The HoneyDew with Ryan Sickler - LeeAnn Kreischer - HoneyLeeAnn

Episode Date: November 11, 2024

My Honeydew this week is LeeAnn Kreischer! You can hear LeeAnn on her podcast, Wife of the Party, but today she joins me in the studio to Highlight the Lowlights of becoming an empty nester! We talk a...bout balancing parenting with careers, the importance of community when raising kids, and how life changes once they move out of the house. SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE and watch full episodes of The Dew every toozdee! https://youtube.com/@rsickler SUBSCRIBE TO MY PATREON, The HoneyDew with Y’all, where I Highlight the Lowlights with Y’all! You now get audio and video of The HoneyDew a day early, ad-free at no additional cost! It’s only $5/month! Sign up for a year and get a month free! https://www.patreon.com/TheHoneyDew What’s your story?? Submit at honeydewpodcast@gmail.com CATCH ME ON TOUR https://www.ryansickler.com/tour Madison, WI - Nov. 15th & 16th Portland, OR - Nov. 23rd Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Dec. 6th Tampa, FL - Dec. 7th Tempe, AZ - Dec. 20th and 21st Get Your HoneyDew Gear Today! https://shop.ryansickler.com/ Ringtones Are Available Now! https://www.apple.com/itunes/ http://ryansickler.com/ https://thehoneydewpodcast.com/ SUBSCRIBE TO THE CRABFEAST PODCAST https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-crabfeast-with-ryan-sickler-and-jay-larson/id1452403187 SPONSORS: Cuddly For every $20 donated through a one-time donation, CUDDLY will gift a soft and snuggly blanket to a rescue animal in need. Go to https://www.cuddly.com/HONEYDEW

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Madison, Wisconsin. I've been waiting on this one. I'll be there Friday and Saturday, November 15th and 16th at Comedy on State. Portland, Oregon. Fired up to be back in Bridgetown, y'all. I'll be there Saturday, November 23rd at the Aladdin Theater. Fort Lauderdale. I'll be there Friday, December 6th at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. Tampa, Florida.
Starting point is 00:00:23 I can't wait to come back to SideSplitters. I'll be there Saturday, December 7th, one night only. Tempe, Arizona. I'll see y'all December 20th and 21st at the Tempe Improv. Get your tickets now on my website at RyanSickler.com. The Honeydew with Ryan sickler Welcome back to the honeydew y'all we're over here doing it in the night pants studios I am Ryan sickler Ryan sickler calm Ryan sickle on all your social media starting this episode Ryan sickler dot com Ryan sickle on all your social media. Start in this episode like I start them all by saying thank you.
Starting point is 00:01:07 Thank you very much. Whatever you do to support whatever I do, I don't care what it is. Thank you. Thank you very much. You're making a difference in my life, a positive difference. Make sure you're subscribed to this channel. And if you got to have more than you got to check out the Patreon. I'm telling you, it's five bucks. It's the honeydew with you all.
Starting point is 00:01:26 It's this show with you all. And you all have the craziest stories you're ever going to hear anywhere. It's worth a cup of coffee. It's audio and video. You're getting the honeydew a day early ad free. No additional cost. You get it censor free now because everything YouTube does
Starting point is 00:01:43 and you get hundreds of episodes literally. And if you want to even get a taste of it for free without subscribing, go watch the best of episodes I've done with Josh Wolf. We've done about three of them where we highlight some of the best moments of the Patreon right here on the main channel. And you'll be able to see exactly what we're talking about. All right. Thank you for your support of the way back. I'm having so much fun doing that. That's definitely one you got to watch. All right. Make sure you're watching that. We have a lot of fun bringing people's photos and past to life.
Starting point is 00:02:14 And come see me on tour. If I am in your town when you're around, tickets are on my website right now for all shows at RyanSickler.com. That is the biz, you know what we do here. We highlight the low lights and I always say that these are the stories behind the storytellers. And I am very excited to have this guest back on the honeydew, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Leigh Ann Kreischer, welcome back to the honeydew. She's back.
Starting point is 00:02:40 She's back. Thank you for coming back by the way. I'm so happy to spend time with you, Ryan. Talk to you. You're a breath of fresh air. You really are. Well, you are a lovely human. Just adore you.
Starting point is 00:02:51 That's very nice of you. And people have said to me, oh, Leanne Kreischer mentioned you on the podcast the other day, and I was like, that's so nice. You're a genuine, you really are a good person. Well, thank you. I'm trying to be. And I went to your little Two um, two bears, uh, bar takeover, yeah, bar takeover at that little spot in LA.
Starting point is 00:03:10 And I right away was like, uh, I just got it. I'm, I said, is Leanne Christ here in there? Yeah. I'm like, okay, that's how I'm going to find these two are over here, bar attendant and what did the guy say? Some, some old guy, what'd he say? Some guy with white hair? What is it?
Starting point is 00:03:26 Asking for you or something the security guy said to you and you're like, who the hell would that be? All right, I was like, what, who? That could be anybody. Oh, Ryan, okay, gotcha. Well, it's great to sit here with you again, but please promote everything and anything you'd like. Just my podcast, Wife of the Party.
Starting point is 00:03:41 You can find it wherever you find any podcast. I love my podcast. Best name of any podcast out there. There's so many podcasts. Wife of the Party is 100% money. Did you come up with that? I did. You did?
Starting point is 00:03:55 I did. It's great. How quick? Did you go through a bunch or did it just fucking hit you? I did go through a bunch. I don't even remember what they were. It's been like three and a half, four years now. But this one came because Burt wrote one book
Starting point is 00:04:07 and it was called Life of the Party. And one day I went, oh, well I'm the wife of the party. So it just was like, that's it. I don't remember what else the other ones, I came up with other ones and they were like, Burt was of course was like, check and see if there's a website with that name. And everything I came up with already had something.
Starting point is 00:04:23 Me too, yeah, Everybody's out there. Yeah. Even wife of the party, but I was like, whatever. I'll just do it anyway. I love it. Yeah. It's a great podcast. Thank you. I have fun. I know I was saying the other day, what if Bert wants to shut down his podcast? Would I shut mine down? And the answer is no, I wouldn't because I love it. It's so fun. Well, that's the thing. It doesn't matter. I say all the time too, like people talk about money. Look, money doesn't give a shit about your addictions.
Starting point is 00:04:49 Money doesn't give a shit about your problems. Money doesn't give a shit about your mental health. It doesn't give a fuck about anything. You gotta find whatever you can do in life that you genuinely love doing, where you would do it if you didn't have a fucking dime. That's right. That's what it is.
Starting point is 00:05:06 My passion for something, I wake up every day, I'd rather be happy making less or nothing than, and I've been at those jobs where it's affecting your health. You go home, you're annoyed, taking shit out on people because you're miserable at work or whatever. Totally. And you're making money. But then you fucking find something you love
Starting point is 00:05:27 and you're like, yeah, this is it. You're making money, but what's it cost you? That's right. Everything. What's it cost? Yeah, that's the truth. Unless you can frame what you're doing for a living to allow you to do what you love. That's right.
