WEBVTT - Welcome Home Christmas! 0:00:01.840 --> 0:00:07.080 Wind Down and her radio podcast. All Right, we're just 0:00:07.080 --> 0:00:08.639 gonna get right to it because I got bit by 0:00:08.680 --> 0:00:12.200 something in Mexico. I gotta get this, like the feeling 0:00:12.720 --> 0:00:14.720 out of my head because I wanted to, Like my 0:00:14.840 --> 0:00:18.400 arm looks like a freaking baseball. Yeah, it's kind of crazy. 0:00:18.440 --> 0:00:21.000 I will say, I commend you because you're handling it 0:00:21.079 --> 0:00:24.400 more like an adult than I probably would. It's says 0:00:24.400 --> 0:00:27.040 little things that bother me more than anything else. But like, 0:00:27.120 --> 0:00:29.520 I haven't been able to sleep because it's just it's 0:00:29.680 --> 0:00:33.280 it's is so bad, like nothing is helping. So we 0:00:33.320 --> 0:00:35.200 just need to get straight to I'm so excited because 0:00:35.240 --> 0:00:39.880 this week my movie that I filmed during the pandemic, 0:00:40.200 --> 0:00:43.800 essentially it's called Welcome Home Christmas on Lifetime. It's going 0:00:43.840 --> 0:00:46.479 to be airing this Saturday. And so excited because we 0:00:46.600 --> 0:00:48.960 have a few of the cast members joining us today. 0:00:49.320 --> 0:00:51.720 And let's get right to it with the one and 0:00:51.840 --> 0:00:57.640 only country superstar Craig Morgan. Welcome, Kras, What up, buddy, 0:00:58.160 --> 0:01:00.360 It's good. It's good to see y'all. It's good to 0:01:00.400 --> 0:01:04.840 see you, Manna. That makes it better for me. I 0:01:04.840 --> 0:01:10.480 gotta be honest, absolutely, I'm super uncomfortable around Janna. Why 0:01:11.360 --> 0:01:13.720 he used make me nervous again, I make you nervous. 0:01:14.319 --> 0:01:17.720 You're so like You're acting is so good that I 0:01:17.720 --> 0:01:20.720 feel I feel inferior, and generally I'm really good at 0:01:20.760 --> 0:01:24.000 everything else. I do you know what I mean that, Craig, 0:01:24.080 --> 0:01:26.320 that that's how I used to felt until I married Joanna, 0:01:26.560 --> 0:01:28.440 And now I'm to care about everything I do because 0:01:28.440 --> 0:01:29.760 I'm like, man, I used to be the best at 0:01:29.800 --> 0:01:31.640 this until I met my wife. And I used to 0:01:31.640 --> 0:01:38.600 be a stud till I got married. You are crazy 0:01:38.800 --> 0:01:40.720 because well, first of all, I just have to say, 0:01:40.760 --> 0:01:43.160 I just have to, um, you know, give Craig a 0:01:43.200 --> 0:01:46.040 lot of um love right now, because he's been the 0:01:46.160 --> 0:01:49.320 nicest country star of all of them that I've ever met. 0:01:50.160 --> 0:01:54.360 Um always so welcoming, You're so kind, um obviously, I 0:01:54.360 --> 0:01:56.240 mean I grew up listening to your music and then 0:01:56.840 --> 0:02:00.680 I knew that you did a few acting jobs with um. 0:02:00.720 --> 0:02:02.920 It was it was what's that called is? I don't know, 0:02:03.000 --> 0:02:05.600 I always say it wrong, is? Oh? And what was 0:02:05.600 --> 0:02:08.920 that called? Zsolian Isles? I always forget the name of 0:02:08.919 --> 0:02:11.280 that one. Um, but you were I'm not sure You've 0:02:11.280 --> 0:02:13.480 done a few other movies and I remember reading a 0:02:13.560 --> 0:02:16.560 Welcome Home Christmas and I was like, Craig Morgan has 0:02:16.600 --> 0:02:19.320 to play this role like he's just because you're an 0:02:19.400 --> 0:02:22.519 Army veteran yourself, and the movie revolves around army veterans. 0:02:22.560 --> 0:02:25.400 And so I mean, do you do enjoy acting because 0:02:25.400 --> 0:02:28.800 you're really good at it? Oh, you're so sweet? Thank you. 0:02:28.840 --> 0:02:32.520 I'm I love it, I gotta tell you. And mainly 0:02:32.520 --> 0:02:37.240 because there's no band, there's no crew, there's no headache. 