you know, adults know what they're doing, my ass, right? Like you have an older son, you've gone through a little bit more, uh but at the end of the day, we're both like you know, kids trapped in an adult body trying to figure all this shit out. And uh, you know, between dishes, work, and life and uh all the medical stuff, uh it's it's tough, it's tough for everyone, right? It's very relatable on that note. Yeah, and uh I guess in terms of circling back, uh sorry, I forgot to broach the topic after the in terms of the health stuff. Yeah, I'm 46 now when I was 40, I had a heart attack, actually, which you know scared the crap out of me and my family. I have a couple of stents in my heart and taking pills every day, and I'm on the you know, we go either lose weight uh because I I suck at uh at exercising and you know, but uh you know, those six extra years, it's it's you know it's the bonus round, right?
SPEAKER_00Absolutely, brother.
SPEAKER_01Every day is uh is a gift, and uh I remind myself of that quite often. And you know, I can't always live as if I'm gonna die today, so you know you gotta start start saving money and do things for the long term, even though you don't believe in the long term as much. But yeah, but yeah, so no, me and Rob do have some life experiences. I'm sure people at home listening have have their story to tell. Absolutely. Um and yeah, yeah, I guess no plan.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, man. Yeah, actually, you know what's funny is that uh when you mentioned the topic of you know being an adult now and comparing it to a kid and stuff, and you know, one thing that actually jumps to mind for me is that I always assumed growing up that once I was an adult, I'd have all the answers. And you know what's crazy is now that I'm older, I actually have more questions than answers. And that's fair, like that's like it's crazy, you know. I mean, obviously we have life skills, like you said, uh life experience and all this kind of stuff, but man, I've got more way so many more questions than I did as a kid. So it's uh it's it's it's quite the uh quite the conundrum, I guess you will.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, sometimes it's also the same question you asked 10 years ago or 20 years ago, but just pivoted slightly because of your experience and because of how things happen. So yeah, the question's not the same anymore, even though you know you may be repeating yourself on on some level.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, actually, that's a good point. I just didn't actually think about that because it's definitely gonna alter. But I was thinking that when you kind of tossed the idea out, it was I was thinking in terms of you know, what's the one little, I guess, thing, lie thing you were told, you know, when you were young, and as you grew older, you realized it was all bullshit and it, you know, it rocked your world. And most people say stuff like, Oh, you know, I I found out that uh that whole thing you gotta wait half an hour after you eat before you go swimming was a lie. And you know, if you if you make faces, it's gonna stay that way, or you know, you're you know, too close to the TV, all that kind of jazz, yeah, which is the normal stuff. For me, it was, and I can't remember how young it was when it started, but we used to approach, I'd be in the car with my dad, and we used to approach a uh traffic light, and he would magically like count down three, two, one, snap his fingers, and the light would turn green. And I was like, Oh my god, my dad is yeah, he's a wizard, like this is crazy. And then I realized as I grew older that he was able to count down based on the other lights and that stupid flashing hand, right? And the numbers that went, I was like, Man, my world sucks, man. They're like just shattered this vision that my dad was this, you know, supreme uh you know wizard and had all these great powers. But yeah, yeah. And he would even I remember even asking him at one point, I was like, uh, you know, dad, how come it doesn't work all the time? And he says, Oh, some days, you know, I just forget to have my second cup of coffee, and I'm I'm you know, I'm not on it. And of course, you're young, you believe that stuff.
SPEAKER_01That's part of the magic, though, right? That's part of the like it's part of the magic being a dad.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. And I was just gonna say, so the the the irony is is that you know, I flash forward into being an adult myself with a child of myself and doing those same things. Like, I mean, I remember being in the backyard playing catch with Caden, and I would take the ball and I would pretend to whip it in the air, and he, you know, he'd be up there looking in the sky, where's it coming down? Where's it coming down? And when his eyes took off the wrong place, I would toss the ball in the air and then it would come down, but it would have the effect that it would up there for like ages, right? So he had this idea that oh my dad, my dad's a super strong guy, he could throw the ball to the moon and it came back to us, and so yeah. So I wonder, you know, if I broached that subject with him, what he would have thought, or when was the moment that he realized, oh my dad's full of shit.
