FEELING THINGS: Flower Walks, Future Letters To Self & Who Dies Happiest (Surprise!)

Summary

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The Bobby Bones Show: FEELING THINGS – Flower Walks, Future Letters To Self & Who Dies Happiest (Surprise!)

Episode Date: March 15, 2026
Hosts: Amy & Kat

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Episode Overview

This lively, heartfelt episode of Feeling Things explores embracing feelings—whether they’re mundane, whimsical, or profound. Amy and Kat riff on everything from spring rituals and favorite newsletters to a surprising study about happiness and mortality among people who never marry or have kids. Personal stories, laughter, memorable quotes, and practical takeaways all make this episode both entertaining and meaningful.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Feelings of the Day & TV Tangents

• Kat admits to feeling lethargic after a binge weekend of TV while her husband was away, leading to nostalgia-driven shows and failed attempts at trying new series.
  • "I went back to watch the Real Housewives... scraping the bottom of the barrel." (03:29)
• Amy checks in on Kat’s viewing habits—“Are you watching Paradise? Love Story? Love is Blind?”—and they share opinions on the overwhelming physicality of certain shows.
  • “Some of these shows are highly physical, sexual. I can take it or leave it. But like, sometimes it’s just like... okay.” (04:36)

2. Newsletter Love & Whimsy Practices

• Amy shares gratitude for the Weekly Whimsy newsletter by Anna Voss, a country artist, highlighting its uplifting nature and alliterative charm.
  • “More whimsy, less worry. That’s the talk that I gave on the cruise.” (06:58)
• Listener feedback underscores the real impact of their podcast newsletter, especially around themes of waiting to worry and navigating hard parental seasons.

How to Sign Up

• Newsletter can be accessed via the podcast’s Instagram bio, by email, or Facebook page. Persistent issues with Shopify’s email deliverability are discussed humorously.

3. Three “Whimsies for the Week” (Anna Voss’s Suggestions)

[09:13] Amy:

• Go for a flower walk: Notice how many kinds of flowers are in plain sight—or pick another object to spot on a walk. Amy connects with a therapeutic activity: intentionally searching for heart-shaped leaves.

  • “My therapist once gave me an activity to go...intentionally look for leaves that are shaped like hearts.” (09:26)

• Watch the sunset: Take note of what’s different as the days grow longer; consider how this affects your evening routine.

• Write an email to yourself: Schedule it to arrive a year in the future. Include thoughts, hopes, and even your favorite song or show, depending on your mood.

  • Kat shares her experience of writing herself a letter during therapy training: “It was really special because I was in a...dark place too. When I wrote that letter. It was cool to see like a year later.” (13:37)

4. Music Ruts & Radio Chat

• Amy gushes about Ella Langley’s songs “Be Her” and “Choosing Texas,” and how sons can shape emotional experience.
  • “I just want to be her so bad. It hurts so bad...” (14:45)
• Kat reveals a temporary burnout with music, driving in silence, and Amy encourages her to try the radio, highlighting how generational listening habits are evolving.

5. Deep Dives: Quotes & Spring Metaphors

• Two quotes from Anna Voss’s newsletter spark discussion:
  • “In March, the earth remembers its own name.” (23:33) —After analysis, this Mary Oliver line is seen as a metaphor for seasonal renewal.
  • “Spring will come, and so will happiness. Hold on. Life will get warmer.” (24:17)
• Kat shares a favorite Mary Oliver quote about finding gifts in dark times:
  • “Someone once handed me a box full of darkness. I found out this too, is a gift.”
• Amy introduces Dan Harris’s “Yes, thank you” mantra—accepting all circumstances as gifts or teachers, even when reluctant.
  • “He just says, yes, yes, thank you...what is this sparing me from? Or what is this teaching me?” (25:41)

6. Surprising Study: Who Dies Happiest?

[29:56] Kat:

• Kat brings in a Psychology Today article on the “good deaths” of never-married people, challenging assumptions about marriage, kids, and end-of-life satisfaction.
  • “People who have never married generally fared as well as, if not better than married people.” (31:43)
• Study findings (Boston University, 12 years, Medicare recipients 65+ at death):
  • Never-married people had less sadness or anxiety at the end of life (62% vs. 41–44% for others).
  • Having children made little difference to quality of life in the last month.
  • Never-married persons also reported less pain at life’s end.

Discussion:

• The hosts reflect on family caregiving, expectations, and the importance of intentionally building community and friendships regardless of relationship status.
  • “Because people who are single don’t have the one, they end up having the ones—multiple.” (37:06)
  • “Keeping those relationships intact is very important.” (39:24)

7. Personal Family Care Experiences

• Amy shares stories about caring for her aging parents and the mix of feelings, especially when dealing with the legacy of complicated childhood relationships and eventual forgiveness.
  • “It’s almost like you kind of want to just like...throw everything down and...walk out and be like, yeah, where were you? But now we’re here.” (48:46)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• “In March, the earth remembers its own name.” (23:33, from Mary Oliver — dissected and tied to the theme of renewal)
• “Spring will come, and so will happiness. Hold on. Life will get warmer.” (24:17)
• Kat: “Someone once handed me a box full of darkness. I found out this too, is a gift.” (25:15, Mary Oliver)
• Amy: “Yes, thank you, can transform your life. Even if it’s at first through gritted teeth.” (27:09)
• On “Who Takes Care of You?” Kat: “We can’t assume someone’s going to take care of us just because we have kids. Turns out, people without kids fare just as well, if not better.” (40:13)
• Listener Lindsay: “Please never change that. Never edit [Shannon’s background laugh] out, because it is amazing. It makes me smile.” (51:46)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:29 Kat’s “Feelings of the Day” and TV binge confession
• 06:58 Amy’s gratitude for Anna Voss’s Weekly Whimsy & newsletter shout-outs
• 09:13 Anna’s whimsies: flower walk, sunset, email to yourself (with experiences)
• 13:37 Kat’s therapeutic letter-from-the-past story
• 23:33 Spring quotes discussion and deeper meaning explored
• 25:41 “Yes, thank you” philosophy from Dan Harris
• 29:56 “Who Dies Happiest?”—study and surprising findings
• 37:06 Community and “the ones” vs. “the one”
• 39:24 The importance of maintaining friendships as we age
• 47:31–49:53 Amy’s personal family caregiving experiences and reflections
• 51:46 Listener voicemail about loving the laughter and behind-the-scenes vibes

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Takeaways & Calls to Action

• Try the weekly whimsies: Go for a walk and observe something specific, intentionally watch a sunset, and write a letter to your future self.
• Practice “yes, thank you” as a way to reframe challenges or discomfort as opportunities for growth or gratitude—even if it’s tough.
• Reconsider societal assumptions around marriage, children, and what “the good death” or a happy old age means.
• Intentionally nurture relationships beyond your romantic or family ties; community is vital at every age.
• Share your feedback or stories: The hosts invite emails and voicemails to keep the podcast interactive.

