Conversations That Bring Us Closer

You know those people you’ve known for years but somehow there’s still more to learn?

In this episode, we sit down with a handful of intentional questions and let the conversation unfold from there. It starts simple, but it quickly turns into something deeper, the kind of conversation that makes you see someone in a new way.

Along the way, we talk about real life too. Rachael shares what it looks like to prepare for an upcoming surgery, and we also talk through a separate, recent scary moment her family experienced. Both conversations shift the tone in a way that feels honest and grounded, not heavy for the sake of it, but real because life is.

There is a mix of laughter and more serious moments, but it all connects back to one thing. When you slow down, ask better questions, and actually listen, your relationships change.

If you have ever felt like your conversations have stayed on the surface, this episode is a reminder that it does not take much to go deeper. Just a little intention and the willingness to be present.

And to our inner circle, thank you for being here with us and for showing up every Sunday for these pre releases. It means more than you know, and we are really glad you are part of this with us. 

Find us on Patreon to join our Inner Circle and get full length video episodes released early every Sunday! 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:21

Yeah, so we're recording some multiple episodes today because our dear friend is going into surgery on Wednesday. Yeah. So this one here is going to be short and sweet because it's going to be getting to know your friends a little bit better. Because we both discovered this morning when we were talking that we had childhood dogs named Cory.

SPEAKER_00 0:40

Yes. And I think it's true, even when it happens, like with Jeff and I, you know, we've been together for almost 20 years, and there are still stories that we've never told each other or just idiosyncrasies that will pick up on each other as we grow together. And I think it's so true with like friends. How do you get to know someone on a deeper level? I struggle if I can't like truly connect with people. I when I say I struggle, I struggle if to be like a real person with authentic feelings and like wanting to build a relationship if I can't connect to them.

SPEAKER_01 1:21

So if I encounter somebody who is not willing to go below surface level, I find myself meeting them where they are, and that's not who I am. And then I come away from it being like, I could have had such a better conversation with that person. Like I always come with my authentic self, and sometimes that's too much energy for people. And people are like, that's okay. I'm not your cup of tea.

SPEAKER_00 1:51

No, and I and I'm here for that too. Yeah. Connecting with humans is so important. It's such a part of our DNA. Like, that is what is supposed to happen. I do strongly believe that. Like, you don't need a ton of humans to connect with, but you need to have interactions with humans. You have to open yourself up to a receiving feedback, but also giving feedback, laughing. Yeah, it's so critical. So, anyways, what made us think about doing this was because Kristen and I know each other very well, but usually the topics that we talk about are related to some spirituality type riff, you know, whether it's the new moon or it's a chakra or we have a guest on or whatever. And we thought it would be kind of fun to ask each other questions still along that same vein, but without sharing them with each other and prepping. So it's kind of like on the spot, on the fly, and we will get to know each other a little bit more as we share it openly with you guys.

SPEAKER_01 3:03

Rachel had an idea of, you know, what questions could you ask, or how could you engage with people, like if you're looking to make new friends, and that felt like a little too big for what we're trying to do with an episode today. There's validity in that because I see all the time in these mom groups on Facebook, people are like, I'm just looking for friends who are in a similar season of life. Right. And they have no idea where to start or where to go.

SPEAKER_00 3:31

No. And I'll be very honest. I mean, I've met some of my closest friends I have now through my children, naturally, because like whether it was preschool or elementary school or gymnastics or whatever the case may be, there is one particular, and I don't know these people, but they moved here from Minnesota for a job. Her husband got a job at a company, and it was a great promotion, and it was like the right fit, all the things. But they had two young kids. They moved here from Minnesota, they had no family help, and they're already moving back to Minnesota two years later because she couldn't find a connection. She couldn't find like a rooting system to be able to ground in and find that tribe. It's like anything else. In order to find a village, find a tribe, you have to put in the work. Doesn't necessarily have to be a lot of work, but you have to like go to the library. You have to interact with humans. You can't just sit at your house and be like, man, I hope my neighbor comes over that I'm just gonna fall in love with and she's gonna be my new best friend and she's gonna bring me a pie.