SPEAKER_01Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, smoke and mirrors, smoke and mirrors. That's right. How about you? I think you know, uh, when they're a kid, you know, you can pick them up like you're a giant and you're so strong and you're so you know, like unstoppable. And now, you know, at a 10-year-old level, when they're starting to get taller and stronger and stuff like that, she jumps on me, and I swear to god, every bone of my body shatters, and I'm going like, oh, you know, and so that illusion of being this super strong guy kind of is fading away already for them. Of course. Where I'm like, oh daddy, get you know, get off daddy. And uh so that that you know that illusion kind of fades away. But uh like I still, you know, I still not lie to them, but you know, I'll I'll enhance stories or you know, pivot things a little bit to accommodate their age or a little bit. I mean, I'm also quite blunt with them and you know, let them watch things they may not they shouldn't be watching, and you know, that kind of stuff. But guilty. Yeah, like uh I was watching Invincible with Dylan yesterday, my 10-year-old, and Invincible is like a cartoon on Prime that's quite violent. Yeah, and I'm like, Oh, Dylan, there's a violent part coming soon. She's like, Oh, really? I'm like, Yeah, and you know, guys grabs the skull and crushes it, and I'm like, You okay, Dylan?
SPEAKER_00It's like yeah, just the blank stare in shock.
SPEAKER_01I'm like, Oh my god, maybe we shouldn't be watching this anyway. And she's like, Well, do we keep watching?
SPEAKER_00I'm like, Yeah, yeah, you know, because I want to watch it. Absolutely, absolutely. You know, my my son actually talks about so when he was about the same age, about 10 years old. I can't remember how the topic came about, but it was about these scary movies, right? Like, you know, Friday the 13th and all this kind of stuff. And I broached the the subject more on the side of like, look at all the makeup, look at all the stuff that goes into these movies. Like, yeah, it's scary, you know, it's it's a soundtrack, and turn the sound off, it's not as scary. Instead, I was trying to break it down and make it easier, thinking that I was doing such a good thing, you know, to let them understand the I guess the the horror culture and stuff, and not realizing that maybe at 10 years old wasn't as smart as they're not no kidding. But hey, you know, we all make our mistakes as adults and as parents, and of course, our kids are going to be parents themselves, and they'll make the same different mistakes, and you know, it'll uh continue on that way.
SPEAKER_01So absolutely, and and you know, even looking at my parents, like my father's uh has left us, but my mother's is still around, and like being 46, I can look at them and I also see that these people that I thought knew everything that were the parents you know, like very parental adult people, they're they're lost too. Oh, yeah, and and they struggle too, and technology is you know driving them crazy. And and and so you see all that, and you're like, wait a minute, they're just as lost as I am. This is weird, you know. So we're all we're all just talking monkeys on an organic spaceship flying through space, you know, at the end of the day.
SPEAKER_00What an analogy, man. I was thinking, I was thinking of more like goldfish in a fishbowl just swimming around endlessly, but yeah, man, you get to get to a new level. I love it. I love it. It's uh it is what it is for sure. Yeah, yeah. What your mom's, if I'm not mistaken, your mom's nickname is Super Susie. Super Susie, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so is she technology challenged or is she uh yeah, 100% technology challenged, and so is my mother-in-law um Carol. So that's a full-time gig for me.
SPEAKER_00That's you know what's crazy? Is my mom's name is Carol. Nice. Ah, there you go. Yeah, my mom's not so bad. At least she'll use a cell phone, she'll use her computer, she uses her iPad, that kind of stuff, you know, Facebook, emails, that kind of jazz. My dad, I mean, it's we uh I would say about 12 years ago, we got him a Google Home Mini because he was always asking questions and he would uh he'd call me up at the random time of the day and say, you know, Rob, uh hop on your magic calculator, which is what I called my phone, nice, and and get me this phone number. So I figured, hey, you know what? I'm going to get ahead of this, I'll get him the Google Mini. I guess after about six or seven months, I said, Dad, so you've had it for a while. What do you think? And he's like, This is crazy. He goes, How does that little tiny thing have all that knowledge? And I was like, Do I tell him about the cloud? And the I was like, you know what, dad? Just go with it. Who cares? It's there, you use it, it's great. But uh, yeah, he's uh tremendously a Luddite, you know, technology scares the crap out of him, and uh, you know, looking forward to the future, I'm wondering uh what kind of uh burden we're gonna put on our own kids when it comes to like not knowing how to do certain things and you know, maybe not knowing how to drive a flying car, or I don't know, man. It's gonna be crazy.
SPEAKER_01They're gonna have to remember my passwords for me because I'm already starting to lose my mind. So how many numbers and hyphens I can add to passwords I've been using for 10 years.
