WHOA That's Good Podcast - Getting Older, But Never Boring | Korie Robertson, Mamaw Jo & Friends

Episode Date: October 13, 2025

Korie Robertson is in-studio with her grandma, Mamaw Jo, and three of her closest friends — Aunt Carol, Aunt Barbara, and Grace — for laughs, wisdom, and real talk about getting older. They spill on skincare, the best fashion decades, navigating loss, singleness, and keeping faith through it all. Family is important, but your friends are your treasures — and these ladies prove that laughter, love, and loyalty never go out of style. https://gominno.com — Get your first month FREE when you use code WHOA at sign up. Take advantage of this web-only exclusive offer today! https://shopbeam.com/sadie — Get up to 35% off PLUS 2 free gifts with code SADIE https://liberty.edu/Sadie — Get your application fee WAIVED when you start your future with Liberty University today! Chapters:  01:40 Why fear getting older?  01:58 Aunt Carol  03:25 Mamaw Jo  05:04 Grace  07:28 Aunt Barbara  09:15 Friend groups  14:30 Loneliness epidemic  16:30 Coffee order  16:50 Best movie of 2025  17:47 Favorite decade of fashion  19:41 Favorite travel destination  21:10 Skincare routine  22:13 Hardest thing about getting older  26:16 What used to be a big deal & now isn't?  29:17 Best advice for your 20 yr-old self  39:55 Hard times  42:46 Singleness & loneliness  47:07 Caring for aging parents  48:30 Healthy habits  55:15 What you wish younger generations knew about a good life  - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you're with Amex Platinum, you get access to exclusive dining experiences and an annual travel credit. So the best tapas in town might be in a new town altogether. That's the powerful backing of Amex. Terms and conditions apply. Learn more at Amex.ca. This episode is brought to you by Peloton. A new era of fitness is here.

Introducing the new Peloton Cross Training Tread Plus, powered by Peloton IQ, built for breakthroughs with personalized workout plans, real-time insights, and endless ways to move. Lift with confidence, while Peloton IQ counts reps, corrects form, and tracks your progress. Let yourself run, lift, flow, and go. Explore the new Peloton cross-training tread plus at OnePeloton.C.A. Hey there, welcome to Woe That's Good. I hope you are having a great Monday. Your week is off to a great start.

It's about to get a lot better because I have some amazing guests here, right here on the couch with me. And some people that I'm going to introduce you to today. One person you know well, and that's Memo Joe. Memo Joe is, you're getting to be a regular here on this podcast, right? Well, it's not bad. I kind of like it. Good. You're welcome anytime, I promise you.

Actually, I was talking to Sadie last night about getting to do this, and she was like, I'm kind of jealous. I wish I were getting to do this, have this conversation. But she'll get to listen to it along with all of you. And just learn from these women. I am so excited to have you all on here. So this was inspired by last week. I got invited to y'all's.

lunch, your normal lunch that y'all do often, but every year for everybody's birthday, you go to a special place for lunch and I get invited. And a lot of times I can't come because I'm out of town or whatever. But for this one, I got to come and it was Aunt Carol's birthday last week. And I sat there among all these amazing women and just left so inspired and encouraged and excited about getting older. I have to admit there was a time in my life when I think I was a little bit nervous about getting older, but watching all of you and how you have done life and your friendship and your relationships and all of that just has been so inspiring to me and makes me not here getting older anymore because y'all are just doing it so well and so beautifully. And so we want

to learn from you today. Thank you, Corey. So thank you for being here. So first of all, let's just start off by telling everybody your name and a little bit about yourself. We'll start with Carol over here and kind of work our way around the couch? Well, I'm Carol Durham, Aunt Carol. I just turned 81 years old last month. I was a teacher for 39 years and I taught a lot of Corey's kids. I have one daughter. Unfortunately, she lives in Atlanta. She used to live in Jackson, which was a very workable distance to travel to see her. Atlanta's not so workable, although we just got back from a trip last week to see her and her family. She has two daughters, so I have two granddaughters that are my pride and joy, even though they're far away. We sometimes

FaceTime or yesterday, the youngest one was watching the Auburn game, and she was FaceTiming with her grandpa discussing different plays, and that's kind of fun that we can keep in touch that way. Yeah, so thankful for the FaceTime technology. Yes. It's something we didn't have when you were young, Corey. That's right. I just had to make the trip to Shreveport. That's right. She used to call me Memo and Treeport.

That was my name, not just Memo, but Memo and Shreport. And I loved it. I loved to get to go see, visit Memo and Treeport because Memo's place was just a haven. You just got to stay up as late as you want to and watch Nick at night and sleep as late as you wanted to. And Memo made all your favorite things. And it was just like the best warm hug. to get to go to your house. I've always said Corey came to my house to decompress. I would. I'm her racetrack, Mama. That's actually true. That's actually true. All right, Mom, I'll tell us a little

about after yourself. Okay. Do you want me to name my family? You can say how many. Tell us how many. That's what I meant. Yes, please tell us. Because it still kind of amazes me when I think about it. Yes. I have six children, 12 grandchildren, 35 great-grandchildren, 12 great-great-grandchildren, and and three more on the way. That is amazing. Isn't that crazy? That is amazing. Yeah, we added up, I think, like 54 direct descendants.