Starting point is 00:05:38 Maybe you can't make money rock climbing, but you work all week, so you can rock climb all weekend. Well, then you can frame that job in the right place. Yeah, but you also might be a great instructor. Totally. You know what I'm saying? There are ways to figure out what your passions are and combine them in a way. You know, not everyone's going to be a professional baseball player,
Starting point is 00:05:58 but you might be the best fucking coach. Very true. You might make good jerseys. I'm a third base coach like a motherfucker. I'm just setting them around. I can be a great third base coach in this shape right here. I was an excellent high school manager, baseball manager.
Starting point is 00:06:13 You did, you did that. I loved it. You managed, yeah. So you kept score? I did. You know, backward K's and all that stuff. All right. I did.
Starting point is 00:06:21 I kept score for, let's see, my junior, senior year. If we put you into, like, we just took you to Dodger Stadium tonight, could you keep score? Could you kind of? I could probably kind of. It might take me a minute. But then you start getting it again.
Starting point is 00:06:35 I probably couldn't get- Singles, doubles, triples, strike again. Oh, that I could definitely, yeah, I could do all that. For sure. I loved it. I loved baseball. I thought it was so fun. And I thought it was fun to travel with the team.
Starting point is 00:06:46 Like we talked about before, I'm not a girl's girl. I'm a guy's girl. So being part of the baseball team, I didn't sign up to keep score for the softball team. It was the baseball team. I loved it. I lined the field. You did? You would take the walk out there? Yeah. You get out of class to do that. Alright, smart. So yeah. Well, look, here's get out of class to do that. Yeah, yeah. All right, smart. So yeah.
Starting point is 00:07:06 Well, look, here's what I definitely wanna talk to you about a couple of things, because the wife of the party, we talked about it a little outside. You're basically a single mom all these years raising these girls by yourself, no disrespect to Burpa. We're just talking factually here. You're alone doing this thing while he's out there doing, working.
Starting point is 00:07:25 And then you finally get this moment where everyone sorted together, excuse me, and you can work together, do things together. And now the kids are in college and you're empty nesters. So you got this wild. So can we start first with just what was it like to be, because this is all before anything. So what is it like to be juggling these two young girls with a schedule like that?
Starting point is 00:07:51 And what are you also doing? Like for your love and passion then, because podcasting isn't even a thing then. So Bert started touring when G when Georgia was three days old. Damn days, huh? Yeah. Before that, he wasn't really a touring comic. He was still just trying to get a week in here, a week in there, and really hustling. So when she was three days old. So I don't really know co-parenting too much. In the beginning, we were really broke.
Starting point is 00:08:26 I managed an apartment building so that we could, because I was a writer, I wrote screenplays, and then that's why I managed an apartment building, so I could work and write all day. When I had kids, it was a perfect job. So I had free rent, health insurance, and I could kind of make my own schedule a little bit. So it was perfect for having two small kids.
Starting point is 00:08:48 That job kind of grew where my building bought a couple more buildings and I had to actually go to an office a little bit. So during that time, my kids were like maybe two and four. The three days a week Bert was home, he was full blown parent from the time I got out of the house until I came back. So I think that moment in time, it lasted for about two years. We were really co-parenting, but not parenting at the same time. We were trading off, almost like divorced. Mm-hmm.
Starting point is 00:09:19 Like I'm in a 50-50. Exactly. So Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, he was dad. Mom came home at six or seven. And then, mom had a nanny for Thursday, Friday. And then, I did the weekend. And then, when he got really, you know, things started moving and I could quit that job, it was all me all the time. All the time. He was all the time. So then, after that, I think what happened was we moved to the valley and we moved- Where were you during this time?
Starting point is 00:09:49 We were like Wilshire, La Brea area. So Hollywood, I guess. What do you call that? Mid-Wilshire, yeah. Mid-Wilshire, yeah. So we were there. Georgia went to kindergarten, first grade over there. And then we bought the house when they were going into kindergarten and second grade.
Starting point is 00:10:04 And we bought a house and a really sweet public school. I showed up in that neighborhood and I said to Burt, we will make friends here and I will get involved in this school because that's going to be my social life. Right. It has to be, right? You're alone. Yeah, it was by myself. That's what we did.
Starting point is 00:10:23 I don't think he was really into that, but I volunteered by myself. So that's what we did. I don't think he was really into that, but I volunteered in class, I became this committee, that committee. And that, to answer your question, is how I kept myself busy. We were lucky enough that I didn't have to work anymore after I'd managed apartment building. I did like keep his books and work with his accountant
Starting point is 00:10:43 and answer his emails and do like personal assistant type stuff for him even then. But for me, what I did for me was really jump into this community of families and create a family for my family. And we're still really good friends with a lot of those families from those years. But I did that consciously. Can I ask you one question? It's making me think now.
Starting point is 00:11:08 Were there any once that you guys, they saw who you were eventually or became, or have you lost any? Have any been like, we're gonna distance ourselves from the crisis. You mean because of who we are? Oh, mister, that happened right away. I don't care if there's 100 that love you, there's gotta be two that don't yet.
Starting point is 00:11:29 Let me tell you right now, almost immediately, the first parent fundraiser that first came to, oh, he wrote a joke about it. Okay, and especially wrote this joke about this raffle. That is a completely true story. Oh, I know that is, that is true. It is 100% true. And what was happening, the cool thing about me and Bert,
Starting point is 00:11:51 I don't know how I got so lucky to find the right, right, right person for me. And I actually don't know how I am that person. That's the right person for Bert. Yeah, I don't really understand the magic entirely. Well, I told you this again at that little event that I don't say anything to, but you came here and you went to the bathroom
Starting point is 00:12:13 and my dog, Princess, came to the door and cried and you let her in and she went to the bathroom with you. Yes. And we laughed and whatever. And then Bert had come, actually, Bert was here first and she did the same thing and Bert let her in. And Kirsten and I laugh all the time, like, of the hundreds of people we've had in this building, the Christchurchs are the only people, without
Starting point is 00:12:35 even knowing you guys did that, that let her come into Bath and Wither. You're definitely each other's people. We are each other's people. And as much, everybody knows that I'm his person But I don't think people really know that he's mine, right? He always says you could have married a Anybody and you'd have been okay, but I don't actually think that's true Why because I get bored really fast and so I think if I had and I'm not good with like Being cared for in a certain way. I like, of course, Burt makes me cup coffee in the morning, loves to make me breakfast.
Starting point is 00:13:10 That's being cared for, I love that. But I don't need all that kind of like, honey, I was thinking about you all day. I don't need any of that kind of schmoopy stuff. And he's definitely not that. So I don't know, I just, I found my person about the bathroom with the dog. We had, we moved into that little house for that school.
Starting point is 00:13:30 We had one bathroom, four people, one bathroom. So I am not shy in the bathroom. You come in and out my bathroom. If the bathroom, the toilet was in the corner, I'd just go pee with you here. I just don't have any kind of modesty in the bathroom. And Burt was definitely not used to that because I'd just walk in, he'd be, you know, on the toilet and he's like, whoa, whoa.