SPEAKER_01 4:36

I mean, we are currently helping that for the new neighbors that are moving in. We're all like, oh my God, I hope they're great. I hope they're great. I hope they're great. We just want good neighbors. Yes. I don't expect a pie. But if you live next to me and you want to bring a pie, I'm not gonna say no unless it's got gluten in it. See? Yeah, don't give her don't give me a pie. It's too much of a too much of an ask now.

SPEAKER_00 4:59

That would be a very strong way to connect with somebody, though, right? Like, oh, I have a gluten intolerance. Oh, well, you know, like boom, right there. Um, let's welcome people. Yes. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 5:12

So before we forget.

SPEAKER_00 5:14

All right. Rachel's coming at the end.

SPEAKER_01 5:19

Okay. Like I was on, I don't know, like some sort of 80s cop show, and you were just like, What is this?

SPEAKER_00 5:25

All right, anyways.

SPEAKER_02 5:27

I love y'all.

SPEAKER_00 5:29

Welcome to Mystic Mala's. The other thing that I want to talk about, I want to talk about the surgery a little bit more in detail. Yes, please. Because I'm an open book and I think that it's worth talking about because it has a lot to do with body image, body dysmorphia, changing bodies after having children. It also for me has been a very spiritual thing because the surgery I'm having done, I'm having a hernia repair and also diastasis recti repair. If you're like, I don't know what any of that is. So your abdominal muscles, sometimes for women, when you get pregnant, and for me, I was like all belly, like very outward belly with all three of my kids. Your abdominal muscles physically separate. So your stomach, and then they separate. And now there's, well, first pregnancy, there was like a little gap. And then, you know, every pregnancy gets a little wider and wider. And then through that, I have two hernias, two umbilical hernias, if you will. So they're all repairing that, and they're taking medical grade mesh basically, and putting that in my abdomen and then sewing my muscles into it. They'll adhere to it at some point. So A, it's gonna be physically a lot for my body because I haven't done a lot physically to engage my abdominal muscles in years. And I have felt for a long time that why start something that I can't really repair? And I know people are gonna say that you can do physical pelvic floor activities, which is all valid and true. But for me, I wanted to have this medically fixed. Oh, plus the hernias, plus the hernias, and that would not have been possible without medical intervention. And then the spiritual side of this is I'm going into something that I know is going to be really fucking hard. And it's gonna be really painful, and I'm gonna be in a lot of pain. And I'm a doer, I do a lot with my hands, I do a lot physically, and so this is going to prepare me to get really comfortable with rest and also activities that don't require physical movement and relying on my village and my community that I have created and leaning on them and having them support me, which feels a bit foreign.

SPEAKER_01 8:11

Well, I and I will sing Rachel's praises to the end of the moon that you do so much for the people that are close to you in your area that your kids go to school with and helping with their children. You are always have a house full of kids, you are always helping with other people's kids, and I think that you should 100% be able to lean on the people that are leaning on you for support.

SPEAKER_00 8:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:46

Because you are, you're always doing for other people. Yeah, it is true, it's beautiful, but I love that.

SPEAKER_00 8:52

That's my love language, so that also fills my cup. I wanted to touch on this because you'll probably see stories on our socials of me talking about it.

SPEAKER_01 9:02

And so if you know, and our next live will be from Rachel's Couch.

SPEAKER_00 9:05

Yes. Kristen's coming on down, coming on down to the South Hills.

SPEAKER_01 9:10

Well, we used to. If you have been with us from the beginning when we were audio only, we used to travel back and forth every single week to record at each other's houses. And then once we had video, we had to have a stationary place that we could have everything.

SPEAKER_00 9:23

Yeah. Try to streamline that that vibe so you guys are vibing in the same space. So yeah. So it's happening and I am nervous. I'm not nervous for the surgery like itself. Like, I'm not nervous. I'm just nervous for the recovery. I would be the opposite. Oh, really? Yeah. Yeah. I love this doctor. Naturally, I I totally gauged whether or not I was gonna go with her based on her energy.

SPEAKER_01 9:52

Oh, 100%.