I think there's 61. 61. And then counting spouses, there's 90. Yes, that's incredible. Under you, as you as the matriarch. I don't have them to launch anymore. And I retired at 84 from real estate brokerage that my husband and I, owned and that has been my life since then kind of the I call myself with my grandchildren today

a spectator because that's that's my role you're the best spectator everybody loves I love being a spectator for all those kids it's just great and one thing I think that's interesting about you is you didn't even start working until you were 55 years old I did not until all my children worked you worked you raised six children I did and took care of your home Right. And our parents. And yes. Our parents lived with us too. Yes.

But it was a... So that was at work, but a different kind of work. Yeah. And my husband and I enjoyed being together anyway, so working together was the best, just the absolute best. That's awesome. Yeah. All right. Grace?

I'm Grace Burke. Can I look at you? Yeah. I'm Grace Burke. I have been a... I've been in Monroe, four. 43 years. I was born in Bojure Parish. I will be 79 on November the 16th. I have been a real estate agent since 1972. That's 53 years. Wow. And I love doing that, and it's been very good to me. I have two children. I also do weddings, and I do birthday cakes and wedding cakes. I was going to bring that up.

not mention that because grace has a claim to fame. We call it a grace cake. Like everyone loves a grace cake and every birthday party, wedding, whatever. It's a big treat if we all get a grace cake. So, and you're still doing that. I got a grace cake last week in Aunt Carol's lunch. And yeah, and wedding, I know that you, recently I heard that you were working at a wedding at our farm not too long ago. And I heard you were foraging in the woods. for branches and trees and making it so beautiful. For Smilax. We did.

We went up and down in Calhoun. We went all over the place getting Smilex, so we didn't have to pay for it. That's amazing. I hope I'm still doing that at your age. Oh, I hope you are too, because it's fun. Good. I have two children, Dennis and Cam. Cam's an RN at Osher's in Day Surgery in New Orleans.

Dennis is a health consultant. in Dallas, but he's all over the place. And I have five grandchildren. Kayla is 28. Blake is 25. And Scotty is, she's six. Sonny is two, about to be three. And boss, Boston, but we call him boss.

He's one. Love it. And I get to go back and forth and keep them all. All the time. It's the best. And so I get to go a week this week and stay a week next week. That's great. It's great.

That's the best. Have a grand, grand, grand, grand life. Aw, that's amazing. All right, Aunt Barbara. Well, you just announced me. I'm Aunt Barbara. Shackleford. I am my sweet sister, Miss Joe's sister-in-law.

Our husbands were brothers. That's why I'm here in Louisiana. I moved here seven years ago from California and moved to California from Wisconsin, so I've been around a little bit. I have to count them. I don't know why. I can't remember. I have three children, two sons and a stepdaughter. A stepdaughter has my newest grandchildren who are eight years old, and my other grandchildren are in their 30s.

and I have six great-grandchildren and several bonus great-grandchildren that are steps. But none of them live here. And the reason I'm here is because the three children all live in three different states. So when it comes to the decision of where to go, it just seemed like the best thing to do. And it certainly was the best, best move of my life. Oh, gosh, I'm 82 years old. Love these ladies. They've welcomed me when I moved here with open arms.

I walked into a fabulous church, a fabulous family, and was welcomed in it. It was delightful. Thank you. That's amazing. Well, I think that one of the things that struck me about y'all's friendship and sitting around that table with all of you is just that. It's just that friendship and community. I know there's been a lot of things that have come out about blue zones and how to live to be your 80s and 90s and all that.

And a lot of it has to do with health and what you eat and what your exercise. But also, faith is a huge part of that every single time and community and friendship. And I think y'all do that so well. Y'all do all of it so well, but that friendship, community, your faith and all that. And I think that's a big part of you live in the good life. I agree. Yes. So do you all have like a friendship name, like a group name? Well, our texting name is coffee ladies. Coffee ladies? Yeah. Coffee ladies. That's it. I love that. That's great. That's a good one. And I know with you, Mama, I know your kind of friendship rhythms, which I would probably not even call it that, but that would be in this, the language of this day is like, what's your friendship rhythms? I know one of the things that I've been struck by what you do. is your weekly friendships that are here, right here every day.

And then I know once a month you drive to Straitport. I do. Or bridge with your friends that lived in Shreveport during that time period. We have lunch and we play nonsense games. That's great. So we can talk and visit. That's so great. There are seven of us in the group there.

Wow. And it's seven maybe, seven, maybe. six now yeah and it's just great fun I look forward to it every month that's amazing and these are friends from that I've made in Shreveport at church oh about 35 years ago wow yeah that's amazing we've done this for about the last 20 wow yeah and then once a year you go to hot springs or somewhere somewhere I know Sadie ran into you one time in Franklin with your friend group yes she did she did she was coming out of a department store that we were going into.