SPEAKER_00And it makes it it probably makes it worse for you too, because uh with you being at work, you probably get that uh oh, it's too close to the previous one. Please change it completely, right?
SPEAKER_01So yeah, yeah, yeah. I use one password, which I recommend for everyone, by the way. Big time, yeah, unless you lose the one password, but then absolutely, absolutely.
SPEAKER_00Well, then you got two-factor auth authentification, so that certainly does help.
SPEAKER_01No, it does help, and it's super freaking long, like it's oh yeah, uh you know, so no, it it helps a little bit. Uh but yeah, there's there's no way around the fact that passwords are a pain in the ass, and uh technology is you know, I keep thinking like technology is brutal. Like if somebody wants into my phone, they just need to knock me out with a bass bat and use my face to open my phone, like zero security.
SPEAKER_00See, bro, I I I I'm the complete opposite. I'm so trusting of people. Some people say, Hey, can I borrow your phone to uh you know call my mom and it'd be like sure, no problem. Hand them over my phone completely open.
SPEAKER_01Like, no, no, my phone is uh is private, as far as I'm concerned. They're gonna I don't know, do bad things.
SPEAKER_00I guess it also doesn't help too that uh with uh the brain injury I have that uh I can even keep passwords, I guess, a little bit more relevant. And uh I I think I remember I told you the uh the whole story about being able to remember things early on with the brain injury is randomly. Yeah, so I had to sing I'd be walking around the house, you know a song to remember something. Yeah, so I I did that with my passwords too. Like I walk around the house going, I don't know.
SPEAKER_01Don't sing your papers, yeah.
SPEAKER_00That'd be perfect, eh? I'm gonna have to cut that out.
SPEAKER_01He's got a brain injury, now we know his bank account.
SPEAKER_00Listen, some days just putting on a pair of pants is uh victory for me, you know, like one of the house with pants on. So but uh yeah, it's good, man. It's good. You wear pants? Well, only on uh Thursdays. Okay, yeah, yeah. It's pants Thursdays. It's apparently it's like I don't know, it's municipal law or some kind of okay, okay. Yeah, yeah. Well, that that's what my wife tells me.
SPEAKER_01So very nice, yes. Well, it's a good thing we have our wives to keep us uh to keep us straight and aligned and uh focused on our to-do lists and our raison d'être.
SPEAKER_00That's right. Uh and hey, let's not forget, too. I mean, I know for me, I don't know if for you I won't speak for you, but also to keep me alive. Because you know what? There's a reason why women live longer than men. It's because uh we're stupid and we do stupid shit. And uh thank God that after 32 years of marriage, 35 years together, uh, we're at the stage where I could say to her, Hey babe, what do you think about me doing this? And she would be like, What the fuck is wrong with you? Yeah, so she does keep me in line, does keep me uh alive and and safe, but uh you know, at least not safe from my own self.
SPEAKER_01So I guess me, it's more of a can't live with her, can't live without her kind of situation. Like uh the two the to-do lists that that that are part of my life are insane. Um I'm one of those, like, you know, if I sit down for 10 minutes, it drives her crazy kind of situations. But then on the side, on the flip side of that, you know, um I get so many projects done, I get so many interesting things done. The house, you know, at the end of the week looks great, the property looks great, and it gets me out there, gets me moving. I'm lazy, I'm in front of a computer screen all week. So yeah, yeah, you know, go dig me this whole move that rock, you know. It's it's good for me, whether I like it or not, you know.
SPEAKER_00Go build the go build the kids a mansion in the backyard.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, well, see, that's that's the dynamic. See, my uh I'm a new generation dynamic, so my wife is the one who built that. I'm just the one who lugged the wood over there. I'm the muscle, she's the brain. What I didn't know that. Well done, Mrs.
SPEAKER_00Uh Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01No, I'm the person who calls the guy. I don't do anything like that. But uh Erin is extremely talented and she was able to build that. Um you know, we also build a fence for our goat because we're uh we're animal people here. We have a hobby farm with a pig, two goats, uh, ten or eleven chickens, uh dog, two guinea pigs, a bunny. Yeah. So uh yeah, for the animal uh lovers out there, you'll hear lots of stories.
SPEAKER_00I I think uh I think the Roberts are gonna open up a petting zoom soon soon.
SPEAKER_01So hey, you know what? If I'll take the money, right? All you need I think enough of all their food and litter and all the crap that comes around.