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Episode Tone & Style

Warm, conversational, and honest—Amy and Kat blend sincerity and wit, balancing talk of light routines and reality TV with weighty life themes, laughter, and personal vulnerability. Listeners can expect both comfort and inspiration to “feel things” more deeply in their own lives.

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Transcript

[Kat]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Amy]

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[Kat]

Ladies and fellas, we just follow in

[Amy]

the spirit where it tell us from the real stuff to the chill stuff and the in between. Sometimes the best thing you can do is just stop and feel things.

[Kat]

This is Feeling Things with Amy and Kat.

[Amy]

Happy Tuesday. Welcome to Feeling Things. I'm Amy.

[Kat]

And I'm Kat.

[Amy]

And we both have feelings of the day. You want an eeny meeny miny moe or you just go?

[Kat]

I'll just go. Okay. Mine's not that exciting. I'm feeling lethargic because my husband was out of town this weekend, and I think I've consumed more TV in the past three days than I have in, like, the past six months. Like, I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel right now. I went back to watch the Real Housewives. I haven't watched the Real Housewives probably since I was in college.

[Amy]

Okay, question.

[Kat]

Yes.

[Amy]

Are you watching Paradise?

[Kat]

Yes.

[Amy]

Okay, so you're caught up. Are you watching Love Story?

[Kat]

Yes.

[Amy]

You're caught up. Okay.

[Kat]

Pit caught up. Traitors. Caught up. Love is blind caught up.

[Amy]

Oh, yeah. You see? You really are.

[Kat]

You're looking for finished first episode of Broad Church. Great. Loved it. Started the second episode or the second season.

[Amy]

Bridgerton.

[Kat]

I don't think that's my jam. Yeah. I also started the first episode of Tell Me Lies also. Don't think that's going to be my jam.

[Amy]

That's not my jam. I tried. I tried. Well, and that's sort of my thing with Bridgerton. Okay. Ear muffs for kids. You say, like sometimes if kids are listening. But this also isn't bad at all. Some of these shows are highly physical, sexual.

[Kat]

Yeah, yeah.

[Amy]

And I'm like, I don't have to like, okay. I can take it or leave it. But like, sometimes it's just like, okay,

[Kat]

I don't really enjoy watching is very long.

[Amy]

And now I just. We could. Which I know some people are like, oh, my gosh, that's my favorite part. I don't know.

[Kat]

Okay. Did you try to watch. He did Rivalry. No, I tried to watch that because one of my clients was like, catherine, you would love it. And Meanwhile, she's like 24 25. She was like, you would love it. You would binge it in, like a day. And I was like, okay, I'll watch it. So I put on the first episode, and I'm not kidding. There was a sex scene that lasted 15, 20 minutes. Oh, no, I'm not kidding. I haven't fast forwarded it, but I was like, well, now it feels like this is half of the show. So I've just skipped through half of the first episode.

[Amy]

And, yeah, I already determined that probably wasn't gonna be my thing, but that's why I don't. I haven't gotten. I tried Tell me lies. And then also. And tell me lies. They're in college. So then I feel like I'm watching 18 year olds.

[Kat]

Oh, yeah. Inappropriate. It feels weird. Yeah.

[Amy]

I'm like. And I guess now I'm a mom of an 18 year old, and I'm like, thinking of, like, my daughter if she were off at college. And I'm like, she better not meet a guy like that. Geez.

[Kat]

Well, I only watched the first 40 minutes of the first episode, so it's not too bad, but I know I can tell where it's going. Yeah, it goes there. I just wanted to try something that wasn't reality tv, and it backfired on me.

[Amy]

Yeah.

[Kat]

So that's why I'm watching the Real Housewives.

[Amy]

Okay. Yeah. Well, I am feeling grateful.

[Kat]

Oh, okay.

[Amy]

Specifically for Anna Voss's newsletter. Now, she's a female country artist, and I signed up for her newsletter, which she calls the weekly whimsy newsletter.

[Kat]

That's right up your alley.

[Amy]

And I think it goes out on Wednesdays, So, you know, I love that.

[Kat]

A weekly Wednesday whimsy newsletter.

[Amy]

You know, I love alliteration. And I thought I would share with y' all the most recent email I got from Anna with three whimsies for the week, because I thought these whimsies were great. And we've talked about being whimsy here on the podcast for a long time. Like, maybe even. Was that back on the fifth thing before we even.

[Kat]

Yeah, it was. Yeah.

[Amy]

So more whimsy, less worry. That's the talk that I gave my health and wellness talk that I gave on the cruise. And when I saw her whimsies, I was like, oh, I'm gonna pull this. Give Anna Voss a shout out. Because not only is she an awesome artist, her voice is great. You can Google her, check out her music, check her out on socials, and then if you do find her, sign up for her newsletter, and you'll get her weekly whimsy newsletter. And oh, speaking of our newsletter, I will shout out before I read the whimsies. We got an email from Elizabeth from our about our latest newsletter that went out about Waiting to Worry. I believe that was the title of the newsletter was Wait to Worry. And she sent us an email that said, oh, my goodness. This newsletter came at the perfect time. We are in a very hard season with one of our children. I have so much to worry about him. You know, like, what will happen when or what will happen if. But I need to wait to worry. Take everything one day at a time. I truly teared up when I read the email as it hit so close to home and was exactly what I needed today. Thank you. Thank you. So shout out. If you haven't signed up for our newsletter, you can, you can. How?

[Kat]

I always forget on our Instagram in the bio. And then you can email us and I can send you the link. It's also on the Facebook page.

[Amy]

So in our Instagram is Feeling Things podcast. And then if you want to email us, it's hey [e-mail] which we did also have an email this week of someone. And this isn't the first time we've had this where they're like, I signed up and I still haven't received an email. So our only recommendation to that is to check your spam or your promotion. You know, like on my Gmail, it's divided. Like, I've got promotional emails and then junk mail.

[Kat]

And then I also will put say this, if anybody has insider information on Shopify's marketing emails, let me know because it will say some of the people that are emailing me, it says they're subscribed.

[Amy]

Yeah, because you've checked.

[Kat]

Yes. And I'm like, I don't know how to fix this.

[Amy]

And then we feel bad. So I don't know. Don't give up. Keep trying. Okay, now, do you want Anna's whimsies for the week?

[Kat]

Yeah.

[Amy]

Okay. Whimsy one. She said, go for a flower walk and see how many different kinds of flowers you can spot. This whimsy is from my mom. It's amazing how many different kinds of flowers are hiding in plain sight, in joy. So shout out Anna's mom for that whimsical activity. My therapist once gave me an activity to go when I'm on a walk, intentionally look for leaves that are shaped like hearts.