Yeah. And it was just hilarious. I could not believe we ran into each other. That was so great. She said that was a highlight running into you with your friend group. It was. So once a year you do that as well. So just that investment in friendship and relationship, I think is so important and valuable.

It is important. It's just, I contribute that as one of the factors of my living long. Yeah. It's great. Y'all, fall just hits different. in it, the air gets crisps, the days are shorter, and suddenly you're craving slower moments with your people, something warm, something meaningful, and meadow is where it is at. Meno is a faith-based streaming service made just for kids and makes it so easy for you to

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and curiosity about Jesus as well. So go visit gomino.com to start your free trial today. Plus, you can use the code Woe to get your first month free. This is a web-only exclusive offer. So make sure to sign up on the Go Minow.com website with the code Woe to get your first month for free. I have a group as well, if I may interject. Yes, please tell us. The girls of 64 that I graduated with, we started out with eight of us, but we enjoy one another three or four times a year in Shreveport and Boisier.

They have come here, and I took them on a tour of the Beaten Horn. Yes. And we did the whole thing, and they just thought it was the best. I love that. It was the greatest. There have been two or three of them that we have lost along the way, but the rest of us, we are in a group text all the time and share things. And we had a one of us just went to Italy.

Wow. Spent two weeks. That's amazing. It is amazing. That's wonderful. Just cheering each other on and all that. Yes. Yes.

Barbara, did you have something to add to that? Well, one of the things that would cross my mind that it's something that I heard I don't know how many years ago but it kind of stuck with me that family is there and as family is important but your friends are your treasures and I really

that really hit home and it truly is to have a good friendship with more than one or many and or even just one one good really good friend that you can talk to but yeah

as far as traveling is concerned I do get in the car and haul myself off to Oklahoma to see my family there. That's as closest. But, yeah, it's wonderful. That's great. Yeah. Well, I don't know.

I'm sure you who are listening have read the studies about the loneliness epidemic, and they're calling it that right now. And they said since 2010, I looked it up last night. Since 2010, we have, as a culture, have become increasingly more lonely. And I saw this stat last night. It said that across all the age groups, people are spending less time with each other in person than two decades ago, which I would think that would likely have something to do with the phones and social media.

Absolutely. Absolutely. Yes. And it said that it was most pronounced among young people, ages 15 to 24, had 70% less social interactions with their friends than any other generation. So I think it is very scary. Yes. That face-to-face interaction, that time together, not just on a phone.

is so important. And, you know, I think, of course, you know, that's contributing to this loneliness epidemic that people are saying. I know whenever we had a conference recently and they asked, you know, how many people in this room feel lonely on a regular basis and, you know, so many in the room raise their hands. And so I just want to encourage you as we have this conversation and we're going to talk more about friendship and I want to hear more from you is just, you know, value that

friendship and don't you know just just as important as health and your diet and your skincare routine and all those things that influencers on social media are telling you as important and more more than that is your relationships and your friendships okay so I thought that we'd have a little fun part here so this is a rapid fire so this is I'm just going to go through we'll go in order this way too just rapid fire a few questions and we would love to hear from you on this okay go to coffee order thank Carol Moka. Black.

B. K.F. Okay. Coffee and... It can be tea. Cream, no, cream and sugar. Cream and sugar. Great. Perfect. Okay.

The best movie that you... I know y'all are movie watchers. I know y'all go to movies together. Best movie you've seen this year. I don't think I've seen one yet this year. We have it? We used to be great moviegoers and then my husband was sick for a while and we didn't go. And then COVID, we didn't go.

And we just never got back in the swing. So I don't think I've been to But we're going this afternoon You're going this afternoon What are you going to this afternoon? Down to Abbey Oh, that's going to say again I love it

Cross me up I haven't If I had If I stole one I wouldn't remember the name of it I'm with you, Grace you have The chosen are

The greatest show on earth Oh, those are both good Those are both great That's a good one I don't remember either since January But like I said We're going today

So I kind of watch them on TV But not in the theater go into the theater anymore. No. Well, yeah. When someone says, let's go, something that interests us,

but it hasn't happened. Hasn't happened yet this year? We're too busy drinking coffee. Well, downtown abbey is going to be a good one, so that'll be fun. All right, what's your favorite decade in fashion? Hey, this is way, way back, but I'm thinking like the 50s. The 50s, yeah.

I really am. Fifty's was a great year for fashion. Yeah. It was. You wore the hats and everything. I did. And gloves. Emma's always been very fashionable.

That's right. I wore hats, too. The 50s and 60s were the greatest. They were. Everything matched. Yes. And now everything is casual. It's true.

