An Army of Normal Folks - Coach Bill Courtney: “I Was Miserable On Father’s Day, Until…”

Episode Date: June 16, 2024

Our host brings us a special short episode on his difficult and yet redemptive experience with Father’s Day.Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey everybody, it's Bill Courtney with an army of normal folks. Today's Father's Day and last year we recorded a Father's Day message that we got a lot of good response from and we're going to rerun. It's real personal for me, but I think it has a greater lesson for everybody. And I hope you'll listen to it right after these brief messages from our generous sponsors. Shop with Rakuten and you'll get it. What's it? It's the best deal, the highest cash back,

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That'll make them softer. And if you wanted some kind of scent, you can use essential oils. Wow, wow, wow. Catch new episodes of Grown Up Stuff How to Adult every other Tuesday on the iHeart Radio app or wherever you get your podcasts. Grown Up Stuff. Okay, everybody, welcome back. So a few weeks ago, we were recording some video content.

And during that, the following is what I had to say about Father's Day. I hope you find it meaningful. My dad left home when I was four. We really didn't have much of a relationship. He actually passed not too long ago. It was my stepbrother that actually told me. I had nothing to do with it. not too long ago and it was my stepbrother that actually told me and I had nothing to do with it. We had no relationship and there were a lot of there were a lot of my mother was very well intentioned and I don't want to

make it sound like she's evil but there were a lot of guys after that that came into my life, and there were a lot of guys that left. And so as a result, Father's Day has always been a really kind of sore spot for me. I didn't even recognize it, but in my early 40s, Lisa pointed out to me, more than pointed out, very frustratingly said, you know, quit being an asshole on Father's Day.

It's not about you anymore. You have your own children. And now you are a father. So I know you can't celebrate Father's Day from a standpoint of celebrating a father, but you can celebrate Father's Day from the standpoint of being a father. And I didn't even recognize that I got miserable

on Father's Day, but I did. And the truth is, you know, I identified as a kid, now I identify with the kids of Manassas a lot more closely than I identified with my own children in terms of my reality. Understand growing up without a father. Understand the kind of hopelessness and sadness that accompanies not having a father in your life and all that that entails and I understand the sadness and I understand that when you're a 14-15 year old strapping guy and you look at the mirror and your father has no interest in you. I understand looking in the mirror and thinking something must be wrong with me. You know,

why is it that I lack such value that my home father doesn't even want to spend time with me, especially on Father's Day? And I fought that for many years and I know many of the kids that played football for me and my wife has fought that for many years. So on the one hand you see a grown man with a business and some success and been married to his wife for 30 years and these beautiful four children who've grown up well adjusted and happy and healthy. And you think, oh, well, I know what that guy's life looks like. But the truth is you don't.

You have no idea the trauma that preceded the life that I have now. And as a result of that, people have always asked me, how do you think you connected so well with the kids of Monassas being this white business guy? And the truth is, I don't identify as a white business guy. I identify as a kid that came from a lot of trauma. So the truth is, I really understand them more and their reality more than I understand my own kids' reality because I didn't grow up like my kids did.

So it took a lot of work to get to a place that Father's Day is a happy day around my house but Lisa whipped my ass into shape like she normally does and now we have good Father's Days but it took a long time to get there. So there it is, folks. That's my Father's Day story. I think holidays mean different things to different people, and Father's Day for me really means redemption. My wife and my children, my family, have redeemed me in so many ways.

And what I have so much to be thankful for on Father's Day now is the four beautiful children I have and what they have meant in my life and what they have meant to fulfill my life and a place that I was very empty. So to my wife and to my children, to my family, I love you and I thank you. Okay guys, on the final note, right now, believe it or not, we're in the top 15 podcasts in the world on Apple's chart, which is nuts. And it's because of you guys, it's because of the army of normal folks, It's because of our listeners, our subscribers, and candidly our amazing guests. You know what would be crazier? If we made it to number one. We're trying.

We would like to get to number one, not because we get to put a feather in our hat or we get to pat ourselves on the back. But by going up the chart would mean even more attention, more listeners, and more Army members and therefore more impact on our community. So if you're game to go number one with me, the best thing you could do is subscribe on Apple rate, review us hopefully with five star rating if you think we deserve it and share this episode and our other episodes and episodes that come out next week Share them with others you love friends

Share my social media email and anywhere you can Together, I genuinely believe we can change this country Starts with us. It starts with you Thanks a lot, and I'll see you next time It starts with you. Thanks a lot and I'll see you next time. This is the story of how a group of people brought music back to Afghanistan by creating their own version of American Idol. The joy they brought to the nation.

You're free completely. No one is there to destroy you. The danger they brought to the nation. You're free completely. No one is there to destroy you. The danger they endured. They said my head should be cut off. I'm John Legend. Listen to Afghan Star on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. MTV's official challenge podcast

is back for another season. And so are we. I'm Tori Deal. And I'm Anissa Ferreira. The wait is over, guys. All Stars 4 is finally here. And this season takes it to a whole new level. Old school legends, modern power players, ex-lovers

are all competing in Cape Town, South Africa for the prize of $300,000. And we're going to be right here along with you fans covering every episode on the podcast. Listen to MTV's official challenge podcast on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey everyone, this is Molly and Matt

and we're the hosts of Grown Up Stuff How to Adult, a podcast from Ruby Studio and iHeart Podcasts. It's a show dedicated to helping you figure out the trickiest parts of adulting. Like how to start planning for retirement, creating a healthy skincare routine, understanding when and how much to tip someone, and so much more.

Let's learn about all of it and then some. Listen to Grown Up Stuff How to Adult on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Open your free iHeart app and search Grown Up Stuff. Grown Up Stuff. My name is Ariel. I moved to the US at 19. I spoke no English and I struggled

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Find free and supportive adult education centers near you at finishyourdiploma.org. Brought to you by Dollar General Literacy Foundation and the Ad Council. Last season, millions tuned into the Betrayal podcast to hear a shocking story of deception. I'm Andrea Gunning, and now we're sharing an all new story of betrayal.

Justin Rutherford. Doctor, father, family man. It was the perfect cover to hide behind. Detective Weaver said, I'm sure you know why we're here. I was like, what in the world is going on? Listen to Betrayal on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.