SPEAKER_00 9:52

Like she answered all my questions. You're like, so can you please tell me your birth date time and where you were born for the first time?

SPEAKER_01 9:59

I'm just gonna read your chart real fast.

SPEAKER_00 10:03

Well, I listen, you have like very strict things that you have to follow before you go in for surgery. Like you have to fast naturally, but there's like no makeup, nothing on your skin, none of that, right? But you bet your bottom dollar before I go in. I will have crystals with me. And like post-surgery, I will have all the things ready to rock and roll. And I've also thought about the fact that like because I'm Reiki too attuned, I can give myself Reiki. And so I will be giving myself healing energy rituals immediately following, but I will be on narcotics too. So I'm like, we'll see how groggy or not groggy I am.

SPEAKER_01 10:44

Have you thought about if they would allow you to have like a healing hurts music playing during your surgery?

SPEAKER_00 10:50

It is robotic, it's laparoscopic, so it would have to be at the discretion of my doctor, but that is a fantastic question because I know that I've seen videos of doctors that like jam out, like they have music playing.

SPEAKER_01 11:05

Right.

unknown 11:06

I love that.

SPEAKER_00 11:07

Yeah, some 432.

SPEAKER_01 11:08

I think 432 is the healing energy, yeah, if I'm not mistaken, or just like something near your head, even if he has his own music. It's a woman or she. Yeah. Can you just put this little speaker near my head? I don't want to put you to sleep while you're doing my surgery, but if you could just have this healing.

SPEAKER_00 11:25

Yes, I don't need you sleeping while I'm sleeping. That would not make for a successful surgery.

SPEAKER_01 11:31

All right, do you want me to ask the first question or are you going?

SPEAKER_00 11:34

You asked the first.

SPEAKER_01 11:35

What tiny thing brings you disproportionate joy?

SPEAKER_00 11:41

Disproportionate, disproportionate.

SPEAKER_01 11:43

Yes, a wild amount of joy beyond what you would assume that this thing would bring you.

SPEAKER_00 11:48

Rainbows.

unknown 11:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:54

Um, or nature. Like we were at the cabin this past week, and at one point I saw the boys down by the stream, and they were just throwing rocks at the tree, and I was like, don't do that. Stop throwing rocks at the tree. I was like, love the tree. And Graham went up and gave it a hug instead.

SPEAKER_01 12:13

Oh, grandman.

SPEAKER_00 12:15

Yeah, probably rainbows. It doesn't matter where I see them.

SPEAKER_01 12:18

I'm con I'm always like, I mean, I thought of you so hard when I saw that rainbow at Magic King's home.

SPEAKER_00 12:25

All right. Um, let's see here. What is one random skill or talent that you have that most people don't know about?

SPEAKER_01 12:37

Random. Well, I would say most people that meet me don't know that I'm a musician. I would say people that listen to the podcast have heard, you know, obviously, but most people that meet me in person have no clue that I have 40 years of music experience under my belt.

SPEAKER_00 12:55

Yeah. We should post some videos of you in your element.

SPEAKER_01 12:58

I would say that's probably like the biggest thing because my husband is so known for being a musician that people are like, oh, you're like they all assume. And again, if you don't know our backstory, they all assume that Evie gets her musical talent from Charlie. Just is like hilarious to all of us. But yeah, I would say that's probably it.

SPEAKER_00 13:21

And I bet most people, if they were to ask you, or if you were to ask them what instrument you they think you play.

SPEAKER_01 13:26

Oh, what do you think they would pick?

SPEAKER_00 13:28

I think piano would be a solid, which I know is one of them. But I don't, I don't think the violin.

SPEAKER_01 13:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:35

I would think probably like the flute or the clarinet or something that you know.

SPEAKER_01 13:40

I've never touched a flute or clarinet in my life. Give me something with a string.

SPEAKER_00 13:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:45

Sorry, Kira. I know. Our lovely Kira here is a very wonderful flute player herself.

SPEAKER_00 13:52

Guess what I play? Fucking nothing. I play nothing. Okay. He's a clapper. Clap on, clap off.

SPEAKER_01 13:59

Uh okay. What fictional world would you immediately move to if you could? Harry Potter.

