Speaker 1: This is the most dramatic podcast ever and iHeartRadio podcast
Speaker 1: Chris Harrison and Lauren Zema, and we just wanted to
Speaker 1: come and wish everybody a happy holiday week, Happy Thanksgiving everybody.
Speaker 1: I know it's a is it a hectic week? Is
Speaker 1: it a crazy week?
Speaker 2: You know? I think after the weddings, I feel so
Speaker 2: much more comfortable with Thanksgiving because Thanksgiving is a known
Speaker 2: you know. The weddings that we just came off of
Speaker 2: planet were so much going on, lots of factors. This
Speaker 2: is a known. We are going to my childhood home
Speaker 2: in Chicago, where my mom still lives, and Thanksgiving is
Speaker 2: my family's biggest holiday because my extended family from Ohio,
Speaker 2: my aunts, my cousins all come in and all descend
Speaker 2: on our house in Chicago. You have never been to
Speaker 2: this event with my family, So really, the question is
Speaker 2: are you feeling no.
Speaker 1: I'm excited. I've wanted to go to Chicago with you
Speaker 1: and go to your childhood home for a long time,
Speaker 1: and I don't. I just never really worked out. I
Speaker 1: don't know why.
Speaker 2: I think people think it's weird. It's just that I think,
Speaker 2: you know, we have to think about where the kids
Speaker 2: are at are they with their mom? Are they with us?
Speaker 2: Then also, your parents are divorced, so you have to
Speaker 2: divide your time between them. And then my family's kind
Speaker 2: of spread all across the country, so we were always,
Speaker 2: as we've said, dividing and conquering.
Speaker 1: But this is kind of our first, not kind of.
Speaker 1: This is our first official holiday as a married couple,
Speaker 1: and now we're doing it with your family. This is
Speaker 1: I mean, this is it married couple. We're going back
Speaker 1: home and we're going to Chicago.
Speaker 2: We're doing this in the wrong order because I thought
Speaker 2: what you were going to say is this is our
Speaker 2: first holiday where we've ever gone to the other one's parents' home,
Speaker 2: because I've actually never been to either of your parents' homes.
Speaker 1: Yeah, for a holiday, mom my mom has come to us,
Speaker 1: my dad to us, and so you're right, yeah, we've never.
Speaker 2: So we waited till we got married to go to Well.
Speaker 1: We're out of we're long out of my childhood home
Speaker 1: in Dallas, Texas, and so I really don't have that
Speaker 1: to go back home too. Anyway, but your your mom
Speaker 1: still lives in your childhood home. We are And by
Speaker 1: the way, if y'all are thinking what I was thinking,
Speaker 1: and it's not going to happen. What we're not going
Speaker 1: to be in your bedroom?
Speaker 2: Oh, my childhood bedroom no longer exists.
Speaker 1: Okay.
Speaker 2: Also, I don't think anyone was thinking.
Speaker 1: I think people were thinking that.
Speaker 2: I don't think they were thinking.
Speaker 1: Okay, I was thinking that when I.
Speaker 2: Was wondering, weird to think? Is that a guy? Wait?
Speaker 1: Maybe I think it's maybe it's a guy thing of Like,
Speaker 1: just I thought it'd be interesting to be back in
Speaker 1: your childhood bedroom.
Speaker 2: Oh you weren't meaning it in like a dirty way.
Speaker 1: You just meant like right, no, because you were a child.
Speaker 2: Well here's a question, though, how long? Because I have friends?
Speaker 1: Yeah?
Speaker 2: Who, I'm thinking my friend Laura, I'll call her out
Speaker 2: because she listens her childhood bedroom from like her teenage years. Yeah,
Speaker 2: is still and we're in our thirties. It's still exactly
Speaker 2: what it was. It is a time capsule. Her posters
Speaker 2: are on the walls, her CDs are in the CD case,
Speaker 2: And I think her parents should use that room to
Speaker 2: whatever they When do you change your kids childhood bedroom?
Speaker 1: Over and wed one full week after my kids left
Speaker 1: for college. Yeah, no, it's no, it is true. I
Speaker 1: mean I I they're you know, their rooms were changed,
Speaker 1: you know, left to their own devices at first, but
Speaker 1: their rooms, like the trophies and the posters and the
Speaker 1: that stuff needs to come down.
