Born Fabulous
Born Fabulous
Season 3, Episode 27, Part 3: Kristen & James Zoul, "Living the Dream: Brewing Beer to a Disneyland Cruise"
Discover the vibrant, fulfilling lives of Kristen and James Zoll, a married couple who redefine independence and interdependence while living with Down syndrome. In this uplifting episode, Kristen reveals her journey to finding purpose through her work at Love Works and volunteer efforts at St. Michael's Center, while James brings a lighthearted touch by sharing his passion for brewing beer with his friends, the "Four Dudes." Their shared love for dancing, reading, and socializing with close-knit groups showcases the joy and richness of their daily lives. Relive their unforgettable Disneyland cruise honeymoon and get inspired by their harmonious blend of personal freedom and mutual support.
Additionally, be moved by the emotive lyrics and beautiful vocals of "Love is a Potion" by Melissa Riggio and Rachel Fuller, celebrating the transcendent power of love. Gain invaluable insights from Greta and Lynn Metzger on building inclusive environments, career dreams, and effective caregiving. Lynn shares her poignant transition from a corporate career to caregiving, offering practical advice on fostering respectful and communicative support teams. This episode is a heartening tribute to the endless possibilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities to lead rich, joyful lives.
www.bornfabulouspodcast.com
Facebook Page: Born Fabulous Podcast
Instagram: bornfabulouspodcast
Twitter: @PodcastBorn
Threads: bornfabulouspodcast
#BornFabulousPodcast
Hello, my name is Greta Harrison. Welcome to Born Fabulous Podcast, season 3, episode 27. The theme of this season is young adults with intellectual disabilities living full lives of independence and interdependence. This episode features Kristen and James Zoll and Lynn Metzger and Lynn Metzger. It is the last of three episodes with Kristen, james and Lynn, which is part of an in-depth series about marriage featuring parents, self-advocates with support staff, and James's employer, lynn, is an important member of their support team. Kristen and James both have jobs. They love and lead very full lives. They've been married over six years. James and Kristen have Down syndrome. Now please enjoy this clip.
Greta Harrison:Of Love is a Potion. The lyrics are by Melissa Riggio, who was the focus of episodes one through four in season one. She had Down syndrome. The music and voice are by Rachel Fuller. Love is passion. Love never fails, lost in motion. Okay, so we just talked about James's job. Now, kristen, you have a couple things you do, right. You have the job, and then you also have a volunteer job, right? So tell me what you do and what that means to you.
Kristen Rupple:Still working at Love Works with my boss Sally, make their birthday cards and show how we get new ones, the birthday cards and mail it my favorite terror job. My second one is St Michael's Center. St Michael's Center Center is vacation duty. The San Francisco Americankin okay.
Greta Harrison:So you're the first one. You're doing office work right and working with the cards and helping get out cards to people, and then the second one, you're working in a senior citizen center and yeah, we're doing that and you're first academy with kids working in classroom cleaning and new duty okay, so the?
Greta Harrison:so there's three places, or is that an old place? You worked, that's old. Oh Okay, we don't need to mention that. Okay, all right. So you guys stay busy, don't you? Yeah, all right. So how about fun? Tell me what you all do for fun.
Kristen Rupple:I love to dance. I love to read. I'm on my book club. Tell me, read my book club, tell me about your book club.
Greta Harrison:Before you go on, I don't want to forget to talk about this. Tell me about your book club the book of all the people.
Kristen Rupple:James, dan and Tammy is on it and Yusha Okay.
Greta Harrison:And you pick a book and you do, you meet every month, or how does this work?
Kristen Rupple:We do it in Zoom. Okay, we do both, because we get turns.
Greta Harrison:Oh, you read the book and you read the book in Zoom and you take turns reading the book.
Kristen Rupple:That's right.
Greta Harrison:That's really good. Well then, how often do you meet?
Kristen Rupple:On Tuesdays.
Greta Harrison:Okay, so you meet every Tuesdays, and whose idea was that? Book club Mine. That's great. You love to read, don't you?
Kristen Rupple:Yeah, I love to read and I love hanging with my friends.
Greta Harrison:And you love hanging with your friends. Okay, and what book are you reading right now?