0:02:37.360 --> 0:02:38.919 You know, you just said in a trailer and wait 0:02:38.919 --> 0:02:40.400 for him to come and get you, and you pretend 0:02:40.400 --> 0:02:43.680 to be someone else. Uh. You know, before I started, 0:02:43.720 --> 0:02:46.120 they asked me, you know, have you ever done any acting? 0:02:46.160 --> 0:02:51.639 I said, I've been pretending to be a singer. So 0:02:51.960 --> 0:02:54.560 I absolutely love it. I was. I was always nervous 0:02:54.639 --> 0:02:58.000 though about getting into it. The Resolian Isles was the 0:02:58.040 --> 0:03:00.359 first piece that I did where I really had a 0:03:00.360 --> 0:03:04.640 true character role. I wasn't playing a country singer or 0:03:04.720 --> 0:03:06.840 Craig Morgan, you know what I mean. I did the 0:03:07.080 --> 0:03:09.800 Army Wives, but I was a country singer, you know, 0:03:09.800 --> 0:03:12.560 I played I played a country singer and we did 0:03:12.680 --> 0:03:14.400 some stuff, had a few lines here and there, and 0:03:15.000 --> 0:03:18.119 uh so when I did Resolian. I was it was exciting, 0:03:18.120 --> 0:03:20.200 but I was also a little nervous because you know, 0:03:20.240 --> 0:03:23.399 I'm like, you might not be cut out to do this. 0:03:24.240 --> 0:03:28.280 You just don't know. And I hate not doing something well. 0:03:28.639 --> 0:03:31.680 I hate doing I try to avoid things that if 0:03:31.760 --> 0:03:33.400 I'm not gonna be able to do it, I just 0:03:33.480 --> 0:03:36.360 avoid it. And you know, and it ain't like I 0:03:36.600 --> 0:03:38.800 won't try to learn something, but I you know, I 0:03:38.800 --> 0:03:41.840 felt like I wanted to do well at it, you know, uh, 0:03:42.120 --> 0:03:44.840 especially after Resolian. I was you know, then it then 0:03:44.880 --> 0:03:47.520 you get the bug and it's like I just I 0:03:47.600 --> 0:03:49.920 really did. I enjoyed that and they were great, they 0:03:49.920 --> 0:03:51.960 were really good to me. And then we did another 0:03:52.000 --> 0:03:54.360 Lifetime movie and had a had a great part in that, 0:03:54.440 --> 0:03:57.640 and it just I do love it. I just want 0:03:57.680 --> 0:04:00.960 to do it well. I don't want to be the guy. Yeah, well, 0:04:00.960 --> 0:04:02.880 I don't want to be the guy that everybody says, oh, 0:04:02.880 --> 0:04:04.200 you're really good and then they go home and they 0:04:04.240 --> 0:04:09.240 go you know, no, I'm serious. Everyone was kind of 0:04:09.320 --> 0:04:12.440 everyone was talking about you. You're behind your back and 0:04:12.600 --> 0:04:14.760 the best of ways being like, he's really good and 0:04:15.120 --> 0:04:18.040 you played the part perfectly, so I just you made 0:04:18.040 --> 0:04:21.080 it you made it exciting to go to work, especially 0:04:21.120 --> 0:04:24.720 during that nervous time. You know, Craig, I've always wondered 0:04:24.760 --> 0:04:26.760 how it is to transitionto something like that, I mean, 0:04:26.800 --> 0:04:28.880 goring to have a you know, perfect candidate with my 0:04:28.880 --> 0:04:30.279 wife being able to do it. But I feel like 0:04:30.320 --> 0:04:33.920 there's this relationship right amongst entertainers where every professional athlete 0:04:33.960 --> 0:04:35.520 wants to be an actor, every actor wants to be 0:04:35.560 --> 0:04:37.800 a musician, every music right, and it's a cycle that 0:04:37.880 --> 0:04:40.039 we all just like appreciate what the other one does 0:04:40.160 --> 0:04:42.840 because really, you're living the dream I wanted to live. 0:04:43.000 --> 0:04:44.920 I might be living the dream someone else wanted to live. 0:04:45.360 --> 0:04:48.640 And so how was that transitioning into that, be having 0:04:48.680 --> 0:04:51.480 this name and this brand as being Craig Morgan, you know, 0:04:52.040 --> 0:04:56.080 the performer, into something where you're back to the bottom 0:04:56.080 --> 0:04:59.000 of the total poll you're trying to prove yourself. Like, 0:04:59.040 --> 0:05:01.359 how how was that going into