Starting point is 00:13:52 And I'm like, Hey, we're married. I've seen every part of your body. There's one bathroom. There's four people. I got shit to do. I'm going in the bathroom. So he started calling our bathroom the town hall. It's like a town hall meeting.
Starting point is 00:14:05 So the dog in and out of the bathroom is just regular. That's just how it works at our house. But I don't remember what we were talking about before that, Ryan. What were we talking about before that? We were talking about, hold on, I do know what it was. It was talking about, oh, I had asked if you lost any of the community because people found out who you were and what you were about. So this is how Bert and I work, right? We're at that wine raffle and he's doing his shenanigans
Starting point is 00:14:37 of shirt off and screaming. He's got the shirt off. Shirt off, screaming. At the wine raffle. Shirt around like this. For the school. I got all, he's's hoarding all the prizes. There were 12 prizes.
Starting point is 00:14:48 He won 11 and I won the 12th. I really, I bought one raffle ticket. You just bought all nine, you legit won. No, I bought one and he bought, I don't know, their budget. It was a completely true story. So I won the last prize and he's of course like spiking the ball and like, fuck all you betcha and all this crazy stuff. What I'm doing is watching the room
Starting point is 00:15:11 to see who's pissed and who's not. And the people we are still friends with, the Fromkins, the Grusons, the Hayslips, were laughing, the Turbos were laughing their asses off. And I went, that's where I'm going, right there. We had one guy, I just coincidentally saw him walking in the neighborhood the other day and I thought, oh, there's that guy, who demanded that we relinquish
Starting point is 00:15:37 all our prizes and that each family only be allowed to win one prize. And I said to him, oh buddy, that's not how a raffle works. That's not how a raffle works. That's not how it works. You can fuck off. And he went to the principal and got the principal involved who came to me and said, you're going to need to reel your husband in.
Starting point is 00:15:57 And I went, you're talking to the wrong person. He is doing exactly what you're supposed to do at a raffle. He bought a bunch of tickets and he won all the prizes. And where's the money going? It was going to the school. Yes. Shut the fuck up. It's a fundraiser.
Starting point is 00:16:12 You dumbass. Outbid them. It's not a sale for you to get a TV for the cost of one raffle ticket. But also if you don't reel your husband in and jackass wants to outbid, then outbid and it's better for the school. Bring it on. But not everybody's from where we're from, right? Where they're like, no, no, no,
Starting point is 00:16:31 this is a healthy, happy competition. And it should be about those raffle tickets, but whatever. So yeah, that was the first event we went to as a couple. And I just started sussin' them out. Elementary school, by the way. Yeah, it was first grade. It was no, it was kindergarten and second grade. And I was sussing them out already.
Starting point is 00:16:51 I was like, who, who, who, who, who? Okay, those four couples, I'm cool. And we'll see who those four couples come up with. But yeah, we definitely. That's great. Sussing people out. So back to being now basically a single mom, involved in the school and Bert's gone, because no longer the 50-50 thing because he's gone a lot now. And what's that like for you?
Starting point is 00:17:16 Some of it was really good and some of it was really hard. So the really good stuff is, Bert and I are always on the same page with like the base value, not always on the same page with the method of parenting to that base value, right? He was always like a lot more lax with like bedtime or eat your vegetables where you have ice cream or, and to me, those kinds of things dictate other things in your life, right? If you can do the things you don't wanna do, then you can do the things you don't wanna do when you have a job.
Starting point is 00:17:52 Where Burt doesn't have a job where he has to do things he doesn't wanna do so he doesn't see the usefulness in like a bedtime. So he was really disruptive to what I was trying to do, but agreed with the reason behind it. So what was good is that he would leave. And so I could get them on track. Well, this is what I'm sitting here thinking too.
Starting point is 00:18:13 Like, look, if you're home and you're creating this schedule, my job is not to come in and fuck with that schedule. I'm gone and you've created this pattern, these timings, these routines, and my job is to come in and uphold those fucking routines because mom's holding it down at home, not coming to me like, dad's home, fuck bedtime tonight. We're not reading or whatever.
Starting point is 00:18:36 So yeah, I completely get that. That would have been so nice, Ryan, if it hadn't happened for me. That would have been lovely. That's what I would have done, quietly. That would have been beautiful. I love what structure you've set up here. What time are they going to bed? Perfect. Eight.
Starting point is 00:18:47 All right. Eight. Get your ass embedded at eight. No, that was not what happened for me. He would come in and I had to adjust my thinking about my rigidity with it. Some of my rigidity was legit and some of it, because of our circumstances, needed to be a little more fluid. So if bedtime was like seven every night, sometimes they just would never see their dad. So if he had meetings in town, then they're going like a full week without dad, and that's not cool.
Starting point is 00:19:21 And I'd have to, I had to wrap my head around, his weekend is Monday, Tuesday, or Tuesday, Wednesday. So when he wants to go to a friend's house and have a barbecue and stay out till 10 o'clock, that's his weekend. And he also deserves a weekend, just like my kids deserve parameters to be put to bed so they're not exhausted. So I'd have to really kind of like weigh what was going on
Starting point is 00:19:44 on a week to week basis. If we're having a lot going on at school, emotional, educational, whatever, we just can't go party on a Monday night. If school and everybody's set, CPK, have a couple drinks, put them to bed at 930. But it was all managed by me, right? He wasn't going to come in and go, so tell me, how's it going? Should we go or not? He'd just be like, come on, mom, come on, let's go party. And I'd have to constantly, I was, what was that called? I was called
Starting point is 00:20:20 the governor. You got the governor in town hall over there. No, not that kind of governor. The governor on a motor. Like a little go-kart governor so you can't go 100 miles an hour. I see what's better. I said, I feel like a governor. And Bert was like, what do you mean?
Starting point is 00:20:39 You're not in charge. And I went, no, a governor on a motor where you can only go so fast. And he's like, you're totally the governor. So that part of it kind of stunk. But I also, I had one of my blessings and curses is that I have a really good ability to look at the greater good, right? And what is important to my kids and they needed to have a good relationship with their dad. They needed to not feel like I was a bad guy every time he came home. Yeah, mom's the party pooper. Yeah. And they needed a little bit of that flex. So I liked it. If he had been home all the time, it would have been anarchy, like total chaos. And I think, I really believe the reason our kids are so well balanced is because he left
Starting point is 00:21:28 and then came back. And he got the opportunity to do kind of what my dad did, which was my dad's a single dad. When I came in town, it was all about me and it was all fun. And then, you know, when I was not in town, he worked. So he did the same thing. Burt did the same thing. He would go work. And then when he came in town, he was drop-off, pick-up, softball practice, dance practice. He was really plugged in. But to be a single mom, it was exhausting. It was a lot of brain work.