SPEAKER_02 14:09

Oh yes!

SPEAKER_01 14:11

Do you know what house are you?

SPEAKER_00 14:13

Oh, Gryffindor. Are you? Oh yeah. Since day one. I read the books before the movies ever came out. And so, like, I've always had a deep love for Harry Potter. Now, at one point in high school, it was like deep, deep because I was in it, right? Like I had a picture frame that was his glasses. That's the most non-practical picture frame because you had to find circle pictures, and it was just I never had pictures in it because it was dumb. But I just put pictures of boobs and um, yeah, no, Harry Potter for sure.

SPEAKER_01 14:46

Oh god, it's so magical. Yeah, it's so magical.

SPEAKER_00 14:50

I feel like that's one of the only like I know some people would want to do space. That's never been my jam. Shocker. Um But you're so so well versed in your knowledge of the stars. Uh bless. What about you? I will I'm gonna flip that one back.

SPEAKER_01 15:10

I I have to go Harry Potter too. Okay, so we would we would be new. It would be good. Yes. Okay, so I got this bag when I was in Harry Potter World recently. We just got back from a trip where we did Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, uh, Universal, both parks, and Epic. And this beautiful messenger bag that I got. Now they had um Hogwarts, right? And it was like a camel bag, which is really beautiful. And then they had uh the blue bag, which was for the school. Oh my gosh, it's gonna boba. I can't remember the last part of it. Um the school? One of the other schools from the stories.

SPEAKER_00 15:56

You have Gryffindor, you have uh No, those not those are the houses.

SPEAKER_01 15:59

I mean like the other schools. Like remember from the Tri-Wizard Cup when they come in.

SPEAKER_00 16:02

Oh, oh, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:04

Yes. So anyway, this seal um that's on this one is from a school that was in Massachusetts, actually. And it like called back to me in my like Salem witchy ways as well. And I loved so that's why I went with the red.

SPEAKER_00 16:17

Oh, okay. That is a color for you, like a maroon.

SPEAKER_01 16:24

Yeah. I mean, it was hard for me to choose. There was the camel, like a vibrant blue, which I really did love. Um, this red, this maroon, and then there was like a dark gray, which was the one that uh Victor Crumb, the school that they went to.

SPEAKER_00 16:39

Oh yeah. Very cool. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 16:42

Is it my question again then?

SPEAKER_00 16:44

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 16:45

What's your pettiest pet peeve?

SPEAKER_00 16:47

I have a few. One that comes top of mind, I can't fucking stand when people shorten words in text messages, like sending the letter U instead of spelling Y-O-U. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:59

I mean, do your kids do it too?

SPEAKER_00 17:01

There's something about that that I just feel lacks intelligence. I don't know. There's it just pisses me off. Yeah. What's another one? I have a few. I actually was like, I need to start a notes column of pet peeves that drive me bananas. I hate when people don't use turn signals. Like they're fucking there for a reason. Okay. Bink, b-bing, bing, do them. Just click up and down. Bing, d-da-dink, ding. Dink. Just make it happen. Just do it. Nike and turn signals. I hate when people don't put chopping carts away. Oh, she's got a list, guys. Oh no, I have a list. And apparently my list is also Kira's list. Because every time I say one, she's like, yes.

SPEAKER_01 17:43

The cart one I can get on board with too. It makes me so angry when people leave a cart in the middle of nowhere. Come on.

SPEAKER_00 17:51

No. Come on. Yeah. Get your shit together.

SPEAKER_01 17:54

It's not gonna take you any more time to just unless the floor actually turned to lava at that moment that you were supposed to return the cart. Put your lazy ass to work.

SPEAKER_00 18:03

Yeah. All right. What is something you used to chase that you no longer give a shit about? Acceptance. Oh, that's a good one.