[Kat]

I know who said that.

[Amy]

Yeah, yeah, shout out. And it was crazy how many I

[Kat]

found and how Many. Because she's always been that way. She used to collect rocks in the shape of hearts. She probably still does. And she would have them in her office. And now she. I'll see all kinds of things in the shape of heart, like spill. Like you spill something. Like a splatter of something, or like, I don't know, random shapes that you just look at differently.

[Amy]

In my hardwood, in my kitchen, there's a little smiley face. Cute. Like, it's really cute. And so I think this. The point of this one is while it's a flower walk activity, you could turn it into any kind of walk that you want.

[Kat]

Yeah.

[Amy]

Of like, looking for specific things.

[Kat]

I went on a date with somebody a long, long time ago. It was my worst date I've ever been on.

[Amy]

Yeah.

[Kat]

Do you know what I'm going to say?

[Amy]

Yeah. I remember he was like that Target guy.

[Kat]

Yes. Yes.

[Amy]

Yeah.

[Kat]

He. I asked him what he liked to do for fun, and he. He said, I like to walk around and smell flowers. Yeah. We have different ideas of fun. He also called me a basic white base B word because I shop at Target. And he said, he doesn't shop. He only shops local. And I was like, okay.

[Amy]

Wow.

[Kat]

He also wore flip flops, and it was like, February.

[Amy]

Oh, no.

[Kat]

It was cold outside. Yeah. Interesting.

[Amy]

I think it's. The overall vibe was just terrible. I mean, those reasons alone are a little weird. I mean, going around and smelling flowers for fun is fine in itself, but I think he had the other stuff, other things that made that.

[Kat]

Yeah.

[Amy]

Made that a bigger ew than it is.

[Kat]

Yeah. At the end of the day, I said, well, this is fun. And he said, was it? And I said, no, it wasn't. He knew when I said this was fun. It was just kind of like. I didn't know what else to say. He was like, was it? And I was like, you're right. No, this is not fun.

[Amy]

So I take it. Did y' all ever talk again after that at all?

[Kat]

I think that I, like, blocked him after that. He. It was like, not. He was very combative. It was very weird.

[Amy]

Well, it sounds like it if you're like, oh, I shop at Target. And he was like, yeah, from.

[Kat]

From the jump.

[Amy]

Basic white B. Yeah.

[Kat]

You just call me a name.

[Amy]

Whimsy number two whimsy event for the week. Piggybacking off of last week's Whimsy She Wrote. Shoot. I don't know what that was because I wasn't signed up for her newsletter yet.

[Kat]

We need.

[Amy]

I missed out on a Whimsy.

[Kat]

Yeah.

[Amy]

Watch the sunset one day this week. What do you notice that's different about the sun as it sets, sets later. What about yourself? How has your evening routine changed with the light? Which I could may. I could watch. Try to be intentional about watching the sunset or going on a sunset walk. Double whimsy. Looking for heart shaped leaves or flowers while I walk into the sunset. I bet if I had to guess the one from the week before was to watch a sunrise.

[Kat]

Oh.

[Amy]

Oh.

[Kat]

What time would that be? But now it's later. Yeah, but you could do it.

[Amy]

Yeah, you could still do it. Even if it was the earlier one,

[Kat]

you could do it. But a sunset would be better for the schedule.

[Amy]

True, true, true. Okay, final whimsy for the week. Write an email to yourself and schedule it to send a year from now. What do you think your future self needs to hear? What do you hope your future self is experiencing that you're not? Plus include your current favorite song so that you can go back and listen. I feel like you said no, that's separate.

[Kat]

Oh, okay. Sorry. I thought she was saying with that in the email. I love that. Have you ever done that before?

[Amy]

Emailed myself?

[Kat]

No, like had a letter. You've written a letter and then later it's sent to you? No, I did it when I did training to be an adventure therapist. Something I never thought I would be doing. And when we did our training, it was like in the woods and they had us like go out somewhere by ourselves and like write a letter to ourselves experience. And then I forgot about it and they mailed it to us a year later. I think I still have it. It was really special because I was in a. Also I think a dark place too. When I wrote that letter. It was cool to see like a year later.

[Amy]

Yeah, I can see how that would be very therapeutic. I'm actually like trying to think have. It sounds like an activity. Surely with all my therapy that I've done.

[Kat]

Yeah, a lot of people will do it. We did it, but I don't. We did it in treat. When I worked in treatment, we would have people write a letter a year from now to themselves. One, two letters. Actually we would send both of them. One, if they relapse. What do you need to hear from yourself, from your recovery self now? And two, if you're still in recovery, like how do you want to cheer yourself on too? So that was really cool. And those letters when. Because we would send them a year later. Sometimes clients would come back to treatment after they got their Letter because it would, like, reawaken them. Yeah, so.

[Amy]

Oh, pretty cool. No, I like that. And I like that she said, include your current favorite song, which what is. You know what I am jamming out to right now so hard. I listened to it while I was getting ready this morning. Ella Langley, be her.

[Kat]

So I don't listen to a lot of country music, so I don't know that song. Okay, so maybe I'll listen to it.

[Amy]

I just want to be her so bad. It hurts so bad. It hurts so bad. I just want to be hurt. No. Well, I don't know that it's sad, but it's. She drinks wine by the glass, not by the bottle.

[Kat]

Oh, good for her. Is it about being somebody? Like, is it, like, somebody who's dating somebody she loves, or is it, like, about being a different version?

[Amy]

I think when I heard Ella, like, maybe explaining it in an interview, when they sat down for the right. It was like they were describing some girl, and there they already had a title of, like, be her or a line like that. And she just started, like, singing along, like, oh, I just want to be her. So bad at her. It's like describing, like, someone that you look to them and you're like, oh, I want to be them.

[Kat]

Yeah.

[Amy]

She drinks wine by the glass. She smokes one on vacation. Rolls over every morning to the love of her life.

[Kat]

Oh, that's cute.

[Amy]

She's a mother now. I can't catch the tune in my head right now. If you can't tell which I've been tuned. I know. But if someone's listening right now and they're like, I know that song. You sell nothing like it, but I was listening to it all weekend, and then this morning, I put it on on repeat, but I'm still not over. Ella's choosing Texas because that song is also such a jam. And I'm not over that one being amazing. But she's already put out this next banger, so I'm like, okay, I think I'm loving what Ella Langley has going on. So do you have a favorite song right now?

[Kat]

So I'm actually in a weird spot with music where it all is annoying me right now.

[Amy]

Well, maybe you could email yourself your favorite TV show. Like, instead of song in your email,

[Kat]

it's like, what email? Yeah. Yeah, I can do that.

[Amy]

And you just said you watch so much tv.