Starting point is 00:22:03 There's just a lot of not just figuring out the day to day semantics of your schedule, but like, what does everybody need? You know, what do you need in this moment? And I was the only one to give it most of the time to all three people I lived with, to Burt too. So that was a lot of work. So, so yeah, when I look back on raising kids as predominantly as a single parent,
Starting point is 00:22:32 I really look to the community of families that we raised our kids with. The fact that I started a Girl Scout troop really early, that gave me a purpose bigger than myself that I could handle, that I could manage, that I could take a week off from and not worry about because I had two other or three sometimes other good troop leaders. And that gave me a lot of personal fulfillment when my kids were little, because it's something we could do together, but it was also something I did for myself.
Starting point is 00:23:02 So much like coaching a soccer team, it was kind of the same for me. No, I didn't. But I mean like a parent who coaches a soccer team, not just because they're kids on the team, but because they really enjoy doing that. That's the way I felt about Girl Scouts. And I felt like I had a bunch of skills that I could share. And one of my co-leaders was also from Maine and a big outdoors person. So between the two of us. I just see you out there showing these girls how to change tires and oil. We did. I did. I did. I did do that. Hey, no other fucking Girl Scouts.
Starting point is 00:23:34 No, I did do that. I taught them how to use a hatchet. I taught them how to sharpen a pocket knife. I taught them how to whittle. Did you really? I did. I love it. This is how you make them all, tall cocktail. Exactly. No, but I should have thought of that one.
Starting point is 00:23:51 That was a good one. No, I did. I taught him all that stuff that I grew up knowing from my dad. Here's how you hook up a car. I got a record. No, I didn't have a record available. I could have shown him that too though.
Starting point is 00:24:01 Oh, the girls got you. Hooking up a rollback and seeing it. Right. That would have been great. But yeah, so, you know, your kids don't want to learn that shit from you. Yeah. But they'll learn it in the context of that group.
Starting point is 00:24:15 Got it. Right? Yeah. So, and for Isla too, I identified really early when she was like four, that she didn't learn like everybody else. And by kindergarten, she was like four, that she didn't learn like everybody else. And by kindergarten, she was like last on the list of who had their letters. And I knew she was really bright. She's dyslexic. So is Bert. So is Bert's dad. So is my dad.
Starting point is 00:24:38 So is Bert's sister. Yeah, it's all- And you, not you, huh? No, not me. So I was like, I think this is dyslexia. So in kindergarten, I thought to myself, what she needs is this peer group in the classroom, outside of the classroom where she can excel. And that's another reason I started the Girl Scout Troop. So I was like, she will be, she was such a wild woman.
Starting point is 00:25:01 She was like a climb and jump off stuff, climb and trees, not like the academic kids she was with. So I created this Girl Scout troop with like all her friends, but all her friends were like super bright in school, bright kids so that it would normalize life for her, you know, so that she could excel somewhere because there's no PE in school anymore. That's where you excel. Is that right? No, there's no PE.
Starting point is 00:25:26 She got PE one day a week. And then there's no art classes. What? There's no music classes. This is where her brain excels. Right. It's athleticism and art. And creativity.
Starting point is 00:25:37 And creativity. So yeah, you draw pictures in kindergarten, but it's all with the purpose of writing a sentence or whatever. And then at a certain age, in third grade, you're not doing any art anymore, not really. pictures in kindergarten, but it's all with the purpose of writing a sentence or whatever. And then at a certain age in third grade, you're not doing any art anymore, not really. And so I just needed to normalize life for her so that she felt
Starting point is 00:25:54 just like everybody else somewhere. So Girl Scouts was that for me. So I put a lot of effort into it because I thought I'm going to, I'm going to teach things she's going to be good at, but the collateral damage of that, so to speak, is that all these kids who would never get the opportunity to learn how to use a hatchet will get to learn how to use a hatchet. That's something I will do just no-brainer because we go back to Georgia every summer. That was a really important piece of being a single parent, was that I was able to give in that way to something that I really believed in.
Starting point is 00:26:31 And still keep yourself. Yes, that was mine. And also our school put on this huge fair for a fundraiser every year. And because of my kind of construction building background, it's something that has to be built and torn down in like two days, not joking. It's built one day, then the fair, and then torn down. And so I weaseled myself in there and became the head of the build committee. So I was just in charge of building and tearing down.
Starting point is 00:26:56 And I loved it. So that gave me that focus and it was only like in May. So it wasn't my whole year. I could still balance everything else. I think it's really important for single moms to find something like that they can throw themselves into. Yeah, real purpose. A real purpose. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:27:13 And you know, as much as it's counterintuitive to do something with kids because you're the only person in charge of your kids, for me, it was the right thing because when you throw your kids in with a bunch of kids with a couple other adults, it's actually sort of less work than if it's just you and your two kids all the time and you're constantly coming up with what to do. You got two or three other adults going, hey, let's do this this week and you just show up. So for me, that was what really worked for me. Well, I also had another really good friend whose husband was a big movie producer and he was gone all the time.
Starting point is 00:27:50 So she and I used to call each other wife. So we would, you know, I'm dropping off this morning, you're picking up in the afternoon, I'm gonna cook dinner on Thursday, you cook dinner on Wednesday and we just kind of co-parented for years. Wow, okay, that's nice. If there was a party, we were each other's date. It wasn't even discussed.
Starting point is 00:28:10 It was just known. Like if she had a party, I was her date. And the reverse was true. So I think that was a gift to me. If any other single parent can find another single parent that they feel comfortable doing something like that with, it made my life feel very full when Burt was gone. So I still talked to Burt all day
Starting point is 00:28:30 and he was still very involved. It wasn't like he left and didn't call or didn't FaceTime or didn't whatever. He was very in it. But yeah, it's really hard to be by yourself and making all those decisions and it's exhausting. And you've got two kids, two different children. So what works for this one doesn't necessarily work
Starting point is 00:28:48 for this one. So now you're balancing two different things, all still while trying to keep something that you love doing and a passion for yourself. And then you successfully do that all these years. Cuddly is a fundraising platform that supports animal welfare organizations all over the world. Over 4,000 shelters and
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Starting point is 00:30:06 And now your girls are growing up and they're both out of the house officially now? They're both in college. I've been seeing the post of Burt crying from him dropping, I laugh at the time because you were like, he's like, yeah, you're like, I'm fine. And he's just like, ha ha ha ha.
Starting point is 00:30:24 He was a mess. He is still such a mess that I actually have. Tell me about it. Cause when he was here, he, you guys weren't there yet. You were just about to be, and he talked about the anxiety and we talked about that. Your kids are now going and they're going different places. It's not, you know, it's not the same place where you can go, oh, let's go here and they're both there. So what is it like?
Starting point is 00:30:48 Well, I'll tell you one of the big differences between me and Bert. I face things both eyes forward, walking straight at it. He puts both hands over his eyes, turns backwards and I drag him. That's how he goes to any kind of life change like this. And I'm just dragging him from behind toward whatever. So I've been kind of processing this for a while since probably the spring of Georgia's first year in college.