that? And was that 0:05:01.440 --> 0:05:03.640 something that you pursued or did someone start to pursue 0:05:03.680 --> 0:05:07.440 you into acting? Man, there's a there's a few questions, 0:05:07.440 --> 0:05:10.000 but those are I love what you said. First, let 0:05:10.000 --> 0:05:13.480 me say this about how we all kind of you know, 0:05:13.880 --> 0:05:16.320 like I want to be a football stud You know, 0:05:16.680 --> 0:05:19.479 I want to be a baseball player. I want to 0:05:20.080 --> 0:05:21.520 or I want to be a copper. I want to 0:05:21.520 --> 0:05:23.920 be this. You know. I think we all have that 0:05:24.400 --> 0:05:28.440 almost like a type A personality. But there's multiple subcategories 0:05:28.440 --> 0:05:33.440 of those type a's, and we all actors, UH, law 0:05:33.560 --> 0:05:41.000 enforcement officers, fireman, soldiers, entertainers, athletes. We all share that. 0:05:41.600 --> 0:05:43.080 Now we have a different we might be in a 0:05:43.080 --> 0:05:46.960 different subcategory, but we are driven. I think that is it. 0:05:47.440 --> 0:05:49.480 I think that's what we do. Now. You ask how 0:05:49.760 --> 0:05:52.559 how I transition, I'll tell you what I tell people. 0:05:53.120 --> 0:05:55.760 They asked me how to transition from the military into 0:05:55.760 --> 0:05:58.760 the music, and I say, I'm working on it. How 0:05:58.800 --> 0:06:02.599 long did you serve again in the military, Uh, seventeen 0:06:02.640 --> 0:06:06.679 and a half total years, had almost eleven of active 0:06:06.760 --> 0:06:10.679 and then almost seven of active reserve. Thank you again 0:06:10.720 --> 0:06:12.560 for your service. And I there was a story that 0:06:12.600 --> 0:06:15.800 you told me when we were filming that your guys 0:06:15.839 --> 0:06:18.680 didn't know that you wanted to be this country singer. 0:06:18.800 --> 0:06:22.800 Is that my memory correct on that? No, yes it is. 0:06:23.000 --> 0:06:25.599 Um I was sitting around in the barracks and play music, 0:06:25.640 --> 0:06:27.320 but you know I was, I was an n c O. 0:06:28.400 --> 0:06:31.000 Especially when I started playing music more. I grew up 0:06:31.000 --> 0:06:32.840 in and around. I was born in Nashville, so music 0:06:32.920 --> 0:06:35.839 was always My dad was a musician growing up, so 0:06:35.880 --> 0:06:38.280 it was always kind of a part of my life. Um. 0:06:38.320 --> 0:06:39.560 But when I was in the army, it was just 0:06:39.760 --> 0:06:41.479 for fun. You know. It's kind of like sitting around 0:06:41.480 --> 0:06:43.800 in the evenings when you're off and and and we 0:06:43.839 --> 0:06:46.120 do hang out and play music what have you, especially 0:06:46.320 --> 0:06:50.080 you know, uh, when you're away from home. Um. But 0:06:50.160 --> 0:06:52.599 I don't know that I read that. I don't remember 0:06:52.640 --> 0:06:55.560 ever sitting down until towards the end of my military 0:06:55.640 --> 0:06:58.440 active duty time. I had to make a decision do 0:06:58.560 --> 0:07:00.960 I was at that mark, you know, almost halfway to 0:07:01.040 --> 0:07:03.520 the retirement, and it was like, do you stay here 0:07:04.320 --> 0:07:06.680 and retire of the army or do you get out 0:07:06.760 --> 0:07:09.479 and try this? And I remember talking to my wife 0:07:09.480 --> 0:07:11.880 and talking to some of my buddies, my commander. I 0:07:11.920 --> 0:07:14.360 literally went to my commander, who to this day as 0:07:14.400 --> 0:07:16.960 a dear friend. He was a full bird colonel, and 0:07:17.000 --> 0:07:18.920 I sat down and I said, I'm thinking about pursuing 0:07:18.920 --> 0:07:20.960 the music industry, and I'd just like to get your 0:07:20.960 --> 0:07:23.240 take because I was due to re enlist, you know, 0:07:23.400 --> 0:07:26.160 and go for another two or three years, and uh, 0:07:26.360 --> 0:07:27.760 he said, I think if you stay in the army, 0:07:27.760 --> 0:07:30.680 you'll be the startain