Podcasts about mom

DAY 16: The Golden Rule Welcome to the Gospel in a Year on the Catholic Sprouts Podcast. In this episode we are reading Matthew 7:1-29   To get the most out of this journey through the Gospels, we suggest you PRINT THE GOSPEL IN A YEAR NOTEBOOK. It's free and ready for you right here ----> ://catholicsprouts.com/the-gospels-in-a-year-on-the-catholic-sprouts-podcast   Thank you for joining us! Come Lord Jesus!      

"If I should have a daughter, instead of Mom, she's gonna call me Point B ... " began spoken word poet Sarah Kay, in a talk that inspired two standing ovations at TED2011. She tells the story of her metamorphosis — from a wide-eyed teenager soaking in verse at New York's Bowery Poetry Club to a teacher connecting kids with the power of self-expression through Project VOICE — and gives two breathtaking performances of "B" and "Hiroshima."Interested in learning more about upcoming TED events? Follow these links:TEDNext: ted.com/futureyouTEDSports: ted.com/sportsTEDAI Vienna: ted.com/ai-viennaTEDAI San Francisco: ted.com/ai-sf Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kurt Becker's Stroll Through Racing History presented by Keeneland - Kurt looks back at the career of  Mom's Command (Part I)

Have you ever felt frustrated with your teen? (Or maybe I should be saying, who hasn't?!) As moms of teens and almost empty nesters, we naturally carry expectations about how our kids should act — and most of the time, those expectations are perfectly reasonable. We want them to show appreciation, to put in effort, to connect with us. But the reality is, teens don't always meet those expectations. And when that happens, we're left feeling frustrated, anxious, and even resentful. In this episode, I'm talking about what I call “invisible contracts.” These aren't mistakes you're making as a mom — they're the hidden expectations that we all carry, often without realizing it, that shape how we experience motherhood at this stage. You'll learn how to recognize them, why they feel so painful when they're not met, and how to shift your mindset so you can reduce anxiety, stop overthinking, and create more peace and connection with your teen. If you're a mom who's ready to feel more connected, confident, and at peace — and to find purpose beyond motherhood as you step into the empty nest years — this episode will show you what's possible.

Welcome back to Chasing Stories Podcast,where we share stories worth celebrating. Today, I'd like to honor a remarkablewoman in my life — my mother, Dorothy.So, pour yourself a cup of coffee, getcomfortable, and bear with me if I get a little emotional.My mom, Dorothy Marie, was born on August 14,1948, to my grandparents Charles and Dorothy Fairfield at Orleans CountyHospital in the southern tier of New York. She grew up in a time of big changesin America. Her childhood wasn't easy. When she was still young, her motherbegan struggling with health issues, and Mom often missed school to care forher and her sisters.As a teenager, she lived with my grandfatherin California for a time. Life with him wasn't simple, and eventually shereturned home just in time for the peace-and-love era and the challenges of theVietnam War years.Before I was born, she worked as a dietarysupervisor at Columbus Hospital in Buffalo. That's where she met my father,Robert. My grandmother didn't approve—she said he was a ladies' man—but Momfollowed her heart. They married, bought their first home in the Black Rockarea, and in 1972, I came into the world kicking and screaming.Mom's life wasn't without hardships. Afterher divorce, she worked tirelessly, even sending money to help my grandmothercare for me. She later remarried, and we became a blended family. Through itall, she remained strong, determined, and full of love.I'll never forget the day, as a young boy, Iwas hit by a Corvette while chasing a ball. By some miracle, I was fine—thoughMom made sure the hospital checked me over from head to toe. She wasprotective, sometimes stubborn, but always full of love.Mom was also my greatest advocate. When Istruggled in school with learning disabilities and stuttering, she fought forme to get the help I needed. She celebrated my victories—like making the meritroll and, later, handing her my high school diploma. That was the best gift Icould ever give her.She was there for every milestone: my firstday of school, standing up for me when I was bullied, and cheering me on as Iworked through challenges. She loved my wife, adored her grandkids, and madeevery holiday memorable—even if her famous “box stuffing” was always on thetable.As the years went on, I had to return thecare she once gave me. When dementia and health issues made it unsafe for herto live alone, I had to make some difficult choices. Moving her to asenior-living community and later to rehab wasn't easy, but I kept my promiseto make sure she was safe, loved, and never alone. In those final years, I gotto be her son again instead of her caretaker, and that was a gift.Mom's life was one of sacrifice, resilience,and endless love. She cheered me on as I earned certificates, made the dean'slist, and joined the National Honor Society. She did the same for hergranddaughter, who followed in those footsteps. She was proud of us, just as wewere proud of her.Dorothy Marie came into this world kickingand screaming—and she left it the same way. But in between, she filled it withlove, laughter, and devotion.Mom, I will always love you. Thank you forbeing my mom. Podcast:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://chasingstoriespodcast.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Podcast Support:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/chasingstoriespodcast/support⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Destiny's Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://destinysmagicalcreations.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Destiny's Amazon Author Page: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.amazon.com/Destiny-Constantin/e/B08QW84ZHN?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1619256834&sr=8-1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Remember to follow us on social media!X @_chasingstoriesDestiny's X @WriterDestiny

DAY 15: Treasure in Heaven Welcome to the Gospel in a Year on the Catholic Sprouts Podcast. In this episode we are reading Matthew 6:16-34   To get the most out of this journey through the Gospels, we suggest you PRINT THE GOSPEL IN A YEAR NOTEBOOK. It's free and ready for you right here ---> http://catholicsprouts.com/the-gospels-in-a-year-on-the-catholic-sprouts-podcast   Thank you for joining us! Come Lord Jesus!  

Al's got the dog fever! This is his story of an opportunity to gain a new furry friend, and share a heartwarming story about his granddaughter. Al dives into his journey through genealogy, revealing a quest to find a long-lost stepbrother. Plus, they take a nostalgic trip down memory lane with Al's childhood football memorabilia and an old newspaper article about his early business ventures. Listen in for laughs, life updates, and a bit of history. Don't forget to rate, subscribe, and tell your friends if you enjoy the show! 00:00 Welcome to the Third Wheel Podcast 00:43 Labor Day Weekend Recap 01:44 Dog Fever: The Search for a New Pet 06:06 Genealogy Search: Finding a Stepbrother 13:06 Family Discoveries and DNA Kits 14:28 Walking with Mom and Childhood Memories 15:26 Fourth Grade Football Pants 16:59 Great-Grandmother's Hair 18:04 Reading an Old Newspaper Article 18:54 Al Mac's Business Ventures 22:44 From Mortgage Broker to Radio Personality 24:29 Podcast Conclusion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Inside the Epicenter with Joel and Lynn Rosenberg, brought to you by the Joshua Fund. In this episode of Inside the Epicenter, host Joel Rosenberg sits down with Pastor Gary Hamrick to process the shocking assassination of Charlie Kirk, a dynamic young evangelical leader and passionate supporter of Israel. Together, they discuss Charlie’s powerful influence on millions, his fearless faith, and how his legacy might ignite the revival and spiritual awakening our nation desperately needs. Tune in for heartfelt stories, biblical perspective, and honest reflection on how moments of tragedy can open doors for hope and renewal—both in the church and in support of Israel. (00:02) "Assassination's Impact: U.S. and Israel"(04:25) Unexpected Assassination Shocks Nation(06:51) "Charlie Kirk's Impact and Legacy"(12:26) "Charlie: Young Evangelist's Impact"(16:12) Impending Youth-Led Spiritual Revival(19:58) Calvary Chapel's Pro-Israel Influence(21:31) "Divine Purpose: Explaining Charlie Kirk"(26:42) Reflecting on Charlie Kirk's Legacy(29:32) "Preparing for Mom's Homecoming"(34:20) Israel & Christianity: Charlie's Perspective(36:08) "Charlie Embraces Biblical Support for Israel"(41:05) Call for Prayer and Support Learn more about The Joshua Fund: JoshuaFund.comMake a tax-deductible donation: Donate | The Joshua FundStock Media provided by DimmySad / Pond5 Verse of the Day 2 Timothy 4:1-5 - In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, and discharge all the duties of your ministry. Pray at this moment for Charlie Kirk’s family, including Erica and the two young kids, as well as for his team and the country for strength and encouragement at this crucial time.Praying for a revival among the young generation. Related Episodes: Remembering Dr. Dobson's Legacy of Faith, Family, and Influence Around the World #309 Joel at Refuge Church Pt 2 God Shaking Israel: A Biblical Perspective on Recent Events #296 Honoring Kay Arthur - Discovering God’s Will Through Prayer #290 Dr. Jeff Myers — Why Should Christians Support Israel & Why Many Young Christians Don’t? #284 Donate a generous monthly gift to The Joshua Fund to bless Israel and Her Neighbors now and for the long haul. Become an Epicenter Ally today! Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Is the American Psychological Association's definition of self-esteem biblical, wise, and healthy? Join AMBrewster to learn what self-esteem is and compare it to God's expectations for our esteem.Truth.Love.Parent. is a podcast of Truth.Love.Family., an Evermind Ministry.Action Steps Purchase “Quit: how to stop family strife for good.” https://amzn.to/40haxLz Support our 501(c)(3) by becoming a TLP Friend! https://www.truthloveparent.com/donate.html Download the Evermind App. https://evermind.passion.io/checkout/102683 Use the promo code EVERMIND at MyPillow.com. https://www.mypillow.com/evermind  Discover the following episodes by clicking the titles or navigating to the episode in your app: Get the "Suffering Well" Online Course for only $25. https://evermind.passion.io/checkout/bb52378a-b9b8-47bb-adda-4f857d58ec4e  Get The Doctrine of Emotions for only $10! https://evermind.passion.io/checkout/72b23bf0-32de-4fe1-973b-f78fefd646b6 TLP 393: What Happens When Your Family Does What's Right in Its Own Eyes? https://www.truthloveparent.com/taking-back-the-family-blog/tlp-393-what-happens-when-your-family-does-whats-right-in-its-own-eyes  How Your Children Respond to Sin Series https://www.truthloveparent.com/how-your-children-respond-to-sin.html  Children & Shame Series https://www.truthloveparent.com/children-shame-series.html  Click here for Today's episode notes, resources, and transcript: https://www.truthloveparent.com/taking-back-the-family-blog/tlp-598-your-child-and-self-esteemLike us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TruthLoveParent/Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truth.love.parent/Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TruthLoveParentFollow AMBrewster on Facebook: https://fb.me/TheAMBrewsterFollow AMBrewster on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebrewsterhome/Follow AMBrewster on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AMBrewsterPin us on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/TruthLoveParent/Subscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTHV-6sMt4p2KVSeLD-DbcwClick here for more of our social media accounts: https://www.truthloveparent.com/presskit.htmlNeed some help? Write to us at Counselor@TruthLoveParent.com.