Starting point is 00:31:21 So maybe 18 months or so, I started going, okay, this is coming. I see this coming. And he's been just like shuffling it off, shuffling it off. So I cried when we dropped Isla off. After we left her, I told him, I said, listen, with both kids, it's not their responsibility to take care of our emotional life. We don't need them thinking we're devastated and we can't move forward and we don't know what's happening because they went to college.
Starting point is 00:31:52 They're doing exactly what they're supposed to be doing. This should be a celebration of the next phase of life. Doesn't mean that we don't get our feelings. It means that we don't put our feelings on them. So we'll have our feelings after we've pulled away for the last time. Cool with that. And he was like, I got it, I got it. So he did that for both girls. Last time for Georgia, I was driving.
Starting point is 00:32:15 So the minute we got out of the driveway, he was like, bleh. Just, it was so bad. Snot running. It was terrible in front of Isla. And I kept going, this is exactly what I was talking about. Now she's going to be terrified to go to college because her dad is going to need like electroshock therapy to get you back to normal. What is happening? Poor Isla is like, you know, shell shocked from this whole hair sister moving. So this time he did a really good job. He kept it together, but he was driving to
Starting point is 00:32:49 the airport. So I cried just a little bit, maybe for like two or three minutes I cried and I was cool. And I see him, he's gripping the steering wheel, he's just getting tighter and he's crunching lower and I go, what's going on? He goes, I'm just so angry and I said, why are you on? He goes, I'm just so angry. And I said, why are you angry? He said, because I'm driving and I can't cry. I have to wait to stop driving to cry. And I was like, well, pull over and I'll drive and then you can cry. No. So we got and we get in the plane. And I just looked at him and he just fell totally apart. He was just totally apart. He and Georgia, her last year
Starting point is 00:33:26 of high school, that's not true, from probably 15 to 17 really struggled. So I think he and Isla have never had a bad moment in their whole life. They just have, they just get along great. Georgia and Bert are so similar that they just butted heads those two years. So I think Isla leaving was a little different. He knew what it was like from Georgia. As much as he loves Georgia, and he and Georgia are great now, they're super close now. In a lot of ways, they're closer than he and Isla are, but he was like, he lost his sidekick, right? It was a little different with Isla. So he's just morose. Like we've been home, he's been walking around in a daze,
Starting point is 00:34:13 like a full blown daze, and I'm over here going, hey, look at me, look at me, rodeo clown, rodeo clown, and I can't snap him out of it. You know, usually I can rodeo clown him out of it, and I can't do it. I mean, last night we were at work and I said, hey, let's not go home. Let's go to Target and start buying like care packages for the girls and their friends. Because I did that, George's first year of college.
Starting point is 00:34:36 That's nice. You know, her close, the kids that like were at our house four or five days a week. Yeah. I sent them all care packages until December on and off. I said, let's go do that. He filled up two shopping carts full of stuff for these kids and I was like, hey dude, they're in a dorm.
Starting point is 00:34:56 Like they can't have that. I mean, I don't remember what, he was gonna get them something like a lantern or something. I was like, where are they going to put that in a dorm? Some of them are in one room. You can't do that. And then even that, he was like joylessly walking through. I've never seen him like this. I know he'll be fine, but he's having a really hard time.
Starting point is 00:35:18 It breaks my heart because he's such a jolly guy. And I think too for him, for me, I have no regrets. The only regret I have is that I didn't take someone's advice who said to me, do yourself a favor before you go to bed every night, write down three sentences of what happened that day because you think you're going to remember it because in the moment is so spectacular, but you won't. So just do that. And I didn't, that's my only regret. I wish I really in my soul regret not doing that
Starting point is 00:35:54 because I know there's so many moments I don't remember. So many things they said. Yeah. I've got the first like five years and I stopped. Yeah, I've got it in my phone on a notepad. Like my daughter was like three one time and she goes, she said something and I said, okay. And she goes, dad, why do you say okay?
Starting point is 00:36:15 It's okay. And then she goes, okay is trash. I still read that one too. Okay is trash. I have one that one too. Mkay is trash. I have one like that too. I was like, God damn. I call it that.
Starting point is 00:36:32 She also was naked one time, I mean little, she's like two and she goes, dad can I sit on the couch like this? I go, no, go put some underwear on. She goes, I'll hold my pee in my vagina. They're so funny aren't they? Go put some underwear on, you're not sitting naked out here on the couch, lady.
Starting point is 00:36:46 One time, Ila's kindergarten teacher gave them all Native American names for Thanksgiving. So Ila was white bear. So we're walking to grocery store. I said, Ila, what name would you give Georgia? What would her Native American name be? And she did not miss a beat, she goes, vagina mouth. Vagina.
Starting point is 00:37:13 She was fine. I went, vagina mouth? Why would you call her vagina mouth? She's like, I don't know, just kind of sounds good. I was like, oh my God. So I know for that one or two, I remember, there's like a hundreds, thousands. I don't remember.
Starting point is 00:37:29 So that's my only regret. But I think Burt looks back and feels like he just missed everything. Well, he didn't miss everything, but he missed a lot. Yeah. And you know, as much as we would try to say, hey, if your dad's a banker, he gets home at seven o'clock every day.
Starting point is 00:37:47 We're all going to miss a lot. If you're a parent, a good parent, a working parent, whether you're a single parent or you're married, you're going to miss shit. You just are. It's part of being a parent. You're just going to miss stuff. Here's my question for you though. You take care of the girls.
Starting point is 00:38:04 You're worried about Bert now. You know he's going to be fine. All this is going on, but how are you taking care of you? What are you doing for you right now? And where are you getting the time if you're so worried about care packages and Bert and everything? Where's Leanne? Well, I started some of that before in that I work out with a trainer three days a week
Starting point is 00:38:22 and it's non-negotiable. I just don't... This isn't going to be a Tom Brady days a week and it's non-negotiable. I just don't, nothing- This isn't gonna be a Tom Brady situation here, is it? No. No. No. Although my trainer is gorgeous, but no.
Starting point is 00:38:32 He's like my brother. He's so crazy. He is in LA, know him in LA. He is from the neighboring hometown of my hometown. No way. Swear. And that's such a small hometown? Swear. It's crazy. a small hometown. Swear.
Starting point is 00:38:45 It's crazy. Do you guys absolutely, and do you have any seven, what is it, seven degrees of separation or whatever? We don't. He's African-American and his- Oh yeah, down there. No, no, just kidding. Obviously kidding.
Starting point is 00:38:56 His family, he actually lived in New Orleans and his aunt and uncle lived in my neighboring hometown. He spent the whole summer there every summer. No way. So he was not exactly from there, but all his family. But when you said it, he was like, holy shit, I know what that is. Not only do I know where that is.
Starting point is 00:39:11 I know who you are. Yeah, yeah. And I know who he is. And there's definitely no Dom Brady situation. He's a lovely guy, but I swear to God, he's like my brother. He'd be like my cousin, because we just know, like today, we were working out today
Starting point is 00:39:25 and he comes out with a red apple and starts slicing it with a knife and you know, slice and eat with a knife. That's how you eat apple in the South. And my workout partner Sandy's from Boston and she's Chinese. And she's like, what are you doing with that knife? He's like, I'm just eating an apple.
