Superstar Guest Joanne Light, Parent Empowerment Coach, http://bit.ly/overcome-burnout-now

So it's Thursday, November 5th, and just, uh, for on record, we do not know who our president is of the United States. So today is Thursday. I'm a parent of 4 children, obviously. So I was just telling Joanne— I'm a parent of Joan— I'm a parent of a 37-year-old son, a 31-year-old son, a 25-year-old son, and at the age 44 I found out— oh, it is Joanne. Joanne, I found out that I do— I wasn't dealing with a kidney stone, I was pregnant again. And I will tell you, which is worse, I don't know, because honestly, it was that when they told— when he told me, it was a feeling that came up my, like, the bottom of my toes. I felt red. I actually could feel the color red coming through me. But my first thought was kindergarten schools. And everyone's like, what are you thinking? I'm like, I have to do it all over again. So like, so you're— this is so interesting to me. You're a parent empowerment coach. If I could make a guess, you and I haven't spoke before, we haven't met, this is really candid. I would think that the minute I really needed an empowerment coach, as long as like the child's nursing and everything's okay, and like the minute the child hits kindergarten, because I feel like that at that point is when a coach really would have been fantastic for me. What is the age that parents start to look to talk to a parent? What is a parent empowerment coach?

Well, my goal is to try to help parents who are struggling with their challenging children, but we, I think we know now, Adrian, that all our kids are struggling and challenging. It just kind of is the natural course of things, especially during pandemic. But sure, little kids, those parents sometimes need a hand, particularly this year. I had some moms who were struggling. Do I send them to school if it's hybrid? Here I'm in Massachusetts, north in Boston, and schools are generally either only half open or it's remote learning. And so parents were struggling with that, but I think you've hit a point because most of the time it's when they hit those tweens and teens that parents realize that it is tough. It's really tough and they have to really— there are a lot of things that they need to think about. I always think of parenting as it's an inside-out process. You got to reach in to reach out and it's difficult for parents. Your own Parenting, what your folks did with you and the tone of the household definitely affects how you parent. And there are different styles of parenting. So usually with someone, I'll talk about the styles of parenting, try to assess what issues maybe the mom or dad is having, though it's more often the moms. But teenage years can be fabulous. Fun, but they are tough. They are difficult for both the parents and the kids. I'm a big believer in emotional intelligence, which is Marc Brackett's social and emotional intelligence. It's just so brilliant. And his newest book, I highly recommend it to folks out there. It's called Permission to Feel. And that is really what it's all about. You need to Live with your own emotions and honor those of your kids and teach them emotional regulation. And you can't do that unless you model for your kids. You have to model it. It's not easy.

Wow. So you mentioned about growing up. So just, you know, my parents are amazing. I do remember my mom. Can you hear me?

Yes, but not that great.

Oh, a little soft. Okay, I'll talk a little louder. I do remember my mom, like, before she hand me a glass of anything, she'd tell me not to spill it. And I don't think she meant to do it, but there was always a lot of negative. I, I didn't have— but I think it was a sign of the times. I was born 1962, so I was a teenager around 1975. So realistically, everything is so different. But what I'm doing differently is I'm, I'm listening more to my daughter and I'm making sure— and when I do things like that, if I hand her something and don't say, don't spill it, because she's incredibly klutzy, I mean, my gosh. But so I kind of, in my back of my mind, sometimes I think to myself, oh, Alana, you have no idea. Like, I'm giving you that kind of relationship that I almost really wanted to crave, that balance between, yes, come in and let's talk about everything. To, to just getting almost too involved with my daughter and all the drama and everything that she's going through. So she's 14. It's— I've told her there's one thing I will not allow is her ever, ever threatening to run away. Is that like— to me, running away is the most scariest thing ever that a child could say to their parent.