Reinvention isn't about chasing more - it's aboutbecoming more you. When your identity (aka self-worth) is closely tied towhat you do, (I'm a fitness instructor, I'm a VP of sales, I'm a full time Mom, I'm a Doctor, etc.) – what happens when that identity changes?  And, what happens when you have NO IDEA what you new identity is? Today Thrivesters, I've invited back our fan favorite –Brenda Johnston to tell us what it's really take to reinvent yourself, shift your identity, and protect your energy in a world that is constantly pulling at you. Brenda is a subconscious and energy mentor, businessre-definer, and unapologetic truth-teller and together we are talking about what happens when old beliefs bump up against new goals, and why aligning your subconscious mind with your future vision might be the missing piece you'vebeen looking for.  From the deeply personal (my own relationship breakthrough during a session with Brenda) to the practical (Brenda's “rubber bubble” technique for protecting your energy), this episode blends authenticity,humor, and straight up truth bombs.My three favorite tidbits from today's episode:The surprising subconscious blocks that can quietly shape your relationships - and how to uncover them.Why redefining success matters more than chasing bigger goals that don't light you up.Simple, daily tools to protect your energy - especially around difficult people or draining situations.If you're ready to reinvent yourself but don't know where tostart - or if you're tired of living a life that doesn't feel like you - this episode is your catalyst to stop performing, hit that reset button and do the next best thing.  For YOU. Now go out there and thrive like you mean it!Links & Resources:Join the Thrive Hive and receive the Weekly Buzz: ⁠https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/MurXaK9⁠Grab my best-selling book Unmute Yourself: https://www.amazon.com/Unmute-Yourself-Speak-Stand-Out/dp/B094988YFDFollow me on Instagram: ⁠@nancy_medoff (https://www.instagram.com/nancy.medoff)Connect with me on LinkedIn: @nancymedoff (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancymedoff/)Daily Energy Management Audio: https://www.brenda-johnston.com/energy-management⁠2-Part Energetic Success Kit: ⁠https://www.brenda-johnston.com/Kit⁠The Creative Content Collective - October 18th at The Creative House in San Diego⁠: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/creative-content-collective-one-day-live-workshop-tickets-1693950765339?aff=ebdsshcopyurl&utm-source=cp&utm-term=listing&utm-campaign=social&utm-medium=discovery&utm-content=attendeeshare

Ep. 215 In this special 2-part series, Maryann answers YOUR questions straight from Instagram! Part one dives deep into inner healing, self-discovery, and reclaiming confidence. From childhood wounds to toxic relationships to losing yourself in roles as wife, mom, or professional—this episode is packed with raw, soulful guidance. ✨ “What does healing your inner child actually look like?” ✨ “How do I know if I'm really doing the work right?” ✨ “When was the moment you finally said, enough—I choose me?”

I'm the only child of a hoarder, and Mom died unexpectedly. Support the effort to joyfully redeem decades of suffering here: https://gofund.me/f6a722832

I recorded this at 4 am while laying in a hotel room after my last visit with Mom. Totally surreal!Support the effort to redeem decades of suffering: https://gofund.me/f6a722832