major of the army someday. He said, 0:07:30.720 --> 0:07:33.200 but I also think that you have a very special gift, 0:07:33.240 --> 0:07:36.360 and I think you should try. It was that guy's 0:07:36.400 --> 0:07:40.120 advice solely. Uh, you know, my parents, my dad was 0:07:40.160 --> 0:07:42.360 trying to get me to do it, and friends were 0:07:42.400 --> 0:07:44.960 saying it. But that guy's advice. I'll never forget that 0:07:45.040 --> 0:07:48.720 because he felt like I could be the sergeant major 0:07:48.840 --> 0:07:51.400 of the army if I stayed in And yet he 0:07:51.520 --> 0:07:54.200 still thought that I should pursue this. I never would 0:07:54.200 --> 0:07:55.560 have done it. I don't think if it hadn't been 0:07:55.600 --> 0:08:00.400 for him. So um, you know, it's all he's kind 0:08:00.400 --> 0:08:04.360 of been there. But but like I said, I'm transitioning. 0:08:04.840 --> 0:08:07.360 So how am I transitioning into the acting thing? I'm 0:08:07.440 --> 0:08:10.280 working on it. Man. I'd like to get better. I 0:08:10.320 --> 0:08:13.400 want to be really good. I want I want when people, 0:08:14.080 --> 0:08:17.000 uh like I was. I was lucky because of the entertainment, 0:08:17.000 --> 0:08:19.720 because of music and my success and that I achieved 0:08:19.800 --> 0:08:23.400 enough notoriety that someone who was a friend of mine 0:08:23.480 --> 0:08:26.600 said you should come to resultiing ills, you know, And 0:08:26.640 --> 0:08:29.440 it was Angie. You know, she's the lead. And so 0:08:29.600 --> 0:08:32.240 when she said it, they said, okay, and we'll try it. 0:08:32.280 --> 0:08:34.480 And you know, and I did well enough that you know, 0:08:34.679 --> 0:08:38.559 brought me back. But and then you do something else, 0:08:38.600 --> 0:08:40.480 and one thing leads, as you know, Jenna, one thing 0:08:40.559 --> 0:08:42.960 leads to another. So I'm always I just tell you 0:08:43.040 --> 0:08:46.720 everything that I get to do, I'm super grateful for it. Uh. 0:08:46.760 --> 0:08:49.600 And and anytime, you know, when my son died, I 0:08:49.640 --> 0:08:51.760 made a decision that I wasn't going to pursue or 0:08:51.800 --> 0:08:55.800 do anything anymore if it wasn't didn't feel like it 0:08:55.840 --> 0:08:59.160 was good for everybody that was involved. And so you know, 0:08:59.240 --> 0:09:01.760 this movie is basically it's like, for me, this is 0:09:01.800 --> 0:09:05.240 a very important this is just a cool thing because 0:09:05.640 --> 0:09:07.960 I have a lot of friends that are those guys 0:09:07.960 --> 0:09:09.920 still to this day that are coming home. I have 0:09:10.000 --> 0:09:12.080 guys that have been home for a few years that 0:09:12.160 --> 0:09:14.600 are going through what this movie kind of talks about. 0:09:14.840 --> 0:09:18.640 What your character is is alluding to. You're the person 0:09:18.679 --> 0:09:24.160 that's trying to help these soldiers, uh come back and 0:09:24.200 --> 0:09:26.920 get back into society. And and and so for me, 0:09:27.000 --> 0:09:30.160 that was that was really really cool. It's kind of like, 0:09:30.200 --> 0:09:33.120 if I get to do a Disney movie and my 0:09:33.280 --> 0:09:35.840 kids get my grandkids get to see it. You know 0:09:36.960 --> 0:09:40.240 that so true. This is a personal thing for me. 0:09:40.320 --> 0:09:42.559 So it was really cool. Yeah. And I remember too, 0:09:42.640 --> 0:09:44.679 you said that you didn't even think you were going 0:09:44.720 --> 0:09:47.560 to do music ever again, that you didn't know if 0:09:47.960 --> 0:09:51.040 and then obviously you ended up writing The Father and 0:09:51.080 --> 0:09:54.360 My Son and the Holy Ghost, which is I remember 0:09:54.480 --> 0:09:57.320 moriically that for you in the kitchen. Um, I was like, 0:09:57.360 --> 0:09:59.720 oh my gosh, I just wrote the song about a son, 0:10:00.000 --> 0:10:02.040 and I mean we were I was bawling, like in 