Kristen Rupple:We got a new book A Wrinkle in Time.
Greta Harrison:That's a good book. That's a good book. Okay, so you were saying you love to dance before and you and James go dancing together, don't you? Yeah, together, of course. Is it with Special Olympics that you dance, or is that bowling? I'm confused, because you're so busy Boys and girls club. I'm sorry Say that again.
James Zoul:Boys and girls club.
Greta Harrison:The boys and girls club.
James Zoul:Yeah.
Greta Harrison:Okay, that's where you go dancing.
James Zoul:Yes.
Greta Harrison:Okay, and how often do you go dancing?
Kristen Rupple:once a month once a month.
Greta Harrison:Is that a day? That's? That's great. You know, there's a lot of couples out there who don't go dancing once a year and you go dancing once a month. That's great, okay, so you love dancing, you love to read what else?
Kristen Rupple:I love having my friends.
Greta Harrison:Tell me about those friends.
Speaker 3:Well, I have my BFF, since I was a baby. Um how do women Shelly is the year we were born um? There's Jessica, as in John, I know I was one and I know Jimmy since camp, of course, and I know Austin since 2002.
Greta Harrison:Do you have a name that you call some of your friends? Don't you have a name?
Kristen Rupple:I do.
Greta Harrison:What is it?
Kristen Rupple:Heidi Shelly, jessica Shelly, jessica Nacy Newman, of course, and Jamie and Austin Stack.
Greta Harrison:And do you call yourselves something special? Do you call yourselves the Cheetah Girls or the Cheetah Club or something? Independent women, the independent women. Okay, I like that. I love that. You're the independent women, all right. And James, what about you? You've got the four dudes, don't you? Yes, and you've been friends a long time with the four dudes, right?
James Zoul:Yeah.
Greta Harrison:And I believe the four dudes are two people with Down syndrome and one who has a different kind of disability, does not have Down syndrome but has a disability correct.
James Zoul:Yes.
Greta Harrison:Okay, and you guys brew beer together, but you've been friends way longer than you've been brewing beer, right?
James Zoul:Yeah.
Greta Harrison:All right, and so do you have couple friends too, because you each have your groups of friends, which is great. But do you also have friends as a couple? As a couple, I'm friends with everybody. Okay, all right, that's fair enough, that's good. So let's talk about vacations. How do they work?
Kristen Rupple:I never take a vacation alone with my family, and the honeymoon Disneyland cruise.
Greta Harrison:Your honeymoon was a Disneyland cruise. That sounds wonderful. And, lynn, would you pop in here a second? It's my understanding that you had some different support. You didn't have your parents go on your honeymoon, did you? Did you have parents on your honeymoon?
Kristen Rupple:No, we had our own aides. You had some aides go on your honeymoon. No, is there always you had some aids.
Greta Harrison:Go on your honeymoon, correct? Yeah, lynn, do you want? Can you speak about this?
Lynn Metzger:yeah, um, I uh. I was not part of the team at the at that time, but, as I understand it, yes, they had a another set of aides that were on their team and they took them on the cruise. I don't know too much more than that. I do know that they enjoyed that. There was some sense of independence while also having to help in hand when needed, which I think was an excellent starting point for their marriage. So that's what I know about it.
Greta Harrison:It was great. I mean, who wants their parents on their honeymoon, right? I thought it was great. That's good, all right, but you take fate when you fly or you go somewhere. But you take when you fly or you go somewhere. You have independence, but you also have some support, right?
Greta Harrison:It's a combination of both Does one of you want to speak about that how it works when you go on vacation. We did our honeymoon - a Disney cruise.
Greta Harrison:It was so fun over there. I bet, bet, I bet that was fun. And you're going to go to utah, right, aren't you? Don't you have a vacation coming up?
Kristen Rupple:you're going to utah, yes, we are um las vegas to hurricane utah okay, that's great, and so you.
Greta Harrison:You fly alone, but you might have some assistance, maybe getting to the airport and maybe being picked up. Is that correct?
Kristen Rupple:I was driving the car.