Operaspymaster you may ask? Read on and listen to this episode. In this powerful and multifaceted episode of Unstoppable Mindset, we welcome Kay Sparling, former opera singer, PTSD survivor, and now debut novelist—as she shares her incredible life journey from international stages to the shadowy world of espionage fiction. Kay talks about the creation of her first novel, Mission Thaw, a gripping spy thriller based on her own real-life experiences volunteering with refugees in post-Cold War Europe. Kay and Michael discuss the inspiration behind her protagonist, CIA agent Caitlin Stewart, and how real-world trauma and service led Kay to use fiction as both a vehicle for healing and a call to action on the modern crisis of human trafficking. This is a conversation that transcends genres—music, espionage, activism, and resilience—all converging through the unstoppable spirit of a woman who refuses to stay silent. About the Guest: Kay Sparling was raised in the Midwest. At the age of seven, she began her professional singing career as Gretl in “The Sound of Music” and she continued to perform through high school. After graduation Kay attended University of Kansas and earned a BME in music education and a minor in Vocal Performance. She then attended graduate school in opera voice performance for one year at UMKC Conservatory of Music. She was awarded a grant to finish my graduate studies in Vienna, Austria. From there she won an apprenticeship at the Vienna State Opera. After moving to NYC to complete her second apprenticeship, Kay lived in Germany, Austria, and Italy for many years. In 1999 Kay returned to NYC and continued singing opera and became a cantor for the NYC diocese. After 9/11, she served as a cantor at many of the funeral and memorial masses for the fallen first responders. In 2003, Kay moved from NYC to the upper Midwest and started a conservatory of Music and Theatre where her voice students have been awarded numerous prestigious scholarships and won many competitions. In 2020, the pandemic shut down her conservatory, so she began training to be a legal assistant and now works in workers compensation. Back in 2013, Kay had started writing a journal as a PTSD treatment. She was encouraged to extend the material into a novel. After much training and several drafts, Mission Thaw was published in 2024. Kay is currently writing the second book in the Kaitlyn Stewart Spy Thriller Series. Ways to connect with Kay: Website: https://www.kaysparlingbooks.com X: https://x.com/MissionThaw/missionthaw/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/missionthaw.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/505674375416879 Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kay-sparling-8516b638/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/missionthaw/ Litsy: https://www.litsy.com/web/user/Mission%20Thaw About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:16 Well, hi everyone. Welcome to another episode of unstoppable mindset. I'm your host, Mike hingson, and our guest today is a very fascinating individual. I was just teasing her a little bit about her email address, which is operaspy master@gmail.com I'm telling you, don't cross her. That's all I gotta say. Anyway, we'll, we'll get into all of that. But I really am glad that she is with us. Kay Sparling is a fascinating woman who's had an interesting career. She's written, she's done a number of things. She's used to be an opera, gosh, all sorts of stuff. So anyway, we'll get to all of it and we'll talk about it. I don't want to give it all away. Where would the fun in that be? Kay, welcome to unstoppable mindset.   Kay Sparling ** 02:11 Well, thank you. I'm glad to be here. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 02:13 we're glad you're here. You're from up in Wisconsin. We were going to do this a couple of weeks ago, but you had all the storms, and it stole your internet and your power away, didn't   Kay Sparling ** 02:23 it? It sure did. Yeah, that was a terrible storm we had.   Michael Hingson ** 02:28 Yeah, that's kind of no fun. I remember years ago, I was talking to somebody on the phone. We were doing a sales call, and he said, I might not be able to stay on the phone because we're having a really serious storm, and he said it is possible that the lightning could hit the phone lines, and if it does, it could come in the house. And we talked for a few minutes, and then he said, I'm going to have to hang up, because I just felt a small shock, because the lightning obviously hit the phone line, so we'll have to talk later. And and he was gone. And we did talk later, though he was okay, but still, wow, yeah, there's a lot of crazy weather going on, isn't there? And we were just talking about the, we were just talking about the Canadian wildfires. They're No fun.   Kay Sparling ** 03:15 No, no. Just everywhere is having crazy weather.   Michael Hingson ** 03:20 Well, tell us a little bit about you growing up and all that sort of stuff, and telling me about the the early K   Kay Sparling ** 03:32 Well, growing up, I grew up in a farm community in the in the central Midwest, just you know, right in the middle of the bread basket, you might say, not near where you are now. No no, no further south and in very much agriculture time, I mean skipping ahead. I remember talking to a famous opera conductor when I was an apprentice, and I made some reference, and he goes, Well, how would you know that? And I said, because I grew up on a farm. And he went, Oh, get out here. Nobody makes it, you know, to a major European opera house from a farm. And I went, Well, I did. And later, I asked my mom to send me a picture, because we had had an aerial view taken of our homestead, and it was obvious for miles, all the way around the house and the barn and all, it was just corn fields and soybeans. You know what they showed   Michael Hingson ** 04:40 Illinois, Illinois, and so you showed it to him, yeah,   Kay Sparling ** 04:44 I showed it to him, and he was like, well, doggone, you're not lying. Like, No, I wasn't kidding you. I really did.   Michael Hingson ** 04:51 It shows how good I really am. See how far I progressed.   Kay Sparling ** 04:55 Well, you know, I was one of these kids. I. At five years old, I my parents took me to see sound and music at the theater, and during the intermission. Now I'm five years old, it's pretty late for me, right? But when we're in the concession stand, I tug at my mom's skirt, and I say, Mom, that's what I want to do. And she looks at me kind of funny, and she's kind of funny, and she's kind of confused. Well, what do you want to do work in a theater? You know, a movie theater? No, no, I want to do what those kids are doing on that on the movie screen. And she was like, Well, honey, you know, that's that's really hard to get somewhere like that. So that was when I was five. And then when I was seven, she just, you know, the all the school and the church were telling her, this kid's got a great voice, and they kept giving me solos and stuff. And so when I was seven, she put me in the Sangamon County Fair Little Miss competition. And of course, my talent was singing, so I just sang away. I really can't remember what I sang, but afterwards, a fellow came up to my parents and introduced himself, and he said that he was there, he had family, not, you know, in the area, and that he had grown up there, but since then, he he was in St Louis, and he said, we are, I'm a scout, and I'm looking, I'm an entertainment Scout, and I'm actually looking for, you know, the von trop children. We're going to do a big production, and we'd love to audition your daughter. Well, we were about, think it was an hour and a half away from St Louis, so my parents are like, wow, that'd be quite a commitment. But long story short, I did it, and that started my professional career. I was the youngest Bon Troy. You know, over cradle, yeah. And so it just went from there. And, you know, it was all Broadway, of course, and I did a lot of church singing, you know, it got to be by the time I was, you know, in high school, people were hiring me for weddings, funerals, all that kind of thing. And so I was a Broadway and sacred singer. Went to college. My parents said, you can't depend on a vocal performance degree. What if things don't work out? You have to have something fall back. So I went into vocal music ed at a very, very good school for that, and also music therapy, and, you know, continue being in their shows. And when I when I graduated, continued the Broadway, and one night I was also singing a little bit of jazz in Kansas City, where I was living, someone approached me. She was a voice teacher at the conservatory there, and that conservatory had an apprenticeship with the Kansas City Lyric Opera. And she said I knew you was an undergrad. My husband works where you, where you went to school, and I have been watching you for a long time. And I wish you quit this nonsense of singing Broadway and jazz and rock and everything and get serious, you know, and try opera. So I thought she was crazy to bring that up, but it wasn't the first time it had been brought up. So I have been teaching for a year, and at the end of that school year, I announced everyone I was going to graduate school and I was going to study opera. And so   Michael Hingson ** 08:55 what were you teaching?   Kay Sparling ** 08:57 I was teaching high school choir, okay, at a very big high school, very, very good choir department.   Michael Hingson ** 09:03 Now, by the way, after doing Gretel, did you ever have any other parts as you grew older in Sound of Music?   Kay Sparling ** 09:11 Okay, that's a very cool question. I am one of the few people that I know that can say I have sang every major role in Sound of Music sometime in my life. Ah, okay, because it was so popular when I was Oh, yeah. And as I would grow older, well now you're going to sing, you know, you just kept graduating up. And then pretty soon I sang quite a few Marias. And then after I was an opera singer. During covid, I was asked to sing Mother Superior. Mother Superior. Yeah, literally, have sung, you know, in a decades long career, I've sung every role in Sound of Music.   Michael Hingson ** 09:56 Cool. Well, that's great.   10:00 Yeah, so, so, anyway, so   Michael Hingson ** 10:02 you said that you were going to go study opera,   Kay Sparling ** 10:07 and I did a graduate school, and then I got the chance to get an international grant over to Europe, and so I decided to not finish my masters at that time and go over there and finish it, and most of all, importantly, do my first apprenticeship in Europe. And so I thought that was a great opportunity. They were willing. They were going to willing to pay for everything. And I said I would be a fool to turn this down. Yeah, so off I went, and that's kind of the rest of the story. You know, got a lot of great training, left Europe for a while, moved to New York City, trained best coaches and teachers in the world at the Metropolitan Opera and then, you know, launch my career.   Michael Hingson ** 11:04 So you Wow, you, you've done a number of things, of course, going to Europe and being in Vienna and places like that. Certainly you were in the the right place.   Kay Sparling ** 11:16 Yes, yes, definitely. You know, at that time in the in the middle 80s, United States was we had some great opera houses Iran, but we had very few. And it just wasn't the culture that it was in Europe, in Europe. And so, yes, there was a lot more opportunity there, because there was such a culture established there already.   Michael Hingson ** 11:44 So you went off and you did Europe and saying opera, what were you a soprano? Or what were you that sounds like a way a little high for your voice?   Kay Sparling ** 11:59 Well, you have to remember, I'm a senior citizen now. So this is the way it worked for me, because we're talking decades from the age 27 and I quit singing at 63 so that's a very long time to sing opera. So I started out, as you know, there is a voice kind of category, and each one of those, we use a German word for that. It's called Foch, F, A, C, H, and you know, that is determined by the kind of vocal cords you have, and the kind of training and the literature you're singing, and hopefully that all meshes together if you have good coaches and a good agent and such. And I literally have seen so many different Fox lyric, lyric mezzo, then to, very shortly, lyric soprano, and then for a long time, spinto soprano, which would be the Puccini and a lot of them really popular things. And then I was, I felt I was quite lucky that my voice did have the strength and did mature into a Verdi soprano, which is a dramatic soprano, not many of those around. And so that was, that was an endeavor, but at the same time, that was a leg up. And so most of the time in my career, I sang the bigger Puccini, like, let's say Tosca, and I sang a lot of Verdi. So I was an Italian opera singer. I mostly sang in Italian, not to say that I didn't sing in German or French, but I did very little in comparison to the   Michael Hingson ** 13:56 Italian Well, there's a lot of good Italian opera out there, although mostly I don't understand it, but I don't speak Italian well.   Kay Sparling ** 14:07 The great thing about most houses now is, you know, you can just look at the back of the seat in front of you, and there's the translation, you know, yeah, that   Michael Hingson ** 14:18 doesn't work for me. Being blind, that doesn't work for you. Yeah, that's okay, though, but I like the music, yeah. So how long ago did you quit singing?   Kay Sparling ** 14:32 Um, just about, well, under, just a little under three years ago, okay?   Michael Hingson ** 14:38 And why did you quit? This was the right time,   Kay Sparling ** 14:42 senses or what I had a circumstance, I had to have throat surgery. Now it wasn't on my vocal cords, but it was on my thyroid, and unfortunately, the vocal cord nerve. They had to take out some Cyst On. My right thyroid, and then remove it too. And unfortunately, my vocal cords were damaged at that time, I would have probably be singing still now some you know, I mean, because dramatic sopranos just can go on and on and on. One of my mentors was Birgit Nielsen, famous singer from Sweden, and she was in my grandmother's generation, but she didn't, I went to work with her, and she demonstrated at 77 she could still pop out of high C. And I believe, I believe I would have been able to do that too, but you know, circumstances, you know, changed, but that's okay. Yeah, I had sung a long time, and at least I can speak. So I'm just very happy about that.   Michael Hingson ** 15:51 So when you did quit singing, what did you decide to go do? Or, or, How did, how did you progress from there?   Kay Sparling ** 16:01 Well, I had already made a transition where I had come in 2003 to the Midwest. I came back from New York City, where I lived many, many years, and I started a conservatory of music and acting, and then that kind of grew into a whole conservatory of music. So I was also a part time professor here in Wisconsin, and I taught voice, you know, one on one vocal lessons, so high school and college and graduate school, and so I had this huge studio. So when that happened, I wasn't getting to sing a whole lot, because I was much more focused on my students singing me at that point, especially the older ones, professional ones, and so, you know, I just kept teaching and and then I had started this book that I'm promoting now, and so that gave me more time to get that book finished   Michael Hingson ** 17:10 and published. What's the name of the book?   Kay Sparling ** 17:13 The book is called Mission, thaw.   Michael Hingson ** 17:16 Ah, okay, and what is it about   Kay Sparling ** 17:22 mission thaw is feminist spy thriller set at the very end of the Cold War in the late 80s, and the main protagonist is Caitlin Stewart, who it who has went over there to be an opera singer, and soon after she arrives, is intensely recruited by the CIA. They have a mission. They really, really need a prima donna Mozart soprano, which is what Caitlin was, and she had won a lot of competitions and won a grant to go over there, and so they had been vetting her in graduate school in the United States. And soon as she came to Europe, they they recruited her within a couple weeks of her being there, and she, of course, is totally blindsided by that. When they approach her, she had she she recognized that things were not exactly the way they should be, that people were following her, and she was trying to figure out who, are these people and why are they following me everywhere? Well, it ends up being young CIA agents, and so when the head chief and his, you know, the second chief, approach her, you know, she's not real happy, because she's already felt violated, like her privacy has been violated, and so she wasn't really too wonderful of listening to them and their needs. And so they just sort of apprehend her and and throw her in a car, in a tinted window Mercedes, and off they go to a park to talk to her, right? And so it's all like crazy movie to Caitlin. It's like, what is going on here? And, you know, she can tell they're all Americans, and they have dark suits on, even though it's very, very hot, and dark glasses, you know? So everything is just like a movie. And so when they approach her and tell her about what they need her to do, you know, and this would be in addition to the apprentice she is doing that, you know, she just gets up and says, I'm sorry I didn't come over and be in cloak and dagger. A, you know, ring, I'm getting out of here. And as she's walking away, the chief says, Well, what if you could help bring down the Berlin Wall? Well, now that stops her in her tracks, and she turns around. She goes, What are you kidding? I'm just a, you know, an opera apprentice from the Midwest grew up on a farm. What am I gonna do? Hit a high C and knock it down. I mean, what are you talking about?   Michael Hingson ** 20:28 Hey, Joshua, brought down the wealth of Jericho, after all. Well, yeah, some   Kay Sparling ** 20:34 later, someone tells her that, actually, but, but anyway, they say, well, sit down and we'll explain what we need you to do. And so the the initial job that Caitlin accepts and the CIA to be trained to do is what they call a high profile information gap. She has a wonderful personality. She's really pretty. She's very fashionable, so she can run with the jet set. And usually the jet set in Europe, the opera jet set is also where all the heads of states hang out, too. And at that time, the the Prime Minister was pretty much banking the Vienna State Opera where she was apprenticing. So he ends up being along with many other Western Austrian businessmen in a cartel of human trafficking. Who they are trafficking are all the the different citizens of the countries that USSR let go. You know, when you know just got to be too much. Remember how, oh yeah, we're going to let you go. Okay? And then they would just pull out. And there was no infrastructure. There was nothing. And these poor people didn't have jobs, they didn't have electricity. The Russian mafia was running in there trying to take, you know, take over. It was, it was chaos. And so these poor people were just packing up what they could to carry, and literally, sometimes walking or maybe taking a train into the first Western European country they could get to. And for a lot of them, just because the geographical area that was Austria. And so basically, the Austrians did not want these people, and they were being very unwelcoming and arresting a lot of them, and there was a lot of lot of bad behavior towards these refugees. And so the Catholic church, the Catholic Social Services, the Mennonite Relief Fund, the the UN and the Red Cross started building just tent after tent after tent on the edge of town for these people to stay at. And so the businessmen decide, well, we can traffic these people that have nothing over to the East Germans, who will promise them everything, but will give them nothing. But, you know, death camps, basically, just like in World War Two. So you have work camps, you have factories. They they don't feed these people correctly. They don't they don't give them anything that they promise to them in in the camps. And they say, Okay, be on this train at this time, this night. And then they stop somewhere in between Vienna and East Germany, in a very small train station in the middle of the Alps. And they have these large, you know, basic slave options. And unfortunately, the children in the older people get sent back to the camp because they don't need them or want them. So all the children get displaced from their families, as well as the senior citizens or anyone with a disability. And then, you know, the men and the women that can work are broken up as well, and they're sent to these, you know, they're bought by these owners of these factories and farms, and the beautiful women, of course, are sold to either an individual that's there in East German that just wants to have a sex aid, pretty much. Or even worse, they could be sold to an underground East Berlin men's club. And so terrible, terrible things happen to the women in particular, and the more that Caitlin learns. As she's being trained about what's happening, and she interviews a lot of these women, and she sees the results of what's happened, it, it, it really strengthens her and gives her courage. And that's a good thing, because as time goes through the mission, she ends up having to be much, much more than just a high profile social, you know, information gather. She ends up being a combat agent and so, but that that's in the mission as you read, that that happens gradually and so, what? What I think is really a good relationship in this story, is that the one that trains her, because this is actually both CIA and MI six are working on this, on this mission, thought and the director of the whole mission is an very seasoned mi six agent who everyone considers the best spy in the free world. And Ian Fleming himself this, this is true. Fact. Would go to this man and consult with him when he was writing a new book, to make sure you know that he was what he was saying is, Could this really happen? And that becomes that person, Clive Matthews become praying, Caitlyn, particularly when she has to start changing and, you know, defending herself. And possibly, you know,   Michael Hingson ** 26:38 so he becomes her teacher in   Kay Sparling ** 26:42 every way. Yes. So how   Michael Hingson ** 26:45 much? Gee, lots of questions. First of all, how much of the story is actually   Kay Sparling ** 26:50 true? All this story is true. The   Michael Hingson ** 26:53 whole mission is true. Yes, sir. And so how did you learn about this? What? What caused you to start to decide to write this story?   Kay Sparling ** 27:08 So some of these experiences are my own experiences. And so after I as an opera singer, decided to be a volunteer to help out these refugees. I witnessed a lot, and so many years later, I was being treated for PTSD because of what I'd witnessed there. And then a little bit later in Bosnia in the early 90s, and I was taking music therapy and art therapy, and my psychiatrist thought that it'd be a good idea if also I journaled, you know, the things that I saw. And so I started writing things, and then I turned it in, and they had a person that was an intern that was working with him, and both of them encouraged me. They said, wow, if, if there's more to say about this, you should write a book, cuz this is really, really, really good stuff. And so at one point I thought, Well, why not? I will try. So this book is exactly what happened Caitlin, you know, is a real person, and everyone in the book is real. Of course, I changed the names to protect people and their descriptions, but I, you know, I just interviewed a lot of spies that were involved. So, yes, this is a true story.   Michael Hingson ** 29:06 Did you do most of this? Then, after your singing career, were you writing while the career, while you were singing?   Kay Sparling ** 29:13 I was writing while I was still singing. Yeah, I started the book in 2015 Okay, and because, as I was taking the PTSD treatment and had to put it on the shelf several times, life got in the way. I got my my teaching career just really took off. And then I was still singing quite a bit. And then on top of it, everything kind of ceased in 2018 when my mother moved in with me and she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, but Louie body Alzheimer's, which is a very, very rough time, and so I became one of her caretakers. So I quit singing, put that on hold, and I. I had to really, really bring down the number in my studio I was teaching and spend time here at home. And so I would take care of her, but then after she would go to bed, and she'd go to bed much earlier than I wanted to, that's when I write, and that's when I got the lion's share of this book written. Was during that time, it was a great escape from what I was dealing with, believe it or not, you know, even though there's some real graphic things in the book and all it wasn't, it was a nice distraction.   Michael Hingson ** 30:36 Wow, so you, you lived this, needless to say,   Kay Sparling ** 30:41 Yes, I did, and yes.   Michael Hingson ** 30:45 So you've talked a little bit about what happened to these countries after the collapse of the USSR and communism and so on, these eastern companies, companies, countries. Has it changed much over the years.   