We just don't wear hats and gloves anymore. Yeah. We wear jeans. That was a good decade. All I remember is that I had to wear a dress to school. There was not, slack pants were not allowed. But living in a very rural area, we didn't dress up a lot. But when we did, we went to church and went.

anywhere. You were dressed. And it was fun. A friend of mine is doing an experiment, she said, a social experiment. She's wearing dresses now just on a day-to-day, regular day-to-day basis when she travels or whatever. And she said, it is really amazing how different people treat you. She said men open doors for her. People are more polite and friendlier. So I thought that was really interesting. It's true, too. Really? You've noticed that too. It is true. It is true. Interesting. It's very locked in my mind. to be dressed up. Yeah.

Yeah. It is. Yes. It's very difficult for me to wear jeans a lot. Be relaxed. But I've done it lately. I have done it lately. Well, it's rare, Grace.

I know it. Well, I know Mama, you said, tell us that they would get dressed up to go to the doctor. Oh, yes. Oh, yes. We did. We go to the doctor in, like, sweats and. Our pajamas. Yeah.

Our pajamas, yeah. It's lucky if you got a bra on going to the doctor and all that. Oh, no. I was like never. Okay. All right. Here's another one. What's your favorite place you've ever traveled?

Oh, oh, Australia. Oh, that's a good one. I've never been there. Sorry. I need to go. All right, anywhere else. Pennsylvania, Dutch country. It was fascinating.

The farmland is just beautiful. And their culture is so different. It's kind of interesting to observe them. Yeah. And I think that would be one of my favorites, at least. That's really interesting. Okay. Greece and Italy probably in France were probably the most exciting ones that I've enjoyed.

Yeah. So beautiful. I haven't been out of the United States other than Mexico. But I think the most beautiful scenery in the world is the coast of California and the national parks in U.S. Utah. Yeah. And it's stunning. So that would be my favorites. So beautiful. Colorado and skiing. Yes. That's the best. We all love to snow ski. Yes. Yes, it is. It is. Well, this group loves to snow ski. And Carol? We went one year. You went one year. And I sat with the other wimpy grandmas on the deck and drank coffee. But I was getting with my family ski. I've skied with y'all a lot, a lot of years.

So much fun. The best. So much fun. It's the best. Seeing each other on the mountain, meeting up at the lodge is the best. Yes. Yes. Okay.

Skin care routine. You know, Carrie, never had one growing up my entire life. And I still don't, really. It's just too much work. I don't have one. You don't have one? I just clean my face and night. Put on my makeup every morning.

Perfect. Every day. It's kind of my story, too. Just keep my face clean. All right. Keep it simple, ladies. These ladies look amazing, and they just say keep it simple. Great advice. Well, if you want your face to look like a roadmap, lived at 94. That's what it's supposed to be. Well, for 20 years, I probably didn't even wash my face at night. I didn't wash it until the next morning. Yeah. Oh, it was probably 20, 25 years. And then somebody said, I wanted to look good all night.

Great. Oh, yeah. You want to look good for, that's right. Why take it off? Works a hard put it. I'm pretty bad about not washing my face at night either. No, I do, of course, but not for a long time. Yeah. All right. That's perfect.

Okay. Hardest thing about getting older. This can be funny. This can be serious. Well, mine is putting on my eyebrows because they just are non-existent and I have to have them. Yes. You did kind of lose your eyebrows as you get older. I've noticed already and I'm 51.

And that's the hardest thing to do. do. Yes, you can get that fixed. I keep thinking, maybe I should go have them tattooed, but I don't trust anyone. Grace said you could get that fix. You can get that fix. Yeah, I've got my tattooed out. I know.

I thought about the microblading. Yes. Yes, but then it's scary because what if they don't do it right? Yes, what if they mess up? Yes. Any other hardest thing about getting old. I would say, oh, our eyebrows, when they start turning gray, then now you've got to start putting a color on the gray hairs at pop.

through. Yes. That's a regularity of the hair nowadays for me. My gray comes through so fast, I'm like, wait, I just was at the salon. It's already popping out. I forgot what else goes. You forgot your hardest thing? You can think about it.

And Carol, do you have anything? I think mobility issues. I have arthritis in my knee, which definitely slows me down. And I have difficulty getting out of a chair, so I have to, you know, use my hands and arms to help me. and that makes my hands and arms hurt. So my knees hurt, my hands and arms hurt. But you're still going. I'm still going slowly.

That's right. I remember making sure of my steps, making sure that I don't go too fast or my son is telling me all the time. He's a DPT and he's saying, Mama, you got to get out of your high heels and you got to watch where you walk. Yes. Well, I'm not getting out of my heels, but I can watch where I walk. That's not happening. So you're going to watch where you walk. I love it. That's great. Well, flats are in right now, so you could try to make the transition. It's a good day.

I think that was a no. I love it. I love it. All right, real talk, fam. Feeding young kids, healthy food can feel like an Olympic event. I want my kids to grow up strong and healthy, but all the begging and bribing is just exhausting. And don't get me started on the supplements out there. They either taste horrible or full of sugar or somehow still missing the good stuff. And that's why I'm so thankful that my friend, an Olympic gymnast Sean Johnson, went out and invented exactly what I was looking for. Beam Kids all in one super powder.