0:10:02.080 --> 0:10:04.559 the kitchen. He was just like his eyes were all swelling, 0:10:04.559 --> 0:10:07.679 and it's just it's such a powerful song. And I 0:10:07.760 --> 0:10:11.080 just I can't even imagine what you went through to 0:10:11.160 --> 0:10:13.200 write that. And I know I do. Remember you said 0:10:13.240 --> 0:10:16.000 something about your wife, how she came out, and if 0:10:16.000 --> 0:10:20.080 you want to tell that story, yeah, she Uh you know, 0:10:20.559 --> 0:10:24.520 I got up about four thirty. Uh And my wife 0:10:24.559 --> 0:10:25.840 is one of those people goes to bed at eight 0:10:25.840 --> 0:10:28.640 o'clock and I probably won't get up till at least six. 0:10:30.840 --> 0:10:33.160 I mean, she's a good looking woman. Uh so she 0:10:33.200 --> 0:10:36.720 gets her beauty rest. But I had gotten up at 0:10:36.720 --> 0:10:39.320 about four thirty and and literally in my head. I 0:10:39.360 --> 0:10:43.040 was singing some singing in my head some of the 0:10:43.080 --> 0:10:46.400 lines in that verse and the course. It was really weird. 0:10:46.720 --> 0:10:48.680 So I went downstairs and did something that I have 0:10:48.760 --> 0:10:51.080 not had not done since my son had died, and 0:10:51.120 --> 0:10:55.120 that was I started writing by myself waking up. I mean, 0:10:55.160 --> 0:10:57.200 and Jenny, you've had some things wake you up, and 0:10:57.240 --> 0:10:59.920 you want to write it down. I used to when 0:11:00.080 --> 0:11:02.240 first started this, I would wake up with an idea 0:11:02.679 --> 0:11:05.360 and go, I need to write that down. I won't 0:11:05.400 --> 0:11:08.040 forget that you go back to sleep. What was that 0:11:08.120 --> 0:11:10.680 I was thinking about? But then I got started where 0:11:10.679 --> 0:11:12.560 I would write things down. If something woke me up, 0:11:12.600 --> 0:11:13.960 or if I had a great idea, I would write 0:11:13.960 --> 0:11:15.640 it down. I got a little hook sheet, just like 0:11:15.679 --> 0:11:19.360 all songwriters do. Um. But for some reason that morning 0:11:19.400 --> 0:11:21.280 I didn't just write it down and go back to sleep. 0:11:21.320 --> 0:11:24.600 I went downstairs and got my guitar. Uh and literally 0:11:24.640 --> 0:11:29.720 the melody, the lyric verbatim that is on that song. 0:11:29.880 --> 0:11:31.800 It's what I wrote in that three and a half 0:11:31.880 --> 0:11:34.240 or four hours that I was there. And my wife 0:11:34.240 --> 0:11:37.160 when I came upstairs, Uh, she asked me if I 0:11:37.200 --> 0:11:40.280 was all right, because I mean, I'm ain ashamed to say. 0:11:40.320 --> 0:11:42.480 I just cried the whole time. And obviously I think 0:11:42.520 --> 0:11:44.880 she heard me, and I said, yeah, I wrote the song, 0:11:44.920 --> 0:11:46.679 but I didn't ask her if she wanted to hear it, 0:11:46.960 --> 0:11:49.520 because I just I just didn't want her to to 0:11:49.640 --> 0:11:53.200 go through that hurt. She was hurting, I know, listening 0:11:53.240 --> 0:11:55.960 to me. I mean, since our sun died. I just don't. 0:11:56.000 --> 0:11:58.319 I try real hard not to get too emotional around 0:11:58.320 --> 0:12:01.079 my wife because she's carrying enough hurt anyway. She don't 0:12:01.120 --> 0:12:02.680 need to carry my hurt, you know what I mean. 0:12:03.080 --> 0:12:06.079 And people say that's wrong, but I don't really care. 0:12:06.160 --> 0:12:07.720 That's just kind of the way it is. That's what 0:12:07.800 --> 0:12:11.640 I do. Um And and after I finished it, you know, 0:12:11.800 --> 0:12:13.320 and like I said, we were kind of talking about 0:12:13.440 --> 0:12:16.720 she didn't say, you know, let me hear it. What 0:12:16.880 --> 0:12:19.000 are you know? All she said was are you okay? 0:12:19.960 --> 0:12:21.640 And I said I'm fine, I'll be all right, you know. 0:12:22.080 --> 0:12:24.880 And then I thought, I thought, man, this is not 0:12:24.960 --> 0:12:28.320 