I think sometimes, but you got to look at what they do and what they say. Emotions are, are just information. And there's an experience behind it. And I think if she's thinking about running away, wouldn't you rather she talk about it with you and you try to dig down and find out why? What is it that's going on? You kind of have to be an emotion investigator because when kids act out, I believe almost always, not all the time, but 99% of the time, it's because it's something else. They're upset about something else and it comes out as being, "Mom, I hate you," or, "You never listen to me," or, "You don't really know how I feel." And you have to try to accept that and don't take it personally. Just really dig down and see how you can best support your kid. Well, tell me, try to find out why and how they're feeling that way. And with teenagers, I think all have two sides. And their brains, remember, are still developing. They're very active brain development in teen years. And they're— it's called pruning, and they're constantly changing. They're getting new ideas and expanding what they can learn, and they're kind of like a sponge. But there's two sides to, I think, most teenagers. There's that mature, thoughtful, caring side, and then there's the you know, sort of nasty, haughty, arrogant side. And I think what we have to do, and believe me, I didn't always do it and it's not easy, instead of just flying off the handle, we have to learn to stay calm and talk to the side that you want to come forward, you know, like kind of recruit that thoughtful you know, interesting side of your teen. It's not easy. Teens are hard. They're hard.

And they need adults in their life.

They need you as a parent to model, but they need— what worries me about pandemic is the kids need— those kids, I think, Adrienne, really need other adult mentors in their life. They need to watch because they learn what, you know, what their choices are and how they want to be based on the people they're watching. And they're not watching as many people as I'd like these days.

Exactly. I hope things change. But I would say that— so I want to go back to— so I, I just said to Alana, because we do have a very open relationship, and just between you and I, if everyone could turn off the camera right now, don't listen. I have my daughter's social media on my phone, and she doesn't mind. She'll often ask me to be like her secretary. Like, so I do have— and I have a good relationship. I just— the fear of, of like running away. And even though I just said to her, like, I don't care how mad you get and how much you like, like whatever anger, I don't care. I don't really care yet because I really— after raising 3 boys, but don't ever run away. And maybe that's because I ran away when I was younger. So I remember that running behind it, you know. Well, exactly. Thank you. You're right. But nowadays, running away— the minute you leave the house and start running away, you become a target for, you know, human— like, that's my big scare. But I want to ask you this. So my daughter— so this is really interesting— she is dating for the first time one of the sweetest young— I, I love him. I think he's so great. And now I'm thinking I got to be careful, right? I don't want to say how much I like him, but every time I meet— every time I hear him and talk to him I like him more and more. They're always on the phone together. They go to school together. He's got a lot of friends, girlfriends, and Alana is feeling the, the initial emotion of jealousy, and it's getting to her, and it's getting to him. Nobody like— green is an awful color when it comes to jealousy. Beautiful color for money though. So how can I help my daughter? Because she really right now is experiencing those emotions.

And she's talking to you about them.

Oh yes, yes.

So I think that that's the hardest part, is to really listen how it makes her feel. What exactly happened to make her feel that way? Is she overreacting, or is maybe she's on to something? I think if you can just listen to her and and don't try to fix it. Just listen, really listen, because when you start giving advice, I mean, she may be talking to you about this, just venting. It doesn't mean she doesn't necessarily want you to come up with a solution for how she's feeling. She has to work that out. But if you can listen and say, oh, that must be really hard. And what do you think, you know, is causing that? Or, Is there anything I can do to help? But don't try to— don't say, well, if you do A, B, you know, we're all fixers. It's your natural instinct to protect and fix whatever's wrong with your kids. And sometimes we overdo that and they learn to be helpless. I mean, I think I was always guilty, you know, like, okay, I'll do, I'll just do it for you or I'll help you do that. And that's not always— doesn't always lead to the most positive results. So my advice is, I think you're 10 steps ahead, Adrian, because you've got her talking to you about it. And I think that's what she needs. I mean, it's not like you can do— what else could— what are you thinking you would like to do? All you can do is talk about jealousy and where that's coming from. And it could be her imagination, but it's real for her. It's real. And you just have to acknowledge it. That must be really hard. That's tough.

Your advice is so spot on. It's good advice to remember too when talking to friends and when friends are venting. I'll try to remember that too when friends are venting with me, to not try to be the first to give advice, just listen. Good. So, so who are you? How did you get involved in becoming a parent empowerment coach?