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and we know that she's getting great stuff for her. And so right now, BM is offering something so good for our listeners. You can get up to 35% off plus two free gifts when you go to shopbeam.com and use the code Sadie at checkout. That's shop beam, B-E-A-M dot com slash Sadie, and use the code Sadie for up to 35% off and two free gifts. Okay, what is something that used to seem like a big deal, but now you realize it's not actually a big deal. Cooking. Oh, okay. I used to think that I would have to have a meal every day, something special, and living alone, it's something that just doesn't matter anymore. Yeah.

And trying to figure out how to entertain, and then you think, I don't really have to do that either. I'd love to, but it just isn't something that's on my radar. Yeah, that's good. Yeah, I think that's the biggest thing. Anybody else? Well, I used to think that the house had to be completely cleaned every week. And I can remember when we lived in New Orleans and I was doing a lot of substitute teaching,

Friday was the day that you got called pretty often. So Thursday became my cleaning day. And I would stay up until midnight cleaning the house just in case I got called the next day and couldn't do it. And now if it's two weeks between cleanings or three between cleanings, it just doesn't bother me as much. Yeah, that's great. I think that's great advice to young people listening. Yes, but I've learned a lot from my daughter-in-love about things like the house and blah, blah, blah, because the most important things are spending her time and their time with their children.

That's the most important thing for them right now, and they do a fantastic job of it. Yeah, that's so good. I mean, they give them their time from the moment. if they get home from school and they're all together, they belong to their children until their eyes are closed at night. And I'm impressed by that. Yeah. That is beautiful. Emma? Well, there's so many things that were important all through life that you find at the end of your life have no importance whatsoever. Most of it is stuff.

That's fine. Stuff is not important anymore. I'm thinking now of how am I going to get rid of all this stuff before I die so my kids won't have to come in and say, I can't believe she kept this. That's great. Yeah, so that's got to be primarily what it is. Nothing really is important except your family, your relationships. and her faith.

It's just that's all there is to it. Yeah. That's it in life. That's it. Yeah. That's great. All right. So this goes because we give advice on this podcast.

And a lot of times we ask about like what's your best of piece of advice. So this would be kind of your best piece of advice for your 20 year old self. Like if you were talking to your 20 year old self, what would you, what advice would you give them? I would give. I would say. that I would be more intentional with my walk with Christ at 20 years old than I was. I would give anything if I could go back and be more intentional with my walk with my Savior. That's so good.

I really believe that with all of my heart. That's so good. Yeah, a lot of times at 20 you think, oh, you got your life. You can figure that out later. Yes. But 20s are such an important age. so many that are listening or young people here at such an important age to really get rooted in your faith because all the other things flow from that.

Pick up your Bible and read it every day, at least every day, or at least two or three times a week, but every day is the best. It's good. It's all right there. Well, that's hard to type, but, yeah, that's a good thought. And in my 20-year-old south, I was already a mother of two. Pretty busy. Married to a police officer at that time, whose schedule changed weekly.

So I had to deal with changing my lifestyle weekly to his days that he worked and his days off. And the children were not in school at that time. So it was keeping the children quiet because he worked during the nighttime. So it was just a lifestyle that a lot of people do live with it, and a lot of people don't. They have nine to five type working schedules. But I just made sure that I took care of the children, and if I had to get them out of the house to keep them quiet, we did. we would just walk them all or go to a McDonald's or whatever was important at that particular moment. But it was basically just making sure the children were comfortable, happy, and, you know, just being a mom.

Yeah. So a 20-year-old that is not in any type of a situation like that, I would say, try to keep yourself out of that type of. of a situation, be in school and get your education. Yeah. And find yourself a good, comfortable life. Yeah. It's good. Mm-hmm.

Thank you for sharing that. I would tell myself, think only of today. Don't worry about tomorrow. Don't worry about what you're going to have to do tomorrow, how much you owe are going to owe tomorrow, All of the things that you can just trouble your mind when you're just starting out in this adulthood of marriage and family. Just think about today. Tomorrow's going to take care of itself.

You're going to work on tomorrow's things tomorrow. Anyway, so just take each day at a time. That's good. Yeah, that's biblical. Jesus said he'll take care of all that just so only worry about today. I remember when I were little, I could only think. through till the next nap time. I remember there was a point where you're just like, okay, they all have to take a nap

at some point, and I just got to get there. And then it was to bed time, okay, everyone's, we're all going to go to sleep at some point tonight, and we just got to get there. And so we had pretty scheduled routines at my house. Did you? If it was dark, you went to bed. It was time for mom and dad. Seriously.

I was pretty stern about getting the kids off to bed when it was time for them to go to bed. Well, you needed your time. I did. You and the football needed y'all's time together. Yes, with six kids under, what was the age range? I had four under four at one time. And I don't remember how old Joanie was. Four under four.

Yes, it was born. Four under four. That's a lot. Yes, that was a lot. There were a lot of them. We had to have some pretty stern routines, although I didn't think I was a routine person. You figured it out, huh? Yes, that's good.