just something that's you know, so personal to me. There's 0:12:28.360 --> 0:12:31.480 something about this song. So I literally called my daughter 0:12:31.480 --> 0:12:33.400 and told her, and she's like, send it to me. 0:12:34.200 --> 0:12:37.280 And because she's a writer as well, and I've I've 0:12:37.320 --> 0:12:38.839 did a little work tape of it, and I sent 0:12:38.920 --> 0:12:40.640 it to her and she's like, you know, you gotta 0:12:40.679 --> 0:12:43.160 record this that of course she was crying to you know, 0:12:43.840 --> 0:12:47.079 She's like, you have to record this, And I never cary. 0:12:47.160 --> 0:12:50.079 Even then I'm like, no way, I won't be able 0:12:50.120 --> 0:12:52.320 to do it. And then I think I called my 0:12:52.360 --> 0:12:55.720 tour manager Jerry, and I told you, man, I wrote something, 0:12:55.760 --> 0:12:58.000 you gotta hear this, and and and I think Jerry's like, 0:12:58.040 --> 0:13:00.280 you gotta let the guys everybody hear this, you know, 0:13:00.320 --> 0:13:04.120 and played it for management, and before you know it, 0:13:04.120 --> 0:13:06.840 it was the label and I'd already finished my album done, 0:13:07.080 --> 0:13:10.360 turned in picking the first single. We were, everything was done, 0:13:10.960 --> 0:13:13.200 and the label heard the song and said, this is 0:13:13.240 --> 0:13:16.600 the first single on the new new project. So what 0:13:16.640 --> 0:13:19.680 do you do with that hurt? You know where you 0:13:19.720 --> 0:13:22.640 said if other people that are going through loss as well, 0:13:22.679 --> 0:13:24.120 and you said that you know you have the hurt, 0:13:24.200 --> 0:13:26.760 would it like, how do you cope with the hurt 0:13:26.960 --> 0:13:30.640 still in your in your chest and your body? Boy? 0:13:30.720 --> 0:13:33.080 You said it, girl, it's it is in your body, 0:13:33.120 --> 0:13:37.360 it's in your chest. Uh. I pray a whole lot. 0:13:37.679 --> 0:13:40.440 I mean literally, I pray off and on all day, 0:13:41.200 --> 0:13:44.760 every day. Um. But but and and then there are 0:13:44.800 --> 0:13:48.920 every once in a while, I wail, I say, well, 0:13:48.960 --> 0:13:51.600 because I sound it's horrible, I sound like something wrong 0:13:51.679 --> 0:13:54.120 with me, you know. But sometimes you just gotta let 0:13:54.120 --> 0:13:56.880 that out and it's just draining and you just you know, 0:13:58.600 --> 0:14:00.960 and you get it out of your system and you pray. 0:14:01.040 --> 0:14:03.480 And what I've learned is in something I heard a 0:14:03.559 --> 0:14:05.760 priest say, and it, man, it's just given me so 0:14:05.840 --> 0:14:11.200 much confidence in my emotions is that it's okay to 0:14:11.360 --> 0:14:18.679 have sorrow and joy. They will coexist. Uh, Sadness and 0:14:18.720 --> 0:14:24.640 happiness do not coexist. So it's okay to be sorrowful. 0:14:25.040 --> 0:14:28.160 It's okay to feel sorrow because you can feel joy 0:14:28.200 --> 0:14:30.280 at the same time you can't. You know, I'm not 0:14:30.320 --> 0:14:34.080 always gonna be happy, it's just life. But I can 0:14:34.080 --> 0:14:36.800 still be joyful even though I might not be happy 0:14:36.840 --> 0:14:40.080 at that moment. I can still find joy. And my 0:14:40.120 --> 0:14:44.040 son's Jerry is gone, and it hurts every day. Um, 0:14:44.080 --> 0:14:46.960 and that's that that that hurts, and I'm sorrowful for that. 0:14:47.680 --> 0:14:50.880 But I still find joy in things that happen in 0:14:50.880 --> 0:14:53.760 my life and my other children. I'm sorrowful that my 0:14:53.840 --> 0:14:56.040 son is not here. But I'm also joyful that he's 0:14:56.080 --> 0:14:58.760 in heaven. And I'm fairly confident. If you ask me 0:14:58.800 --> 0:15:00.440 if I knew for sure, i'd have to say no. 0:15:01.000 --> 0:15:03.760 And the reason is because I'm not God. I don't know, 0:15:04.320 --> 0:15:06.480 but I feel like, based on everything