Starting point is 00:39:41 And I go, oh. Let me show you how to sharpen that, bro. No, no, I'll show you how to sharpen it, right? That's right. But I said, no, that's just how we eat an apple. And I go, oh. Let me show you how to sharpen that, bro. I'll show you how to sharpen it, right? That's right. But I said, no, that's just how we eat an apple where we're from, you know? And she's like, oh, okay. I've never seen a person eat an apple like that.
Starting point is 00:39:54 You know what else you guys do from where you're from that I've seen with a knife plenty of times is why I've watched men, just men. Clean out their fingernails. Not just clean them, but cut them too. Take a buck knife and just. You just shave them lightly on the end. Yeah, my grandpa did that.
Starting point is 00:40:08 My dad does that. Yeah, very common. Nobody goes anywhere with their pocket knife. I usually have a pocket knife in my purse. And then I kept losing them at the airport. I kept forgetting I had them and then they throw them out. So I stopped carrying them there. But anyway, but so yeah, I think Bert, not negotiable.
Starting point is 00:40:27 Sorry. You're, you're, you're thinking for you as trainer three times a week. What else? Uh, I just don't, I just wouldn't take care of myself physically. Yeah. And once you get our age or I'm older than you, I think you got to start doing that. You have to, you, you want my whole God tell my trainer trainer too, I had abs when I was supposed to have abs. I ain't trying to get abs.
Starting point is 00:40:48 But I do want father time to have a harder time breaking this body down. Totally. You know what I mean? Like, let me see what I can get out of this thing. Yeah. Want to get up if I fall off the toilet or something. Yeah, that's what I want to get, is to be able to get up.
Starting point is 00:41:02 So I do that and I have a great group of girlfriends. We travel. I was just talking to her today. We were talking about doing like a bike tour around Switzerland, sometime in October. So I do a little bit of that, which is pretty extravagant. Other than that, I need to figure it out a little bit. I mean, Bert and I started kind of dating each other again.
Starting point is 00:41:25 That's cute. About a year and a half ago, a good one of my girlfriends just casually said to me one day, she was like, you know, I don't know how we even got on the subject, but she said, as soon as we had our first daughter, my husband and I decided we'd never stop dating each other, which is different than a date night, you know?
Starting point is 00:41:42 It's very different. So when I heard that, I went, huh, I definitely don't date Bert anymore. He definitely doesn't date me. We're just like, we go out on date nights, but it's like, hey, you wanna go to the taco place? Yeah, okay. And I'm wearing a hoodie and he's wearing a hoodie
Starting point is 00:41:53 and that's a date night. So I started going, no, we need to like plan something, go to a concert, have, you know, check into a hotel room just because, you know, that kind of stuff. I like that, yeah. Just right off the cuff. And so we started doing that a little over a year ago, and that's been awesome.
Starting point is 00:42:11 So that's something I do for myself, even though it's with Burt. It's really for me too. But I would like to focus a little more on some of my creative stuff I want to do that I couldn't do. I was still carpooling. I still didn't have a driver's license, and her high school was 30 minutes from our house. So I was still driving her to and from school. I was spending two hours a day in the car just to get her to and from high school until June.
Starting point is 00:42:36 So I think I'm still trying to figure that out. Did your... You said it was Iola, so did Georgia get a license at 16? Like, immediately. See, that was me too. Like same. I just feel like this generation is a little different because my steps, no, he was 16, but my babysitter, she didn't get one until she was probably like 19. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:42:56 Like they didn't, that generation, at least the kids I've dealt with, don't feel like they're in a hurry to get that 16 year old and get the hell out of there. Do you know what I just saw that I found crazy and alarming and like, whoa, there are now nightclubs that close at 10. They open at five and close at 10. And it's not for our age. It's for the young kids who need to get their sleep. Need to get their sleep. Need to get their sleep.
Starting point is 00:43:26 What the fuck are you talking? That's what I said. I was like, what? You're not supposed to get your sleep now. This is when you can run hard and put up with. Come on. You gotta go, go, go. That's be a 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. club
Starting point is 00:43:42 is what the fuck after hours. Yeah. Right? I'm thinking what? I mean, when I lived in New York City, I didn't come home until like 3 a.m.? Yeah, easy. It's what you did. Yes, easy.
Starting point is 00:43:54 Climate change, a problem so huge, how could I ever make a difference? I'm Marco Chiaunovet, climate reporter for the Toronto Star. I meet a lot of smart people doing really inspiring things in this space all the time. Small things that add up to big climate benefits. Small things, big climate,
Starting point is 00:44:14 wherever you get your favorite podcasts. The Climate Solutions podcast is brought to you by SmartFlow from Enbridge Sustain. So yeah, I think there's something about this generation that's really into self care and really into not pushing past their comfort zone. And I think that's a real bummer. I also imagine these days you're not getting,
Starting point is 00:44:37 like my first car, I spent $500. You know, had a hole in the oil filter and it spit right into the damn vents and it would make you dizzy as shit till we got it fixed, but it was 500 bucks. These days, cars are so expensive. Insurance is wildly expensive for a 16 year old to get into it. And texting out there, like I say this all the time, I know I sound like an old fart, but because of the texting and the way that people aren't paying attention out there, I think they should bump the driver's license up to 18. It would have fucked a lot of kids though, because I know, well, I also knew back in my day too. I
Starting point is 00:45:15 mean, I'm 51. So we had driver's ed in high school. It was a class. They didn't have that not that many years after. and they said the statistics were that the dropout rate would increase right after the kid would get their license and then boom, get out of high school. And they saw a drop off as soon as they got that license. But we had the simulators in class and that's where we did it.
Starting point is 00:45:39 We also drove for our hours, but we drove with the driver's ed teacher from school. Not a paid extra thing or anything like that. Right. No, we didn't have driver's ed. You didn't? No, my hometown, everybody had been driving forever. I mean, it was all farm. So I'd been driving since I was probably like,
Starting point is 00:45:57 not joking, like 11 or so. So sort of teach yourself, pass the test. Parents would teach me. My dad taught me how to drive, but once I was 15, he taught me how to drive like on the road, with road rules and stuff like that. Just driving in a pasture or driving from one pasture to the other, crossing the street, that was people,
Starting point is 00:46:17 everybody, I knew you had done something like that. But kids in LA, they don't have an opportunity to do anything like that. There's no four-wheeler even or anything like that they could make a mistake on that wouldn't hurt somebody else or damage some property. And I think they're just, I don't know, every this, not to get too political, but this everybody gets a trophy thing has not been the greatest thing for kids to be resilient, right?
Starting point is 00:46:45 To lose and know that losing is part of life. Well, a car accident is a lose, and failing your driver's ed test a couple times is a lose. And instead of going, no, no, no, I'm going to get up, dust myself off and do it again, they just give up. Or at least a lot of kids I know do. I can't speak for every kid. Yeah, everyone gets a trophy thing too.