Lynn Metzger:So let me interject just real quick. Since I have been part of the team, the last few years the vacation has been primarily family oriented, has been primarily family oriented. I think it's also a residual, as you know, getting over the COVID years, so to speak, get back into a routine. I see in their future a strong possibility of them having vacation again with AIDS to give them some of that independence. We myself, kristen and James have talked in passing on very abbreviated short trips, not overnight or anything, but at this point it's the travel that they have is primarily with their parents, like when they are going to Utah and then Las Vegas to see some family members.
Greta Harrison:Okay, all right, so it's a combination. Now, like you said, we're still kind of getting over COVID, and so it's a combination, all right. James, tell me what's one word that describes Kristen?
Greta Harrison:James, tell me what's one word that describes Kristen?
Greta Harrison:Sweetheart, Sweetheart All right Kristen.
James Zoul:I learned from my dad.
Greta Harrison:You learned that from your dad.
James Zoul:Yeah.
Greta Harrison:Aw, okay, and Kristen, what word describes James? He's sweet, he's sweet. There's a lot of sweetness going on there, isn't there? Sweetheart and sweet. Okay, is there a funny or sweet story that you'd like to share with us that you had as a couple? Please give me a laugh. And our love life is beautiful, your love life is beautiful, and he makes you laugh. I love that and our love life is beautiful.
Greta Harrison:Do you have anything to add to that?
Greta Harrison:James, no, no, no. Okay, you think you have a beautiful love life too. Oh, what advice do you have for the people with disabilities coming behind you, who are trying to be included in school, trying to get their dream jobs, wishing for love and marriage?
Kristen Rupple:Right.
Greta Harrison:What is your advice?
Kristen Rupple:I work hard be happy work together. I never give up my dreams and the family and friends support us and you have family and friends who support you.
Greta Harrison:right, right, okay, is there anything that maybe I forgot to ask you or that you want to say Thank you?
Kristen Rupple:Thank you, Greta. My dreams is coming true.
Greta Harrison:Oh, I love that your dreams are coming true, do you feel?
James Zoul:the same way, james.
Greta Harrison:Yes, well, I thank you both and, before I, the interview is not quite done, because I want Lynn to pop in here, because I know that there's a lot of people out there with young adults trying to establish support teams around them, whether they have some help from their state or not, whether they're doing it on their own, which most people have to do, or whether they are lucky enough to have a state that helps them. And one of the big things is finding great people, and I've heard great things about you, lynn, that's why you're here. So if you could tell us a little bit about how you got into what you're doing, why you do it, and maybe some advice for people who are searching for the right people to hire, where to look, what they should say, how they should treat the people.
Lynn Metzger:Yeah, yeah, sure. Well, I came into this industry just two years ago. James and Kristen were the first team that I was with. I had worked for an aerospace manufacturing company here in San Diego for about 32 years. In the early part of 2020, march, covid hit the factory, shut down. The factory went back up about three weeks later on a limited capacity with key personnel, which I was chosen to be one of those key personnel, and at that time my husband was diagnosed with cancer. He's fine now, but at the time it was looking, it wasn't a really good period of time. So I tried to work with my employer at the time and they pretty much said if we can't have all of you, then we're going to need to go elsewhere. And about that time I had I had gotten to the point where I knew I needed to change the corporate life. I did it, I liked it, I loved the company, but I was done with the long hours and the and the um, all the stuff that goes with it, and I turned down the offer that they did subsequently give to me and I said I don't know what I want to do, but I know what I don't want to do.
Lynn Metzger:I very shortly thereafter, or actually it was probably about a good six months later, I was on the app Nextdoor app where, if you're familiar with that app, it's an app that people in the neighborhood can discuss things. What have you? And I saw June James's mom had put a little note on there saying, hey, looking for some home health aid to help. It was a very vague but specific, also looking for some assistance with an aid, and the way it was it was written. I just kind of connected with it. It just seems so organic, just a natural, like I was talking to somebody. I felt it right away, and so I wrote back to June and I said hi, this is me. I have no background in this. I would love to give it a shot. Aside from CPR, my medical training is, you know, not there, but I grew up in a big family. I, I, I think I can fit into this role and I'd love to give it a shot, if you'll have me. I didn't expect a response. Um, now that I know June, I know that she would have done that anyway, but at the time I thought, well, they probably want to have somebody with a little bit more something. And she got back to me and she said well, let's see. Um, we met, hit it off. We had other follow-up uh emails. Uh, I met with beth and I then I met with the whole family, got interviewed by james and kristen and bob and melody and jim and Jim and Beth, and I walked into this room going, okay, wow, let's do this. Loved everybody there. I think it was reciprocal and I said, okay, let's do it. That was about two years ago. This is the only team I'm on and I absolutely love it. Um, this is the only team I'm on and I absolutely love it.