Speaker 2: I think if your kids are going to college, I
Speaker 2: think you can give them a first year to come
Speaker 2: back to their.
Speaker 1: Room, because they are They're always going to come back.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but I think through freshman year it's a new
Speaker 2: time they can they still want to, you know. I
Speaker 2: mean when they go to freshman year, they're essentially still
Speaker 2: a high school kid. They're in such a new place.
Speaker 2: But after that, I think it's okay to say, hey,
Speaker 2: we have a bed for you here, but like your
Speaker 2: room's a gastroom now.
Speaker 1: It's a guest room. Yeah, it's transitioning over. It'll be
Speaker 1: yours when you come.
Speaker 2: Here, right, this is always your home, I fully Or
Speaker 2: are we rushing it too much?
Speaker 1: No? No, I think I think. Look, your job, I think,
Speaker 1: partly as a parent, is to make them feel welcome
Speaker 1: to come back home, but not too comfortable, like they
Speaker 1: can always come live back home.
Speaker 2: You want, well, you want to support independence and growth.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I know, in all seriousness, I'm joking a little bit,
Speaker 1: but all kidding aside I do want my kids to
Speaker 1: start start thinking of their independence, and that just the
Speaker 1: natural next stage is not to boomerang back home. The
Speaker 1: next stage is you're going to graduate, you will work,
Speaker 1: You're going to get an apartment or whatever you can afford,
Speaker 1: and that's where you're going to live, and you're going
Speaker 1: to start your life and establish your life.
Speaker 2: Yeah. My mom always said, like when my little brother
Speaker 2: graduated law school and started working, she's like, Okay, my
Speaker 2: job is done. Like they all have jobs, they're all working,
Speaker 2: contributing members of.
Speaker 1: Or whatever it is. Right, that is a huge step.
Speaker 1: I've talked to your mom a little bit about that,
Speaker 1: and it really is such a prideful, proud moment to
Speaker 1: like you, you've done it, Like Donnazima, you've done it,
Speaker 1: like you probably you have three amazingly successful children that
Speaker 1: are living on their own, crushing it on their own.
Speaker 1: That's not easy.
Speaker 2: I mean, of course, first and foremost you want them
Speaker 2: to be good people, yes, but of course yeah, I
Speaker 2: mean I think you're right that you you want your
Speaker 2: kids to always feel like this is your home, you
Speaker 2: are always welcome here. I mean I love still feeling
Speaker 2: that way. Obviously in my mom's home. I think you
Speaker 2: want to make sure they have a place to sleep.
Speaker 2: It's not like, hey, you can't stay here anymore. Your
Speaker 2: room's a gym. Now find a hotel. That would hurt me,
Speaker 2: But no, my childhood room is long gone.
Speaker 1: So what am I in for?
Speaker 2: You're in for? Actually, this has been very sweet. My
Speaker 2: mom has a really used the moment of you coming
Speaker 2: to our house. She's like, you know what, I'm going
Speaker 2: to like refresh the house in a way I haven't
Speaker 2: in a while. So I'm feeling great because I've been
Speaker 2: trying to get her to do this for a long time.
Speaker 2: So Donna has been you know, I mean to the
Speaker 2: point of like she's gotten some new faucets and some.
Speaker 1: Bath nice new fixtures.
Speaker 2: Yeah, fixing up.
Speaker 1: I know, she's been painting a little bit. Yeah, Like,
Speaker 1: so it's going to be and I And by.
Speaker 2: The way, let's take a moment for that. No matter
Speaker 2: how much a parent loves their kid, it's like, we
Speaker 2: don't listen to our family. I've been telling my mom
Speaker 2: to paint the kitchen cabinets for years. Oh, all of
Speaker 2: a sudden, Chris Harrison's coming home. She let you know
Speaker 2: she likes she She probably likes having you in your
Speaker 2: kitchen more than she likes me in there.
Speaker 1: I know that I was going to say, what I
Speaker 1: know I'm looking forward to is your mom's food, because
Speaker 1: obviously she came in and cooked for our wedding, and
Speaker 1: we've been she's come here for events and for holidays
Speaker 1: as well, and she does she loves to be in
Speaker 1: the kitchen as much as I do. We have kind
Speaker 1: of this nice dance we do where we both kind
Speaker 1: of well.
Speaker 2: She's already assigned you things to cook for this.