Starting point is 00:47:06 What it doesn't do is it doesn't allow us or anyone to learn how to be a good loser. Exactly. You learn so much more from losing than you'll ever do from winning. Yes. You learn way more from all the mistakes and the losing than the winning.
Starting point is 00:47:22 And if you don't learn, that's what I tell my daughter. So with my daughter, she's now in gymnastics and she's now in cheer. And we were doing soccer. And she said to me in the car the other day, she goes, did mom tell you that we're not doing soccer? That's how it started. I go, no, we're not doing soccer. Because soccer is my thing. I love soccer. And she loved it. She was really good at it. And she's like, yeah, it's like,
Starting point is 00:47:50 because the things there stick to, like it's on the same night, so we can't do it. There's no, it's all crossover. And I go, okay. And she's like, you're not mad. And I go, no. And she goes, mom thought we were gonna have to have a family meeting. And I started laughing. thought we were going to have to have a family meeting.
Starting point is 00:48:05 And I started laughing. I was like, we've never had a family meeting. I go, listen to me. Here's the deal. I love soccer, but you don't need to love soccer. She goes, but I really do like it. I go, well, it's too much right now. And I get it.
Starting point is 00:48:17 So if right now, all I care about is this. I want, I do want you to play team sports because I want you to understand what it's like to be a good teammate. I want you to understand what it's like to be a good teammate. I want you to understand what it's like to be a good loser. But I do also want you to know that some coaches suck. Some of them do. I want you to know that there are people that are bad at their jobs. And then when you get on a team, you're like, that coach was good compared to this person. This lady knew what she was doing. This guy didn't know shit.
Starting point is 00:48:42 You know, I want you to know good teammates, bad teammates that you aren't gonna be able to depend on some people and stuff. But the other thing is I want you to love what you're doing and I want you to take it seriously. And the minute those things don't happen, then we're out. And I go, honestly, soccer, we go gymnastics once a week, cheer twice a week. If we had soccer, that's another practice night
Starting point is 00:49:04 and then a game night. I was like, you're running five days a week, cheer twice a week. If we had soccer, that's another practice night and then a game night. I was like, you're running five days a week, you're in third or fourth grade, excuse me, you don't need to be doing all that. And I want you to find what you love doing. And whatever that is, I'm gonna support the hell out of it 100%. So do not ever worry about me
Starting point is 00:49:21 and my feelings for what you do, I got you. And she was like, oh, thank you I got you." And she was like, Oh, thank you, thank you. And I was like, yeah. Good job, Ryan. That was a good job. That's what, you know what I mean? Like this isn't my life.
Starting point is 00:49:33 It's your life. And it's what your goes to what you're saying too. Like I want you to not have to worry about taking care of my, don't parent my fucking feelings. Exactly. Like soccer, fuck that shit. Go over there and cheer. And I'm gonna fucking cheer too. You know,, don't parent my fucking feelings as I like soccer. Fuck that shit, go over there and cheer and I'm gonna fucking cheer too.
Starting point is 00:49:47 You know, I don't care. Yeah, I agree. It should be your life and what you choose. Bert and I talk about this a lot too, is that sometimes when he gets frustrated when our kids have their own feelings, so to speak, have their own agenda that's not in line with his, is he says things that does make me wonder, like, all I did was wonder about my dad's feelings.
Starting point is 00:50:12 And that's half of reason I am the person I am today. And I go, huh, that's an interesting perspective. He says that? Yeah, Bert does. I never wondered about my parents' feelings. I don't know. I didn't have that long, but still I didn't- Well, feelings is a strong word. What he would think, what he would say, what he would do. Oh, you mean was he proud of me?
Starting point is 00:50:29 I gotcha, his reaction. Or like, my dad would never let me quit soccer. I'll just keep going. Gotcha. You know, that kind of like, it's dad, you know, because I say so, parenting, not. Well, it's also a bigger, it's a microcosm for this too. Like, we can have conversations that you think are going to be uncomfortable.
Starting point is 00:50:46 And I'm going to surprise you by letting you know, like it ain't a big deal at all. Right. You know, so it's not just about soccer now, like later, if you want to come talk to me about a boy or whatever it is, I'm not going to, I want you to know that I'm not going to overreact or blow up every time you want to bring something to me that you think is serious. And this time it was just soccer. Right. Who gives a shit. I think that's the way to do it. It was awesome. Thank you. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:51:10 Well, it's really great. So something else I was thinking about with empty nesting with Burt, while you a day, every day since we got home. Is that right? And that's definitely not before? No. Really? So like to do what?
Starting point is 00:51:38 Everything? Just like he needs to know where I am all the time. Where are you? Not where's the bread, where's the- No. He just wants to physically know. Where are you? Leanne, where are you?
Starting point is 00:51:49 Hey, Leanne. Oh no, you're getting us. Leanne, this morning I went to the front yard to measure part of the yard and he comes outside so angry and I'm like, what's up? I thought he'd like broken something or something. He was like, I've been looking for you and I couldn't find you anywhere. And I was like, I've been gone for maybe two minutes
Starting point is 00:52:11 to just measure something in my front yard. So I am a little concerned about that going forward because I can't, I will die of suffocation. I got to figure out how to manage that with Bird. Yeah. But that's a new thing too. Well, sort of new. I mean, he's kind of always been that way. That's what I'm saying. But I had kids that I had an excuse to go, oh, no, no, no, I'm helping with homework.
Starting point is 00:52:38 I'll be right there. You know what I mean? So it's not all, it's not the Bird show all the time. And I think that's something I probably should start paying real close attention to is how much time I give him because all of a sudden one day I'm going to be like, rawr, I've had enough. Now let me ask you this, if it's all right to talk about the kids for a second, how are they doing? Are they loving it? And if they weren't, what if they were missing things right now? Would it be harder? Would Burt be like, yeah, get your ass back here where you're like, listen, Are they loving it? And if they weren't, what if they were missing things right now? Would it be harder?
Starting point is 00:53:05 Would Burt be like, yeah, get your ass back here where you're like, listen, you need to go establish some independence and do your thing? No, we would not let them come home. No. No. I mean, Georgia, maybe. She's a junior. So if she were like, I'm done, then that would be a conversation.
Starting point is 00:53:21 But Isla's been gone for a week. So no, there's no, he and I talked about it because she's not an academically driven kid. She's at an art school, which is great. But I was like, what if in two weeks she calls and says, I want to come home? She's the one that would do that. What do we do? Let's be aligned before that happens. And we were like, well, you have to at least make it through winter quarter. And then we can discuss what happened. You got to at least make it through that quarter.
Starting point is 00:53:51 Um, so yeah, I don't think we would let either one of them come home. And you know, Georgia has talked about, she's studying journalism, but when she was home for the summer, she said, I really actually am curious about like being a chef. OK, totally fine. Does that mean you want to pivot out of college? She said, no, no, no, I want to get my degree. But after I get my degree, I might want to work in restaurants for a little bit and see if that's something I want to do.