Kay Sparling ** 31:03 Oh, yeah, for instance, one, you know, I went to Budapest after they were freed, I guess is what usr would say. Stayed in a five star hotel, and we were lucky if we had running water and electricity at the same time. And every time you went down on the streets, all you'd see is lines, you know, I mean, just because there'd be all like, Red Cross, etc, would be there, and they'd have these big trucks they drove in every day, and it just got to be because they had nothing. If you saw a truck, you'd start running towards it and get in line. You didn't care what it was, you know, and it was. And then fights would break out because they wouldn't have enough for everyone. And then, like, you know, maybe someone's walking away with a bag of rice, and some of us knock them over the head and take, you know, and it was very hard, you know, I was a volunteer there, and it was very, very hard to see this, you know, desperation, one story that I'd like to tell, and I put it in the book. I was riding my bike, you know, on a Friday afternoon to get some groceries at the nearest supermarket where my apartment was, and at that time, they still had the European hours, so they were going to close at five o'clock, and they weren't going to open until seven or eight on Monday morning. So you had to make sure you got there to get your weekend supply. So I was on my way, and I was parking my bike, and this woman, refugee woman, runs up and she has two small children with her, and she's carrying a baby, and she's speaking to me in a language I did not know. I do speak several languages, but I don't know Slavic languages and so, but I'm getting the gist of it that she has nothing to eat, neither do her children, and so I'm patting her on the shoulder, and right when I do that, a policeman that was guarding the door of the supermarket came up to me and, like, grabbed me really hard, and told me in German that I was not To speak to them, and I was not to help them, because if you help them, they'll stay. And I said to him in German, I'm an American. I am not Austrian. I am here on a work visa, and I can do whatever the hell I want to do. Well, he didn't like that. And so I just walked away from him, and I went in the store. And so I got up everything I get. Think of the big need, you know, I never had a baby, so I was trying to kind of figure that out, yeah, and I had to figure it out in German, you know, looking at labels now. And so finally I got, I got some stuff, you know, the stuff I needed, and, and, and the stuff that I got for the family, and I checked out, and I'm pushing the cart, you know, towards them. And he runs up beside me and stops me, and he says, I am going to arrest you if you bring that. I told you not to help them. And I said, again, I don't think I'm breaking any laws. And he said, Oh yes, you are. And I said, Well, I didn't read that in the papers. I didn't see it on TV where anyone said. That you cannot help a refugee. And so we're going back and forth. And so, you know, I'm pretty strong, so I just keep pushing it towards it. Well, she's kind of running down the park, and I'm like, wait, wait, you know, because she's getting scared of this guy, you know, he has a gun, he has a nightstick. Of course, she's scared, and so, you know, I would say, No, no, it's okay, because I can't speak for language, right? And so I'm just trying to give her body language and talk. Well, finally she does stop, and I just throw I give the one sack to the little boy, and one second little girl, they just run and and then, you know, I'm talking to her and saying, you know, it's okay, it's okay. And he grabs me, and he turns me around and he spits in my face.   Michael Hingson ** 35:53 Wow. Talk about breaking the law. But anyway, go ahead.   Kay Sparling ** 36:00 Welcome to Austria in the late 80s. You have to understand their Prime Minister Kurt voltheim won on the Nazi ticket. Mm, hmm. At that very time, if you got on a bus and you saw these businessmen going to work, at least 50% of them were reading the Nazi paper. Okay, so we kind of know what, where his affiliations lie. You know, this policeman and, you know, and I was very aware, you know, of of that party being very strong. And so you have to watch yourself when, when you're a foreigner. And I was a foreigner too, just like her. And so after wiping my face, I mean, I really, really wanted to give him a kick or something, yeah, and I do, I do know martial arts, but I was like, no, no, gotta stay cool. And I just told her to run. And she did and caught up with the children, and, you know, kept running. So that was the first experience I had knowing how unwelcome these people were in Austria. Yeah, so I got involved, yeah, I got involved because I was like, this is absolutely not right.   Michael Hingson ** 37:31 And so the book is, in part, to try to bring awareness to all that. I would think   Kay Sparling ** 37:36 absolutely there are, there are bits of it are, they're pretty darn graphic, but it's all true, and it's all documented. Sometimes people about human trafficking, they think, oh, it's not in my backyard. I'm not going to think about that. Well, I live in a very small college town, around 17,000 people, and two months ago, on the front page of this small paper here in town, there were seven men that were arrested for many counts of human trafficking of underage women and prostitution. So guess what, folks, it is in your backyard. If it's in this little town, it's probably in yours too. And we have to be aware before we can do anything. So we have to open our eyes. And I hope this book opens the eyes of the reader to say, Oh, my God, I knew things were bad, but I didn't realize that torture, this kind of thing went on. Well, it does, and I the International Labor Union estimates that 21 million people are being you. You are victims of human trafficking right now, as we speak, throughout the world, that's a lot of people, a lot of people. So most likely, we've all seen some hint of that going on, it didn't register as it at the time. You know, if you're just walked out of a restaurant, and you're walking to your car that's parked on the street, and you happen to go by an alley and there's restaurants on that row, and all of a sudden you see people being kind of shoved out and put in a truck. That's probably human trafficking, you know? And you know, a lot of people don't pay attention, but like, if they stop and think that doesn't look right, and if those people look like they may be from another country, yeah. And all you have to do is call the authorities, you know, and other ways that you can help are by you know, that that you can get involved. Are, you know, donate to all the different organizations that are finding this now.   Michael Hingson ** 40:19 Was the book self published, or do you have a publisher?   Kay Sparling ** 40:25 I self published, but it's more of a hybrid publishing company that's kind of a new thing that's going on, and so I cannot learn all those different facets of publishing a book, right? It just wasn't in my, you know, skill set, and it also wasn't even interesting to me. I don't want to learn how to do graphic illustration. Okay? So what I did is I hired a hybrid company that had all these different departments that dealt with this, and I had complete artistic control, and I was able to negotiate a great deal on my net profits. So I feel that, after looking into the traditional publishing world and not being exactly pleased with it to say the least, I think that was the right business choice for me to make, and I'm very happy I did it.   Michael Hingson ** 41:46 How do you market the book then?   Kay Sparling ** 41:48 Well, that was, that was the tricky part that that publisher did have some marketing they started, but obviously now they agreed it wasn't enough. So at that point, I attended a virtual women's publishing seminar, and I really paid attention to all the companies that were presenting about marketing. And in that time, I felt one that I just was totally drawn to, and so I asked her if we could have a consultation, and we did, and the rest is history. I did hire her team and a publicist, Mickey, who you probably know, and, yeah, it's been going really great. That was the second smart thing I did, was to, you know, hire, hire a publicity.   Michael Hingson ** 42:50 Well, yeah, and marketing is one is a is a tricky thing. It's not the most complicated thing in the world, but you do have to learn it, and you have to be disciplined. So good for you, for for finding someone to help, but you obviously recognize the need to market, which is extremely important, and traditional publishers don't do nearly as much of it as they used to. Of course, there are probably a lot more authors than there used to be too. But still,   Kay Sparling ** 43:19 yeah, their their marketing has changed completely. I remember I had a roommate that became a famous author, and just thinking about when he started, you know, in the 80s, how the industry is completely changed. Mm, hmm, you know. So, yeah, it's, it's really tricky. The whole thing is very tricky. One thing that I also did is one of my graduate students needed a job, and so I've known her since, literally, I've known her since eighth grade. I have been with this student a long time, and she's done very well, but she really is a wiz at the social media. And so she made all my accounts. I think I have 12 altogether, and every time I do something like what I'm doing tonight, soon as it's released, she just puts it out there, everywhere and and I have to thank her from again that that's probably not my skill set.   Michael Hingson ** 44:37 Well, everyone has gifts, right? And the the people who I think are the most successful are the people who recognize that they have gifts. There are other people that have gifts that will augment or enhance what they do. And it's good that you find ways to collaborate. I think collaborating is such an important thing. Oh, yeah. All too many people don't. They think that they can just do it all in and then some people can. I mean, I know that there are some people who can, but a lot of people don't and can't.   Kay Sparling ** 45:12 Well, I've got other things. I've got going, you know, so maybe if I only had to do the book, everything to do with the book, that would be one thing, but I, you know, I have other things I have to have in my life. And so I think that collaboration is also fun, and I'm very good at delegating. I have been very good at delegating for a long time. When I started my school. I also started a theater company, and if you know one thing, it's a three ring circus to produce an opera or a musical, and I've done a lot of them, and yeah, I would have not survived if I didn't learn how to delegate and trust people to do their own thing. So what are you   Michael Hingson ** 45:58 doing today? What are you doing today? Besides writing?   Kay Sparling ** 46:04 Well, during covid, everything got shut down, and I didn't have an income, and I had to do something. And one of, believe it or not, one of my parents, of one of my students, is an attorney for the state of Wisconsin, and she was very worried. I mean, it looked like I might lose my house. I mean, I literally had no income. And so, you know, I was a small business person, and so she offered me very graciously to come work in the department of workers compensation in the legal Bureau at the state of Wisconsin. So I never have done anything like that in my life. I have never sat in a cubicle. I've never sat in front of a computer unless it was in its recording studio or something like that. So it was a crazy thing to have to do in my early 60s, but I'm a single woman, and I had to do it, and and I did, and it put me on solid ground, and that was one reason I couldn't finish the book, because I didn't have to worry about a live cookie. And so I am continuing to do that in so as in the day, that is what I do. I'm a legal assistant, cool.   Michael Hingson ** 47:32 And so when did mission thought get published?   Kay Sparling ** 47:38 Mission thought almost a year ago, in August of 2024 it launched, yes, okay, yeah. And it was very scary for me, you know, because my hybrid publishers up in Canada, and they were telling me, Well, you know, we're going to get you some editorial reviews and we're going to have you be interviewed. And you know, those very first things where my editor at at the publisher had told me it was one of the really a good book, and that was one of the cleanest books she ever had to edit. And so that kind of gave me some confidence. But you understand, look at my background. I I didn't go to school to be a writer. I had never studied writing. I hadn't done any writing up until now, and so to that was my first kind of sigh of relief when the editor at the publisher said it was really a good book, and then I started getting the editorial reviews, and they were all stellar, and they continue to be. And I'm, I'm still a little shocked, you know, because it takes time, I guess, for a person to switch gears and identify themselves as an author. But you know, after a year now, I'm feeling much more comfortable in my shoes about that. But at first it was, it was trying because I was scared and I was worried, you know, what people were going to think about the book, not the story, so much as how it was crafted. But it ends up, well,   Michael Hingson ** 49:15 it ends up being part of the same thing, and yeah, the very fact that they love it that that means a lot. Yeah, so is, is there more in the way of adventures from Caitlin coming up or what's happening?   Kay Sparling ** 49:30 Yeah, this is hopefully a trilogy, um of Caitlin's most important standout missions. And so the second one is set in the early 90s during the Bosnian war. And this time, she cannot use opera as a cover, because obviously in a war zone, there's no opera. And so she has to. To go undercover as either a un volunteer or Red Cross, and this time, her sidekick is not the Clive Matthews. He has actually started a special squad, combat squad that's going in because, of course, we, none of us, were really involved with that war, right? But that's what he's doing. And so, believe it or not, her, her sidekick, so to speak, is a priest that very early, goes on and sees, you know, this absolute ethnic cleansing going on, you know, massacres and and he tries to get the Catholic Church to help, and they're like, no, no, we're not touching that. And so he goes AWOL. And had been friends in Vienna with the CIA during the first book. He goes to the CIA and says, This is what's going on. I saw it with my own eyes. I want to help. And so he becomes Caitlin's sidekick, which is a very interesting relationship. You know, Caitlin, the opera singer, kind of, kind of modern girl, you know, and then you know, the kind of staunch priest. But they find a way to work together, and they have to, because they have to save each other's lives a couple times. And this is my favorite book of the three. And so basically what happens is called Mission impromptu, and I hope to have that finished at the end of this month. And the reason we call it impromptu is because her chief tells her to just get the information and get out, but her and the priest find out that there is a camp of orphaned boys that they are planning to come massacre, and so they they they basically go rogue and don't follow orders and go try to help the boys. Yeah. And then the third book, she has actually moved back to New York, and she's thinking, well, she does retire from the CIA, and it's the summer of 2001 and what happened in September of 2001 911 and so they call her right back in she literally had been retired for about three months.   Michael Hingson ** 52:35 Well, to my knowledge, I never met Caitlin, so I'm just saying Mm hmm, having been in the World Trade Center on September 11, but I don't think I met Caitlin anyway.   Kay Sparling ** 52:43 Go ahead. No, she wasn't in the towers, but no, I was in New York. And yeah, so they called her back right away. And so the third one is going to be called Mission home front, because that's been her home for a very long time. She's been living in New York.   Michael Hingson ** 53:01 Are there plans for Caitlin beyond these three books? I hope so.   Kay Sparling ** 53:08 I think it would be fun for her to retire from the CIA and then move back to the Midwest. And, you know, it turned into a complete fiction. Of course, this is not true stuff, but, you know, like kind of a cozy mystery series, right, where things happen and people can't get anyone to really investigate it, so they come to Caitlin, and then maybe her ex boss, you know, the chief that's also retired, they kind of, you know, gang up and become pi type, you know, right? I'm thinking that might be a fun thing.   Michael Hingson ** 53:46 Now, are mostly books two and three in the mission series. Are they also relatively non fiction?   53:53 Yes, okay,   Michael Hingson ** 53:57 okay, cool, yes. Well, you know, it's, it's pretty fascinating to to hear all of this and to to see it, to hear about it from you, but to see it coming together, that is, that is really pretty cool to you know, to see you experiencing have the book, has mission thought been converted by any chance to audio? Is it available on Audible or   Kay Sparling ** 54:21 anywhere it has not but it is in my plans. It's there's a little bit of choice I have to make do. I use my publisher and hire one of their readers you know to do it, someone you know, that's in equity, that type of thing. Or you know, my publicity, or people are also saying, well, because you're an actor, and, you know, all these accents, it might be nice for you to do to read your own book. Well, the problem is time, you know, just the time to do it, because I'm so busy promoting the book right now. And really. Right writing the second one that you know, I just don't know if I'm going to be able to pull that off, but I have my own records, recording studio in my voice studio downstairs, but it's just and I have all the equipment I have engineers. It's just a matter of me being able to take the time to practice and to get that done. So it's probably going to be, I'll just use their, one of their people, but yes, yeah, it's coming. It's coming. Well, it's,   Michael Hingson ** 55:29 it's tough. I know when we published last year, live like a guide dog, and the publisher, we did it through a traditional publisher, they worked with dreamscape to create an audio version. And I actually auditioned remotely several authors and chose one. But it is hard to really find someone to read the book the way you want it read, because you know what it's like, and so there is merit to you taking the time to read it. But still, as you said, there are a lot of things going on,   Kay Sparling ** 56:09 yeah, and I have read, you know, certain portions of the book, because some podcasts that I've been on asked me to do that, and I and I practiced and that, it went very well. And of course, when people hear that, they're like, Oh, you're the one that has to do this. You know Caitlin. You can speak her, you know her attitudes and all. And then you also know how to throw all those different accents out there, because there's going to be, like, several, there's Dutch, there's German, there's Scottish, high British and Austrian. I mean, yeah, yeah, Austrians speak different than Germans. Mm, hmm,   Michael Hingson ** 56:53 yeah, it's it's a challenge, but it's still something worth considering, because you're going to bring a dimension to it that no one else really can because you wrote it and you really know what you want them to sound like, Yeah, but it's a it's a process. I and I appreciate that, but you've got lots going on, and you have to have an income. I know for me, we started live like a guide dog my latest book when the pandemic began, because I realized that although I had talked about getting out of the World Trade Center and doing so without exhibiting fear, didn't mean that it wasn't there, but I realized that I had learned to control fear, because I learned a lot that I was able to put to use on the Day of the emergency. And so the result of that was that, in fact, the mindset kicked in and I was able to function, but I never taught anyone how to do that. And so the intent of live like a guide dog was to be a way that people could learn how to control fear and not let fear overwhelm or, as I put it, blind them, but rather use fear as a very powerful tool to help you focus and do the things that you really need to do. But it's a choice. People have to learn that they can make that choice and they can control it, which is kind of what really brought the book to to mind. And the result was that we then, then did it. And so it came out last August as well.   Kay Sparling ** 58:27 Oh, well, if you read my book, you'll see Caitlin developing the same skills you were just talking about. She has to overcome fear all the time, because she's never been in these situations before, and yet she has to survive, you know?   Michael Hingson ** 58:44 Yeah, well, and the reality is that most of us take too many things for granted and don't really learn. But if you learn, for example, if there's an emergency, do you know where to go in the case of an emergency? Do you know how to evacuate, not by reading the signs? Do you know? And that's the difference, the people who know have a mindset that will help them be a lot more likely to be able to survive, because they know what all the options are, and if there's a way to get out, they know what they are, rather than relying on signs, which may or may not even be available to you if you're in a smoke filled environment, for example, yeah,   Kay Sparling ** 59:22 yeah, you should know ahead of time. Yeah, you know, I know the state where I work. I I mostly work at home. I'm able to do that, but we do have to go in once a week, and we just changed floors. They've been doing a lot of remodeling, and that was the first thing, you know, the supervisor wanted us to do was walk through all the way for a tornado, fire, etc, and so we did that, you know, and that's smart, because then you're like, you say you're not trying to look at a chart as you're running or whatever,   Michael Hingson ** 59:56 and you may need to do it more than once to make sure you really know it. I know for me. I spent a lot of time walking around the World Trade Center. In fact, I didn't even use my guide dog. I used a cane, because with a cane, I'll find things that the dog would just automatically go around or ignore, like kiosks and other things. But I want to know where all that stuff is, because I want to know what all the shops are down on the first floor. Well, now that that is the case anymore, but it was at the time there was a shopping mall and knowing where everything was, but also knowing where different offices were, knowing who was in which offices, and then knowing the really important things that most people don't know about, like where the Estee Lauder second store was on the 46th floor of tower two. You know, you got to have the important things for wives, and so I learned what that was. Well, it was, it was, those are important things, but you'll learn a lot, and it's real knowledge. Someone, a recent podcast episode that they were on, said something very interesting, and that is that we're always getting information, but information isn't knowing it. Knowledge is really internalizing the information and making it part of our psyche and really getting us to the point where we truly know it and can put it to use. And that is so true. It isn't just getting information. Well, that's great. I know that now, well, no, you don't necessarily know it now, until you internalize it, until you truly make it part of your knowledge. And I think that's something that a lot of people miss. Well, this has been a lot of fun. If people want to reach out to you, is there a way they can do that?   Kay Sparling ** 1:01:40 Yeah, the best thing is my book website, K, Sparling books.com spelled and it would K, a, y, s, p, as in Paul, A, R, L, I N, G, B, O, O, K, s.com.com, okay, and you can email me through there. And all the media that I've been on is in the media section. The editorial reviews are there. There's another thing that my student heats up for me is the website. It's it's really developed. And so lots of information about the book and about me on on there. And one thing I want to mention is, just because of my background and all the all the people that you know, I know, a friend of mine is a composer, and he wrote a song, a theme song, because we do hope that someday we can sell this, you know, yeah, to for movie and, or, you know, Netflix, or something like that. And so he wrote a theme song and theme music. And I just think that's fun. And then I wanted my students saying, saying it. And then, you know, it's with a rock band, but it's, it's very James Bond, the kind of with a little opera, you know, involved too. But, you know, not a lot of authors can say that on their website, they have a theme song for their books.   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:16 And where is   Kay Sparling ** 1:03:18 it? It would be under, it's going to be about the author. And there's a nice one of my other students is a graphic artist. She She did a graphic a scene of Caitlin with her ball gown, and she's got her foot up on a stool, and she's putting her pistol in her thigh holster, in I think, you know, it's kind of like a cartoon, and it quotes Caitlin saying, I bet you I'm going to be the only bell at the ball with this accessory pistol. And then right underneath that, that song, you can click it and hear it. We also are on YouTube mission. Thought does have its own YouTube channel, so you can find it there as well.   Michael Hingson ** 1:04:05 So well, I want to thank you for being here and for telling us all the stories and especially about mission. I hope people will get it and read it, and I look forward to it coming out in audio at some point. Yes, I'll be lazy and wait for that, I I like to to get books with human readers. You know, I can get the print book and I can play it with a synthetic voice, but I, I really prefer human voices. And I know a lot of people who do AI has not progressed to the point where it really can pull that off.   Kay Sparling ** 1:04:38 Well, no, it cannot. Yeah, I totally agree with you there.   Michael Hingson ** 1:04:42 So Well, thank you for being here, and I want to thank all of you for listening and watching us today. This has been fun. And as some of you know, if you listen to many of these podcasts, we have a rule on the podcast, you can't come on unless you're going to have fun. So we did have fun. We. You have fun? Yeah. See, there you go. I was gonna ask if you had fun. Of course, yes. So thank you all for listening. Love to hear from you. Love to hear what your thoughts are about today's episode. Feel free to email me at Michael H, i@accessibe.com that's m, I, C, H, A, E, L, H, I at accessibe, A, C, E, S, S, i, b, e.com, also, please give us a five star rating. We appreciate it. K, I'll appreciate it. And when this goes up, when you hear it, we really value those ratings and reviews very highly. If you know anyone else who ought to be a guest and KU as well, love to hear from you. Please introduce us. Kay, you'll have to introduce us to Caitlin, but But seriously, we always are looking for more guests. So if anyone knows of anyone who ought to come on and tell a story, we'd love to hear from you. But again, Kay, I want to thank you one last time. This has been great, and we really appreciate you being here.   Kay Sparling ** 1:05:59 Well, thank you for having me.   Michael Hingson ** 1:06:04 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com . AccessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for Listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