SPEAKER_01 18:13

I realized I don't need to be accepted by others to be a whole, fabulous, wonderful person who loves herself. And it took me far too long to become that person. There's still lingering tendrils that come in, you know, here and there, and I'm like, and it's usually when you're in circumstances that are not your norm, right? But I really do put myself in situations a lot to be uncomfortable, to practice not needing to be accepted. And I continue to try to do this because as I've watched people age and they don't put themselves in situations that they're not comfortable with, they become bitter and they become stagnant and they stop growing. And then they start to look at the world with such a different lens, and they're so much harder about life. And and I've just never wanted that for myself.

SPEAKER_00 19:10

So yeah, that's a good answer.

SPEAKER_01 19:12

What is the most chaotic phase of life that you've ever been through?

SPEAKER_00 19:17

Oh, my 20s. My early 20s for sure. Even though, like, I have so much more going on now with three kids and two businesses and all of that, my 20s was out of control chaos. I didn't have a path, I didn't have a purpose, I was just spiraling.

SPEAKER_01 19:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:37

Yeah. That's also where most of my healing still resides.

SPEAKER_01 19:42

Right. What do you think like propelled you out of that space?

SPEAKER_00 19:47

Um, a couple different things. Mostly it was losing my grandfather. That that particular death rocked me. And not in a like I wasn't devastated, right? Like I knew he was dying. He had cancer. So I knew that was the inevitable demise. But it was in those moments that I realized I wasn't in a relationship and I couldn't be in a relationship because I wasn't loving myself. Like I wasn't honoring where I was. I was living with two of my best friends that were not living in the apartment. So I knew that the apartment was going to be ending. And then I was like still working in the restaurant industry, but also working in a recruiting firm where I was being sexually assaulted on a fairly regular basis. There was so much that was like fucked up and weird. And my grandfather dying pivoted me into realizing that in order to find a partner, in order to find someone to be in a relationship with, I had to really start focusing on realigning my priorities. And so my grandfather died in February of 2008, and I met Jeff at the beginning of December of 2008. I mean, he he was my anchor. He was what anchored me in and allowed me to recenter and start that process.

SPEAKER_01 21:13

That's beautiful.

SPEAKER_00 21:14

Yeah. Oh man, I didn't see that question coming. Um what is something about yourself that you are still learning to love? Oh man.

SPEAKER_01 21:27

My body. My body is definitely one um that I'm still learning to love. My body is the easy answer. I will say that because it's something that I've always struggled to love. My mind, however, is something that I am still learning to love because I never knew that I was smart. I never was told that I was smart. I never knew that the things that I had to say were of value because the People that I was surrounded by for so long thought that their thoughts were more important than my thoughts. Their opinions are more important than my opinions. And I allowed that in my life for decades. I think, as like my husband might be the first person that ever told me that I was smart.

SPEAKER_00 22:21

And you are. I mean, hopefully I've watered that seed because there's been many times where I'm like, Kristen, can you just do this? Cause you're so smart.

SPEAKER_01 22:30

But and and like I appreciate you and Charlie so much for like tending that garden within me because I had no clue for so long.

SPEAKER_00 22:38

I mean, and and smart and also unbelievably creative and beautiful, and like the way that you word things, that is such a talent because I'm really good with like talking and like, but when I go to write, I really struggle. I like that that does not come out the same way. And you're able to do both. And I know without a doubt, if you get those writings that you've been working on, yeah, holy moly, watch out.

SPEAKER_01 23:13

It feels like a springboard, it really does. Like it feels like a springboard, not just for myself, but also for the podcast in a way, because the way that I've written this particular book is so in line with how we run our podcasts. Yes. In terms of like the voicing of it. And so I've recently like I had taken another spin on it and I'm reworking it now, and it feels much better than it did when I was working on it at the end of last summer.

SPEAKER_00 23:39

I think the podcast is like such a foundation for our businesses in general, right? Which is such a cool thing to think about because that's like our unified front, and then and then we have the paths. Yeah. You know, that's fun. Thanks. Yeah. All right, you're up. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 23:56

What pattern do you feel like the universe keeps making you repeat?

SPEAKER_00 24:04

Um, okay. Well, first of all, I have a very connected relationship with the universe, right? So, like I am constantly in awe of these situational things that happen where I am just brought back to center so often where it's like it's so inligned. How to prioritize my peace, how to prioritize my like internal filling of my cup, how to create space for that, and then not feel guilty that I'm creating space for that.

