Speaker 1: This is the most dramatic podcast ever and iHeartRadio podcast.
Speaker 1: Chris Harrison and Lauren z Ema coming to you from
Speaker 1: the home office in Austin, Texas. It has been a
Speaker 1: busy couple of weeks and we're excited to sit down
Speaker 1: and chat with each other, but to chat with you
Speaker 1: as well. Elz. We just got done with the Mac
Speaker 1: Jack McConaughey, we had our own Experience Camps, and then
Speaker 1: my own experience saying goodbye to Joshua and Lacrosse. So
Speaker 1: it's been busy.
Speaker 2: I just realized that we've done several episodes of the podcast,
Speaker 2: but not like catch up What's Up moments? So yes.
Speaker 2: So many charity things lately, which has been really heartwarming
Speaker 2: and wonderful. The biggest one we held an event I
Speaker 2: called Cocktails for Camp for Experience Camps here at our
Speaker 2: house if you haven't heard us talk about it before.
Speaker 2: Experience Camps is the nonprofit that I volunteer for which
Speaker 2: puts on therapeutic and super fun summer camps for grieving
Speaker 2: kids for kids who have lost a parent, a primary caregiver,
Speaker 2: or a sibling. So I got involved because my dad
Speaker 2: died when I was in college and These camps are incredible.
Speaker 2: They do so much for the kids. They give them
Speaker 2: an escape from their grief, they give them counseling about
Speaker 2: their grief, and they give them other kids to relate to,
Speaker 2: kids who understand what they're going through. Grief is hard
Speaker 2: enough for adults, it's certainly tough for kids. And the
Speaker 2: reason we held this event, and what I'm so happy
Speaker 2: to announce on the podcast is that Experience Camps has
Speaker 2: committed to opening their first camp location here in Texas,
Speaker 2: which I wish we had an applause sound effect there.
Speaker 1: It's the crowd goes wild.
Speaker 2: Yes, it's such wonderful news. I mean, I've been It's
Speaker 2: such a privilege for me to be involved in this organization.
Speaker 2: If you want to be a counselor, you can apply
Speaker 2: online to volunteer. If you have kids or no kids
Speaker 2: who would need to go to these one of camp,
Speaker 2: one of these camps, you can send them. But the
Speaker 2: problem is you can apply, but the problem is there
Speaker 2: are waitless at every location currently, and when you consider
Speaker 2: the population of Texas, a camp is so deeply needed
Speaker 2: here right now. Any grieving kids in Texas who want
Speaker 2: to go to camp have to go out of state,
Speaker 2: and Texas is such a big state that grief resources
Speaker 2: are really spread out and scarce for lots of the
Speaker 2: kids here in Texas. So I'm so excited.
Speaker 1: One of the things I learned at the camp from
Speaker 1: the folks that came and spoke here at the house,
Speaker 1: for like the kids in Uvaldi after the school shooting,
Speaker 1: we're driving three and four hours to get help there
Speaker 1: is Texas is greatly underserved in that area. So you
Speaker 1: can follow out experience camps. It is such a phenomenal experience.
Speaker 1: It's such a phenomenal organization, and I'm excited to get
Speaker 1: this going in Texas. One of the things I love
Speaker 1: is they really want to launch this thing where it
Speaker 1: has the runway to keep going. And then, like you said,
Speaker 1: once you're invited, always invited back. So we have to
Speaker 1: open for the kids. Yeah, we have to open new
Speaker 1: doors for new kids so everybody can get involved.
Speaker 2: And so we got to raise money for that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, let's get busy.
Speaker 2: That was we had a fundraising and awareness raising event
Speaker 2: at our house. We had some wonderful musicians there. What
Speaker 2: I tried to do was create We do these campfires
Speaker 2: at camp three times a week in the week long
Speaker 2: session that the kids are there, and at these campfires,
Speaker 2: they take the traditional campfire idea but give it this
Speaker 2: really emotional framework. And so usually a counselor or camp
Speaker 2: employee will or even camp kid will like perform a song.
Speaker 2: A few kids from the camp will be asked to
Speaker 2: speak about their loss and their experience with loss. And
Speaker 2: then at the final campfire of the week, every single
Speaker 2: kid in camp gets the opportunity to get up if
Speaker 2: they want, say the name of the person they lost,
Speaker 2: say something about that person if they want to. So
Speaker 2: it's really really meaningful. And we did a little mini
Speaker 2: campfire at our event where we had some musicians perform,
Speaker 2: Madison Wolf and Chrissy Finniac. Thank you to both of them.
Speaker 2: They both performed songs about loss which were incredible. I
Speaker 2: wish I could share them here on the podcast, but
Speaker 2: we don't have the rights. But they're amazing, So give
Speaker 2: them a follow.
Speaker 1: And we're coming to New York soon. We're going to
Speaker 1: be hosting the national gala for this here in a
Speaker 1: couple of weeks.
Speaker 2: Yes, on May ninth, we are hosting the experience Kim
Speaker 2: Scallet in New York. So I say all this to say,
Speaker 2: if this is a cause that speaks to you, you
Speaker 2: can donate, you can get involved. We need to raise
Speaker 2: money for this camp location here in Texas, and that
Speaker 2: is going to be a massive commitment for me and
Speaker 2: for Chris over the next couple of years. How did
Speaker 2: you feel? I haven't asked you this about the event actually,
Speaker 2: because we did this kind of mini campfire and we
Speaker 2: had these musicians perform and I got up and spoken.