Speaker 1: I know I'm fired up. I am, and I'm in
Speaker 1: charge of the tenderloin. She's doing the turkey. I'm doing
Speaker 1: a tenderloin in mashed potatoes, and I'm bringing wine.
Speaker 2: Let's out you for something that might be a hot take.
Speaker 2: You don't like turkey.
Speaker 1: It's not that a look. I'm just if you were
Speaker 1: going to say, what would you like to have for
Speaker 1: dinner tonight? Because I love the fixings. Give me your
Speaker 1: green bean casserole, sweet potato, you name it, Yam's mashed potatoes,
Speaker 1: anything that you're traditional stuffing all of it.
Speaker 2: Skimming is very much about the side.
Speaker 1: I love the sides. But if you're like Okay, what
Speaker 1: do you want your man to be? If you're at
Speaker 1: a restaurant, would you love a filet min yon, would
Speaker 1: you love a tenderloin? Or would you like some turkey?
Speaker 1: I'm sorry, but ninety nine nine percent of the time,
Speaker 1: I'm going to say, give me a nice, beautiful steak.
Speaker 2: I mean, I never eat turkey other than Thanksgiving, but
Speaker 2: I look forward to it. But you comet at it
Speaker 2: more from this chef's perspective of like that turkey's very
Speaker 2: dry and you have to do a lot to it,
Speaker 2: so I don't really have.
Speaker 1: I fried a turkey, Redneck. I fried turkeys, and your
Speaker 1: mom bakes once. She brinds it and then bakes it,
Speaker 1: and it's one I've had your mom's turkey. It's incredible.
Speaker 1: But at the same time, you know, it's funny. What
Speaker 1: I look forward to the most about turkey is the
Speaker 1: turkey sandwich.
Speaker 2: Later the moistmaker that Ross cites on friends.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he put it the fridge. Somebody ate his and
Speaker 1: he really went after him. But I am a big
Speaker 1: fan of Later, about three or four hours later turkey
Speaker 1: and I make I'm kind of the same way I
Speaker 1: put everything in the sandwich. It's cranberry sauce, turkey, gravy,
Speaker 1: some stuffing. It's all packed in there.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Oh, I agree with you. I the leftovers are
Speaker 2: sometimes better the next day. Last year, actually, we had
Speaker 2: Thanksgiving here and we had a leftovers and libations neighborhood party,
Speaker 2: which was fun because every friends giving right to get
Speaker 2: your leftovers. Yes, what I really appreciate about you is
Speaker 2: that you are so helpful, like in the kitchen on holidays,
Speaker 2: at events, at parties. We talked about this a lot
Speaker 2: with the wedding, but you jump in and help. And
Speaker 2: I really like that. You're not nervous or I don't
Speaker 2: know you're You're really good at Like you haven't met
Speaker 2: all of my extended family, but I think you're You're
Speaker 2: I never worry about you in those situations.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And likewise, you and I are both good in
Speaker 1: those situations where we can both handle each other, Like
Speaker 1: you don't have to check on me. If I'm with
Speaker 1: Aunt Sally, it's like I'm fine and I and I knew,
Speaker 1: and I would know the same for you. I would
Speaker 1: look over and just see you and I'm like, yeah,
Speaker 1: she's got it now.
Speaker 2: We met someone the other night who told a story
Speaker 2: that you and I did not agree with. This person
Speaker 2: was telling a story of the first time they went
Speaker 2: home to the person they were dating, so or they
Speaker 2: went to the person they were datings like family home, right,
Speaker 2: And this woman is telling the story of how she
Speaker 2: met the family and she is a vegetarian and she
Speaker 2: was so offended because the family didn't have food that
Speaker 2: she could eat, really, and that she actually got in
Speaker 2: a fight with the guy she was dating over it,
Speaker 2: and it became this big deal. And I maybe I'm
Speaker 2: not being fair of the vegetarians out there, but if
Speaker 2: I'm going to somebody i'm dating's family home to meet
Speaker 2: their parents for the first time, I'm just gonna like
Speaker 2: poke my food around on my plate, smile, and make
Speaker 2: a good impression out of it.