And Carol? Well, my life at 20 was a little bit different because I was not married and I was the teacher. So my career was kind of my whole life. But I think my advice might be when your situation changes, you be ready to change. because when I met my husband, I was still a teacher. Once a teacher, you're always a teacher. But other things became more important. He became more important.

And eventually our family became more important. So be ready to roll with the punches. That's good. That's great. I loved all that advice. Okay, so back on the kind of the friendships and the relationships, I was thinking about, I know all of you experienced different hardships, divorce, loss of spouse, illnesses, all of that.

How have y'all been there for one another or how has a friend been there for you? And how can, I guess the advice would be to this group is like, how can you be a friend to somebody that is going through that? And how do relationships carry you through? I think we've got a handle on that. really there are there are how many on our our group nine okay and we we eat together probably about three times a week wow so we sit around a table or sit somewhere and visit and talk and we complain about all of our illnesses to each other and everybody listens respectively and goes ahead with whatever it's happening there if somebody is sick

And we're missing on our group right now, two of our ladies that have been sick for several weeks or been out for several weeks, and we miss them. But we keep up with them daily texts to see how they're feeling, take things to them that they might need, help in any way we can. And so I think that's really our basic purpose is just to stay in touch constantly so that they can be uplifted by whatever it is that we're. we can do for them. Yeah, that presence with one another. Right. I don't think anybody feels slighted if there's four of us to do something and they just can't make it that day or there's six of us and three can't. And nobody feels any way at all that they were left out.

Yeah. It's just either you can or you can't. Yeah. And like I say, we just. So security. Yes. And we're all different ages. My work schedule does not allow me to enjoy their company as much as they enjoy one another.

But they don't make me feel like I shouldn't have done that or I should have been there or I wasn't there. They just roll with me and accept me just the way that I am. And every once in a while I get to enjoy. But they don't make me, they make me feel the opposite. Is it? They make me feel so very welcome when I do get to enjoy. That's so great. Yes, it is.

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Y'all go to liberty.edu slash city now and take the next step towards your future. You have got this, my friend. Because we've all lived a pretty long time, we have a variety of experiences. And when one of us faces something, there is probably someone in the group that can say, been there, done that, and offer advice and support. and that's just really important. My husband had a very serious illness a few years ago and he was four and a half months in the hospital

and their support just could not be replaced. Along with that, along with, you know, hard things happening in your life, as you said, you've all lived a long time. I'm sure you've experienced a lot of hard things. And what has that taught you? What is suffering, I guess, through the hard thing taught you that you feel like you are grateful that you've learned through that. Go ahead.

No, no, you go right ahead. No, you go right ahead and then I go. Okay, well, mine was a little unusual. My mother moved in with me and my husband. And she moved from Wisconsin to California when she was 92. And she lived to be just shy of 100. So that was a good learning experience for me, taught me a lot of patience. And I think it's something that a lot of people don't do these days is take in that family member.

She's a really delightful woman. My husband dearly loved her. And then my husband got sick before she passed, and it was an unfortunate illness that we knew he was not going to live. And I really believe that, you know, the galore works in so many ways that I was taught the patience to care for him. And it's just, and these are the life things that we do discuss when we're all together, something will trigger a thought. And then we can, everybody allows everybody else to have their moments to talk to each other about our life, our stories. That's beautiful. Thank you for that. Yeah.

About 30 years ago, there was a major change in my life with my son and I. And these people are with you all in my church, WIFR, just pulled me through that. And I will be forever, forever indebted and grateful for Mac Owen. on Mac and Barry Bradley and Joe and Shaq and Shaq and Mary Lou and Joe and Randy just were so, so, so I cannot even describe it. We got through it with fine colors. And I never felt less than what I should have felt because of this family, your family, pulling me through.

I will never forget it. And this is us being together. We're still together. I'll never forget. That's great. Being together through the good and the hard. Would you like to speak? speak a little bit to singleness because you've been single for 30 years.

And I know a lot of people send in questions about that, about loneliness and singleness or how God has carried you in that. Well, it has been the greatest 30-something years of my life. I absolutely love my life. And the thing of it is, is I can do what I want to whenever I want to, within the realms of Jesus and God and my church family. I can go where I want to, whenever I want to.

I can go, I don't have to ask anybody's permission to get in my car and go to Dallas and spend many, many days with my grandchildren. And it is the best. anybody that is by themselves just have a relationship with the Lord and you will have great relationships with people and friends that will listen any time of the day or night and I've learned to really listen to because there were many hours that somebody listen to me and let me cry on their shoulder and let me say the things I probably shouldn't have said

and love me anyway. But the single life at 78 is the best. I promise. Love it. That's great. Maybe for you, great. I don't mean without how much. having a husband because I've had mine and he was the best, never could replace that.

And the thing I learned from loss is that you do live through it, even when you've got the best guy in this universe, you do live through it. You learn to live to, there are other things in life that you can bring in to take that place. Yeah. Yeah. You've been really sweet. I've seen you have some little side conversations with Memo K a few times since and just helping her through this loss.