SPEAKER_00I bet, I bet. I was gonna say anything missing now is a pony, buddy. You get pony rides and you're all set.
SPEAKER_01Ah, dude, I want a donkey so bad. I can't no I just can't uh the I just can't do it. I don't have the the property or the the legal legality to do so. No rooster though, eh? No, no, no roosters because not because we we don't want a rooster, it's it's more because uh they make a lot of noise. There's no absolutely absolutely I live in the country, my neighbors are pretty nice. There's no problem. We've had uh these animals for a long time, and there's no problem. If anything, people get a hoot from it, you know, they come over. When there's a goat running their direction.
SPEAKER_00Or the goat being in the house. Like that just is that is the funniest shit I think I've seen when you post up.
SPEAKER_01It's really funny. I'm like because you don't see it coming and it'll nail you right in the snow. Oh god. They don't have boundaries at all.
SPEAKER_00Well, like I said, when you post that video of you uh doing the headbutts with it, uh brought to mind that you know that uh the videos of that lunatic that takes on his goats all the time, full grown.
SPEAKER_01Yes, yes, yes.
SPEAKER_00That's yeah, man. You're just teaching that poor little thing, you know, a balls out uh killing machine kind of thing. So it's gonna be one of those days where I can't wait to see uh well. I mean, obviously I don't want to get hurt, but in the same sense of that uh that guy there that does it with his goats.
SPEAKER_01Oh, I get I get hurt, I get hurt. I bet yeah, no, the trust me, it even my pig once I lifted his head up so fast it knocked me on my two front teeth chip. Like no way. A pig is strong, man. It's like a muscle, it's insane. Absolutely and the goat, you know, like I'll be petting the pig, and the goat jumps off my my deck and lands right on my neck. Uh you know, and I'm like, what the hell's happening to me?
SPEAKER_00See, I feel sorry for you, buddy, but you you did this to yourself.
SPEAKER_01Oh, I know, I know 100%. But yeah, thanks for reminding me about the singing thing for your brain. I I remember when we were in Punta Cana, every time I was drinking and drunk, I was like singing conversations to you just because uh it was making making funny a little bit.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, nope, it's it's totally good, man. And it's and it's legit. Like I remember, you know, part of my recovery for the brain, you know, Mel would say to me, Okay, Rob, today I want you to go to Walmart, which is just around the corner, it's not very far. And I want you to pick up like bread and milk. And I'm not lying when I say this. If I had not sang a song on the way there, I would literally walk inside Walmart, blank stare, call Mel, what did you need me to get again? So with my therapy and stuff, it was singing a song. So I'm skipping down the road singing, you know, get some milk and bread, you know, just the stupidest shit. But it resonated and it stayed in my head. So that's fun.
SPEAKER_01That's not a that that's a that's almost like a good problem. It's so fun to be able to sing and stuff.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, absolutely. I and I'm sure and multiple times people thought, man, this guy just has a a day, you know, day pass from the Royal Ottawa Hospital, and uh you know, just let him walk on and do his thing, right? That's awesome, it's awesome. I still do it now and again, especially if there's a lot of stuff and I get like really overwhelmed with so much information. I'll just cut it and create a little song in my head and you know go about my days. So it still works, still works, man.
SPEAKER_01Um, so if I'm not mistaken though, you're you're not retired per se, but if I'm not mistaken, for the most part, like you don't work a full-time job.
SPEAKER_00No, I've been uh so I I three times I actually went through so they when when there's an insurance claim and stuff, and things are really, really bad, and they go through all these different uh stages of uh you know disability and stuff. When they rated me or try to rate me as catastrophic, and I know that sounds really like to me, catastrophic means like the worst of the worst, but it's just the terminology that they use. And I had to go through a barrage of test so many times, like just the craziest stuff. And every single time it came down to me being a liability, uh, me not being able to be gainfully employed. And I tremendously miss being uh productive and uh you know part of something bigger than my daily routine, which is kind of another good thing about having this podcast, is that it gives me some sort of focus and stuff, right? So yeah, so but uh yeah, so unfortunately I don't work, I haven't worked since it'll be it'll be nine years this year in August. I was really trying to get back into work, right? I was doing everything I could, I was determined I was going to go back. I mean, my life was, you know, I know you're not supposed to say the perfect thing, but like was pretty damn perfect, you know. I was uh coaching two different soccer teams uh as a competitive coach, I was teaching all the junior goalkeepers in the club. Uh, you know, I was working out five days a week, I was you know on my way to becoming an executive kind of thing, the place I worked at. So everything was great, and then you know, because of a fucking goose, everything was uh torn away.