Speaker 1: You can go get a Tofu Burger later. Your job
Speaker 1: is to just be happy. And I think on the
Speaker 1: first time, yeah, put on your best face, make friends,
Speaker 1: bring you know ingratiate yourself to the face family. And
Speaker 1: if you realize, oh god, they even put bacon into
Speaker 1: the green bean casserole, just just go with it, just
Speaker 1: like you said, move it around, hide it under the
Speaker 1: mashed potatoes, and then go eat later and then you know,
Speaker 1: the next time you can broach that subject or the
Speaker 1: next time your husband's not about you.
Speaker 2: On the first time. It's not about whether you like them,
Speaker 2: it's that you're trying to get them to like you.
Speaker 2: You're trying to put your best foot forward.
Speaker 1: I totally agree with.
Speaker 2: That, and I'm a big believer to I mean, I
Speaker 2: get it if you've known someone for years and you're like, listen,
Speaker 2: I've told you I'm a vegetarian. Please. But also, by
Speaker 2: the way, when you're the odd one out in a
Speaker 2: group situation, I think you have to look out for
Speaker 2: yourself a little bit more. That's on you, Like bring
Speaker 2: a dish that you're okay with eating, like make something
Speaker 2: you know. I mean, I think it's always a bread
Speaker 2: flag about a human if they think that the group
Speaker 2: should accommodate them instead of like that they they're going
Speaker 2: to say, hey, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: I don't know. It was Thanksgiving always huge in your family.
Speaker 2: In terms of the number of people.
Speaker 1: Just no, I mean like just big holiday like something
Speaker 1: like for me growing up, it was actually something kind
Speaker 1: of odd because there was always the soccer tournament. There
Speaker 1: was the Houston Thanksgiving Day soccer tournament, So we would
Speaker 1: go to Houston and mostly we were in a hotel
Speaker 1: and that I have an aunt and uncle in Houston
Speaker 1: and we would go to them. But it was kind
Speaker 1: of like that was for many many years, so it
Speaker 1: wasn't like this. We always got together with fifty people
Speaker 1: type of a holiday for a lot of years. And
Speaker 1: then after soccer when we kind of grew up and
Speaker 1: that stopped, then we kind of figured out what that was.
Speaker 1: But has it always just been your house, your mom?
Speaker 1: Like that's yeah.
Speaker 2: And I actually saw there was some Maley Instagram quote
Speaker 2: the other day about how how much your childhood continues
Speaker 2: to affect like the way like everything in your life,
Speaker 2: you know, in this particular quote was about relationship. But
Speaker 2: I'm thinking about it right now because like the quote
Speaker 2: was about that, like if someone you're in a relationship
Speaker 2: with isn't treating you well, you have to realize that
Speaker 2: they're modeling their childhood and they have to fix themselves. It's,
Speaker 2: you know, before they can work on you. So I
Speaker 2: guess I'm applying that here with It's interesting because I
Speaker 2: don't think you I've always you don't see Thanksgiving as
Speaker 2: that big of a holiday. You've said before, You don't really,
Speaker 2: it's like you wait more so look forward to Christmas.
Speaker 2: And maybe that's why, because it was always this other this.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we it was busy, and we made it something
Speaker 1: on the actual day. Like you said, I'd go to
Speaker 1: my aunt and uncles eventually and they would cook and
Speaker 1: we'd be there and but there was always kind of
Speaker 1: something going on, and it would always and I go,
Speaker 1: you're not going to love this sports reference, but the
Speaker 1: Dallas Cowboys are one of the teams that always plays
Speaker 1: on Thanksgiving. And when I was a sportscaster and I
Speaker 1: started my career, you're the low man on the totem pole.
Speaker 1: That means you work Holidays. I spent many gosh five
Speaker 1: or six Thanksgivings at Texas Stadium working the game, and
Speaker 1: I would eat my meal in the press room with
Speaker 1: the other press guys and they had bad turkey and
Speaker 1: bad whatever. And I would cover the game and then
Speaker 1: I would drive somewhere and meet family in Dallas after
Speaker 1: the game. But again it was kind of an afterthought
Speaker 1: because I covered the football game that day and it
Speaker 1: was it was It was funny because it was always
Speaker 1: a tradition growing up that the Dallas Cowboys played and
Speaker 1: then it turned into that was my job and I
Speaker 1: was at that game on Thanksgiving Day.
Speaker 2: So we're married. Now, yeah, we can create this ourselves.
Speaker 2: What do we want Thanksgiving to be?