that God has 0:15:06.520 --> 0:15:08.920 told me and showed me and then my son's life, 0:15:09.280 --> 0:15:13.080 I feel confident that he's there. Well, I mean, that 0:15:13.200 --> 0:15:15.560 was that was the question I had to And it's just, 0:15:16.840 --> 0:15:18.440 you know, to to see you be able to talk 0:15:18.480 --> 0:15:22.560 about that, Craig, and you know, that's motivating to hear 0:15:22.600 --> 0:15:25.600 from you and how you're handling that, and I think 0:15:25.600 --> 0:15:27.120 it's got to be encouraging to people out there who 0:15:27.160 --> 0:15:30.080 have also had similar losses and that there is hope 0:15:30.120 --> 0:15:33.800 to enjoy your day to day, you know, because you know, 0:15:33.880 --> 0:15:36.600 people a lot of people can't imagine that haven't suffered 0:15:36.640 --> 0:15:39.880 such unfortunate laws. So to know that there is some 0:15:39.960 --> 0:15:41.560 light at the end of tunnel is as long as 0:15:41.600 --> 0:15:43.840 you're doing the things that kind of you're talking about 0:15:43.920 --> 0:15:46.720 and you said it's okay to you gotta let that 0:15:46.720 --> 0:15:49.280 that stuff out sometimes, you know, you gotta let those 0:15:49.280 --> 0:15:51.600 emotions out and kind of cleanse your soul a little bit. 0:15:51.640 --> 0:15:55.440 But yeah, well we all have we all have we 0:15:55.480 --> 0:15:58.160 all have a cross that we must bear, I mean, 0:15:58.280 --> 0:16:01.800 and and something that I've learned m learn for the 0:16:01.800 --> 0:16:05.880 most part is, for one, I never compare my pain 0:16:05.920 --> 0:16:08.840 to anyone else's pain because I don't know. I don't 0:16:08.880 --> 0:16:12.480 really know their heart and how their hurt is. Um, 0:16:12.520 --> 0:16:14.880 So I don't do that. But but what I do 0:16:14.960 --> 0:16:18.040 know is that we all have certain pain and we 0:16:18.160 --> 0:16:21.200 just have to find a place. And for me, it's 0:16:21.200 --> 0:16:24.440 through my spirit and through my God that to know 0:16:24.600 --> 0:16:29.520 that it's okay, it's okay to feel that pain, uh, 0:16:29.800 --> 0:16:33.120 and and and know that there is joy. It doesn't 0:16:33.160 --> 0:16:35.480 mean that you'll ever get over it, but what it 0:16:35.520 --> 0:16:39.200 does mean is that you can live through it very 0:16:39.200 --> 0:16:55.560 wise words. For sure, I gotta imagine to your wife, 0:16:55.560 --> 0:16:57.160 because you know she's dealt with a lot of your 0:16:57.160 --> 0:16:59.280 transitions as well. I can't imagine being an you know, 0:16:59.320 --> 0:17:02.800 an army y and our military wife and then you know, now, 0:17:02.960 --> 0:17:05.320 you know, going on the road because you guys have 0:17:05.359 --> 0:17:09.520 been together for was it thirty years? Thirty something years? Yeah, 0:17:10.000 --> 0:17:12.000 you better get that. You better figured that part out. 0:17:13.320 --> 0:17:16.840 But you know, I mean, she's that's incredible too. With 0:17:16.880 --> 0:17:18.840 it with all the transitions that you guys have had 0:17:18.840 --> 0:17:23.520 through military, through you know, you being chart topping, insanely 0:17:24.280 --> 0:17:28.359 famous country artist. Um, you know to now doing acting 0:17:28.400 --> 0:17:30.520 and everything else that you want to do. What's U 0:17:30.720 --> 0:17:34.480 what's something like? Is it your wife's just independence or 0:17:34.560 --> 0:17:37.440 is it just what kept you all strong and together? 