Speaker 2: We also had Andrea Palmer, a wonderful doctor from Fort Worth,
Speaker 2: and her daughter Laurel I come and speak. And Laurel
Speaker 2: I was a camper. They're from Fort Worth, Texas. But
Speaker 2: because there's no camp in Texas, Laurel I had to
Speaker 2: go to the camp in Atlanta, Georgia, and they spoke
Speaker 2: about their loss of Andrea's husband, laurrealized dad Blake Palmer.
Speaker 2: How did you feel listening like to me talk about
Speaker 2: my dad, to them talk. What was going through your mind?
Speaker 2: Or were you just worried about taking video because I
Speaker 2: had demanded I'd been like, they sure to film this, babeook.
Speaker 1: I was the social media warrior that I know it was.
Speaker 1: You know, when you hear everyone's experience with grief, and
Speaker 1: it's something that, like you said, we're all touched by
Speaker 1: it in very different ways. You know, some is the
Speaker 1: more I guess you would call the traditional way. Like
Speaker 1: my grandparents they lived a great, fruitful life and in
Speaker 1: their old age they died. And the natural order, I
Speaker 1: guess you would say, of things, these are rip the
Speaker 1: band aid off grief moments that are out of order.
Speaker 1: And when you hear how it affects, especially kids. And
Speaker 1: I've heard your perspective and learning more and more every day.
Speaker 1: But when you hear when you see this young woman
Speaker 1: and you realize what that death did to her and
Speaker 1: how it just tore her life apart, and how she's
Speaker 1: pieced it back together with the help of all these
Speaker 1: camps and these experiences, it is heart wrenching moving, but
Speaker 1: it's oddly motivational. Just it gives you hope because these
Speaker 1: people are so strong. Yeah, you hear this young girl
Speaker 1: who has the strength that you would hope you would
Speaker 1: have in a serious situation as an adult, with all
Speaker 1: the experiences I have in my life of five decades
Speaker 1: of being on this earth, and this young girl has
Speaker 1: it now, unfortunately, and she had to get it because
Speaker 1: it's you know, it's roll over and let your life
Speaker 1: pass you by or survive. And she's thriving and it's
Speaker 1: in large part due to these camps and so and
Speaker 1: you hear more and more of these stories. It is.
Speaker 1: I think it's okay to call it motivational, like there's
Speaker 1: beauty in it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, babe, I love that. I mean, that's something I
Speaker 2: always say. I think it makes people a little uncomfortable
Speaker 2: when you say there are good things out of grief,
Speaker 2: But like, I think grief made me a much stronger
Speaker 2: person at a young age. It gave me perspective on
Speaker 2: what mattered in life at a really young age, and
Speaker 2: that's really valuable. I'm grateful for that. But you certainly
Speaker 2: have to like give people the tools to succeed through
Speaker 2: that hardship, like you just said, and that's something or
Speaker 2: you hopeful you can give them these tools experience camps
Speaker 2: give gives these kids these tools. Lorelei and herst speech said,
Speaker 2: which I've heard lots of kids say. She's like, well,
Speaker 2: seeing that the counselors were okay, that they'd been through loss,
Speaker 2: that they were okay, helped me know I would be okay.
Speaker 2: Because kids are sitting here going my whole world just
Speaker 2: blew up? What is my future going to be? And
Speaker 2: it's also it's really hitting me what you just said
Speaker 2: about like the normal way of losing people are the
Speaker 2: right way. That always strikes me because that's like the
Speaker 2: only thing we learn about, right And maybe it's not
Speaker 2: scare kids, but when you're young and no one talks
Speaker 2: about like what if someone you love dies really suddenly,
Speaker 2: like or you don't get educated on how to handle it.
Speaker 2: We think, oh, you grow old and you die. And
Speaker 2: as I've gotten older, I feel like, actually what I
Speaker 2: learn is i'd be interested in the statistics. But more
Speaker 2: often than not, most people don't have the beautiful death
Speaker 2: that your grandparents have, right, most people don't live into
Speaker 2: their I mean, your grandmother was ninety nine and your grandfather.
Speaker 1: Was what in his late eighties.
Speaker 2: Most people, and I'm so glad that they lived that
Speaker 2: life because they were so influential in your family. But
Speaker 2: most people don't have this like beautiful live to ninety nine,
Speaker 2: die in your sleep moment that your grandmother had, and
Speaker 2: she went through a lot of other hardships. But we
Speaker 2: don't prepare people for sudden death, for illness, for car
Speaker 2: accidents for all that, and yet it's very normal. And
Speaker 2: so that's why not only just being involved in Experience
Speaker 2: Camps matter to me, but talking about grief and helping
Speaker 2: people know that it's normal and their feelings are normal
Speaker 2: even though they're hard, and that, like you just said,
Speaker 2: you got to use those feelings and push through.
Speaker 1: Hot on the heels of the Experienced Camps events, which
Speaker 1: was awesome here at the house. There's this annual event
Speaker 1: here in Austin, the Mac Jack and McConaughey, and this
Speaker 1: is a huge, huge event here in Austin.