Lynn Metzger:Um, I've had to retrain my uh thought process in regard to, you know, coming from a corporate background, there's there's different uh ways to handle some things and and I'm I found out that those, those things that I learned in my previous career were out the window, not applicable, wasn't going to happen, wasn't going to fit. I had to work on my patience, understanding and recognize things don't, things don't go in the fast paced corporate world that I was used to. So there was this learning curve of okay, we can do this, I know. So it took a few months and then we got into the groove. If I had to give anybody advice going into this field or transitioning to another part of the industry or what have you the things that I it always, at the end of the day, it comes down to respect and it comes down to communication. Those two things are pivotal and it and it goes both ways. Um, and it goes all around. And if you do not have respect for the people that you are supporting, in regard to whether it's a complex or a simple issue that comes at hand, if you don't respect the activity in the person or you don't have a heightened awareness of that respect, you're not going to last long or you can last, but it won't be a fulfilling job like it is for me now.
Lynn Metzger:Communication is absolutely key.
Lynn Metzger:It can be difficult.
Lynn Metzger:You have to learn another language, your antenna has to be geared to things at least in my experience working things, at least in my experience working in a different way, kind of like a satellite.
Lynn Metzger:I had to turn it and now be aware, have that sixth sense. So I highly recommend this particular job as a caregiver, slash, home health aid, somebody who is involved in people's lives. It is extremely fulfilling, more fulfilling than I got from metrics that I had made in my corporate world. Now I can find joy in just some little things that got accomplished that I would never have thought would be a you know, something I'd be thinking about on the way home. So patience, communication and respect, if you've got those things and if you don't, if you're willing like I was willing to to explore that part of me, um, it's, it's very fulfilling and you and you meet the family and if you're lucky, like I am, you see that there is a strong support group within their community, their work and their family, and it's key. I got lucky. Well, I feel like I got lucky. I'm sure there's other teams out there and all of that, but I myself personally got lucky in this position.
Greta Harrison:Well, I know they feel like they got lucky with you as well, and I love that you. Your story started with June posting on Nextdoor See, that's not something that most people would think of, so that's what people have to think of. They have to think outside of the box, and that's your story is a perfect example of that. So thank you for sharing that. Lynn and Lynn and James and Kristen. I thank you all for your time today. I thank you all for sharing your story and we'll still be watching you from afar and I wish you all a great weekend all right, or actually, I wish you all a great weekend All right.
Greta Harrison:Or actually, I wish you all a great week, right?
Greta Harrison:Thank you, thanks, greta. Thank you. Thank you for listening to Episode 27 of Born Fabulous Podcast's third season. This was the last of three episodes featuring Kristen and James. Please keep in mind this interview was recorded in August of 2023. I hope you enjoyed it and you want to hear more. Short video clips from most episodes are available on our YouTube channel and on BornFabulousPodcastcom. You can also hear all released episodes of Born Fabulous Podcast on YouTube now. You can also hear all released episodes of Born Fabulous podcast on YouTube now.
Greta Harrison:In episode 28, you will hear from James's bosses at my Yard Live Beer Company. They are exceptional, evolved, committed and caring business leaders. It was important to speak with them as they can give hope and guidance to young adults with disabilities, families and especially other employers. I was so honored to speak with them. Please follow and like us on Facebook, instagram, twitter and Threads. If you enjoyed this episode, I'd be honored if you would leave a review wherever you heard this podcast Now. Please enjoy this clip. Of Love is a Potion. The lyrics are by Melissa Riggio, who was the focus of season one episodes one through four. She had Down Syndrome. The music and voice are by Rachel Fuller.
Greta Harrison:Love is everything. Love is all around. Love is not hopeless. Love is passion. Love will not stop. Love is an ocean, ocean, you.