In this episode of Suicide Prevention Saturday, the host (Brooke Cheney) opens with a light‑hearted anecdote about avoiding worms in her backyard before diving into the show’s theme, “The Things We Should Do.” She emphasizes that two‑thirds of gun‑related deaths are suicides, underscoring the importance of mental‑health conversations among gun owners. The host reflects on a hectic personal week—earning a USCCA instructor certificate, testifying at the Capitol, completing a Massachusetts teaching certification, managing a business, and caring for family—while noting how she often feels overwhelmed by the many “should‑do” items on her plate. She urges listeners to give themselves grace, prioritize self‑care, and stop beating themselves up for unmet expectations. The monologue also highlights community work, including an interview with a guest (G23) who shared his suicide story, and a call to assist veterans using therapy‑horse programs. Throughout, she weaves in logistical notes about weather, technical glitches, and upcoming lineup plans, ending with a prompt for the audience to consider what they criticize themselves for and how they can better care for their mental health.
Chapters
Ta-da! All right, so as you can see, I am not in my office. Do you know why I'm not in my office? Because there's worms outside. Yes, that's why. There are worms. Oh, hold on, hold on, my timer thingy just came on and I'm going to fix this and then we will get to Suicide Prevention Saturday. So, um, hold please. I don't know if you guys can hear the thing that I am turning off right now, but it'll be off in just a second. And yes, just like that. The phone, it does so much. So anyway, um, hi everyone. Hey Tara, I was wondering if you're gonna be here. I was actually gonna text you, but obviously I didn't do that because what did— what, what is the The, the title tonight is The Things We Should Do. Um, so anyway, hi everyone, it is Saturday night, it is Suicide Prevention Saturday. And why do we gather here every day— not every day, oh, that'd be a lot— uh, every week to, um, talk about suicide prevention and do what we can to raise awareness? Because as gun owners, we need to make sure everybody knows that two Every 3 gun deaths you hear about are a suicide. And if we want to help people save lives, we need to talk about mental health and suicide prevention. Hi, G-Webs. Oh yeah, so, um, yeah, so there's Tara. Because I forget, like, if I don't click on the things, then that means that people who are watching on Facebook and in other places won't know that I'm really not just talking to myself. So anywho, all right, so tonight, well, first of all, let's talk about the fact that I won't step on worms. I think that's important to understand. It is raining here in New England right now, and, um, it's spring and there's peepers out there. And, uh, and it's just like, I was down the office and I had to come up here to grab something, and I stopped like I was in a minefield. Because all the worms are everywhere, all over the yard. And I'm like, I don't want to squish them. And so like, I'm literally— I'm standing there trying to figure out where can I— where can I step because they're everywhere. Um, so by the time I got back up here, like dodging the worm, uh, fest in the backyard, and just like, I'm not going down there because it's still raining and they're still everywhere. Um, I mean, they retract pretty quick when they feel you coming, but no, I am just not stepping on worms to be in my office so that I'm well lit and all of that. So here we are. Excuse our friends on Saturday. What should we do? Hmm. All right, so for those of you who read the description, wherever you're looking at it, um, this weekend is about what should you do. Um, sorry, I'm laughing at Tara. Escape the ice planet Hoth. Yeah. Has this not been the craziest week ever? Um, Wednesday morning I wake up to like 2 or 3 inches of snow outside. I'm like, what is going on here? I literally sent my, um, students an email saying Mother Nature is drunk. If you don't like the weather, we can reschedule because my range is outdoors. Um, so yeah, it's a moo. Hello, 2 Live Boo. Um, Where is that barbecue? Because Tulip Mew and barbecue would go together well. I told him he didn't have to come because, as you can see, I do not have my special guest this evening, which I was hoping to have. But, um, Mr. Maxwell will have to join us on another weekend because he's at a birthday party instead. All right, so what should we do? What am I talking about? Well, if you are like me, and I believe that we all have something in common, if it's not just firearms or wanting to do suicide prevention or thinking and