Speaker 2: They were in their twelfth year, twelve years. I was
Speaker 2: learning from them. I was like watching and getting inspired
Speaker 2: because we had just done this very first ex Camps
Speaker 2: event here in Austin, and they're in year twelve and
Speaker 2: they're now on a it's like a three day charity bend.
Speaker 1: This is a bender.
Speaker 2: I mean there are two golf tournaments, a fashion show,
Speaker 2: two concerts, and multiple and this is so much.
Speaker 1: By the way, Mack and Jack you probably know who
Speaker 1: McConaughey is. Mac Brown, who is a former kind of
Speaker 1: legendary coach here at the University of Texas, won the
Speaker 1: national title back in the day with them. Now he's
Speaker 1: the head coach at North Carolina. And then of course
Speaker 1: Jack Ingram, who's a country music star, had a number
Speaker 1: one hit back in what five and has had a
Speaker 1: bunch of top forty hits, eleven albums he's released in
Speaker 1: Just a Sweetheart of a Guy. So Mac Brown, Jack
Speaker 1: and then Matthew McConaughey, who you may have heard of,
Speaker 1: and they aged three, have a separate entity and benefit
Speaker 1: charity group that have to do with kids, and they
Speaker 1: raise millions and millions of dollars. But as Lauren said,
Speaker 1: this is a three day event has grown and grown
Speaker 1: and grown. The first night there's a golf tournament and
Speaker 1: then Luke Colmbs played a couple of years ago, Kenny
Speaker 1: Chesney last year, with Garth Brooks this year Luke Colmbs.
Speaker 2: I'm impressed because Matthew and his wife Camilla, who is
Speaker 2: such a wonderful, lovely woman, they are on the ground
Speaker 2: doing all of it. You know that. I think we're
Speaker 2: similar to them, and we're like when you're involved in
Speaker 2: some pits, show up and do it. They host things,
Speaker 2: they show up at things, They really put their time
Speaker 2: and energy to it, and I think they raised a
Speaker 2: record amount this year, like, yeah, upwards of ten well over, I.
Speaker 1: Want to sell a million millions like that. And by
Speaker 1: the way, all three of them, Mac Brown, Jack Ingram
Speaker 1: and McConaughey, they divide and conquer, so they are at
Speaker 1: every event. So while you know, McConaughey and his wife
Speaker 1: were at the fashion event, the other two guys are
Speaker 1: at the golf event. They are glad handing non stop.
Speaker 1: I like that They're not just to face in the
Speaker 1: name of this. They actually get involved, which is cool.
Speaker 1: Can we talk about the auction just for a second,
Speaker 1: because you and I have been to hundreds of auctions,
Speaker 1: charity auction, charity auctions. I've been to some crazy ones
Speaker 1: where you're like, oh wow, that was that was nuts.
Speaker 1: I've never been to an auction where an item went
Speaker 1: for four point six million dollars. That happened at this auction.
Speaker 2: You know, you and I were out of the running
Speaker 2: at that point.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I gave up at three point nine.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean we've been successful, we worked hard, but
Speaker 2: four point six MILLI for one thing, I thought, yeah,
Speaker 2: I'm not in this.
Speaker 1: This is one of those auctions. As soon as they
Speaker 1: did the opening bid.
Speaker 2: We were out, yes, and again, I am grateful for
Speaker 2: our lives and we are very we're blessed, but we're
Speaker 2: not dropping a couple of million on one item. There
Speaker 2: were only a few people in the room who could
Speaker 2: do that. But it made me realize. I read a
Speaker 2: statistic the other day that Austin has now cracked the
Speaker 2: top ten cities in the country with in terms of
Speaker 2: number of millionaires. We just made it for the first
Speaker 2: time at number ten, and I thought, Okay, a couple
Speaker 2: of those people in the.
Speaker 1: Room tonight, apparently they were throwing it around. You know
Speaker 1: what's funny is because I've never seen it, And I thought, okay,
Speaker 1: is this interesting to me? And that I look around
Speaker 1: and at this point there were thousands of people in
Speaker 1: the house getting ready for the Luke Combs concert, and
Speaker 1: everybody had their phones out, like everybody was like, this
Speaker 1: is not happening. This is crazy, crazy money. But the
Speaker 1: good news is it all went to a great cause,
Speaker 1: great causes, and it was a hell of an event.
Speaker 1: And Luke Holmbs, by the way, first time I had
Speaker 1: seen him live, crushed it. My god, he has a
Speaker 1: golden voice.
Speaker 2: Can I back up to the auction from it? And
Speaker 2: ask you a couple, you've actually been to way more
Speaker 2: of these than me. I just kind of started going
Speaker 2: to them when you and I started. Yes, and we've
Speaker 2: hosted them together, and we definitely know. You know, when
Speaker 2: you're hosting them, it's you're walking that line between like
Speaker 2: you don't want to lecture people and be like take
Speaker 2: out your walls. This is the right thing to do.