Starting point is 00:54:22 And she said, I'm going to get a restaurant job while I'm in college. But obviously, my focus should be college. and see if that's something I want to do. And she said, I'm gonna get a restaurant job while I'm in college, but obviously my focus should be college. So that might be just want you to know I'm thinking that way. And we were like, we would totally pay for you to go to culinary school. If you go through college and you're like,
Starting point is 00:54:35 this is not for me, but this is, of course. Well, so many people go to college and get a degree and then don't work in anything close to the degree they got. And also you go through school. I don't know, man. When I first... So I have a Bachelor of Science in Mass Communication. Well, this is Mass Communication. It is. Mine worked out, but I started... When I first went to school, I did community college. And my focus at the time, I thought I wanted to do physical therapy because I had gotten injured
Starting point is 00:55:08 and I was treated. I was like, wow, I really like the science of the body. I like to see, I literally feel the improvement. This is kind of cool. Went through human anatomy and physiology and I was like, man, fuck this. But I had so much of the science already in my AA that when I transferred to my other schools, it carried over. And then I ended up, I thought I would do psychology first, psychology, PT, and then I went, no, fuck that, we're doing TV and radio and communications. So I ended up, yes,
Starting point is 00:55:40 it worked out for me. But I didn't find that until like my last year of school, really, my last, like where she is, just maybe a little beyond that. I'm like, geez. So also I think about college too. Like my daughter's mother said, you know, we should start a college fund. And I was like, you know, can I get a little bit of money before I start a college fund? Like I'd like to be able to do something when I'm older. And plus, I don't know, as a person who went to college and graduated with a degree, unless her job requires college, a doctor, a lawyer, whatever it is, you know, I'm all for it. If it doesn't, then I would prefer, even if I could go back, I think I would take classes and
Starting point is 00:56:22 try to make myself a little more around, let me myself a little more, let me take a business course, let me take a this course, a that course, and just collect some knowledge instead of this fucking piece of paper that may mean nothing in the end anyway. So I don't know how it's gonna go, plus I got another 10 years and who knows what college is gonna be like then.
Starting point is 00:56:40 I mean, a lot of it's online now anyway, but. I'm not sure what, so I'm saying I'm with you on supporting that because you're also so young at that point. Like I think community college is a great thing just to find out if you even like that sort of institution and education. Because I was never the kid that, and even still creatively when I would work these jobs, they would be like, go in that room over there and from these hours, sit there and be as creative as you can with this shit we're giving you and give us A plus stuff.
Starting point is 00:57:10 And I'm like, I need to take walks. Yeah, right. I need to get outside and breathe a little bit, talk to the person about things, but I can't just sit in a room and be like, do this, do this, do this. It just doesn't work that. It's not how to get the best out of me.
Starting point is 00:57:23 Yeah, I feel the same way. I don't care if my kids, we never cared if our kids went to college. Don't care at all. Isla wants to be an interior designer. You don't need a degree for that. That's right. And I have a good friend.
Starting point is 00:57:34 You have to eye for that. Yeah, and she has it. And I have a great friend who's an interior, she's a kitchen and bath designer, really high end. And she was like, just let her intern for me. And I offered that to Isla, and Isla wanted the college experience, not the academic piece.
Starting point is 00:57:50 That's fine too, then that's a different thing. Totally, she wanted to live on her own, in a safe environment. See what other people are like, oh my God, this lady's a slob. Oh my God, my best friend for life. Exactly, oh I'm a slob. Yeah, oh yeah.
Starting point is 00:57:59 Yes, exactly. You learn about yourself. So then she, that's what she wanted. And that is as important as what you learn in college, is those life skills that you, and how to live with somebody else you don't know, how to assert yourself in ways you didn't have to in high school, how to function outside
Starting point is 00:58:20 of your family of origin. Those things to me are just as important as your degree for some kids. And some kids don't need it, but I think I either really needed that. I think she, um, that kid is a path of least resistance. MF her. And if I would do it for her, that'd be just fine. And I would end up not doing things for her and then things just wouldn't get done. And so she needed to be, I think she knew instinctively she needed to be in a place
Starting point is 00:58:51 where the buck stopped entirely with her. And so far, it's only week one, but so far she's been doing a great job. So yeah, college for her, I don't think really is about interior design, even though she's going to learn and she's going to enjoy. If she called me and said, you know, I want to just change my major to drawing. Even if that is a major, I would say whatever. Do it. Because for her, it's just about living life that way. Georgia really wanted to go to school to learn.
Starting point is 00:59:24 She really did. She wanted to go to school to learn. She really did. She wanted to go to school as an English major, as a journalism major. She's kind of been round and round with it. Now she's really gotten hardcore into Spanish and wants to like minor in Spanish and wants to study abroad. And she really has that kind of academic draw.
Starting point is 00:59:41 But yeah, I think college is great. But if it's not, it's not a big deal. I didn't graduate from college. You went a little, did you take classes? I went for four years. It took- Why didn't you graduate? You went all the four years?
Starting point is 00:59:54 I changed my major in the middle, drastically. I was a psych major and then I changed schools. And when I changed schools, the psychology department was like super clinical and I didn't like it. So I changed to finance. Pfft. Which is so similar to psychology. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:00:16 I started to finance cause I was like, well, that's easy for me. I'm just going to bang it out of school, not realizing I needed an additional year because they were so different. Can you go back and online now and just get that degree? I could. You should do it.
Starting point is 01:00:34 I'm not interested. No, fuck that. I don't need it. What if I do exactly what you said, hang a piece of paper on my wall? Yeah, nothing is the piece of paper. I know, Bert was like, we should get you an honorary degree because you've accomplished
Starting point is 01:00:46 so much as a business person. Oh man. You should have a business degree. Yeah, you far surpassed getting a finance degree. So I don't know if a college wants to give me one, fine, but I'm not going to go knocking on our door, hey, can I have a degree? I'm not going to do that. Thank you for doing this.
Starting point is 01:01:02 And you're going to come back, I hope, and give us updates later on what it's like just so I can have a fucking vision of my future. Yes, I will. I will give you one piece of advice now. Yeah, please. This is what they told me at Georgia's College. They had a big parent orientation. It was absolutely true.
Starting point is 01:01:23 The first year they leave, they don't call you, they don't text you, they don't want to come home and that's healthy. So let them do it. The second year they come back. That was 100% true. Is that right? 100%. And I'm glad they said that out loud at college.
Starting point is 01:01:42 I said that for you, but also anybody listening. That's a first year college student. I could not get Georgia on the phone. I couldn't get her to text me. I couldn't get her at all. Second year, she was back and she's been back. So that first year, I think they just really want their autonomy. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:02:02 And that's a normal process. So that's that in your noodle for when she goes. Yeah. Promote your podcast again, please. Wife the party. Wifeotp.com is my website. You can find wife the party anywhere you find a podcast or on YouTube. Thank you again. A million times. As always, Ryan Sickler on all your social media, RyanSickler.com. Come catch a live show, see me on tour. All tickets are on my website at RyanSickler.com.
Starting point is 01:02:32 We'll talk to y'all next week. Thanks for watching!

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