As a Mom of 3, Founder of YVR Creatives, Editor of The In-Between, and one of Vancouver's Top 25 Mom Bloggers of 2025, Christine Coughlin knows a thing or two about the imperfect art of parenting, mixed with the entrepreneur bug. Join us as we discuss our endless curiosity as human beings, how to harness what comes naturally to you, and how to know when to "go for it" with a business idea. Be sure to catch her top 3 tips for building your own personal brand! Connect with Christine: Website: https://the-inbetween.ca Website: https://yvrcreatives.ca Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamchristinecoughlin Connect with Elaine: Website: https://elaineskitchentable.com Instagram: @elainetancomeau LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elainetancomeau/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElainesKitchenTable Twitter: https://twitter.com/chatwithelaine Get a free chapter from Elaine's book, Sell Your Passion: https://elaineskitchentable.com/book/   Episode Sponsor: Episode Sponsor: UPS, visit https://www.ups.com/ca/en/business-solutions/grow-your-business.page to save up to 50% on your shipping!

Send us a textHello and welcome back to Breakfast with Mom!Today we're focusing on a woman whose quiet courage changed the course of history — Miep Gies.You might know her as the woman who helped hide Anne Frank and her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. But Miep's life story is much richer than that moment alone. It's a story of compassion, bravery, and moral conviction in a time when silence could mean complicity, and speaking out could cost you everything.Sources:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miep_Gieshttps://www.annefrank.org/en/anne-frank/main-characters/miep-gies/https://www.biography.com/history-culture/miep-gieshttps://kids.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/miep-gieshttps://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46579517/miep-gieshttps://hmd.org.uk/resource/miep-gies/All the things: Music: "Electronic Rock (King Around Here)" by Alex Grohl https://pixabay.com/music/search/electronic%20rock%20kingLogo Artwork: Strawbeary Studios https://www.youtube.com/@StrawbearyStudios/featuredEpisode was researched, written and edited by ShanoaSocial Media:  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090200010112X (formerly Twitter): @breakfastmompodEmail: breakfastwithmompodcast@gmail.com