Speaker 2: You have to make it a show for them. You
Speaker 2: have to make it entertaining and fun. And I mean
Speaker 2: I have hoared Chris Harrison out before. I we were
Speaker 2: hosting an event for the men for the aim At
Speaker 2: Youth Mental Health Organization in California, and I was like, Okay, everybody,
Speaker 2: we're just going to raise some money at the end
Speaker 2: here five hundred bucks and Chris Harrison'll come kiss you
Speaker 2: on the cheek or something. Or maybe it was a thousand,
Speaker 2: I don't know, but we got a lot. And I
Speaker 2: was definitely horing you out for it. Was Taye, it's
Speaker 2: for the youth, it's for the kids. But when you're
Speaker 2: at events like that, don't you also think it's an
Speaker 2: interesting read on people, Like it's for a great cause
Speaker 2: and it's wonderful. Yeah, And like we said, I'm not
Speaker 2: in that. I'm not playing at that level of four
Speaker 2: point six million dollars for an auction item. But it's
Speaker 2: interesting when you see, Like I think one thing I've
Speaker 2: learned is, you know, there's some people who give when
Speaker 2: they're seen giving, and then there's some people who like
Speaker 2: just really do the right thing behind the scenes. The
Speaker 2: best type of person is the one who will do both.
Speaker 2: What do you feel like you've learned about the human.
Speaker 1: Site of the human element?
Speaker 2: Yeah, after doing so many of these events over the years.
Speaker 1: I think it's peer pressure, is what you're talking about.
Speaker 2: Well, I'm saying there are people who I know who,
Speaker 2: we know who, and I don't love when people talk
Speaker 2: about how much money they have. But there's some people
Speaker 2: who talk about how much money they have, and then
Speaker 2: you see them at events like this and you're like, well,
Speaker 2: your paddle wasn't really going in the air, Like what's
Speaker 2: going on? And you can't help but wonder and maybe
Speaker 2: they give in private, but I don't know, what do
Speaker 2: you think.
Speaker 1: Yeah, there's a peer There is definitely a peer pressure element,
Speaker 1: like you know, the raise the path when when you're
Speaker 1: in that room and there's that fervor and you get
Speaker 1: excited at the auction. I think there is the element
Speaker 1: of people love to be seen being benevolent, getting recognition
Speaker 1: for that very You know, there are those that will
Speaker 1: just like I think someone just did this actually at
Speaker 1: iz Zou they donated anonymously a truckload of money, just
Speaker 1: anonymously to one of the programs there. I think it
Speaker 1: was sports, but still it was just interesting. It was
Speaker 1: completely anonymous. But yeah, I think there is there are
Speaker 1: two types of people that in.
Speaker 2: Giving well, and there are two you can look at
Speaker 2: it two different ways. Like one, obviously it's good the
Speaker 2: money is going towards the organization and it sets an example.
Speaker 2: I mean, that's why I think it's important to volunteer publicly,
Speaker 2: to donate publicly, to and take it however you want.
Speaker 2: Some people, you know, there might be the element of
Speaker 2: I don't know, I think we can all judge it.
Speaker 2: Sometimes you're like, oh, that person really likes to be
Speaker 2: seen doing what they're doing, but you also want to
Speaker 2: set that example. But it's just interesting. It's an interesting
Speaker 2: read on these things.
Speaker 1: Yeah, human behavior is interesting, the crowd mentality, and I think.
Speaker 2: In another life I would have liked to be a therapist.
Speaker 1: I think you are in this life are Before we
Speaker 1: move on from that, I just got to give a
Speaker 1: shout out to Mac Brown, the head coach, and his wife.
Speaker 1: I met them years ago through this Textural cult Texas
Speaker 1: Cultural Trust, uh this big Arts award. This is years ago.
Speaker 1: They held a luncheon that Laura Bush spoke at and
Speaker 1: I met them and they were just lovely and they
Speaker 1: were fans of the show and I hadn't seen him
Speaker 1: in years, and he came up to me and he's
Speaker 1: just been such a big supporter of of me and
Speaker 1: and now of you, and they just a dear person
Speaker 1: and we had several great conversations where he just put
Speaker 1: his hand on my shoulder and he was just I think,
Speaker 1: once a head coach, always a head coach. And he
Speaker 1: just gave me this this long talk of love and
Speaker 1: support and everything that you and I have been through
Speaker 1: and how much he supported us, and I just what
Speaker 1: a dear man.
Speaker 2: And his wife, Sally, was so lovely to us as well.
Speaker 2: They are sweet people.
Speaker 1: Yeah, So just just want to send a love out
Speaker 1: to North Carolina for for those of you know, those
Speaker 1: tar Heel fans, because he's the head coach at UNC.
Speaker 1: You know what you got. You got a legend over there.
Speaker 1: They don't get any better than Mac Brown.
Speaker 2: Yeah, he just does it right. He's just a good person,
Speaker 2: you can tell. So what did he any takeaways from
Speaker 2: his coaching session with you.
Speaker 1: Well, what's funny is you know when when everybody was
Speaker 1: getting unruly at the auction and he wanted to get attention.
Speaker 1: He's used to when he walks in a room, he's
Speaker 1: the head fricking coach. You shut up, and when he speaks,
Speaker 1: you listen. That's your job. And it's funny when you're
Speaker 1: in a totally different arena he was speaking, or people
Speaker 1: were getting a little roud and rowdy, and he would
Speaker 1: stop and like admonish everybody, And I'm like, once a coach,
Speaker 1: always a coach. It was funny for him to be like, hey.
Speaker 2: You've said that about coaches before, and I see it.
Speaker 2: I think coaches are like always coaches in and out
Speaker 2: of their daily lives.