SPEAKER_01 24:43

Do you feel like that's only a thing since you've been a mom, or do you think that that's something that's been like your lifelong?

SPEAKER_00 24:49

Not since I've been a mom, but since I was a little kid.

SPEAKER_01 24:52

Oh, interesting.

SPEAKER_00 24:53

Yeah. So we've touched on this a little bit where I like I always felt this need to protect my brothers and go to bat for them. And then I think I just transmuted that into friendships. And then, you know, it wasn't something where I poured that back into myself on a regular basis, or I would pour it back into myself, but in some social structure where I was like hanging out with friends. I was very aware that working in the restaurant industry was not leading me down healthy paths, just in general. Late nights, you're around people where addiction is just rampant in that industry. And so I was like hyper aware of some of those things. So I think just how do I find the healthy connections that I can do on a regular basis that are quiet and that allow me to fill my cup without feeling guilty that I'm not making money. I'm not doing something that is, you know, for someone else. And so that tends to be on repeat pretty often.

SPEAKER_01 26:03

Right.

SPEAKER_00 26:04

I don't know if this is a good time to tell a story if I should wait to tell the story of the carbon monoxide or not, but there were signs from the universe that were wild. So we were up at Penn State at State College. We were like north 30 minutes north of the city because there's nowhere to stay at state college. So we got this amazing cabin with two other families. It was awesome. I was never going down to the Bryce Jordan Center for the competition because I'm not a coach and none of our kids were wrestling in it. So I stayed back with some of the other little kids. So I had another little boy and then Graham and Isla. And there's three floors to this house. This is Saturday morning. Everybody cleared out of the house, was out of the house by seven because they had to get down to the Bryce Jordan Center, get in, and wrestling started like at 8:30. We had had some high winds too. And apparently the guys went to leave, and there was a giant fucking tree over the driveway.

SPEAKER_01 27:05

Oh no.

SPEAKER_00 27:06

Huge. And there was a family, an Amish family, on this shared this driveway. His name was Yost. They woke him up, and I don't have to worry about him listening to the podcast. Um, and um he cut this tree down. We had been watching them too the night before on Friday, dragging pine trees that had laid up in the hillside with a horse. I mean, it was just the most magnificent manual work I've ever seen. So, anyways, this happened before I was awake. It's like 7:45, and we're in the basement. I'm asleep in the basement bedroom. Graham and this other little boy are asleep on the couch, and Isla the night before decided to sleep next to me and not up in the loft with all the girls. So I hear this, and right, like a like a fire alarm. And I'm like, what the fuck is that noise? So I get up and I have to pee so bad. I get up, I walk upstairs, I like look at the fire alarm, and it's blinking blue. And I'm like, what? I was like, I have to pee. So I go in the bathroom to pee. I pee. I come out and I'm like, I can't see what that says. So I go get a bar stool, I stand up, I unscrew the detector, I bring it down and I read it, and it's like, if blinking blue, go outside for fresh air and call 911. And then it dawned on me that it was carbon monoxide. And I was like, oh my God. So now I'm like, I don't know where it's coming from, right? This thing's going off. I didn't know at the time that Emiline had gone with them down to the competition. I thought she was still asleep up in the bed, up in the loft. So I'm yelling. I'm like, Emily, I need you to get up. Emily, get up. No response. And for about five seconds, I was like, oh my God. Right. So I run upstairs and I'm like, she's not here. And I'm like, okay. And then I'm like, I have three other children that are sleeping downstairs. Now, nothing was going off in the basement. So instead of calling 911, I called Jeff. And I'm like, hey, I think there's a carbon monoxide leak. All of the detectors are going off. Should I call 911? And he's like, yes, Rachel. Yes, you should, you dumbass. Like, the detector did not say call Jeff Devore. So I'm like, and he's like, what the fuck is up with this morning? And then he tells me about the tree. And I was like, okay. So I call 911 and the guy is like, what's the address of your emergency? And I was like, that's a great question. I was like, I have no idea what the address is. And he's like, I'm showing you at, and I was like, yes, yes. That's because you know when you're like in a state of chaos, like, I'm like, I have to get the kids up, right? But I needed to get the, I did actually get the kids up and outside before I called 911. So the volunteer fire department shows up because we're in the middle of BFE. And, you know, they're they go right into the house. And I'm thinking, I don't think that's what you're supposed to do, but I don't know. Maybe there's protocol, maybe there's not. So then, like a bunch of other firefighters show up like 20 minutes later, and Yost, the lovely Amish man from down the street, comes up. And, you know, he was like, I thought it was so confusing because the fire department came, but I looked out and there's no smoke. And I was like, no, there's it's not a fire. I was like, I think there's a carbon monoxide leak. Well, come to find out, in the middle of the night, the power had failed, but they had a giant generator that was gas. And the exhaust pipe from this generator, for whatever reason, was pointed at the siding of the house. So it was literally shooting right back into the cabin. So it was no joke. It was a very real carbon monoxide leak. And also, when I came up the steps when it was going off, there was a robin that was running into the glass door in the kitchen.