On the latest Whisper in the Wings from Stage Whisper, we welcomed on the creator/performer Shir Living to talk about the latest production of her show, Mom*. This is such a brilliant exploration of the complicated mindsets of motherhood, told through the different points of time. Just like this conversation, you won't want to miss it. So tune in and turn out!Mom*September 26th- 28th@ 3AM TheatreTickets and more information are available shirwonder.com/mom And be sure to follow Shir to stay up to date on all her upcoming projects and productions: @shirwonder

In this episode of the JAMODI Podcast, Matt Sayman sits down with Weatherford High School Head Coach Neal Welch to talk about building lasting culture, creating belief in players, and investing in relationships that go beyond the court.

In this powerful episode of Owning Pleasure as a Black Woman, I dive deep into the inherited guilt that shows up every time you say no or set a boundary. You know it's the right decision—you're already overwhelmed—but there's that familiar knot in your stomach and the voice saying "you're so selfish." What if that guilt isn't even yours? I unpack how survival scripts from our ancestors, childhood messages about being "low maintenance," and the strong Black woman stereotype create the perfect storm of people-pleasing. Learn to distinguish between your authentic voice and inherited programming, understand the difference between caring and caretaking, and discover practical steps to reclaim your right to disappoint people without carrying their emotions.Key Takeaways:• The Guilt Isn't Yours: That critical voice telling you you're selfish for having boundaries isn't your authentic self—it's an inherited script from survival patterns passed down through generations, childhood conditioning about being "good," and cultural stereotypes about Black women always being available.• Your Body Knows the Difference: Your authentic voice feels expansive in your body—shoulders drop, chest opens, you can breathe deeply. External scripts create knots in your stomach, tension in your shoulders, and restricted breathing. Use these physical cues to identify which voice is speaking.• Caring vs. Caretaking: Caring says "I love you and I hope you figure that out." Caretaking says "I love you and I will sacrifice myself to give you what you need." Your "no" is actually true love—it gives people space to support themselves while preserving your energy for what you truly want to pour into.Episode Challenge: The Guilt AuditStep 1: Notice when guilt shows up this week without judgment. Just observe and acknowledge it.Step 2: Ask yourself three questions:Whose voice is this? (Mom, grandmother, cultural messaging?)What am I afraid will happen if I don't fix this person's disappointment?What would I choose if I trusted that I could handle their reaction?Step 3: Choose one small boundary to maintain this week, even while feeling guilty. Maybe it's not responding to texts immediately, saying "let me think about it" instead of automatic yes, or not volunteering for something you don't want to do.Listen Now:Ready to reclaim your right to disappoint people? Hit play to discover how to distinguish between your authentic voice and inherited programming that's keeping you stuck in people-pleasing patterns!Links Mentioned:• Get Your 7 Days of Self-Care: Visit www.javerywellness.com/reset to join the movement from consuming to creating• Book a Free Consultation: Ready for deeper support? Schedule a complimentary 15-minute consultation with Javery Integrative Wellness Services here.Connect with Us:• Instagram: @natasha_is_satisfied • Facebook: @NatashaChentille• YouTube: @NatashaChentille • Website: www.javerywellness.comMusic Credit:Music by

DAY 14: The Our Father Welcome to the Gospel in a Year on the Catholic Sprouts Podcast. In this episode we are reading Matthew 6:1-15   To get the most out of this journey through the Gospels, we suggest you PRINT THE GOSPEL IN A YEAR NOTEBOOK. It's free and ready for you right here --> http://catholicsprouts.com/the-gospels-in-a-year-on-the-catholic-sprouts-podcast   Thank you for joining us! Come Lord Jesus!

Send us a textDo you know when you are going to need to use your concealed carry pistol? In this episode of the Green Ops Podcast Luke talks with Tom Givens, Owner of Rangemasters about how to use stats to develop your practice sessions, where most violent encounters occur and how the rangemasters record (69-0-3) has 3 forfeits.Tom Givens, owner, founder and lead instructor of Rangemasters started his firearms journey when he was 16 years old.  He became a police officer where he was trained and developed opinions on firearms training in general. After completing a 25-year career in law enforcement and specialized security work, Tom opened his own pistol range in Memphis, TN in 1996.  For 18 years, it was the primary source of handgun carry permit certification for the greater Memphis area.  Soon joined by his wife Lynn, the training duo formed Rangemaster Firearms Training Services to share their expertise with a much broader audience.  They now travel across the country and around the world to arm responsible citizens with the skills and knowledge they need to effectively protect themselves and their families. Tom has now been working in firearms instruction for over 50 years. He has trained security officers; law enforcement officers at the local, state, and federal level; and foreign government agents. Intro/Outro Music:Mesmerize by VDGL https://soundcloud.com/musicforall-61...Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0Free Download / Stream: http://bit.ly/3ipP00EMusic promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/o2xR6hS9N2MPlease like, subscribe and share to help us grow the podcast.Check out our YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/c/GreenOpsInc Follow us on Instagram:Green Ops Podcast - Green_ops_podcastGreen Ops - greenopsincLuke - Green_Ops_LukeDex - Green_Ops_DexLove you Mom!

What do you do when the life you built suddenly shatters? In this first episode of The Grace Factor, I open up about the hardest year of my life — walking through divorce after 20 years of marriage, the frantic ways I tried to save it, and what it felt like when my body and business completely shut down. I share the truth I once believed — that saving my marriage was the only way God could get glory, the only way my son Henry could be happy, and the only path worth living. And I share how I discovered I was wrong. God's plan is bigger than any one season, and His love is not dependent on my performance or outcomes. If you've ever felt crushed by grief, paralyzed by fear, or ashamed that you couldn't “keep it all together,” this episode is for you. You'll hear raw honesty, biblical encouragement, and one simple Real Estate Business Builder Tip you can use to keep showing up in your business even when life feels impossible.

In this episode of the Not Your Average Autism Mompodcast, Shannon Urquiola talks about the long game of independence and why the little skills your child learns today matter so much for their future.Letting go isn't easy, but when you nurture their confidence through small, everyday moments, you're laying the foundation for big freedoms later on.Shannon also unpacks the difference between parentingfor your comfort versus parenting for their future—and why that shift is one of the most powerful things you can do. If you've ever struggled with holding on too tightly, this conversation will give you both encouragementand a gentle nudge forward.Tune in for encouragement, strategies, and the reminderthat you're stronger than you think.

So, Mom and Dad, maybe your child's problem is that they're a demon from hell. 

In this episode of the JAMODI Podcast, Matt Sayman sits down with Weatherford High School Head Coach Neal Welch to talk about building lasting culture, creating belief in players, and investing in relationships that go beyond the court.