talking about mental health and wanting to enjoy life. I mean, there's lots of things that we all have in common. And so what should we do? Well, here's the thing: we should stop shoulding all over the place. I put too much stuff on my plate, and then I'm surprised that I can't get it done, and then I get overwhelmed. And so I was talking to Barbecue earlier this week. He's like, so what have you been up to? And I'm like, March was a crazy day. And a crazy day, yeah, March was a month, but it kind of felt like it got compressed into a day. So let's see, I got my USCCA certificate for instructor, I testified at the Capitol twice in that same week, I also got my Massachusetts certification to be able to teach mass And I've been running my regular business and being a mom and being a wife, not being a good cleaning housewife though. No, not really. And I'm not doing things that I should, right? I'm not necessarily, um, doing all my exercise in the morning. I am not necessarily taking all my vitamins. I am not doing lots of things that I quote unquote should be doing. So what happens when we think we should be doing stuff that we're not doing? Most of us are disappointed. Most of us don't give ourselves grace, but I can almost hear you all on the other side. Well, of course you're busy. You're fine. You should be able to do the things that you need to do. And it's so funny because like Tara, I know, um, well, I don't know. I sort of know. Has like a crazy busy schedule, driving and all that sort of stuff. And, you know, we all get the stuff done that we need to get done. We need to feed ourselves, we need to drink, we need to wash ourselves, and all of those bodily function things have to happen. And we do the things that we need to do, and we need to give ourselves grace so that we're not beating ourselves up for the things we should be doing. So, um, why was I talking about this? Well, because my son was supposed to be here and I had a whole plan because he is working on his, uh, what is that, that Boy Scout thing, the Eagle Scout project. And there's lots of things that we should be doing to finish that up. And it's just so amazing how our busy, crazy lives— because we're always busy and we're always crazy. Well, we're not always crazy. Are we always crazy? Depends on your point of view, I would imagine. So, um, that's that. I'm sorry, I lost my DJ somehow or another, so I forgot I have to put my, my banner up. Um, I was all excited because I actually had, um, I actually had all these links up ahead of time. So what do you guys think of the lineup? Have you seen it? I put all of April up, and it's not even April Fool's joke. I actually put them all up ahead of time so you guys can see them. And I'm always looking for ideas. Now here's the thing, last week you guys got to watch G23. What an amazing interview that was, at least in my mind. I am just so honored that he shared his story with us for the first time ever. And we really still do hope that his mom doesn't watch that because, you know, I don't think I want to be the one telling her that her son was suicidal. No, not really. But how great of it— how great was it that he came out to, uh, share with us? So with that, I would say that that was a really intense weekend between my instructor class, that interview, and then Sunday night I'm ready to go to bed, I'm ready to take Monday off, do nothing. I get a phone call, ring ring. What happens? Oh hey, Brooke, we got some veterans who might need some help. And I'm like, okay, what can I do for you? And there was a gentleman who we later found out, uh, died unexpectedly. And he was leading a group of veterans who were at a horse barn— that is, you know, therapy horses, that sort of stuff. And they're like, okay, great, can you come help out. So I'm like, okay. So we do so many things, and we should do lots of things because we should contribute to society, but we need to make sure that we're taking care of us. So why am I telling all this? Same as always, how does it relate to your life? What are some of the things that you beat yourself up for, for not doing? But not necessarily give yourself credit for the things you are doing. Because mental health starts with us, and you have to take care of you. I have to take care of me, and together we get a lot of stuff done because none of us can do it all, but all of us can do something. Now, I almost forgot, we have really bad weather, so if I disappear, I may have lost— I may have lost power. Um, we have thunderstorms and all that sort of fun stuff this weekend. So with that, um, oh my gosh, there's so much exciting stuff. I keep forgetting about other things. So if you guys want to hear more, I