[Kat]

Do you ever get like that where, like, at all music annoys me because I listen to the same stuff. I've, like, listened to too much of it. So I've been driving in silence because I'm just like, I don't want to hear that song again. But I also don't know where else to go because I, like, have my. Like, I listen to this playlist or.

[Amy]

What about the radio?

[Kat]

I've never thought to turn on my radio. Cool.

[Amy]

It's just my main job. But.

[Kat]

No, but you have a podcast too. Your show is on a podcast.

[Amy]

My bread and butter is a radio show.

[Kat]

Like, if you.

[Amy]

That's where, like.

[Kat]

But I listen. But if I listened to that show, I would listen to it on your podcast version.

[Amy]

True.

[Kat]

It isn't that same.

[Amy]

And on the podcast, you can't hear music, though.

[Kat]

Oh, but also, country music isn't where I'm gonna want to go.

[Amy]

Okay, well, turn on the river. Turn on pop. Yeah, I mean, I get it. There's commercials. There's a different way of consuming music, but it's still a way to, like, get introduced to what is popular or hear a fun throwback. Like, there's a. I don't know if it's like HD2 or HD3. It's an option in my car where I can listen to.

[Kat]

What's HD mean?

[Amy]

It's like the type of. I don't know how to explain it. It's not. I don't know if it's necessarily quality related or just it gives you access. Like, on, like, say, locally. We're the big 98, which is 98.9 on the FM dial, but you can go to 98.9 on HD 2, and it's a totally different station. And then on HD 3, a totally different station that plays, like, classic country. So I like to turn that one on because it's like I'm listening to the same radio dial, but I'm going back to country classics, like 90s.

[Kat]

Do all cars have it?

[Amy]

I don't know.

[Kat]

Okay. I. I haven't turned the radio on in so long, I have no idea what you're talking about.

[Amy]

I would imagine you have a newer car, so. I would think so.

[Kat]

Yeah. I'll. I'll test it out.

[Amy]

I feel like I'm just picturing that, like, movie where he was like, tune in Tokyo.

[Kat]

What? I don't know you're talking about.

[Amy]

You probably don't know that one either. I don't know. That one's really old, but kids these days probably don't even.

[Kat]

They for sure aren't listening to the radio. Right?

[Amy]

I mean, unless they're listening with their parents. Now, my son is in eighth grade and some of his friends listen to our radio show. But that's because their parents listen while they're driving to school. And I assume they're actually listening to the radio dial and not the podcast while they're driving to school.

[Kat]

Right?

[Amy]

And if it's their parents, because they're

[Kat]

probably going to listen to it as it's happening.

[Amy]

Like live.

[Kat]

Yeah,

[Amy]

Health insurance should make getting care easier, but sometimes it can feel like the opposite. That's why UnitedHealthcare is committed to putting care at the heart of health insurance, with empathy, transparency, and real human connection. I mean, doesn't care feel different when it's personal? When you can tell that the person on the other end of the phone, the screen, and the Service genuinely cares? UnitedHealthcare is working to make that happen every day. They're also helping people make healthcare decisions with confidence, giving them the information they need to better understand their benefits, costs and claims. Because UnitedHealthcare knows when you understand that stuff, you can better get the care you and your family need. You know, care can show up in a lot of ways, and everyone at UnitedHealthcare is committed to bringing it every day. Learn more about how UnitedHealthcare is committed to [e-mail] care

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[Amy]

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[Kat]

Wait, what? I was about to ask you what it meant. I thought you had some like insider info.

[Amy]

I read the second one. I just was like, okay, sp Spring. Okay. The quote is sprinkled. Okay. This is the quote that I actually read. And I assumed that they would both go with the flow, but, I mean. And you thought they were part of what you're supposed to email to yourself. Okay. Spring will come, and so will happiness. Hold on. Life will get warmer.

[Kat]

That's beautiful. But can we go back to the other clue, please?

[Amy]

Maybe this is from a book.

[Kat]

Is there a book called Warm Moon

[Amy]

In March? The earth remembers its own name.

[Kat]

Why? If you had to guess what that meant, like, if it was. Your life depended on it. You have to tell me. What does that mean in March?

[Amy]

The earth, remember? Maybe it's. Are things thawing out in March and, like, flowers are blooming and the earth is remembering? I am. Like, you've gone through winter and new things are sprouting. I don't know. That's my best guess. What's yours? Yeah, she says it's from Mary Oliver Worm Moon.

[Kat]

I don't know. But there is a quote by Mary Oliver that really helped me out in a dark time. May I share it with you?

[Amy]

Obviously, please.

[Kat]

And actually, a therapist who was my boss at the time said this to me when I was going through a. A breakup. I'm gonna. I might not say exactly correctly, but it's. Someone once handed me a box full of darkness. I found out this, too, is a gift. So he was saying, like, somebody gave you this box full of darkness. Somebody broke your heart. In time, you're gonna find out that that was a gift. And, boy, was it the best gift anybody has ever given me.

[Amy]

That reminds me of a Dan Harris thing. Like, he was interviewing somebody, and it popped up as a real option for me. And I guess Dan was interviewing a guy who uses the phrase, yes, thank you in all things. And that reminds me of that where, like, he used an example of maybe you're at the airport and your flight gets canceled, and he just says, yes, yes, thank you. Yes, my flight is canceled. Yes, thank you. Because what does that say? Something in that is a gift. Like, okay, well, we have that question. What's now possible from this? Or what is this sparing me from? Or what is this teaching me? Like, it's either a moment to practice patience or to avoid who knows what if you had been on that flight, which maybe it wasn't even gonna happen on the flight, but it would get you on the road that would take you somewhere else, or just give you an opportunity to meet somebody that you otherwise wouldn't have met. Like, either way, there's a. Even the box of darkness is a gift. So that simple statement for this particular guy that Dan was interviewing, and I don't know who it was, but he just said, yes, thank you, has transformed his life.

[Kat]

Yeah.

[Amy]

Three words, yes, comma, thank you in all things. And that's not.

[Kat]

That's some busy. Yeah.

[Amy]

But I would imagine, too, the more you do it. So, yeah. Like, even in a breakup, a simple yes, thank you.

[Kat]

Can you imagine if somebody broke up with you and you're like, yes, thank you. You'd say to yourself, not to the person out loud.

[Amy]

Yeah, well. And I don't know that. I mean, you also don't. I don't know that I would always say it with such gratitude, like, yeah, such like, yes, thank you. Yeah. Sometimes I might say begrudgingly, sort of like. But still just the discipline of saying it, maybe making it a little mantra till it becomes true, because you may not believe yourself at first. Of course, this isn't a yes, thank you. This is a huge inconvenience, and this hurts, and it's painful and it's disruptive, and I'm annoyed and frustrated and, yes, thank you. Yes, thank you.