And that's a real gift that you've been able to share that and help her through that. It's not easy. I know. You know, but you don't have to make it hard. You just have to just go on with your life. Yeah, that's good. I want to say another thing. I decided when Dennis and I were by ourselves that I made a commitment at that point to him,

that if I dated, he would have a carousing mother. If I dated, then that would mean he might have a stepdad. If I, and he already had peer pressure, he had a divorced mom and dad, he did not need another thing. So I made a commitment then that I was not going to date because I didn't want him to deal with all of those things in his life. And I recommend that highly because, you know, He is a man of God today, not because of me, but because of God and Jesus Christ. But I have never regretted that for one second. That's great.

And I'm by myself. And you can drive to Dallas anytime. And I can drive to Dallas anytime I love to. And New Orleans, too. That's right. That's right. Thank you. Well, I think all of us here have cared for aging parents in our home.

And although you do it out of love, it is stressful, and there's just no way around it. And I think support from your peers is really important at that time. But I'll tell a little story on my sister-in-law. She told me, well, I know some days it's just you just want to scream. And she said, that's what I used to do. I would leave the house. And on the way to the office, I would just scream. And I said, well, Joe, that's good advice, except I have Susan in the car with me taking her to school.

So I don't think that one will work. But she did have some other suggestions that did work. And let me just add that of the four of us sitting here, I am the only one still blessed to have my husband. And I thank God for that every day. That's great. And I think great advice. Sometimes you just need to go get in your car and scream or go to the woods. You don't want to do it at home.

No, don't do it at home. Hold it in at home. That's great. Okay, so I want to hear, this is a question that came in, is just healthy habits. And I think we've talked about it a little bit, spiritually, physically, mentally, that have just helped you live to the age you are now and doing the things that you are. So are there any kind of healthy habits that you feel like you implemented early? on or have implemented later in life that have been helpful.

Fly Air Transat Seven Time winners Champions out again By the seven time world's best leisure airline champions, Air Transat. I do Bible reading and especially when I wake up in the middle of the night which I do a lot of times. Like I'll wake up like 3 o'clock.

That's my best time to wake up. It's 3 o'clock. and I do Bible crosswords and they're very hard to find but I find them and it's amazing when you do a Bible crossword how much you know

it's amazing and how much you learn well I want to say something about that because one thing I have noticed in talking to my mom about waking up in the middle of the night I think for the younger generation a lot of times we all worry about oh we don't get asleep and we don't have enough sleep

and sleep is really important, so I'm not saying it's not. But it's like a big problem to be solved when I've noticed my mom wakes up in the middle of night and she reads. She pulls out her mouth or reads a book or plays a crossword and then you go back to sleep and you kind of get on with your with your night. And so I think that's good advice. I think sometimes the worrying about not sleeping makes us not sleep more where we could just say like, well, it's okay. Sometimes I stay up late. And now I sleep really well. I sleep all through the night.

But I remember when I was younger, I would Sample 2 in the morning reading. And I guess at that time I didn't really worry about it or think about it that much. But now it feels like this younger generation, it's like a really big deal if they don't get enough sleep. And I do think, like I said, sleep is an important part. Well, well, they say that. The health people say that you've got to get so many hours of sleep at night or it's not going to be healthy for you. But I have not found that to be the case. Yeah, me either.

I have not found that my health is affected at all because of lack of sleep. Because I have spent my years working all through the night, not getting any sleep. Now, I cherish the sleep that I get on Saturday night after a wedding is over with. And it's the best sleep that I ever, ever have. Good sleep after hard work. It's best, the best, best, best. But I don't worry about, I just, I know people say, grace, you. got to sleep.

I said, no, you don't understand. I can lay down for an hour. I may be working on cake and lay down for an hour and sleep and wake back up because I can tell, I don't use an alarm clock of any kind, ever. I just tell myself I'm going to get up at five o'clock. Okay. And I do. And, but I would lay down for a minute, rest, get back up after an hour.

and I'm just fresh as a daisy. Keep going. Just keep right of going going. So it's possible to do. Yes. And everybody has different sleep needs, but I have noticed with all of you is that, you know, if you need to stay up late and get the job done, you just do it. Yes.

Or if you wake up in the little night, you read and keep going. And then fall back to sleep. That's great. That's great. But as far as habits are concerned, I told Joe many times if I didn't have a dog to care for, I'd probably sit a whole lot more than I do. Yeah. But that little dog keeps me getting up, feeding it, doing whatever it needs, and walking it.

And it's, yeah, it's a really, it's definitely forces me into doing something that I probably wouldn't do. So at our age, if you're capable and you're ambulatory, I think something like that is really important. And then, of course, if you do a lot of traveling, you have to worry about who's going to care for it. But it's still something that I think is important. It really is important to me anyway. I think that's good. There's studies that come out that talk about, of course, importance of pets. And also for girls, even for young girls, how important it is to have a dog that they can come home to and that can love them unconditionally, even through high school or middle school or all that.