Okay, it's, it's a, it's not a particularly long story. I I spent— I was a high school teacher and then I got my doctorate and spent a lot of years as a college administrator. I oversaw student services, so I dealt with lots of students and lots of employees, and I loved it. I think I loved college-age kids. They were great. But after 30 years, I decided that was That was fine. And I, when I retired, I kind of thought about how much counseling I'd done all along and that I really liked that. And so I should be a life coach. And after a couple of years, I decided I don't really want to talk to people about getting unstuck and, and, and changing careers. I really wanted, I wanted to deal with their parenting issues. And I do that from like a personal passion. I have 3 adult children. The oldest of whom, my daughter who just turned 40, had in her 20s, it developed that she had a personality disorder and some serious anxiety. And, you know, you learn— I learned from trying to deal with that, that you have to reach out and ask for help and you have to try sometimes a lot of different things. And I just feel, I feel passionate about giving back. And the most important thing when you're struggling as a parent is that you're not alone. Don't try to do it all on your own. We all need help. It's, it's, I felt so much better when I went to, I finally found this group where there were 3 or 4 couples whose kids were struggling in the same way. And when you listen to other people tell stories, that are dreadfully familiar, it just is very comforting. You're not alone and it's not you. You can, and you can't totally fix it, but you can keep offering, you know, not solutions, but help. It's help. We tried different trainings. We tried different outpatient programs. You know, you just, So then I became passionate about helping parents because from my own experience, I realized that, you know, taking care of yourself and reaching out for help is a good thing. It's not shameful or embarrassing or any of those things. We all think we're gonna do it perfectly and we're all imperfect and human, and you can just do the best that you can. I don't know. Does that, Tell you enough?

No, it's, it's, it's, it's so great. And when you were talking about it, and I'm focusing on my 14-year-old, but I'm forgetting that I also raised 3 boys and the issues that I've had with, with them and, and one in particular. It's, it, I really appreciate your, your, your sharing your story. I, what about, so for parents that have children that have special needs or autism or autism spectrum or Asperger's, Correct. Are you supporting them too? Because I would think that that's a special additional need for power.

I'm happy to talk to those parents and support them in their parenting role. I don't necessarily give them advice or, you know, I'm not a therapist for an autistic child, but you know, when When people have complex kids, you know, there's certain things you can help give the parents tools in their toolbox, you know, to help them deal, like how to motivate their kids and how to talk to their children and how when you just can't take anymore, you need to learn to walk away and try to take care of yourself. I always talk about self-compassion because those parents, it's really hard. And there are so many out there right now. I mean, Even if they're not diagnosed, I mean, a lot of kids struggle with executive functioning. You know, they just, they can't focus. They're very disorganized. You know, that kid who you go in their room and you can't find the floor. It just things that they procrastinate, sorry, avoidance, and then they're anxious. And a lot of kids are anxious now. I think it's something like 40% of kids are diagnosed even with anxiety. It's a big number. And there's a huge number in addition of kids from the age of 10 to like 25 who have had suicidal thoughts. They had that ideation. It's like 30%. It's frightening. I mean, we live in a pretty— I mean, I understand your worry about your daughter running away because it's not a good world to run away into.

And she gets— she gets— so Alana is not the best student. And, and so she's— she in high school, it's really tough for her. So school is tough anyways. Then she was learning by, like, on Zoom. So I put her back into school because that was— it wasn't working on Zoom. Then she immediately, within a week of being in school, meets a boyfriend when all summer she was saying, I'm going to concentrate on school. And then her schoolwork, she has such a tough time. So last night she's complaining about her teacher who isn't communicating well with her. Alana says, my teachers have given up on me. And I try to talk her through it, but, you know, and I'll call your teacher, but she wants to do it herself. Last night, I think she worked like hours going through it. But the problem for Alana is that what, what could take one of my other children— I mean, I, you know, I've had it all. The child that also, my oldest, had a little— it was tougher for him. And then my middle son, Sam, he didn't have to study and he would, and he would ace everything. And then Rudy studied, but he didn't ace everything. So he needed kind of both. And then Alana could study and she's just not a good like test taker. How do I help support her when I see that schoolwork is a struggle and everyone around is always like, my kid is this and that. And I'm like, oh, she, she tries really hard.