Speaker 1: Well? I like, I mean number one. I like where
Speaker 1: we're going. I like going to your childhood home.
Speaker 2: Have you checked the weather? It's going to be things
Speaker 2: are going to.
Speaker 1: Be a little but well, what's funny is your mom thought, oh,
Speaker 1: you know, if you come, you can play golf. And
Speaker 1: I'm like, it's Chicago in November, it's cold.
Speaker 2: Wait are you saying that as much as you love golf,
Speaker 2: you wouldn't play this weather's to stop you.
Speaker 1: Your people are of stronger blood than I am.
Speaker 2: I yeah, growing up in Chicago, you have a bigger talk,
Speaker 2: better term for sure.
Speaker 1: People. I mean, I think even now people of Chicago
Speaker 1: are stopping their golf season because it's going to get
Speaker 1: down in the twenties. But yeah, that's the I draw
Speaker 1: the line there as a divorced man with kids, You
Speaker 1: and I and I just my heart goes out to everybody.
Speaker 1: And by the way, I'm thinking about you if you
Speaker 1: have children and you're not with your kids on the holiday,
Speaker 1: because it's not your holiday. And so you know, the
Speaker 1: way my ex and I have always done it is
Speaker 1: we kind of split up the holidays is one would
Speaker 1: get one would get Thanksgiving, the other gets Christmas, and
Speaker 1: then you switch the opposite year. So and even though
Speaker 1: the kids are in college, we kind of just keep
Speaker 1: this going. And so, you know, if you don't have
Speaker 1: your kids over the holidays, and especially if this is
Speaker 1: your first time to go through the holidays divorced or
Speaker 1: missing your kids, that's just I'm thinking about you. It's
Speaker 1: a tough thing to get used to. You do get
Speaker 1: used to it, as with all things. Time heals those wounds.
Speaker 1: But it is a weird thing on a holiday to
Speaker 1: not be with your kids, because it's just it's natural
Speaker 1: and it's it's something that you do. And so, you know,
Speaker 1: we'll be without the kids on Thanksgiving. I've been doing
Speaker 1: it for over a decade now, so I'm very much
Speaker 1: used to it. But I'll never not think about them,
Speaker 1: and wonder you know, I've talked to them and obviously
Speaker 1: we'll face time and all that, and it's wonderful and
Speaker 1: we have a great relationship with their mom, but we
Speaker 1: don't spend holidays together, and so if you are going
Speaker 1: through that for the first time, the second time, third time,
Speaker 1: and it's still raw for you, I feel you and
Speaker 1: it will get better. And just you know, Holiday is
Speaker 1: just today, but it's there is a loneliness to that
Speaker 1: when you're missing your kids on those days.
Speaker 2: So it's your advice, you know.
Speaker 1: It's it's terrible advice. It is the time heels those wounds.
Speaker 1: You will get used to it and it becomes the
Speaker 1: new normal.
Speaker 2: But I think one important thing you did was you
Speaker 2: found chosen family like you started, because if you weren't
Speaker 2: with your kids, you also didn't have family living near
Speaker 2: you in California during those years, and you found really
Speaker 2: good friends and made those friendships and they took you
Speaker 2: in and shout out to Chip unless our our friendship.
Speaker 1: Now infamously we can't go a week without mentioning Chip.
Speaker 1: But they were and they were really good. You know.
Speaker 1: I had I had dear friends who looked out for
Speaker 1: me and said, Hey, if you're not with anybody this
Speaker 1: Easter or this Thanksgiving or whatever, come to our house.
Speaker 1: Just just show up Christmas night. Don't be alone Christmas night,
Speaker 1: come show up. So finding that community, finding friends, don't
Speaker 1: just sit alone in your own thoughts, and look, if
Speaker 1: you don't have that, go volunteer, go to a soup kitchen, volunteer,
Speaker 1: be active, be around people. And I think there's things
Speaker 1: you can do where you can volunteer for Thanksgiving, for
Speaker 1: Christmas and all that, or if you have other friends
Speaker 1: you can be with that you know will kind of
Speaker 1: take you in, so to speak. I think that is
Speaker 1: important and it doesn't make you just forget everything, but
Speaker 1: at least you're surrounded by love and you're surrounded by that.