Speaker 1: Great job, guys, it was a heck of a year.
Speaker 1: Now I need to recover for the next twelve months.
Speaker 1: We can do it again. I think that was our
Speaker 1: version of version of stage coach. That's the Austin which
Speaker 1: is going on now.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so stage the stage coach used to be a
Speaker 2: real bachelor. Remember there were a couple of seasons there
Speaker 2: where there was like a real bachelor drama happening at
Speaker 2: stage coach. Yeah, I'm sure it still it was a
Speaker 2: real connecting moment.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm not.
Speaker 2: A music festival person.
Speaker 1: Oh man, I went once and it is I'm not.
Speaker 2: Going to look dusty.
Speaker 1: It's a nightmare. It literally it's a nightmare. It's dusty,
Speaker 1: it's windy, it's hot. It is just so many people
Speaker 1: and it's just getting in and out. It's a nightmare.
Speaker 1: I'm like, I don't know why we do this. It
Speaker 1: was pretty miserable.
Speaker 2: It's one of those things where I you know, I mean,
Speaker 2: but I'm not a music festival person, but I do
Speaker 2: think you know, I'm not saying anything groundbreaking here, but
Speaker 2: it's the social media danger sometimes of things looking great
Speaker 2: on social media and did you actually enjoy it in
Speaker 2: real life. Let's finish up what we've been up to
Speaker 2: with what was. It'll be the perfect final moment to
Speaker 2: discuss because it was a final moment for you and
Speaker 2: for Josh, your wonderful son. He played his very last
Speaker 2: lacrosse game. Ever, the TCU men's lacrosse team, go Frogs,
Speaker 2: made it to the playoffs.
Speaker 1: Made to the Semis, lost lost to the University of Texas,
Speaker 1: who's awesome. By the way, Congrats to the Horns who
Speaker 1: went on to win the conference. They're going to the
Speaker 1: national championship tournament. They're they're really good, so congrats to them.
Speaker 2: But yeah, so I didn't go because I had to
Speaker 2: finish up going to some mac Jack McConaughey things and
Speaker 2: represent us. And you went and had those final moments
Speaker 2: with Josh. But we were kind of texting and talking
Speaker 2: during the whole thing about how this was pretty emotional
Speaker 2: for you.
Speaker 1: It was, you know, we've talked a little bit about
Speaker 1: that last time whatever. That last moment is walking off
Speaker 1: a field, crossing the stage at graduation, the last play.
Speaker 1: So Josh played in his last game, and I got
Speaker 1: emotional because it kind of took me back to my
Speaker 1: last game, you know, many many many years ago, playing
Speaker 1: college soccer and just knowing what he was about to
Speaker 1: go through. And it's interesting, and I watched him. He
Speaker 1: played a hell of a game, played his heart out,
Speaker 1: they all did, and then you know, he walked off
Speaker 1: the field, and you could tell right away just kind
Speaker 1: of hit him and the other players that the juniors
Speaker 1: sophomor's freshman coming up and giving him a big hug.
Speaker 1: He's been a leader, he's a captain of the team,
Speaker 1: and it's the passing of the torch and it's the
Speaker 1: turning of a page for him, and it hit him.
Speaker 1: He got emotional tears in his eyes, and I was
Speaker 1: so proud of him just watching the reaction of the
Speaker 1: other guys, which says all I need to know about
Speaker 1: him as a man, as a leader. Leaving that impact
Speaker 1: on the program, it's things we all hope to do.
Speaker 1: You leave it better than you found it, and he
Speaker 1: definitely did. But kind of a bittersweet father son moment.
Speaker 2: Why was it bittersweet? Just because it's over.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's over. I've really enjoyed watching him play. I
Speaker 1: gat me it is something a journey he started when
Speaker 1: he was nine years old. His coach Blair shout out
Speaker 1: to coach, player out to me. He was the first
Speaker 1: coach josh had when he was starting lacrosse. And Joshua
Speaker 1: was not great. Hed just gone through a gross spurt.
Speaker 1: He had the feet of a labrador retriever and you know,
Speaker 1: he's fallen all over himself and he's using a big
Speaker 1: stick and you know, because he's not tall enough yet,
Speaker 1: and this coach really took him under his wing, and
Speaker 1: you know, and he reached out to me, and this
Speaker 1: meant a lot. You also realize this means a lot
Speaker 1: because it's the turning of a page in the passage
Speaker 1: of time for a lot of people. Our former assistant
Speaker 1: and his former coach and you know, grandparents and all
Speaker 1: of us kind of you feel these passages of time
Speaker 1: as well as he does.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, there's definitely these milestone moments, right, and
Speaker 2: we have them and different cultures different, but in America
Speaker 2: it's like, you know, you're turning eighteen, you're going to college,
Speaker 2: you're finishing college, you're getting your first job, you're getting
Speaker 2: your first apartment. And Josh is in the second half
Speaker 2: of those now, and so there's a lot of reflecting.
Speaker 2: And what made me so happy, yeah, was seeing and
Speaker 2: Chris put together, well, I'll be honest, I edited for Chris.
Speaker 2: I put together a real on Instagram of these little
Speaker 2: clips of Josh hugging his teammates and crying a little
Speaker 2: bit like tearing up a little bit. And that made
Speaker 2: me so happy because for many reasons. One it I
Speaker 2: was literally seeing and I knew it, but I was
Speaker 2: seeing it the friendships he's made, the connections he's made.