DAY 13: Teaching on Anger Welcome to the Gospel in a Year on the Catholic Sprouts Podcast. In this episode we are reading Matthew 5:17-48   To get the most out of this journey through the Gospels, we suggest you PRINT THE GOSPEL IN A YEAR NOTEBOOK. It's free and ready for you right here --->  http://catholicsprouts.com/the-gospels-in-a-year-on-the-catholic-sprouts-podcast   Thank you for joining us! Come Lord Jesus!  

  SUBSCRIPTION INTERFACE   You can now find our subscription page at GeorgeHrab.com at this link. Many thanks to the majestic Evo Terra for his assistance.   THE SHOW NOTES   Permanent Impermanence Intro DEVO on Netflix Religious Moron of the Week      - Joel Webbon from Eileen Williams The History Chunk      - September 18th Occasional Songs for the Periodic Table: 3/7/26 Gilligan's Barchetta Ask George      - Genres? from Christer Tell Me Something Good      - Stick Search LUAG on Friday Kansas! Show Close .........................   Mentioned in the Show   Light Up LUAG 100 Years, 100 Local Artists  Friday, September 19th 5:30–8:30pm At Lehigh University Art Galleries (inside Zoellner Arts Center) FREE AND OPEN TO ALL Here and Now Opening Party Here and Now Exhibition .........................   Get George's Music Here  https://georgehrab.hearnow.com https://georgehrab.bandcamp.com ................................... SUBSCRIBE! You can sign up at GeorgeHrab.com and become a Geologist or a Geographer. As always, thank you so much for your support! You make the ship go. ................................... Sign up for the mailing list: Write to Geo! Check out Geo's wiki page, thanks to Tim Farley. Have a comment on the show, a Religious Moron tip, or a question for Ask George? Drop George a line and write to Geo's Mom, too!

This week on Bows & Company, Mom and I are catching up on everything — from what's been going on with social media, to our conference recap, and a little life and relationship update mixed in. Just a fun chatty epsiode!    Follow me on my ShopLTK!  https://www.shopltk.com/explore/emilyoandbows    

“I should be grateful.” As moms, we often feel this pressure to always be thankful. It's almost like we use gratitude as a way to push away other feelings. It's as if admitting to sadness, worry, or even loneliness makes us ungrateful, when really those emotions are just part of the truth of our experience. The minute we add this pressure, that “I shouldn't feel this way,” we layer guilt and shame on top of what's already hard. In this episode, I share how this “should trap” shows up for us as moms raising teens and as we navigate the empty nest. Whether you're letting go as your kids grow, navigating motherhood in midlife, or striving to find purpose in this next chapter, it's easy to feel like you're doing life wrong when gratitude doesn't erase your harder emotions. What if it's possible to make space for both gratitude and the full range of human emotions? Because when you let go of the judgment, you open the door to more peace, contentment, and fulfillment in your life.

Send us a textKatie and Bridget refuse to get on the train to the quarantined zombie land as they re-watch the 2nd installment in the series: 28 Weeks Later! We're back in London where apparently all the zombies have starved out and now the AMERICAN ARMY has come in to take over because that JUST. MAKES. SENSE!(?!) But unfortunately our beloved characters from the 1st movie are nowhere to be seen. Instead we've got siblings Andy and Tammy who are being reunited with their Dad, who shall be known as "Fucking-Don". When they find their Mom alive and well after their Dad gaslighted them into thinking he didn't leave her for dead, chaos ensues and yet another god damn zombie apocalypse commences. Although this time we at least have Jeremy Renner and Idris Elba to look at throughout it, so that's cool. We've got loads of questions, unlikeable/unknown characters, and little to no fun ethical conversations in this sequel to 28 Days Later, which doesn't really compare in the slightest. Released in 2007, it stars Jeremy Renner, Rose Byrne, Robert Carlyle, Harold Perrineau, Catherine McCormack, Idris Elba, Imogen Poots, and Mackintosh Muggleton.

Fluent Fiction - Japanese: Reconnecting Under Kyoto's Autumn Canopy: A Mother-Daughter Tale Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/ja/episode/2025-09-17-22-34-01-ja Story Transcript:Ja: 秋の日曜日、家族は京都の清水寺にいました。En: On an autumn Sunday, the family was at Kyoto's Kiyomizu-dera.Ja: 秋の葉が赤や金色に染まり、寺の周りは観光客で賑わっていました。En: The autumn leaves were dyed in red and golden colors, and the area around the temple was bustling with tourists.Ja: 静かでありながら活気あるこの場所は、訪れる人々に特別な時を提供していました。En: This place, quiet yet lively, offered a special time to those who visited.Ja: あいこは、その景色に目を細めながら、家族旅行の懐かしい思い出を思い起こしていました。En: Aiko, while narrowing her eyes at the scenery, recalled fond memories of family trips.Ja: あいこの横には、彼女のティーンエイジャーの娘、えみがいました。En: Beside Aiko was her teenage daughter, Emi.Ja: しかし、えみはスマートフォンに夢中で、風景にはあまり興味を示していませんでした。En: However, Emi was engrossed in her smartphone, showing little interest in the scenery.Ja: あいこは、娘との距離感を感じていました。En: Aiko felt a sense of distance with her daughter.Ja: 「えみ、一緒に美しい写真を撮らない？」とあいこは提案しました。En: "Emi, would you like to take a beautiful picture together?" suggested Aiko.Ja: しかし、えみはただ頷き、再びスマートフォンに目を戻しました。En: But Emi just nodded and turned her eyes back to her smartphone.Ja: あいこは考えました。「どうすれば、えみともっと楽しい思い出を作れるだろう？」En: Aiko thought, "How can I create more enjoyable memories with Emi?"Ja: そこで、彼女は新しいアイデアを思いつきました。En: Then, she came up with a new idea.Ja: 「えみ、ちょっとした写真チャレンジをしようか？お互いに一番きれいな紅葉の写真を撮るの、どう？」あいこは微笑みながら言いました。En: "Emi, how about a little photo challenge? Let's see who can take the most beautiful picture of the autumn leaves?" Aiko suggested with a smile.Ja: えみは一瞬考えた後、興味を示しました。En: After thinking for a moment, Emi showed interest.Ja: 「いいね、やってみよう。」スマートフォンを持ち上げ、二人は清水寺の周りを歩き始めました。En: "Sounds good, let's try it." She lifted her smartphone, and the two began walking around Kiyomizu-dera.Ja: えみは視点を変え、風景に心を向けるようになりました。En: Emi changed her perspective and began focusing on the scenery.Ja: しばらくして、えみは「あ、お母さん、見て！」と叫びました。En: After a while, Emi exclaimed, "Oh, Mom, look!"Ja: 彼女は赤く輝く葉が風に舞い、光に当たってキラキラと輝く瞬間を写真に収めました。En: She captured the moment when the glowing red leaves were dancing in the wind, sparkling in the light.Ja: その素晴らしい写真に、あいこは目を輝かせました。En: Aiko was amazed by the wonderful photo.Ja: 「すごい、えみ！本当にきれいだね。」あいこは嬉しそうに言いました。En: "Amazing, Emi! It's really beautiful," Aiko said happily.Ja: この瞬間が、あいことえみの間の壁を打ち破りました。En: This moment broke down the wall between Aiko and Emi.Ja: 二人は笑顔になり、自然と会話が続きました。En: They both smiled, and their conversation naturally continued.Ja: 寺を後にして、家族は街の小さなレストランに入りました。En: After leaving the temple, the family entered a small restaurant in town.Ja: 食事を楽しみながら、家族はその日の写真を見せ合い、思い出を語り合いました。En: While enjoying their meal, the family shared the photos from that day and talked about their memories.Ja: あいこは気づきました。娘が成長しても、まだ繋がりを持ち、新しい思い出を作る方法があると。En: Aiko realized that even though her daughter was growing up, there are still ways to connect and create new memories.Ja: そして、えみも母親の努力を認め、これからもこうした時間を大切にしたいと思いました。En: And Emi recognized her mother's efforts, wanting to cherish such times in the future.Ja: その日の終わり、秋の夜風が心地よく吹く中、家族は一緒に笑い合い、心が再び繋がっていることを実感しました。En: At the end of the day, with the pleasant autumn night breeze blowing, the family laughed together, feeling their hearts reconnect once more. Vocabulary Words:autumn: 秋dyed: 染まりbustling: 賑わっていましたlively: 活気あるnarrowing: 目を細めながらfond: 懐かしいengrossed: 夢中distance: 距離感suggested: 提案しましたmoments: 瞬間captured: 収めましたglowing: 輝くsparkling: キラキラと輝くnaturally: 自然とchallenge: チャレンジperspective: 視点efforts: 努力cherish: 大切にしたいrealized: 気づきましたconnect: 繋がりmemories: 思い出recall: 思い起こしてquiet: 静かでありながらrestaurant: レストランmoment: 瞬間recognized: 認めamazed: 目を輝かせましたexclaimed: 叫びましたspecial: 特別なautumn leaves: 紅葉

On this week's episode of Mom's Car, we welcome friend of the pod, Erick Richardson. Erick, Dax, and Best Friend Aaron Weakley talk through making a deal with God on a catamaran, the fruitful strategy of taking stock as payment from clients, the former fun of having an unexpected dark side, how Erick came to own 11 rare giant tortoises, and the instability of the market for a cut-off toe. #sponsored by @Allstate. Go to https://bit.ly/momscar to check Allstate first and see how much you could save on car insurance.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Matt Jones (Breaking Bad, Mom) joins us this week to share how growing up in a tumultuous household shaped him into a devoted family man who prioritizes his family over fame. Matt talks candidly about the dichotomy between who he prides himself to be versus the offbeat, aloof characters he gets typecast as. We also talk about the anxiety he experienced at the height of Breaking Bad, our thoughts on the current state of the entertainment industry, and the powerful work he's done through therapy to heal his past. Thank you to our sponsors:

My Mom's neighbor busted her on camera! Does everything have to have a positive spin?? Why couldn't my Mom just read the instagram caption about my assault?! ASK MY MOM: The family cruise  Become a Certified Fan! Help support the podcast and get our Thursday show, More Mama's Boy!  Chip in on Mama Nancy's birthday massage here! Adopt An Episode! Want to show us a little extra love? Adopt an Episode and get a personal shoutout in an upcoming show! This episode was adopted by the amazing Queen Pam of Georgia! Thank you!! A special thank you to our Boy-lievers for your extra support of our show: Angela P, Donald S, Queen Pam, Karissa R, Lisa H, Michele K, Tina U, Candy Z, & Karen W! Listen to my other podcast, “Kramer and Jess Uncensored”! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

DAY 12: The Beatitudes Welcome to the Gospel in a Year on the Catholic Sprouts Podcast.  In this episode we are reading Matthew 5:1-16   To get the most out of this journey through the Gospels, we suggest you PRINT THE GOSPEL IN A YEAR NOTEBOOK. It's free and ready for you right here --->  http://catholicsprouts.com/the-gospels-in-a-year-on-the-catholic-sprouts-podcast   Thank you for joining us! Come Lord Jesus!