[Kat]

Yeah.

[Amy]

Well, I'm so glad that something fruitful came from the fact that I just threw those. Well, I really wanted to read the whimsies, and I was like, oh, I'll throw those two quotes in. Because she just threw them at the end of the email. Like, two quotes to tuck away. But now Shannon has looked up the meaning of. In March, the earth Remembers its Own Name. And I'm sure it's going to be powerful. And we're going to be like, maybe the Earth Remembers Its Own Name signifies the seasonal awakening of nature, where thawing soil and reappearing earthworms signal the end of winter. It captures the quiet, inevitable return of life, growth, and identity to the land after a long, cold, dormant, icy period.

[Kat]

You were kind of right.

[Amy]

I was kind of right, huh? Deep.

[Kat]

Very deep.

[Amy]

It was just too deep for us at the beginning. I think we got there. Well, maybe in the. The full poem there's more. We would. If that. That's a line from the poem.

[Kat]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'd be interested. I guess she included it because this was in the email, Right. This is in the newsletter. She included it because spring is springing

[Amy]

and like a walkway, it's March.

[Kat]

I guess it's March.

[Amy]

Yeah, it's March. And maybe she. I mean, also, Anna's a songwriter, so

[Kat]

she probably gets things a little bit differently.

[Amy]

She's. She's deep.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Yeah.

[Amy]

Words are her thing. So I could see, like her in a song being like in March. The earth remembers its own name. Spring will come and so will happiness. So hold on.

[Kat]

That's her next big song.

[Amy]

Life will get warmer. The. That quote is from the second quote. The spring will come and so will happiness. Hold on. Life will get warmer is Ana Kan.

[Kat]

I would have said Annika, but I don't think I'm right.

[Amy]

Oh, no, you could totally be right.

[Kat]

But Anika would be two ends, right? We'll never know.

[Amy]

Well, we have. We have it covered.

[Kat]

Speaking of names that I can't pronounce. Yes. I was going to say, speaking of names I can't pronounce, I came across something very interesting that I would like to share with you. And you don't know what I'm going to say.

[Amy]

No, I do not. Okay.

[Kat]

So I found this study, you know, we love studies, and it was in an article, the good deaths of people who never marry. So this caught my eye. This is on Psychology Today. It's caught my eye.

[Amy]

The good what?

[Kat]

The good deaths. D, E A T H. The good deaths. Yes.

[Amy]

Okay.

[Kat]

I feel like there is this rhetoric or there are these responses or there are these things that people assume and think of people who are married versus single in life and in an old age and people who have kids and who have. Don't have kids. Like, I hear a lot when people are talking about, like, because not everybody wants kids. And when people are talking about like, I don't want to have kids, like, that's not part of my story. Whatever people will say to them, I well, who's going to take care of you when you're older? Have you heard this?

[Amy]

Yeah.

[Kat]

Which is very rude, but I get where they're coming from. So this study, it was in. Again, this is a article and we'll link it in the show notes. The article is just talking about the study that was done at Boston University. There were two social science scientists and this is what I can't pronounce. I'm going to try my best. K. It's my mound.

[Amy]

I mean, sorry, your guess is as good as mine.

[Kat]

And Deborah Carr. That one was easy. So they analyzed data from 12 years of nationally representative samples of U. S. Medicare beneficiaries who are 65 or older when they die. So they took 12 years of data from people who were 65 or older when they died, and they reported that people who have never married generally fared as well as, if not better than married people.

[Amy]

What?

[Kat]

Yes.

[Amy]

I'm shocked.

[Kat]

They also found that people who had no children were no different from parents in the quality of their life in their last month. So this was so interesting to me.

[Amy]

But who cared for them? No, really.

[Kat]

I'll get to it. Okay, well, good.

[Amy]

Well, I. I don't have biological children, but we adopted. And I still wonder who's going to care for me. Well, because I don't know. I mean, maybe they will. Maybe they will. I. As someone where my sister and I were the caregivers to our parents towards the end of their life, Like, I'm talking. Yes. We had to bathe them, we had to clothe them, carry them. Like, there's a lot that goes into that. So, of course, when I was doing that with my parents, I was thinking, my sister's good. She has four biological children. They're all gonna do it. They're great. They're gonna. They're gonna be awesome. My kids are great. However, I don't know where we are for sure. For sure on that attachment. So I often wonder what that will look like for me down the line.

[Kat]

But also, like, what if you didn't have kids? Like, then that's what that. Well, I think that's that, like, assumption that, like, if you don't have kids, there will be nobody. And that's proven to not be true.

[Amy]

Okay, well, see, but my dad was. Even once I put him. Sounds like it put him somewhere. We all agreed as a family, including him, that he needed to move to Nashville and live in an assisted living home. He could still take care of himself. But I would still go by there sometimes. If it was a rough week, I would go almost every day and help with stuff. But there was still caregivers there, but we just didn't have that full package, you know? So I guess it depends on what you pay for.

[Kat]

Yeah. You know, and if he didn't have the. If you weren't available, too, he probably would have figured it out.

[Amy]

Right.

[Kat]

So I want to read, like, what they defined as a good death to help kind of explain some of this. They said a good death is described as free from avoidable distress and suffering for the patient, family and caregivers in general, with the patient and family's wishes. So that would be like, a good death. Like, I'm not feeling stress and anxiety and pain and all that. So this is where.

[Amy]

I mean, I don't. I'm sorry. I'm like, a good death to me is like, I die in one second without even knowing I'm about to die.

[Kat]

Okay, but before you die, I think they're talking about that, like, the process before that. Like, if you're older. This isn't like people who die when they're, like, 45.

[Amy]

Got it.

[Kat]

This is like people who are older who are near death. What their process of transitioning to the other side is like. Does that.

[Amy]

Yeah.

[Kat]

Make sense? So with emotions. This is so interesting to me. So I just want to know if this is blowing your mind as much as it blew my mind. During the last month of their lives, people who had never married were by far the least troubled by sadness or anxiety. 62% of them experienced no problems with sadness or anxiety. In the other marital status groups, between 41% and 44 experienced no problems. So, like, 20% higher satisfaction. Isn't that just not what you would assume?

[Amy]

No, I would assume that you have more life satisfaction if you have a

[Kat]

love, a partner, because you assume that those relationships are healthy and happy and that. Which I would hope that they are. But it's some. Some are. Some are. Yeah. I mean, 44 still are having a good experience.

[Amy]

So now I'm, like, rethinking. Do I.

[Kat]

Do you want to get married?

[Amy]

Do I get remarried?

[Kat]

Yeah. So this is also interesting. People who had never been married were most likely to be free of pain, which I don't know why during the last month of their lives.