You know, that's, that's hard because we all look around and compare, compare ourselves to other mothers and our kids to other kids. I think it's really a matter of letting go of your expectations and she is who she is. I think you have to meet her, Adrian, where she is. And if school is not her thing, it's not that you should let her get away with not trying her best and you try to motivate her even if she can, come up with her own incentives. Gee, if I do well on this test, then I can look forward to, you know, she absorbs the responsibility. It's hard for you to make her a better student. All you can do is try to motivate and let go. Let go. Don't expect something that maybe isn't, you know, is too hard for her and you know what she's capable of, so push her to a point. But it's much more important about who she is, you know, her character, what kind of person she is and where she's going. They have to make their own choices. And school can be a very— it's a fun thing and the kids need that social development, but it can be a tough environment. And maybe someday she'll find something that she really loves to study. Maybe she hasn't found her passion yet. Maybe you can—

we do know her passion. She is an interior designer. She's actually really good at it. She keeps her room clean. So it is finding that out.

You know what?

I, you know, talking to you, it's interesting. So growing up, so I'm 58 years old, so we didn't have coaches either. I love it. But you didn't have a— like, you know, you would see a psychologist or a therapist, like you wouldn't— a counselor, right? You wouldn't, you wouldn't necessarily seek help. And, um, and, you know, in my business life, I needed a mentor and a coach. I didn't get that. But this is really interesting. So for parents to— because often you could talk to your friends, but then you're not really getting the kind of help and support. But reaching out to someone that you don't know Like, because this is kind of like— I didn't even think about this, Jo— Joanne, that like the kind of support that someone like yourself could really offer, because you listen and then you have such worldly advice, like really kind of like down-home good suggestions. Just in the few minutes that we were talking, in 20 minutes I've heard more ways to stretch my brain that I would have even have even thought So how does someone reach out to you to ask to get to experience what I just experienced?

Well, you know, I, I, they can, you can find a coach, you can go online and find a coach. I try to get parents to what I, what I've done in trying to do this online is I have a page on the, on the web. I have a website, but I also have, and that I'm redoing actually right now, but there's a page that people can go to and it asks some questions and offers my free guide to overcoming parent burnout, which I think every parent today is feeling. So there's a link. And if they go to that page and they submit their email, they're going to immediately get my free gift and they get to know me a little bit better. I offer some tips and suggestions. I offer a free complimentary strategy session with an individual. And then if they're interested, you, you have to find a coach that you kind of can trust and feel that the space is right. And then, then I work with them. Some people come for a couple of sessions. Other times, you know, we, we stretch it out over 8 weeks. It depends on the situation and according to what what someone needs. But that link is, is the way to, for me, to get to me. People can, you can, there are a lot of coaches out there. It's like the wild, wild west. Life coaches, relationship coaches, toxic behavior coaches. I mean, it, there's, there's a whole host of things going on out there in the, in the internet world.

I didn't realize that. Well, I think for parent empowerment coach, you're fantastic. I mean, I just, again, just a few minutes of talking to you You've kind of stretched my mind. I, I, so I'm going to send everyone that link so you'll have that link in the information and in the YouTube video. But so I have a question for you. So our growing up, I remember that kids were dropping out of high school fairly often, oddly enough. Like when I saw the '70s and '80s, it felt like there were— I remember a lot were— maybe they were going to work. This year, like 2020, are kids actually leaving school to drop out? Is that common?