Speaker 2: And I texted in this like, Josh, honey, you did
Speaker 2: everything right. This is what you're supposed to get out
Speaker 2: of something like a team at school. You're supposed to
Speaker 2: get you know, the relationships, and these will be your
Speaker 2: friends for life. In college you really make friends for life.
Speaker 2: And Two, I just loved seeing, honestly, these twenty something
Speaker 2: boys being emotional together. It was really nice to see.
Speaker 2: And I really love that we have a son who
Speaker 2: is comfortable in his emotions in that way, like hugging
Speaker 2: his friends and tearing up and giving us speech and
Speaker 2: recognizing the moments. It made me feel so at peace,
Speaker 2: like seeing that side of him because John obviously our
Speaker 2: daughter Taylor is a little more emotional than Josh. But
Speaker 2: to see that side of him made me think, oh,
Speaker 2: you know, he's really growing up and he's really in
Speaker 2: touch with his emotions and he's not shying away from them.
Speaker 2: That made me feel happy.
Speaker 1: I was talking to somebody today who also was an athlete,
Speaker 1: in college, and I said, you know this, and I
Speaker 1: don't know you'll understand this, so I'm interested to hear
Speaker 1: your take. This will mean more than graduation. This moment
Speaker 1: will be more indelible and leave a bigger mark than
Speaker 1: walking across the stage in two weeks at graduation. This
Speaker 1: is the end of school for him. He will graduate
Speaker 1: to walk across the stage and have that moment, and
Speaker 1: we'll all be there and will and trust me, I
Speaker 1: will cry again as I cried the other day. But
Speaker 1: this two guys, and maybe to women who are athletes
Speaker 1: as well, this will be the indelible mark that he'll
Speaker 1: look back on. I thought I felt the same thing.
Speaker 1: My grandparents were at my graduation at that meant a
Speaker 1: lot to me. But I remember walking off the field
Speaker 1: my senior year. I remember where I was, and I
Speaker 1: remember when it hit me. I remember all that as
Speaker 1: opposed to I kind of remember graduation.
Speaker 2: I just was curious, Yeah, I see that, And it's
Speaker 2: about the people you're surrounded by, right, I mean at graduation.
Speaker 2: I don't know was it alphabetical. I don't remember who
Speaker 2: I was sitting with a graduation.
Speaker 1: And boy, your last I've thought about this. Zema oh man, I.
Speaker 2: Get the biggest applause. It's over.
Speaker 1: There was there was there ever, like a z y
Speaker 1: last name, like.
Speaker 2: Hard to beat, but you're I remember one thing I
Speaker 2: remember about sitting graduation is I was so involved with
Speaker 2: my journalism school. I was the president of organizations, and
Speaker 2: I spoke at the opening of a new building, and
Speaker 2: I was I knew professors like. I was very involved.
Speaker 2: I liked to be busy. I still do. There were
Speaker 2: kids who got up at graduation from the journalism school
Speaker 2: in my class who I'd never seen before, and I'd
Speaker 2: never heard their names before. And you know, so you
Speaker 2: don't you know when you're leaving your lacrosse final lacrosse game,
Speaker 2: especially as a senior, you know everybody on that team.
Speaker 2: You're not a freshman who doesn't really know anyone yet,
Speaker 2: and you know everyone, and you're surrounded by your friends
Speaker 2: and you've spent years building these relationships and it's something
Speaker 2: you loved doing. Like I think graduations just bigger, less intimate,
Speaker 2: less emotional, and what exactly is it representing. Probably the
Speaker 2: best moments of graduation are looking up and seeing your
Speaker 2: family there.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and you're well, I guess at the end of
Speaker 1: the day what you're saying, and it's true. It's about
Speaker 1: the relationships. It's always about the relationships. And if you've
Speaker 1: ever been a part of a team, you know, like
Speaker 1: I mean, I still text with my college soccer team,
Speaker 1: like we still talk to each other, we still keep
Speaker 1: in touch and give each other a hard time because
Speaker 1: nothing has changed. And he'll do that forever with his guys,
Speaker 1: and so it is. I guess it's always about those relationships.
Speaker 1: And that's what you're saying goodbye to because you're not
Speaker 1: going to see those guys next year. They're going to
Speaker 1: carry on. And that's the other thing. It's that that
Speaker 1: old life in the song the world spins madly on,
Speaker 1: you know, the freshmen and sophomore and juniors are picking
Speaker 1: up their stuff and heading out to have a beer
Speaker 1: because like, oh, next year, I'll see it, camp, I'll
Speaker 1: see it. You know, we'll be back at it. You know,
Speaker 1: better luck next time. And you realize this, this was
Speaker 1: my next time.
Speaker 2: That was it, And you don't get it until you're
Speaker 2: in their shoes. Like I remember being a freshman at
Speaker 2: my sorority chapter and hearing this an older girl.
Speaker 1: Would speak it ah to totally totally.
Speaker 2: Which was like a great tradition because they would try
Speaker 2: to impart wisdom on us. The question was were we listening,
Speaker 2: and she advised all of us. She said, I'm telling you,
Speaker 2: I don't think this is going to sink in. But
Speaker 2: college isn't about dating boys. It's about making your female friends.