[Amy]

Well, maybe because you don't have the heartache of leaving behind your loved one. Because I would imagine if you are still alive and the love of your life is still alive and you know you're dying, there's gotta be heartache associated that you're leaving them. You know, like, there are some of those stories where, like, they're older and they die within a certain time of each other because they die of a heartbreak. Yeah. Broken heart. That's my hypothesis, is that maybe it's less painful because you're not attached to somebody.

[Kat]

No. And that actually breaks my heart. Was like, oh, I wish I loved my husband a little less.

[Amy]

Oh, my God, you love Patrick so much you, like, don't want to live without him at all whatsoever.

[Kat]

I will die of a broken heart if he.

[Amy]

I don't think you're gonna die. I think you will be. You will be okay. But you don't.

[Kat]

I don't. If I'm nine, you're staring at me

[Amy]

like, you're, like, looking at me. I'm like, you will be okay. And you're looking at me like, no, you won't. I'm gonna fall over dead. And don't you Say otherwise. Yeah, you just want to. You're like, I really feel like the vibes I get from you. You're like, if something happens to Patrick, like, bury me with him.

[Kat]

You get those vibes because I probably said that to you before. But Also, if I'm 95, I've lived. So, like, it's. If my husband dies, take me with him. If I'm 36, if something happens to him today, oh, my gosh, I have to knock on wood. I don't want to also die, but I also. That would be a. A box full of darkness that I don't think would end up being a gift.

[Amy]

That wouldn't be a yes, thank you.

[Kat]

No. So I think I would. I would hope that I would still live my life, but I think it would. It would take some time for me to get there. So this is also interesting. It was saying that because people who are single don't have the one, they end up having the ones multiple. So their relation, they have. They have deeper, stronger, and more like, relationships in general with friends and stuff like that community, because they aren't tied to the one. So in later in life, sometimes being single ends up being more of a blessing because you have more people around you.

[Amy]

Interesting.

[Kat]

Yeah. So do you guys. Do you really want to find somebody and get married?

[Amy]

That's like, I have the ones.

[Kat]

Yeah. I have the ones. Plural.

[Amy]

Yeah.

[Kat]

And it was saying, like, people who are, like, alone later in life, they can't assume somebody's going to take care of them. So they do kind of have that forethought of, I want to put things in order so I am taken care of. Well. So like you were saying with, like, the assisted living, they've thought more about those things than somebody who just assumes that their kids or that their spouse is going to take care of them.

[Amy]

This is taking me back to the Correspondent, which is a book that I read before. The latest book, like I said it a few weeks ago.

[Kat]

Are you done with it?

[Amy]

And it's so good without giving anything away, because I highly recommend y' all read. Is about an older woman. And she obviously correspondence. She writes a lot, but she's alone for her later years in life. But now that I'm thinking about it, she did have this community, but she had to be intentional about it. But she was intentional about staying in touch and corresponding with people and having these relationships with people. And, you know, she was pursued in certain ways, but she had to make certain decisions that were best for herself. But anyway, it just made me Think

[Kat]

of how she lived and she had that community. So she was.

[Amy]

Yeah. Most of it through her letters. And then later when she needed more help, she had the help there because she had some health stuff going on. But I don't know, it just made me think of corresponding with people, staying in touch with people, being intentional.

[Kat]

Yeah.

[Amy]

And that's what she would sit down every morning at 10am with her pen and paper and write and maybe that's not your thing, but is it. How are you going to be intentional about keeping in touch with people and maintaining a community?

[Kat]

So this is because I think the

[Amy]

older we get it easy. It's easy to isolate and.

[Kat]

Oh yeah.

[Amy]

Be alone and not have or. And die very lonely and the more comfortable.

[Kat]

Yeah. I can see myself like, I like to stay in my house a lot and I can see myself like I'm happy with my husband so I'm just gonna like stay at my house and not purposely isolate. But I can see that easily happening, especially later in life when it's harder to do things. So this is just a word to the wise that just because you have a partner, it doesn't necessarily mean that that's going to translate to what you hope. And so keeping those relationships intact is very important.

[Amy]

Making sure that you have relationships outside of your.

[Kat]

Yeah. Partner. Yeah.

[Amy]

Because that can be your best friend. Yeah. But like you need other friends.

[Kat]

Yeah.

[Amy]

Well that's interesting, Kat.

[Kat]

Yeah. And the next time if you're talking to somebody about how you don't want kids and they ask you who's going to take care of you, you can say, well, there's this study done at Boston University and turns out people who have kids end up faring far worse than. Than people who don't have kids. So take that. Yeah. Which it was sad because they were saying how like they, they didn't explain why the people without kids had better death experiences, but they like assumed that People just assume cuz you have kids, they're going to do it. And a lot of times they don't.

[Amy]

They're not. Yeah. They may not.

[Kat]

Yeah.

[Amy]

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[Amy]

like me, you're ready to ditch your winter coat and wear something that brings your personality back. I'm ready to step out of winter and into spring fashion and Macy's can help us do that this season. Macy's is dopamine dressing, embracing personal style and romanticizing everyday outfits. Spring is all about the refresh. I mean we know that. So that can be from stuff in your house to your wardrobe. So if you're working on your personal style style, you don't have to start from scratch. Find the pieces that bring new energy to your wardrobe at Macy's. Macy's can inspire you to play around with color, shape, texture and details, which is one of the best ways to add character to a simple outfit. You can find denim newness at Macy's. One fresh denim silhouette can change how everything else in your closet works, and new shapes instantly modernize spring outfits. Try balloon, barrel, wide leg or cropped denim. This season, Macy's also has linen suits that are breathable, effortless and perfect for any spring events. Think weddings, graduations, garden parties. They've got sheer layering, asymmetrical hems and lace, all of that stuff. Star of the show this season and Macy's has what you need to achieve it. Shop in stores or online@macy's.com in business, there's no room for guesswork. Every shipment matters. Every deadline counts. When you're trying to keep operations running smoothly, the last thing you need is uncertainty. That's why reliability is at the core of USPS Ground Advantage. From the moment your package is first scanned in, it moves through a secure nationwide network, aiding in a timely and accurate delivery. You get near real time tracking so you can keep up with your shipments. And with affordable upfront pricing, there are no hidden fees or surprise surcharges to throw off your cost sheets. It all adds up to predictable deliveries you can depend on. Because knowing your logistics are handled lets you focus on everything else. Your customers, your team, and the future that you're building. Visit USPS.com ground advantage to start shipping with confidence. USPS ground advantage. Shout out to my parents, you were lucky you had daughters that took care of you. Even though my sister, oh, I wish I had her permission. Maybe one day I'll get it to read a letter that she wrote. I think it could be very healing and therapeutic for someone listening. If you had a relationship with one of your parents where you were frustrated at like your childhood, the version you got of them as a child and then later as adults, you're having to take care of them because like our dad left, he moved out when I was 9 and my sister was 13. Moved out like, sure took care of us in certain ways, but like we lived with our mom the entire time. There wasn't like shared custody. There wasn't.