I don't think it's as common as it was back then. I think the educational system has, in many, many communities across the country, has adapted a bit better to how kids learn and understanding you have to get to the kids. But I'm sure, I don't know the statistics for either truancy or dropout. But I worked for a long time at a community college and there were a lot of students who actually had to come and get a GED first. So they had dropped out in some cases, depending on the community, Adrian, it was, they had to go to work. The family, the family needed them. It depends. So I think it depends on kids' communities, how good the schools are. The schools are kind of, Some of the schools, particularly in urban areas, are pretty overwhelmed. Um, I, one of the communities I worked with when I was an administrator, um, that town, they had like 3 high schools and every, each one, every guidance counselor was in charge of like 3, over 300 kids. Well, you can't really get to 300 kids successfully and not all 300 want your help, but So for kids like that, they can go astray. You know, there is certainly some dropout, but I don't think it's in big, huge numbers. But I don't actually know the answer to that, what the statistics are. I know how many of them are depressed. I just don't know how many of them have dropped out.

But I would say that if you were a parent and you were going through that right now, that talking to you could help because again, you could talk to all your family and friends, but But talking to you, I am really a believer in coaches. I really, because you really, I just wish that I had known about it when I was younger. I feel like it would have changed my life. But here is another example where reaching out to someone like yourself, that's not a family member, that doesn't have anything but your best interests at heart and giving you some solid foundation. No, yeah, I'm a real believer. I really, really, really, I love that you focus on parent empowerment.

Yeah, I love that part too. And the other thing is that when you go to a coach, you have a stake in it. You know what I mean? It's like you are willing to work on— it's working on yourself. Because I think a lot of people find that when they come to a parent coach, when they're done with me, they feel like they know themselves better and they understand their own behavior in a way that makes them much more apt to to do a better job with their kids and to deal more comfortably and with less stress. Yeah.

So my son and I, I have a, I have a 13-year-old granddaughter. So my daughter's 14. So my daughter's niece. So, so my son and I were talking and we share the same kind of issue. And I was wondering if this is just overall, like a little bit of like selfishness or like, how do you like, so, so we were talking about I'll say, like, you know, if I go— let's say we go out to eat and we have left— like, we go out, or like, I went to Panda Express a couple weeks ago. I bought some of my favorite food, and it was fairly expensive just because we bought a lot of everything. And then my daughter piled her plate high, and then she did— which I don't love— she goes to her bedroom to eat.

Yeah.

And, um, and then she'll leave her food all night long. When she came back, and I had said to her, hey, if you're not going to eat it, we'll put it away. Like, only take what you can use. And what you can eat. And then she consistently wastes food. I guess we get to the bottom line. And then my son was telling me how his daughter had pulled out a big tray of lasagna, took some of it, and then left it out all night. Well, how do we get our kids to understand that there's other people in the world besides them?

Well, I think that's exactly why kids need boundaries and some some limits on their behavior. And I think you try to make them aware of how it made you feel. You left lasagna, you know, is there a reason why you left the lasagna out all night? Or don't you think that it's going to upset me that I'm going to waste all that lasagna? Can you tell me what you were thinking? Or can you make sure that this is not something that becomes a habit? I think just again, I go back to modeling how to do things, but there's, it's not like you have to, because you have an open relationship doesn't mean you never have to get angry or upset. It really upset me. You left the lasagna out last night. You know that it would make me happy if you would take responsibility for your late night snacking. Maybe it will bring up a conversation and there was a reason they were so distracted, they were so nervous, they were so upset that they forgot that they had left it out. Or you can teach them responsibility. It's not, you know, it doesn't grow off the trees, the money to buy and cook and the time that I spent making the lasagna, you know, be teaching them respect. I mean, there's all kinds of ways to teach respect and that's disrespecting you. And And I think that's where boundaries are necessary 'cause we need to teach our kids to respect us and to respect themselves.

Oh, Alex and I are going through that. My daughter does this, her excuse is always this, it was an accident. It was, I didn't mean, it was an accident. Mom, why are you getting mad at me when it was an accident? And I'm like, everything's an accident, Lana.

Not everything can be an accident. So be, just suggest, well, if you're having a lot of accidents, can you be more intentional about what you're doing at the time, because then you would have less accidents. Be mindful, you know, think about what you're doing. I mean, I think we all sometimes are doing a million things at once and not really paying attention to what we are doing, but it's respect, you know. I think there's—

that's very good advice.