Speaker 2: And she said that, and I guess on some level
Speaker 2: it sung in because I remembered it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and you have the best female friends in the
Speaker 1: world from Maszoo.
Speaker 2: Yes, they do. But then senior year I finally understood it.
Speaker 2: I'm like, oh, she was right. It was about the friendships.
Speaker 2: It wasn't about you know, you get obsessed and crush
Speaker 2: over boys, but it was about the friendships.
Speaker 1: Well, half the crap our parents say, half the crap
Speaker 1: I've said as a parent, that should that should hit
Speaker 1: the mar and it should make a difference. You know,
Speaker 1: it won't until later, Like you know, there's things that
Speaker 1: you'll just know that when they have kids, you'll get it,
Speaker 1: et cetera. And you I don't know if that's like
Speaker 1: a safety mechanism that God gives us of. We're just
Speaker 1: not aware at certain moments in our life. Because if
Speaker 1: you walked around like a raw nerve, always aware of
Speaker 1: these things. You probably would be incapacitated and it would
Speaker 1: maybe take away from those moments. But I think, you know,
Speaker 1: all of a sudden, it hit him as he was well,
Speaker 1: you know, shaking hands the last time and all that,
Speaker 1: and you saw him walking off the field, and it
Speaker 1: took me right back. And I mean, I'm fifty two
Speaker 1: years old and I remember it. And now it's weird
Speaker 1: for me to be watching it as a father, to
Speaker 1: be watching my son have the same walk I did
Speaker 1: and the same feelings I did, and it's I'm so
Speaker 1: far removed from it yet now I'm watching him do it,
Speaker 1: and it's a lot of pride, a lot of nostalgia,
Speaker 1: and I'm just you know, I'm so damn proud of him.
Speaker 1: Same thing with Taylor. Now she's going to get annoyed
Speaker 1: because I am going to glom onto her for the
Speaker 1: next two years, and so cup to four years, two
Speaker 1: four years.
Speaker 2: It makes me so happy too that they had these
Speaker 2: years of college together. It's so special and kind of
Speaker 2: rare that a brother and sister go to college together.
Speaker 2: I love seeing them hang out together. You certainly feel
Speaker 2: like you. I mean, I look at them, the way
Speaker 2: they hang out and and the way Josh is with
Speaker 2: his friends, and I just think, you know, you just
Speaker 2: did such a good job with parenting, babe. I mean,
Speaker 2: I'm so grateful to have these kids in my life,
Speaker 2: and you two just have done I mean, you made
Speaker 2: great kids, and the way they treat other people is
Speaker 2: what shows you that. By the way, what I was
Speaker 2: trying to get you to know earlier was that the
Speaker 2: last play the term would be like closing night or
Speaker 2: like the finale. Yeah, okay, one thing I want to
Speaker 2: ask you, though, We'll get two things. One was I
Speaker 2: feel like time was hitting you a little bit when
Speaker 2: you saw when you're comparing like Josh's last game to
Speaker 2: remembering your last for sure, were what was going through
Speaker 2: your head? Just and I don't mean time like of
Speaker 2: Josh being older.
Speaker 1: I know that, but like, no, I talked to my
Speaker 1: dad last night about this, just like you know, He's like,
Speaker 1: life goes by so remarkably fast, and he's like, I remember,
Speaker 1: you know, this is my dad talking, and he said
Speaker 1: his dad, my grandfather said to him, you know, it
Speaker 1: goes by in the blink of an eye. And you
Speaker 1: hear that as a kid, but you know, the days
Speaker 1: go by slow, the years go by fast, the old saying,
Speaker 1: but as you get older, it really does continue to
Speaker 1: speed up. And I told my dad, I said, you know,
Speaker 1: I think it's also only when you're blessed and life
Speaker 1: is great, and because when when we are in grief
Speaker 1: or we are in whatever, those days go by slow.
Speaker 1: Those moments go by slow. When things are going so
Speaker 1: swimmingly well and your your kids are thriving, and your
Speaker 1: wife is thriving, and things are beautiful and you're we're
Speaker 1: in a good, you know, season of life. You know
Speaker 1: it'll ebb and flow and there will be the ups
Speaker 1: and down. But it definitely caught me off guard of yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm you know, I am at this point in my
Speaker 1: life and I'm now watching my son wrap things up
Speaker 1: and head off into the real world. So yeah, I know,
Speaker 1: it definitely makes you realize life goes by fast.
Speaker 2: I'm a big believer too in like continuing to do
Speaker 2: I don't know, I think sometimes there can it's important
Speaker 2: to take those moments in. But then also like I
Speaker 2: don't like the uh oh it's over and done by that.
Speaker 2: I mean, like Josh is already talking about Okay, you
Speaker 2: might plan all across team. Yeah, you know, like he's
Speaker 2: looking at one here in Austin. I think for when
Speaker 2: he's in his early twenties. And I loved theater in school,
Speaker 2: but I went on to take improv classes and do
Speaker 2: improv teams in my twenties. And I know you did
Speaker 2: some soccer teams. Does it feel really different or does
Speaker 2: it scratch that itch?
Speaker 1: And again I think, I think, what again? The Good
Speaker 1: Lord gives us the ability, especially at that age, what's next?