Speaker 1: And I'm so grateful for Chip and lists were that
Speaker 1: for me for many years, especially when it first started,
Speaker 1: because you don't know, you don't know what to do.
Speaker 1: You've had a set thing your whole life and then
Speaker 1: all of a sudden, and I'm guessing to put this
Speaker 1: back on you, it's a little bit like when you
Speaker 1: lose somebody, you know, when your dad first died.
Speaker 2: Yeah, of course my mind is going there a little
Speaker 2: bit right now as you're talking about this, because we
Speaker 2: talked about this a lot when I was doing experience
Speaker 2: camps where I volunteered for kids who have lost their parents.
Speaker 2: The holidays are hard when you've been through loss, especially
Speaker 2: when that loss is fresh because everybody around you is
Speaker 2: so happy. The focus is on family, and you're one less.
Speaker 2: You know you're missing a person and you're it's not
Speaker 2: even a divorce thing where you're going to see them
Speaker 2: the next time, you know. If so, it's a harsh
Speaker 2: reminder for sure. I think the same time heals wounds.
Speaker 2: I would say, if you're going through grief right now,
Speaker 2: my heart is with you, and I love the saying
Speaker 2: grief is a river. It is always moving and always changing.
Speaker 2: So you know you will always miss that person, but things,
Speaker 2: the harsh pain will get better, it will lessen and
Speaker 2: you will find joy in their memory, and things will
Speaker 2: get better and the pain will change. So know that
Speaker 2: it will get better. Know that we are with you.
Speaker 1: And I guess you said, what's your advice. My advice is,
Speaker 1: if you are that person, it's incumbent upon you to
Speaker 1: try and find something and make yourself busy, find a commune,
Speaker 1: something like that. But I would also say my advice
Speaker 1: is for people out there. If you know someone, if
Speaker 1: one of your friends has just gotten divorced, if they
Speaker 1: have just lost somebody, reach out to them this week
Speaker 1: and just say hey, if you're not doing anything, And
Speaker 1: I get it. Maybe you don't want them there for
Speaker 1: the actual meal if it's very sacred just to have
Speaker 1: your family there, but just say, hey, we're going to
Speaker 1: be done eating around five five thirty, come over and
Speaker 1: watch the football game with us after or just something, yeah,
Speaker 1: to try to just reach out to them.
Speaker 2: Well, you know what I was thinking about as we
Speaker 2: were just saying, we can choose our own Thanksgiving. I
Speaker 2: am such a big believer in chosen family and friendships
Speaker 2: being just as important as family, and also in like,
Speaker 2: you know, Thanksgiving, at the end of the day, it's
Speaker 2: kind of just about food and people, right, Christmas move
Speaker 2: gifts or you have religious aspects to that. Thanksgiving is
Speaker 2: about food and people and so and being grateful hopefully,
Speaker 2: so I think, like, find your people. I love that
Speaker 2: friends Giving has become a bigger thing in recent years,
Speaker 2: and I.
Speaker 1: Think that Giving can be that holiday where you choose
Speaker 1: who you want to be with. Yeah, whereas Christmas obviously
Speaker 1: is a very religious holiday and it's typically with your family. Right.
Speaker 2: I think as you and I move forward, and for
Speaker 2: anybody out there, as you move forward with what you
Speaker 2: want to do, like, I love that you're making a
Speaker 2: tenderline on Thanksgiving. You know who cares in my I've
Speaker 2: been at Thanksgivings before where the tradition was, you know what, Uh,
Speaker 2: we don't really want to do this whole big turkey thing.
Speaker 2: Why doesn't everybody make something and bring your thing you're
Speaker 2: going to make, and well what everybody makes and you
Speaker 2: can really have fun with it, and I don't. I
Speaker 2: have suddenly some family members who are very tied to tradition.
Speaker 2: I'm not so much.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I wasn't. I remember vividly the first Thanksgiving after
Speaker 1: my divorce, because you know, we've been married for seventeen years.
Speaker 1: The kids were for you know, we're ten years old,
Speaker 1: and so they'd grown up with these traditions, and so
Speaker 1: I just thought, let's shake it up, and so I
Speaker 1: took them on a Disney cruise. I grab the kids
Speaker 1: and I grabbed my mom, and I know we're not
Speaker 1: cruise people, but we went on a Disney cruise for Thanksgiving.