SPEAKER_01 31:31

Naturally.

SPEAKER_00 31:32

It just kept running into the glass, or not running. The robin was not running. It was flying into the glass. Yeah. Getting this. And so I went over because I was like, what is wrong with this bird? And I went to call 911. I was like, but now I right after I was like, oh my God, it was telling me to get out of the house. Because again, you can't smell carbon monoxide. Right. Now I did not feel sick. I I did pee in the space where it was very, very concentrated. None of the kids got exposed at all because we were all in the basement. But it wasn't lost on me that Isla decided to sleep next to our bed on our on the floor rather than in the loft because she's a tiny human and it could have very easily affected her and taken, right? You know? So the video later that morning, after they had cleared the house and they put the fan in and they cut the power to the generator, I was doing some work or I was editing the podcast I was editing to send to you. And I was sitting in this seat in the loft or in the living room, and this light started coming in through the window. And it was like, I have a video, and it was like I could play with the light. It was like bouncing off my fingers. And I was like very hyper-aware of just life, right? The fragility of life, the gratitude that I have for having this experience and being able to tell this story. Because it wasn't until like everyone kind of came home from wrestling that I could relax. Because I I never told the kids what was happening. I mean, I did, but not to the like severity of it, right? Like, yeah, but I was like, we have to get out, like the fire department's on its way. And they were so confused. Like they were like, What? What are you talking about? And thank God for those detectors, honest to God. I've never I've never had this happen, but like Do you have carbon monoxide detectors in your house?

SPEAKER_01 33:45

No. So if we can get them at Lows. So we bought, we got ours whenever. Similarly, we were using a generator when we had lost power last year for like the last year days. We had no four or five hour. Yes. And we were borrowing a generator. Now the generator wasn't in the house, it was outside, but it was outside the window, and we had to have the window open to like have the extension cord coming in, and it was just for our fridge. And uh we also did not have a carbon monoxide monitor before that. And I was like, we can't have this generator here without having something.

SPEAKER_00 34:26

No. Well, and I didn't know there was a generator, I didn't know it kicked on. I mean, I legit thought it was fake when it was going on. Well, I didn't think it was fake, but I didn't know the severity of it. And then when the one fire department showed up and he went in, he came out and said his reader was triple like what is a okay reading. And I was like, what? You know, so I mean, I don't know. We were in the basement, but everybody would have come home and the house would have been completely full of carbon monoxide.

SPEAKER_01 35:02

Like it just wanna think about that.

SPEAKER_00 35:05

I know. Yeah, it was one of those like situations where you're like, it didn't play out this way, but holy fucking shit balls. It could have been catastrophic. It could have been terrible. Yeah. So of course I used humor to I told Jeff, I was like, gotta keep me around. No third wife for you yet.

SPEAKER_01 35:22

Right. As we do, we use humor to diffuse.

SPEAKER_00 35:25

He was like, Too soon, Rachel.

SPEAKER_01 35:28

Yeah, there were this last week there have been a lot of reminders of how fragile life is. We had two deaths and so who dies sim similar. But it was both when we were in Michigan getting like coming back, one of Charlie's college buddies pass away. And then we found out that another one of our like close family friends that we had met through the band pass away. So yeah, it's a lot.