Speaker 1: And you know, I never thought high school was the
Speaker 1: greatest moment in life. I never looked at college is
Speaker 1: the greatest moment in life. I always thought what was next?
Speaker 1: And so I think at that age, Josh is already
Speaker 1: excited about his job. He's already excited about getting his
Speaker 1: first apartment. That was me. I was like, as soon
Speaker 1: as I was done, Yeah, I was sad about walking
Speaker 1: off the field, missing my boys, but I was going
Speaker 1: to be a sportscaster. I was about to get my
Speaker 1: first job, and I was so fired up to launch
Speaker 1: my career that that was my goal. I've always been
Speaker 1: like that in life about what's next. Looking and I
Speaker 1: don't mean in an ungrateful way. I don't mean I
Speaker 1: don't appreciate the moment. I really do. I think I'm
Speaker 1: very good about that. But I always whether you're setting goals,
Speaker 1: setting the bar higher, pushing yourself, I've always thought what's
Speaker 1: next in life, and so in that moment in college,
Speaker 1: I was like, great, I'm going on to be a sportscaster.
Speaker 1: At the time, I didn't know it would be in
Speaker 1: Oklahoma City. I thought I was gonna have to go
Speaker 1: to a much smaller circuit and market to start. I
Speaker 1: got very lucky to start in Oklahoma City with a
Speaker 1: great mentor, Bill Jiggans. But I think that's where Josh
Speaker 1: is like, he'll be sad that afternoon, he moves on,
Speaker 1: He's onto the next And yeah, I played a little
Speaker 1: semi pro soccer. I did you know sportscasting. I was
Speaker 1: so fired up about everything going on in life. It's
Speaker 1: really later when those the sadness kind of turns to memories,
Speaker 1: and those memories and I kind of think grief might
Speaker 1: be like this, and you could probably fill me in.
Speaker 1: It's like that gutting and it's different on different level
Speaker 1: of grief, but like that open wound slowly turns to
Speaker 1: great memories there's still sadness. You still can lament the
Speaker 1: fact that it's gone. But like now I have memories
Speaker 1: and it's like, I don't know if it was like that.
Speaker 1: Does that make sense?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean I don't. Does Josh finishing lacrosse feel
Speaker 2: like an open wound at first?
Speaker 1: It does? Really, Yeah, I mean it's just it's raw.
Speaker 1: It's a raw nerve. You're sad and you feel.
Speaker 2: I don't think I was. I've never Here's the thing.
Speaker 2: I've realized this as you're talking. I have never like
Speaker 2: been that sad when things were ending. Yeah, Like I'm like,
Speaker 2: I don't remember my last improv comedy show with my
Speaker 2: comedy group that I loved in college. I don't remember it.
Speaker 2: I don't. I think I was always like even more
Speaker 2: and on to the next person, which I'm not just
Speaker 2: saying is a good thing. I just was very well.
Speaker 1: I think it is a good thing and in people, No,
Speaker 1: I think it's a great attribute.
Speaker 2: Like I didn't really, I mean, I don't know. I
Speaker 2: didn't really get sad about I called myself an emotional shudder.
Speaker 2: I'm like, don't be sad, it's over. Be glad it happened.
Speaker 2: Let's keep going, I think.
Speaker 1: And I respect this about you and I know this
Speaker 1: about you, which is another reason I'm saying, and I
Speaker 1: think high functioning successful people are always looking at what's next,
Speaker 1: even when things are great, but also when things are bad.
Speaker 1: Like you don't get too high with the highs, you
Speaker 1: don't get too low with the lows. You're just like, Okay,
Speaker 1: I can do better, I can push myself. I can
Speaker 1: continue to raise the bar in my life no matter
Speaker 1: what it is. That's I think it's a it's an
Speaker 1: admirable quality to have, and I think I see it
Speaker 1: in successful people.
Speaker 2: I think it's I've had open wounds when things ended
Speaker 2: traumatic or badly, but kind of like we were talking
Speaker 2: about with grief. To me, I didn't have that reaction
Speaker 2: with something like lacrosse ending. It's like, well, we knew
Speaker 2: this was coming, and this is the natural order of things,
Speaker 2: and this is okay. It's certainly awesome to reflect on it.
Speaker 2: Like and like I said, I'm so glad I saw
Speaker 2: Josh taking the moment in Yeah, and Babe, if you
Speaker 2: want to still play soccer, you can go join it somewhere.
Speaker 1: I've escaped with my knees intact. But you know what
Speaker 1: Josh doesn't know and what you didn't know. What I
Speaker 1: didn't know when we were leaving those organizations is the
Speaker 1: lessons you've learned that are going to pay dividends so
Speaker 1: much and the rest of your life. So proud of him, TC,
Speaker 1: Lacrosse family, Thank you guys. It was a great run
Speaker 1: for four years. TC Who's been a great run and
Speaker 1: a great home for him for four years. Graduations coming
Speaker 1: up next, babe. It was good to catch up. I'm glad.
Speaker 1: We just look this is a little different podcast today.
Speaker 1: We just wanted to catch up and we love talking
Speaker 1: to you guys, and we will do it again next
Speaker 1: time because we have a lot more to talk about.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening. Follow us on Instagram at the most
Speaker 1: dramatic pod ever and make sure to write us a
Speaker 1: review and leave us five stars. I'll talk to you
Speaker 1: next time.