0:17:38.880 --> 0:17:41.960 Well we've been married. It is thirty two years, and 0:17:42.000 --> 0:17:44.760 in thirty two years, we've probably really seen each other 0:17:44.800 --> 0:17:48.919 like twelve years. Uh. You know you've heard that I 0:17:48.960 --> 0:17:52.120 was saying, absence makes the heart grow fonder. I believe 0:17:52.240 --> 0:17:57.199 that all of our children were born during uh leaves 0:17:57.200 --> 0:18:02.640 of absence from the military, or born they were conceived 0:18:02.720 --> 0:18:07.800 during a happening. You're gone for nine months to come home, 0:18:07.840 --> 0:18:16.800 it's like whoa. So I think the spontaneity, the excitement. Uh. 0:18:16.920 --> 0:18:19.359 And she's, like I said, she's super cute. So that 0:18:19.440 --> 0:18:23.800 makes it easy. Um, you keep it fresh and and 0:18:23.800 --> 0:18:26.680 and you can't take each other too serious. Communication is important. 0:18:26.960 --> 0:18:30.160 But I when I talked to young soldiers, especially guys 0:18:30.160 --> 0:18:33.399 that have experienced a lot of trauma overseas and combat stuff, 0:18:33.400 --> 0:18:35.080 I gotta tell them, you know, you gotta not be 0:18:35.160 --> 0:18:39.000 too honest. Uh, there's just certain stuff that uh, that 0:18:39.160 --> 0:18:42.480 certain that that people in your life don't need to hear. Uh. 0:18:42.520 --> 0:18:45.119 There's other people you can share those things with, and 0:18:45.160 --> 0:18:47.399 you need to find those other people. It's okay to 0:18:47.440 --> 0:18:51.199 have those other people in your life. Um. Love is 0:18:51.240 --> 0:18:54.040 the most important thing, man, I mean, that's it. Uh. 0:18:54.080 --> 0:18:56.240 I'm a Catholic now, you guys. I I grew up 0:18:56.240 --> 0:18:58.280 my whole life a Baptist. But one thing I've learned 0:18:58.800 --> 0:19:05.840 is that love overpowers everything everything, it really does. The 0:19:05.920 --> 0:19:08.320 more you love, the less time you have for anger 0:19:08.359 --> 0:19:10.679 and hate and envying all of those other things that 0:19:10.720 --> 0:19:14.199 get in our way. Uh. And and and and Jen, 0:19:14.520 --> 0:19:16.480 I say this, that's one thing I've always felt like 0:19:16.520 --> 0:19:19.119 when we were around you, and and I talked about 0:19:19.119 --> 0:19:22.919 it all the time. You always have this joyful love 0:19:23.520 --> 0:19:26.800 that it's almost like you see through all of the 0:19:26.920 --> 0:19:33.240 u uh, the imperfections or anything else you make. Uh, 0:19:33.359 --> 0:19:37.320 you make people feel good and loved. And that's a 0:19:37.400 --> 0:19:41.000 very special trait. Uh. Not everyone and not not not 0:19:41.080 --> 0:19:43.720 all humans have that. In fact, I would venture to 0:19:43.720 --> 0:19:45.560 say that there's a very small percentage of people. But 0:19:45.680 --> 0:19:48.200 my wife is one of those people. Like my wife 0:19:48.240 --> 0:19:50.399 will kiss someone on the lip she's a limp kisser. 0:19:52.000 --> 0:19:58.800 You don't know him, You're just Maddie. She's not not 0:19:58.920 --> 0:20:01.800 in a not in a sex with in a loving way. 0:20:02.240 --> 0:20:06.040 She just has so much angelic love. But how do 0:20:06.080 --> 0:20:10.320 we stay together? It's all of those things, uh, overlooking 0:20:10.400 --> 0:20:14.840 our our insecurities, are imperfections and getting beyond it. And 0:20:14.920 --> 0:20:17.800 after after so many years, you know, stuff bothers. She 0:20:17.920 --> 0:20:20.159 lives and as a man, I learned to shut my 0:20:20.200 --> 0:20:22.760 mouth at certain times and not say what I really think. 0:20:22.880 --> 0:20:25.360 I'm still learning that, Craig. I'm still I'm still trying 0:20:25.400 --> 0:20:29.160 to learn that piece. It took me a long time 0:20:29.200 --> 0:20:31.239 and there's still days where I can't do it. I 0:20:31.280 --> 0:20:38.000 gotta tell her I love you because it because there's 0:20:38.040 --> 0:20:41.639 that thing when arguing is not a good thing. But 0:20:41.760 --> 0:20:45.680 there's almost always the positive after that. Are that make 0:20:45.760 --> 0:20:50.399 up stuff? There's a silver lining to it. For sure. 0:20:51.680 --> 0:20:53.880 You have an album coming out right. My album's out. 0:20:53.960 --> 0:20:57.320 It is out. We haven't pushed the physical product yet, 0:20:58.160 --> 0:21:01.280