SPEAKER_01So it's it's a bit of the maybe tell people real quick about uh the goose yeah, so yeah.
SPEAKER_00So I I was heading to work uh in the uh the west end of the city on what uh we call the Queensway here in Ottawa, Canada, and which is just a 400 highway. And at a specific exit area, about I would say 10 minutes from my off ramp, the lady in front of me slammed on her brakes because there was a fucking goose in the middle of the highway, like just you know, casually walking around like it owns the goddamn place. And so, of course, you know, I stopped in time, I didn't hit her, but the rest of the people behind me never did, and they just went right through. And you know, it I'll leave the the result of the accident, yeah, yeah. So, but yeah, all because of a goose. So, needless to say, even to this day when we're you know, we're walking, we're uh uh you know in a car on a bus, whatever, and we pass geese. Um I'm dude, I'm I'm flipping them off, and you know, like yeah, yeah, it's it's quite crazy, but uh yeah.
SPEAKER_01In terms of like the us being no plan, like uh, you know, I think deep deep talk is also part of that. And uh if I am not mistaken, please correct me if I'm wrong, like perhaps the the career path didn't go the direction you wanted, and if and your whole life pivoted on itself, but if I'm not mistaken, like a lot of good came out of this too. Like I I recall you mentioning things like even your relationship with your wife has 10x exponentially, and like this new person that you've become has has brought joy to your relationship, and absolutely uh so you know you're kind of one of those perfect stories where even when you're when life is down, you know, there there is a silver lining to these to these things.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you're absolutely right, man. It's the and again it's that perspective, right? And you know, it it it's I guess tongue-in-cheek, kind of funny that my wife used to always say that uh, you know, I have a mistress, and that mistress's name is Soccer. And yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, I I was literally gone for you know probably 35 to 40 hours a week, you know, and it made it worse in tournament times and stuff when we're going away. So it she really was starting to feel neglected, and you know, having this sort of happen and pull things back really allowed a better connection and a bond between the two of us, and and yeah, it was just having to relearn patience and stuff for each other, and you know, we're stronger than we've ever been, you know. I believe that I see it. Man, despite the fact of being in chronic pain for the rest of my life and having you know these limitations, dude, you know, life can be so much worse. And honestly, I'm surrounded by amazing people. I've got uh amazing friends, I've got uh a loving, supportive wife that puts up with my shit. I got a son that is uh to me the greatest human on the earth, and uh yeah, you know, and a hot tub in the backyard. Yeah, man. Well, it's not a hot tub right now because for the summertime I clean it out, of course, and I drop the temperature to about uh 86 degrees. And okay, yeah, I just sit in it like a my tiny little pool, man, my tiny little waiting pool. So, but yes, that sounds good.
SPEAKER_01A little chill chill chill pad for the summer heat.
SPEAKER_00That's right. What do they call it? First world problems. That's uh yes, yes, yes. Yeah, so so I may not have a petting zoo in my backyard, but I do have a hot tub, and ironically, I have a I guess it's like a man cave, man shed slash bar in the back that we've aptly named Cobra Chicken Corner.
SPEAKER_01Interesting. My uh my man cave is uh the apple tree pub.
SPEAKER_00Oh, very cool, nice. Yeah, and that that's actually something we can talk about the next time is uh maybe we'll jump off on uh our so-called bad habits. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Oh bad habits, nice, yes.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, the the toys and the collectibles and and the so forth.
SPEAKER_01So, yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, man. So listen, hey Tony, this was absolutely awesome. You know, I'm glad that it flowed as well as I I guess I dreamt, right? So uh a dream come true. I can't wait to do this again. Uh, and actually, I can't wait to see how this is gonna turn out. Uh, once I add in the itro intro and the outro, and you do all that kind of stuff. So I hope everybody's gonna be able to do it.
SPEAKER_01And we'll dive into some hot topics politics, absolutely, technology, family. Yeah, you know, this is just kind of our intro to who we are. Yeah, absolutely, and then we'll bounce on that. And if there's no listeners, who cares? I'm having a blast. And if there's a million listeners, fabulous as well. So it's a win win for me.
SPEAKER_00You got it, man. And like we said before, there are no plans, so no, yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_01All right, Robert. This is great. We'll see you next uh in two weeks.
SPEAKER_00All right, Anthony. Have a great one, buddy.