That's really important. And again, you model that behavior, you know, and it sounds like your daughter really respects you and trusts you. So As I said, you're miles ahead of a lot of others.

Is there a book or something that Alana— like, is there— are there any books for children? Like, are there any books for teens written on how to appreciate your parents and how to like get along?

I don't know if it quite comes off that way, but there's one— there's a woman who's written— I can't remember the name of it. She writes a lot about girl teens. I think one of her books is called Untangled. You might want to check it out. I don't really off the top. I mean, I know about all the researchers who study teens like Dan Siegel and Kristen Neff there, and emotional intelligence. Mark Brackett is a great— actually, I think your daughter would enjoy that book, Permission to Feel. He tells it, he gives a lot of information in a, in a very readable way. I don't know, she's only 14, maybe, maybe, I don't know. But that's it. You, you should sort of go through it and see if anything resonates with you.

And then, you know, it's so funny when you're pregnant, you look like— I remember being pregnant, everything, what to expect, and you go through when you'll be like before you ever— with the fetus and then the born and like a 1-year-old and a 2-year-old, a 3-year-old. And then somewhere along the way, I stopped. But in talking to you, I really need to read more about teens. Like, I actually— or even like, I'm sure there's YouTube videos too.

There's a lot of podcasts out there about dealing with teens.

I can't believe that I— it's never— I'm embarrassed right now. That is really—

don't be embarrassed because we all— I mean, I stopped reading too when they got to be teenagers. You know, another thing I recommend to parents of is family meetings. Family meeting is a great tool to get everybody calm and on the same page. I recommend it to families of all, you know, siblings and your sons might want to do it with their kids and spouses. It's, you kind of like want to be twice a month, somebody different in the family is in charge of organizing the meeting, setting the agenda, and making the time and making sure everyone comes and you set the ground rules. Okay, we're all going to be— if something's bothering you, if your brother has done something to upset you, can you nicely tell him what it was? Or discuss the— be it politics or some other topic that's important to the family. And you set a time limit and everyone gets a chance to share if they wish. And then you do something fun as a family. You You eat pizza, you go watch a movie, you know, go for a walk if it's nice out. I just think it's a device for bringing everyone together and getting people to get in touch with their own emotions and what's going on in the household. And it sets a tone. I think it can set a tone and talk and respect, you know.

Oh my gosh. I— okay, I'm gonna do that. So, um, so if you're listening or if you're watching later, I want you to comment about your having family meetings. I'm going to start and then I'll, I'll keep track of it and share. That's another brilliant—

I—

you know what's funny is all these ideas, like, like, oh, okay, like it may not be rocket science, but yet it kind of is when you get stuck in that box and you forget. Yeah.

And I didn't create all these ideas, you know, I, you know, I, there's, it's not like I came up with the idea of family meetings. It's, but it's, I think it's a brilliant tool. I like to work with, with families.

Oh my God. That's really fabulous. You know what? Thank you so much. It's, these are, you're brilliant. You know what? I love that you're doing this though. And I feel like there's always a reason for everything. You know, like, everything's— are there coinkydinks in the world? Like, this feels like I was meant to talk to you today. I don't know, I need to make you understand that this conversation really helped me. So thank you so much. This is— I mean, wow. And you're right, and I should have her start reading more, uh, more books on even herself so she can understand it. My mom, when my mom was 13, my mom gave all my friends the book, um, Your Body, Yourself.

Our Bodies, Ourselves.

And she gave all— and I don't know if my mom spoke to the parents before or after, so I think there's only one parent that was really upset with my mom for giving their, you know, child a book. But everyone else really appreciated it.

Those ladies were amazing who wrote that book. They were, they were from the '60s generation, you know. I, I There's a great movie out there about those women who created that book. I can't remember what it's called. And then they did updated versions of it for years. I don't know if it's still out. Is it still out there? Have you seen it?

I don't know. I forgot about it. So we're just talking right now that, that is— that was such an important— it was the first time you're really kind of having the— you know, my daughter's so open though. Like, she's literally so open and she's very confident and Like, I'm— I was not that open with my mom. Is what she's— actually, all my children are so open with me. I'm like, sometimes I don't— I'm like, wow, because I never had that opportunity. Well, or would I have even been open?