[Kat]

Your sister probably has a very different memory of that because 13, I feel like you would really, really remember.

[Amy]

Yes.

[Kat]

Mine is like, I can see you can forget some of it.

[Amy]

Yeah. And my sister, speaking of writing things, like, she will write stuff just for herself like, that nobody else will ever see because that's therapeutic for her. She'll write songs, she will write poems, she'll write letters. Just stuff that's art to her. But it's not meant for public consumption. But maybe I could get her permission in this case, although it might be too long. And then some people be like, what? But I do think it could be powerful. And that's why I wish it's almost like one day my sister, she should publish like a book that's full of just all this stuff because I think while it was therapeutic for her, could be therapeutic to others. But that's one way where my sister expressed her frustration in the time that we had to take care of my dad. And it's Easy for me to say it now because he's passed away, but like, we were in the thick of it with him at times. Like, it was so hard and emotional. And then the stuff comes up from childhood where you're angry and we're like, what you, like, straight up left us for another woman. And you know, our mom did her best and yeah, he didn't. Like, I always feel like I have to, you know, pump him up a little bit. Like he didn't like totally walk out and never talk to us again and paid for college and stuff like that, but where it really counted. He abandoned us and he, he walked out. And I think he could have done it in a better way. I get it. People fall in love, you maybe want to move on, that's fine. It was just how it was done was so. Ugh. But they were working with the tools that they have, which were clearly, clearly no tools at all. But that during that season, I remember us both being very angry and my sister wrote a whole letter about it and I don't know if she ever gave it to him or it was

[Kat]

just she shared it with you at the time or she shared it with you later.

[Amy]

Shared it with me later. Of like, oh, well, here's something I wrote during that season. And I remember the exact season of it being like. Cause we were, I was living in Nashville, our dad was living in Austin, she was living in Colorado. So we were tag teaming. Like, hey, I'm flying to Austin, I can take these dates and I'll go into the studio and do the show there. Pipe up with Nashville. Like, we were still working. She's got four kids, they have a full time business in Colorado, like a design firm, a coffee shop. Like she's a husband. Like, she's got multiple things. So it's sort of like, will you cover these dates? We'll tag team. Like, I would like fly into Austin, like high five my sister, and she'd go to the airport and leave. So it was like she had just had a rough go and she was like, FYI, this has been rough.

[Kat]

Like you weren't even there together to like be with each other.

[Amy]

Some of it, I guess we were maybe a little bit. But yeah, much of it was in passing. And that's when eventually we had to decide to just move him. We were like, we have to move him somewhere. And Colorado didn't make sense because of the. The super cold, icy weather for an elderly person isn't. Or an elderly sick person. Nashville has seasons, but it just seemed a Little more doable. So we decided to move him to Nashville because we were exhausted. We were like, we can't keep this up. And he clearly isn't going to be able to take care of himself. But that our child. Anger reared its head. And in those moments, it was. It's almost like you kind of want to just, like. I mean, I wouldn't, but I just wanted to, like, throw everything down and, like. Yeah. Walk out and be like, yeah, where were you? But now we're here.

[Kat]

Yeah. Well, it's like he. He knew that your mom was going to take care of you versus, like, you were like, if we don't do it, who will?

[Amy]

Yeah.

[Kat]

Is that. And I imagine you had a different experience taking care of your mom than your dad.

[Amy]

Yeah, I never had those feelings of, where were you? No. I had to do the same exact things for my mom. It was just as taxing. But you're right. I never had. What would be the word. Resentment.

[Kat]

Yeah.

[Amy]

Yeah. I didn't have the moments of resentment. I had more of like, oh, my gosh, Mom, I'm so sorry. Like, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. And sometimes when I'd be doing the exact same thing to my dad, I'd be like, I'm so freaking annoyed.

[Kat]

Yeah.

[Amy]

But, I mean, I felt bad for him, too, but it was different. You're right. I didn't have it with my mom like, I did my dad. So anyway, they got lucky, I guess, because we did. But you're right. There's.

[Kat]

And that's also fair. Like, it's complicated. So if you do have a family member that, like, completely abandoned you, I wouldn't blame you for not taking care of them later in life. Like, it doesn't have to be like, well, you have to do that. So your dad did get lucky. Now, I know you had a relationship with him at the time, too. Yes. So it's a little bit different, but Maggie, my cat just walked in, but. Yeah. Your. Your family was lucky to have you and your sister.

[Amy]

Oh, well, thank you. I'm. I'm sort of joking when I say that, but I. I do realize that they.

[Kat]

They were.

[Amy]

And I guess, in a way. Yes, thank you. I was lucky to get to do that for them, as difficult as it was, like. Yes. Thank you. It taught me so much about what unconditional love can look like and humility.

[Kat]

Yeah. Look at you turning that around. Mm.

[Amy]

Okay.

[Kat]

Well, the more, you know, trying to keep you up to date on the latest research.

[Amy]

Well, now I gotta figure out like,

[Kat]

do you want married again? Do you? It's risky. Mm.

[Amy]

We do have. I know we were laughing earlier, and then it got a little serious, but we do have a fun voicemail from a listener talking about some of the background noise. I know we just mentioned Maggie walked in, and I don't know if y' all could hear that at all, but we'll just give y' all some behind the scenes. I have a door that sometimes she'll push open, and it goes. And it creaked, and so we knew Maggie walked in, but maybe y' all couldn't hear that. But sometimes behind the scenes, we've got laughter in the room, and so there's Cryo Cat running the cameras, and then Shannon, who's Googling stuff for us or looking up other things or handling the recording or maybe even trying to handle the animals. Because this is an open studio. All. All are welcome. Sometimes you may hear the pets, but you also may hear Kat and Shannon laughing. And so that's what this voicemail is about.

[Kat]

I just wanted to call today. Who. I think it has to be Shannon, I'm assuming. But periodically throughout your episodes, we can hear somebody bust out laughing in the background. Please never change that. Never edit that out, because it is amazing. It makes sense. Me smile. It makes me laugh out loud. Obviously. I love hearing both of you, as in Amy and Cat, laugh. I love all of your giggles. But when you hear Shannon again, I think it's Shannon. When you hear Shannon laugh from the distance, it makes it even more funny. So please, please, please, never, ever, ever edit her out. It's amazing.

[Amy]

So it's definitely Shannon's laugh and Cryo Cat's laugh a lot of the times. But Shannon, do we have her name? Did she say it? Lindsay. So shout out, Lindsay. We will not edit that out.

[Kat]

Yeah. Thanks for making the podcast better, guys.