SPEAKER_00 35:59

Yeah, I'm so sorry.

SPEAKER_01 36:00

Yeah, wonderful people, and um just hug your loved ones.

SPEAKER_00 36:06

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:07

So I'm very thankful that you're okay.

SPEAKER_00 36:11

So am I, yeah. It was it was scary, man. It was scary because it wasn't actually scary because you can't see it or smell it, right? It like messes with your psyche a little bit. You know how like a fire, you're like, oh fuck, like, oh my god, like you can feel it, you can see it, you can all the things. Yeah, you can't, so it was like I think that's why I called Jeff too, because I'm like, maybe it's not a big deal, right?

SPEAKER_01 36:36

It's a big deal, it's a big deal. I think we can wrap this one up, don't you? It was a big deal. Go out on the uh Glad Our Friends Are Alive portion of this podcast.

SPEAKER_00 36:46

Yeah, that's a good one. It was kind of funny because I was just reading one of these questions. It I was, you know, talking about how you can smell fire and everything. And it was if your aura had a smell instead of a color, what would it be? Like what would it smell like?

SPEAKER_01 37:01

Oh, I think mine would smell like lavender and peppermint and honey, and maybe with a hint of like vanilla or jasmine. Alright, alright. A little florally, a little minty, a little a little combo.

SPEAKER_00 37:20

Like me. Yeah, a little that well, that is true. Yeah, it's a dynamic, yeah, dynamic blend there.

SPEAKER_01 37:25

Alright, I'll flip that question back on you and that'll be our last one. What would your aura smell like?

SPEAKER_00 37:29

Mine would be a little bit of uh lilies, Asiatic lilies, with some lilac, some polisanto, some cedar wood. Yeah. Love it. Yeah. Well friends. We started out funny, then ended it sad and somber. But it is serious, and and you know, but I think that the other thing when you're dealt with those situations that kind of like just make you think about the big picture and think about what really matters, it helps to not worry about some of the other bullshit that sometimes takes up space. And you're like, you know what, who gives a fuck? It doesn't matter. Like, no, it doesn't matter. So I think that was also part of the lesson because I've been stressing over some things that I really can't control. I've created, but I really can't control them at this point. Thank you, talking to you, financial bills. And I have to just be like, this isn't actually my problem. To it is, but it's not, right? It doesn't matter. You know what I mean? So yeah, it was it was such a good weekend. That needed to be included. That needed to happen, but everyone was safe. So I think the included, yes, carbon monoxide included. I think that's the lesson too is get carbon monoxide detectors in your house, like spend the money for them because they're a game changer. Go to listening. And there are no fucking brainer, no brainer. Right. That's what everyone's getting for Christmas.

SPEAKER_01 39:04

$20 or$30. Done. Yeah. Go get one.

SPEAKER_00 39:07

Yeah. And I'm almost positive the fire department will come out and check them too. At least ours does. Like if you call them on a non-emergency line and you ask them to just like because there's certain places that you should have them.

SPEAKER_01 39:22

Right. I once had an apartment where the fire alarms were hooked into the fire department. Oh. Yeah. My landlord had that set up. And this is when my dear friend Lizzie and I lived together. And she decided to do some Cajun cooking one time. Came home to the old fire, all of Bellevue Fire Department, our apartment with the giant fish. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_00 39:48

Yep. Did was it edible?

SPEAKER_01 39:52

No.

SPEAKER_00 39:52

No.

unknown 39:53

No.

SPEAKER_01 39:53

There was no, there was no eating anything that escaped that day. All right. That's hilarious. Love you guys so much. Thank you for being here. Hug your loved ones. Get a carbon monoxide monitor.

SPEAKER_00 40:04

And uh go check us out on well, you're on. If you're seeing this, you're on Patreon. Oh no, well, if you're hearing this. If you wanted to see this, but you only heard it, go check us out on Patreon. We'll be here all day, guys. God bless. All right. All right, we do. We love you. We'll see you next time. Love you.