Oh, me either. I mean, I think in my household, you know, there was a lot of anxiety, I think, in the air. And if I were upset about something, my mother was apt to say, well, don't worry, don't worry, just dismissive in essence. And so, yeah, no, I've learned to talk about feelings over the years, but I didn't do it that often growing up.

Right.

We're a different generation. In fact, my middle daughter married about 4 years ago, and she married a lovely young man whose family never talked about feelings. So she's had really done great training, and he's trained her in had a, you know, a balance of her big personality. It's worked out well. But there are a lot of families out there, I think, Adrienne, who they don't talk about how they feel. That's why Mark is right. You gotta give people permission to feel.

I love that too.

Yeah, you'll love it.

Oh my gosh. I gotta rewatch this too, 'cause you know what? You've given me some mind-blows too. And so I want to really— wow, this is really a great thing. So, you know, my husband is actually from Southbridge, Massachusetts.

Oh, okay.

Yeah. So he's got the Boston accent. So everyone hears him down here and says— and then a couple of his sisters sound like they came from like Rhode Island. So I'm like, how? One household, they have two accents. It's kind of crazy. And I was born in Connecticut. So very, very close.

You're a New Englander, really?

Yep, a New Englander down in South Florida. So I won't brag now, but when it gets up, when it gets really cold for you, I'll start. I know, I—

it's already— it's a gorgeous day here today, but it has been a little chilly for my taste. As I get older, I find the cold more difficult to take, but a lot of people do.

We're here, so it's nice meeting you. Thank you so much for your time today. I love it. All right, so I want to, um, I want to follow you on all your social media. And support anything that you're doing. So I love that. So if you have any, any events, let me know and I will send you a copy of this. And it was fantastic. Thank you for your time today. You're lovely.

Can I give you the link so that people can look for my— Okay. So I should email that to you?

Yes, please. Please. That's a gift. That's a gift right there. Wait, what was it called again?

Well, it's the link goes to my landing page, which introduces me, and then you go to my free gift. It's 5, the 5 top tips for overcoming parent burnout.

I love that. That is fabulous.

So if anyone wants to read that, it's a good read, I think I must say. Just go to my link. It's bit.ly/overcome So it's bit.ly forward slash forward slash. I always have to look. No, it's— well, that's okay.

We'll send it out. We'll send it. But so if you need help, like, that would— you should get your link on your website so that people can get on your website.

It's going to be on my website.

Yep. Oh, good. Good, good, good. That's important. Are you in the process of writing a book?

No, I, I, you know, I wrote a dissertation. That felt like a lot.

You actually would be great at this. You know what, if you're ever thinking of doing a kind of a podcast, let me know. I'll walk you through it or I'll help you. But, and then you're having guests that could talk about too with parents, right? That we need more of that. That would be fabulous.

Yeah, I'd love to do a podcast. That's right up my alley, I think.

Yeah, do it the way I do it. So it's not fancy, there's no like intro, there's no outro. If my dryer goes off or the dog poops and I got to pick it up, life happens. So that's what it is. Sometimes my daughter comes in and she'll start banging things around if she needs something. So, uh, yeah, let me know and I'll help you with anything you need. And this is great talking to you and meeting you.

I really appreciate it. So I will send you the link and you'll send me this. Because I can put this on my website too.

I love it. Thank you. I would love that. I will do a virtual handshake. Oh, I haven't done that yet. Let's try that. We'll do a virtual handshake. I don't know if it works. Let me see. Oh, that's a tough one. I don't know. I actually met someone. Oh, I love that. I met someone today and he— two men that reached out their hands to me. I'm like, Oh, okay. Nope, we're not. Like, really? I was like, that's weird because it's been kind of— I want to be shaking people's hands right now and then running to the bathroom. I have to double wash it. But anyway, remember everyone, fist bump, just out of respect. All right, thank you.

Right here. Stay well. Thank you.

Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Wonderful. Thank you.