[Amy]

Yeah, Cryo Cat goes. I think it's charming. It is. I thought Maggie was going to come and sit in my lap here for a second, but she went over to the other chair.

[Kat]

She wanted to be alone.

[Amy]

She wanted to have her own chair in the studio. But we love hearing from y', all, and we love hearing what y' all are enjoying or maybe even not enjoying. We can take constructive feedback as well. Yeah.

[Kat]

So very recently, we got some. We shared it with you guys.

[Amy]

Send it on over.

[Kat]

I don't know that that was constructive.

[Amy]

That one wasn't really, but I will gladly take it, like, if you. Or if there's something we've done in the past that maybe we are not doing. They're like, oh, I missed this. You know, like, we. I know we shared Anna's quotes, but on the fifth thing, we used to always do a quote. Y' all may have things in your mind that we're not thinking of, so we want to hear from you. This is your podcast as well.

[Kat]

It's everybody's podcast.

[Amy]

Yeah. So hit us up. Hey [e-mail] or you can call and leave us a voicemail. 877-207-2077. We would absolutely love to hear from you. And we got a voicemail from. I thought you'd freak out. It's not one we'll play on the show, but I'll have to play it for you later because you haven't gotten to hear it yet. But shout out if you happen to be listening. One of our listeners sent us a quick little voicemail about how her nephew is on Love is Blind. And that's your show. I don't ever watch it, so I didn't know. You may know who her nephew is, but I wish it was our show, Ours together. We could share.

[Kat]

Watch it. I wonder if my nephew was on that show, would I watch it? Or I would be like, oh, I can't, because it's.

[Amy]

Oh, she acted like it was, like, fun to sit down and watch with, like, her daughter. I was like, that's die. Wouldn't that be her daughter's cousin?

[Kat]

Yes, that would be fun.

[Amy]

So that her nephew's awesome.

[Kat]

Okay, well, as long as everything. It just is.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Yeah.

[Amy]

Like, if her nephew was the one guy that's like, I need to be with a girl that does Pilates and CrossFit every day, I'd be mortified.

[Kat]

But no, there's some just cringy parts of that show, like when they're, like, falling in love in the pods, the. Like, in this, they can't see each other. Some of it I have to fast forward because I'm like, I feel like I shouldn't be watching this. This is like an intimate moment, you know?

[Amy]

Yeah.

[Kat]

So I think if I knew the

[Amy]

person, people are probably like, what's up with Amy and Cat?

[Kat]

Like, work.

[Amy]

I'm surprised. Some people are like, I love stuff like that. Or I love Bridgerton or I love all these.

[Kat]

Oh, yeah.

[Amy]

We're like, fast forward.

[Kat]

It's like, not even sexually intimate. It's just, like, awkward. You're saying it's awkward. You're saying, I love you. You've never really met this person. And when they meet each other. They're all like, sweaty and nervous, and I'm like, this should be a moment that you get to have by yourself.

[Amy]

Right. Like, it feels weird to be watching it. Yeah.

[Kat]

But I still watch it.

[Amy]

That's what you love.

[Kat]

Yeah.

[Amy]

I don't know why I haven't ever been able to get into it, but

[Kat]

I just had a thought that doesn't come up. That did come up earlier that I have to share because I kind of blanked. I don't even know if it was on this episode. But I need to tell people. If you're trying to sign up for the newsletter that comes out every other Wednesday, the link is in the show notes.

[Amy]

Oh, sweet.

[Kat]

Yeah. If you don't know where or you don't have social media, so you can't sign up on Instagram. The link is in the show notes.

[Amy]

Way easier than Instagram. Yeah. Because a lot of people aren't on. On the cruise. Like, I met so many people. They're like, oh, I don't have social media. And I was like, oh. But they still. They're listeners.

[Kat]

Good for them.

[Amy]

Yeah, I know.

[Kat]

Good love.

[Amy]

Good for you. That's great.

[Kat]

Was the demographic like, those people, Were

[Amy]

they about people of all ages there? I mean, there wasn't kids on the boat, but I mean, there were people in their 30s and people in their 80s.

[Kat]

Well, I just wonder, the demographic of people saying, I don't have social media, is that more older people, you know?

[Amy]

No, I mean, they were. I mean, I wasn't like. I wasn't like, oh, that tracks, you know, Like, I was more like, oh, wow, you don't have social media, so I would imagine they were around my age. Ish.

[Kat]

So does Stevenson have social media?

[Amy]

No.

[Kat]

Okay. What is your. Do you have a rule on that?

[Amy]

No, he just hasn't been into it. He, for a long time was terrified of tick tock because of China. And then somehow I convinced him to be scared of Snapchat because I said it had something to do with Russia.

[Kat]

That's great.

[Amy]

So now, I mean, I don't know that his friends are that into Instagram. I wonder.

[Kat]

I wonder if it's different between boys and girls, because that is like, has to be so hard to manage that.

[Amy]

Yeah. Well, he's definitely brought up that his friends have a lot of it, but he also has his own anxiety around people online. Like, he got a text the other day because he does. He has a cell phone. He's. He's 15. Someone texted him a scammer was trying to text and start dialogue with him and said something about asking his age. And Stevenson's reply response was, that's classified. And I was like, that's the perfect response. I said, actually the best response is no response at all. You just don't even need to respond. Delete it. But I guess if you're gonna reply, replying with that's classified is perfect because you're not giving them anything. Just like make that your blanket answer. That's classified. Yeah, that's classified.

[Kat]

As it should be. He's a minor.

[Amy]

Yeah. Weirdo.

[Kat]

Okay, well, good for him.

[Amy]

Yeah, good for him. So far it's worked, but I don't know how much longer that's gonna last. And I do think it's right. I do think there's a difference between boys and girls.

[Kat]

I can't imagine being thinking about how middle school was for me. I just can't imagine being in middle school and having that. I don't want to think about it. And so I wonder, like, how certain people manage that because I know kids have it.

[Amy]

Yeah, I don't.

[Kat]

Either topic for another time.

[Amy]

Well, another study. Yeah.

[Kat]

Yeah.

[Amy]

Okay, so takeaways. Practice your whimsies this week and practice your. Yes, thank you.

[Kat]

And if you don't want kids, that's okay.

[Amy]

You will be fine.

[Kat]

You'll be more than fine.

[Amy]

Someone will take care of you somehow and you apparently will be okay.

[Kat]

You'll figure it out.

[Amy]

You'll figure it out. I'm just gonna repeat everything here. Okay. Well, wherever you are, we hope you're

[Kat]

having the day you need to have.

[Amy]

Bye.

[Kat]

Bye.

[Amy]

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[Amy]

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[Kat]

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[Amy]

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[Kat]

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[Amy]

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[Kat]

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[Amy]

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[Amy]

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[Kat]

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[Amy]

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[Kat]

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[Amy]

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[Kat]

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