Speaker 1: I was like, what the heck, let's just I just
Speaker 1: wanted to make the kids, just distract them. They're like, oh,
Speaker 1: this is okay, and so I've yeah, exactly. So that's
Speaker 1: what we did. And there were a couple of friends
Speaker 1: and they brought their kids, and that's what we did,
Speaker 1: and so and then we kind of found our place.
Speaker 1: But when you ask me, like, okay, what would our
Speaker 1: tradition be, or we can start one, well, kind of
Speaker 1: every other year, it's going to be. You know, it's
Speaker 1: a little different because the kids are with us, then
Speaker 1: they're not. The kids are with us, and then the
Speaker 1: kids get older, right, and then they're probably going to
Speaker 1: get married, and then they'll have their truth, you know.
Speaker 1: So it's interesting. I'm a big believer of I will
Speaker 1: go where family is, I will go where the love is.
Speaker 1: I'm all in. If it's this year, it's your family
Speaker 1: and we're going to Chicago. If next year we happen
Speaker 1: to host it, great whatever. If that's where we can
Speaker 1: gather everybody, that's really all I care about is if
Speaker 1: you're there as much family, as many friends as we
Speaker 1: can see, that's great with me totally.
Speaker 2: I was thinking before we sat down, you know, I mean,
Speaker 2: maybe my favorite part of Thanksgiving is going around the
Speaker 2: table and acknowledging what everybody's grateful for, because it's a
Speaker 2: really good moment in a chaotic, busy world to pause
Speaker 2: and reflect and I am so grateful for this year.
Speaker 2: I think we've had. When I look back, I've had,
Speaker 2: you know, just some really good trips with friends. We
Speaker 2: were so lucky with both of the weddings. They went
Speaker 2: so well. We were surrounded by so much love. The
Speaker 2: kids are in a good, healthy, happy place. My siblings,
Speaker 2: my mom, you know, your parents. Everybody's like, you have
Speaker 2: to be really grateful for a good season. So I
Speaker 2: just want to soak that in and really pause and
Speaker 2: be thankful and reflect on that.
Speaker 1: And I know we live in tumultuous times and there's
Speaker 1: crazy things going on around the world, so I think
Speaker 1: it's really really incumbent upon all of us this week
Speaker 1: to just take a deep breath and also give thanks
Speaker 1: and that's what Thanksgiving is all about. And so yes,
Speaker 1: we can look at the dark side of things and
Speaker 1: talk about that, and no doubt those topics will be
Speaker 1: brought up at Thanksgiving tables in an unbelievably awkward way.
Speaker 1: And by the way, that'll be a good show afterwards
Speaker 1: to try and find people to come on the show, like, Okay,
Speaker 1: who is the person that brought up that really awkward
Speaker 1: moment topic of.
Speaker 2: By the way, as I'm sitting here saying toxic family members. Look,
Speaker 2: I've laughed with my friends about this. Sometimes you want
Speaker 2: the crazy aunt at Thanksgiving. You don't know what she's
Speaker 2: going to do. You want a story out of it.
Speaker 2: You want to grab your cousin, go in the other
Speaker 2: room and say, did you hear what she just said?
Speaker 2: Like maybe that's the best part of Thanksgiving is.
Speaker 1: The crazy And there is a lot of that, But
Speaker 1: embrace it all. And I have so much to be
Speaker 1: thankful for this year. Obviously, I'm sitting right next to
Speaker 1: what I'm most thankful for this year, the love of
Speaker 1: my life and getting married and the kids being healthy.
Speaker 1: It's a good season, and so we have a lot
Speaker 1: to give thanks for. And one of the things we
Speaker 1: can give thanks for is you, guys, and the fact
Speaker 1: that we've all been together this year, and we've been
Speaker 1: doing this podcast for going on a year now, and
Speaker 1: we've enjoyed so much talking to you and so on
Speaker 1: these holiday weeks, we love to connect. And I hope
Speaker 1: wherever you find yourself, whoever you're with, I hope you
Speaker 1: have a wonderful, wonderful holiday and be safe and come
Speaker 1: back to us, because we have a lot more to
Speaker 1: talk about happy Thanksgiving everybody. Thanks for listening. Follow us
Speaker 1: on Instagram at the most dramatic pod ever, and make
Speaker 1: sure to write us a review and leave us five stars.
Speaker 1: I'll talk to you next time.