So I think that's a really important part at all different phases of life. Something that you can love on and it loves you unconditionally. That's great. And really greets you at the door is happy to see you. There's nobody else there except your dog

and that's pretty kind of cool. That's great. I love it. I think the most important thing in aging after you retire is just having a purpose. Just if you don't have a purpose, especially today

when there are so many things that you can occupy your brain with you can be on Facebook for three hours and it can pass like in 30 minutes in your brain so those things can just completely consume

where you are but if you have a purpose when you get up every morning that's why I get up every morning and put on my makeup and get dressed for the day anticipating whatever is going to happen and I may have something planned I may not have

something planned but I'm I'm always thinking ahead to that point that there may be something that will happen that I want to be ready for yeah when it does so I think just getting good advice right there yeah yeah just be ready yeah that's so good I think go ahead no no I did it last time. I am a real advocate for eating clean. And as we age, as we have aged, I didn't usually eat clean, but I am eating clean now. And we are what we eat. Yeah.

And I would encourage anybody to watch what they eat. I think that's really good. That's so important. And just that I think we've all become more aware of that, of how what we're eating is actually fueling our body. It's not just about enjoyment, and which there is enjoyment to food. And all of you, I had lunch with y'all and everybody enjoys food and all that. So it's not about that. But there is a-

Most of us are good cooks, too, and we love to eat the bad stuff. Okay, last question. This is just to wrap up. So what do you know? what do you know that you wish younger generations new that makes up a good life? Through my travels and living in different areas, and a lot of people do and a lot of people don't, there's a lot of people that will travel through your life that may be really, really important to it when you're young. And for some sort of situation or moves, people come and go in your life.

and it's not a tragedy I think it's a plan that you're going to learn from everyone that you associate with I think the best thing to do is to associate with the best people that you can and that are

as spiritual as you are or choose to be or want to be and if you're not then choose those that are and later in life I've found much more spirituality than I've had in my earlier years.

My mother and my grandmother were very spiritual, but we lost that along the way and got it back, and it's in full force, and that's important. But there's so many people that come and go in your life, and when you're young, you don't realize that you think your best friend is going to be your best friend forever, and they're not. And if they are, then that's a blessing on you and your friend. I have two friends that I associate with now that I went to high school with, and it's a rare occurrence that we talk to each other, but when we do, it's like we haven't talked. We just talked yesterday.

But the close people that you're with today are your rocks, and you need that. And I'm so blessed to have the rocks that I have. I think that's great. That's a good word to know that people might come and go out in your life. And that can be part of the plan as well. It doesn't have to be forever. I think sometimes when we lose a friendship or a relationship, you can think, you know, what went wrong. And sometimes things do go wrong, but that's part of your learning and growing as well. And I think as your children grow and you meet new parents or mothers, that that's how the life cycle goes. Yeah.

And it's okay to let relationships go and move to a different phase. I think that's great. Love that. Having and maintaining a relationship with Jesus Christ, he is running after us. He's running after everyone. He wants us. And we should do whatever it takes

to maintain a relationship with him. whether it's a regular routine that we get up at 7 o'clock and read and pray or go to bed at night and read and pray or do it at noon read and pray a relationship with Jesus Christ is the utmost it's the most important thing in my opinion it's great

well this is a principle that was drummed into me by my mother and that was to put other people first this is the key to relationships throughout your entire life and the way people will think of you is when you were kind to them

I always refer to it as put yourself in your hip pocket and just think of other people first and that's that I think That's the key to relationships all through life. I would agree. That's so good. Thank you for that.

Yeah, I think that we got it wrong for a little bit of the self-confidence and the self-esteem and the self-everything revolving around self. And I think, you know, as social media played into it, too, it's like your page and your pictures and you're this. But life is about surrender and serving others and loving others and finding that purpose and meaning. And that's where you find your purpose and meaning. Peace.

Yeah. Yeah. I've heard this saying that like there's nothing different than thinking about yourself. If you think too much about yourself, you're going to worry. You're going to be anxious. You're going to be fearful. The more you think about yourself, the worst you're actually off. But when you think about others, there is peace and joy in that.

It's right. Yeah, y'all lived that really well, all of you. Really? Thank Carol. Well, I have all of my life kind of been a perfectionist. to the point that I have wrapped a birthday present and looked at it and thought, I don't like the way that looks, torn the paper off and done it again. And as I've aged, I have learned a little bit to not be such a perfectionist.

Everything does not have to be perfect. You don't have to do things over to make them perfect. If they're done and done acceptably, then leave it and move on. there are more important things to tend to. That's great. That's awesome. Wow. All right.

I feel like I, there's so much here and we could go on for hours and hours. There may have to be a part two after this after everyone listens and sends more questions. But thank you so much. This was a real gift. And I love every single one of you. It's so grateful, Corey. It's such a pleasure. It's so fun.

It's so fun. I'm so grateful to have every single one of you in my life and grateful to get to share you with the world through this podcast. So thank you. Thank you, Corey.