In this heartfelt episode, I open up about the question I've been wrestling with: What can I actually do — as a wife, a mom, and a follower of Christ — to make a difference in this world? Instead of getting overwhelmed by the noise, I take a step back to explore what real change looks like when it starts in our own homes, hearts, and daily choices. We'll dive into:

How do you get your daughter to actually want to work on her mental game… without the sighs, eye rolls, or “Mom, stop”?This episode is packed with strategies to help you bring up mental training in a way that doesn't feel pushy, awkward, or like something's “wrong” with her. Instead, you'll learn how to spark curiosity, connect it to her goals, and make it fun.Here's what you'll hear inside: Why some athletes resist mental training at first and what makes them change their mind.A simple way to show your daughter that top athletes all work on their mindset.The secret to tying mental training directly to your daughter's personal goals so it clicks with her.Quick wins that make mental training feel exciting instead of overwhelming.A fun quiz that helps athletes see their “competitor style” and gets them talking about mindset.If you're tired of feeling like the “nagging mom” every time you bring this up, this episode is for you.

It doesn't make sense to push a rope, and yet we so often find ourselves engaged in the parental equivalent. Join AMBrewster to see how our parenting is too often like pushing ropes and what the Bible says we should do about it.Truth.Love.Parent. is a podcast of Truth.Love.Family., an Evermind Ministry.Action Steps Purchase “Quit: how to stop family strife for good.” https://amzn.to/40haxLz Support our 501(c)(3) by becoming a TLP Friend! https://www.truthloveparent.com/donate.html Download the Evermind App. https://evermind.passion.io/checkout/102683 Use the promo code EVERMIND at MyPillow.com. https://www.mypillow.com/evermind  Click here for Today's episode notes, resources, and transcript: https://www.truthloveparent.com/taking-back-the-family-blog/tlp-597-its-really-hard-to-push-a-ropeDownload the Evermind App! https://evermind.passion.io/checkout/102683Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TruthLoveParent/Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truth.love.parent/Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TruthLoveParentFollow AMBrewster on Facebook: https://fb.me/TheAMBrewsterFollow AMBrewster on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebrewsterhome/Follow AMBrewster on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AMBrewsterPin us on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/TruthLoveParent/Subscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTHV-6sMt4p2KVSeLD-DbcwClick here for more of our social media accounts: https://www.truthloveparent.com/presskit.htmlNeed some help? Write to us at Counselor@TruthLoveParent.com.

I was in-the-pocket with this interview, mouth agape and blown away by the brutal honesty and vulnerability that Rod showed during our hour together. I learned so much about two afflictions that can really effect someone's life. Listen as this Rantoul native talks about being a man in the woman's world of hairdressing, drama and acting, marrying a younger woman and the assumptions that come with that, being ahead of COVID protocols, living with Tourette's Syndrome, living with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, watching your father pass in front of your eyes and the angel that he still talks to. Emily Harrington, here! Mom, wife, retired communications liaison and host of the HyperLocal(s) Podcast. Each week I bring you a pod where townies and transplants share their tales of tears and triumphs, losses and wins. In an effort to provide a way for those that don't want a public podcast, but still have a story to tell friends and family, I've created, In Retrospect: A HyperLocal(s) Project, a private podcast. Visit hyperlocalscu.com/in-retrospectThank you so much for listening! However your podcast host of choice allows, please positively: rate, review, comment and give all the stars! Don't forget to follow, subscribe, share and ring that notification bell so you know when the next episode drops! Also, search and follow hyperlocalscu on all social media. If I forgot anything or you need me, visit my website at HyperLocalsCU.com. Byee.

Go back in time with us, as we rewind to our classic Time Bandits discussion for this stand alone mini-episode!  BTW, Mom and Dad - its never a good idea to put your bare hand into a burning toaster.  #timebandits #terrygilliam #montypython #johncleese

Joining us for this episode of Diverse Thinking Different Learning is Leslie Forde! ​​Leslie is the CEO and Founder of Mom's Hierarchy of Needs® and soon-to-be published Author of Repair with Self-Care: Your Guide to the Mom's Hierarchy of Needs. Her business provides evidence-based tools to help moms reclaim their time and well-being from the never-done-list while also helping employers retain working parents and caregivers. Since March of 2020, over 3,700 parents have participated in her research study (the longest-running of its kind) on the pandemic's ongoing impact on work, care, and wellness. With more than twenty years in senior leadership and a decade focused on media and technology in childcare, eldercare, mental health, and education, Leslie is a sought-after speaker and consultant. She advises organizations such as HubSpot, Merck, Scholastic, and the Barr Foundation on how to retain and support parents, caregivers, and people of color. Our conversation explores the growing crisis of parental stress and maternal mental health, which has been made so much worse by a perfect storm of factors such as the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, rising costs, shortages in healthcare and childcare resources, and the unique challenges faced by parents of neurodivergent children. Leslie shares some insights from her extensive research on the topic, explaining how parents, especially mothers, are struggling to balance the demands of caregiving, household management, and careers, often at the expense of their own well-being. The guilt, shame, and lack of flexibility in the workplace make it especially difficult for many parents to ask for the support that they desperately need. Leslie highlights the critical importance of parents, especially mothers, prioritizing self-care even in small ways to build resilience and model healthy behaviors for their children. She provides practical tips such as identifying a daily "anchor" activity and being mindful of decision fatigue to help parents carve out time for their own mental, physical, and emotional needs. Our conversation also goes into the direct connection between parents' mental health and their children's wellbeing, and how, by supporting parents, we can have a profound impact on the whole family. This conversation offers a powerful and timely exploration of the parental mental health crisis, with practical insights and solutions that can make a real difference for families! Want a deeper dive into today's topic? Join Karen and Leslie for a ChildNEXUS & Mom's Hierarchy of Needs Joint Discussion; register here! Show Notes: [2:41] - Leslie argues that rising costs, long wait times, and poor support leave families emotionally and financially strained. [4:15] - Leslie points out how coordinating specialists, schools, and daily routines creates an overwhelming, often invisible burden. [6:13] - Mothers face worsening burnout as post-pandemic losses strip away time, resources, and support systems. [9:58] - Social conditioning and low workplace safety pressure women into overcommitment despite exhaustion and caregiving needs. [12:55] - Leslie asserts that many workplaces equate commitment with overwork, leaving parents afraid to ask for flexibility and support. [15:03] - Leslie points out how parents often feel isolated and ashamed when children struggle academically or socially. [17:39] - Many mothers feel trapped without partner support or financial means. [20:51] - Leslie asserts that ignoring self-care leads to burnout that harms health, family, and career stability. [23:46] - Exhausted parents struggle to engage with energetic children, straining relationships and shared activities. [25:47] - Leslie argues that parenting requires constant exhausting micro-adjustments, like juggling trains on endlessly shifting tracks. [28:36] - Dr. Wilson recommends Leslie's book for guidance. [29:11] - Leslie advises parents to establish a daily anchor habit and reduce fatigue around making decisions. [32:57] - Dr. Wilson points out that it's important to support parents of neurodivergent children while also encouraging their own self-care practices. [33:28] - Leslie agrees and reports that post-pandemic self-care has declined as responsibilities have increased and systems have become more strained. [36:48] - Leslie praises Karen's guidance for parents while emphasizing time management and self-care as very important. [38:10] - What is the best way to reach Leslie? Links and Related Resources: Episode 151: Parenting with ADHD: Insights and Inspiration with Holly Blanc Moses Episode 167: From Surviving to Thriving: A Mom's Hierarchy of Needs and Well-Being with Leslie Forde Episode 202: How Low Demand Parenting Can Reduce Stress and Support Neurodivergent Youth with Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge Leslie Forde - Repair with Self-Care: Your Guide to the Mom's Hierarchy of Needs®   Connect with Us: Get on our Email List Book a Consultation Get Support and Connect with a ChildNEXUS Provider Register for Our “When Struggles Overlap” Live Webinar Email Dr. Wilson: drkiwilson@childnexus.com    Connect with Leslie Forde: Email: leslie@momshierarchyofneeds.com  Mom's Hierarchy of Needs® Website Mom's Hierarchy of Needs® on Instagram Mom's Hierarchy of Needs® on Facebook Mom's Hierarchy of Needs® on Twitter Mom's Hierarchy of Needs® on Pinterest Mom's Hierarchy of Needs® on LinkedIn  

It's time for Red Flag on the date, Mike has the Dirt and we play the Over/Under Game. It's always been Leo for Baz Luhrmann and for us, plus a special alert for Kendall's Mom! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this conversation, the boys speak with William and Connor from The Johnstown Flood about their music, influences, and the emotional depth behind their lyrics. They discuss the significance of their band name, the diversity in their sound, and the balance between aggression and intricacy in their music. The band shares their inspirations from the Southern music scene and the importance of emotional expression in heavy music. They also touch on themes of optimistic nihilism in their lyrics and the challenges of navigating the modern music landscape, including the impact of COVID-19 on their creative process and the importance of collaboration within the band. Intro Music Courtesy of Overthinker: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5iQ2tyRloyNp6Yjd5sv73CPower chords and crashing boards. Mikey, Tom, and Justin talk music, hockey, and anything else that gets in their way. Tom and Mikey are lifelong friends that grew up on Long Island during the glory days of alternative music where our local bands were As Tall As Lions, Brand New, Taking Back Sunday, Bayside, The Sleeping, Envy on the Coast, you get the point. We spent many nights together at The Downtown, catching any pop-punk, indie, hardcore, or emo band that came through. This was not a phase, Mom! Fast forward 20 years and we are still just as passionate about the scene as we were during our girl jeans and youth XL band tees days. Tom and Mikey are diehard New York Islanders fans, but Justin (Bolts fan) likes to remind us that we are #notanislespodcast. As we got older we realized we can like more than one thing and running beside our love for music has always been our love for hockey. We have realized we are not alone in this thinking, actually there are many of us that love these two things! This podcast explores just how connected they are!NEW EPISODE EVERY TUESDAY! SUBSCRIBE SO YOU NEVER MISS A GREAT INTERVIEW!FOLLOW:INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/bardownbrea...TWITTER: https://twitter.com/bardownbreakdwnFACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/BarDownBreak...WEBSITE: https://bardownbreakdown.comMERCH: https://isles-meetups.creator-spring.comPLAYLISTS: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7Fo...#poppunk #punk #emo #hardcore #hockey #nhl #podcast #elderemo #bardownbreakdown #bardownbreakfest

Poor kid's Mom is getting all up in his business because he has his first girlfriend. Plus DCS talks an escape Water Buffalo, a wedding ring found 20 years later and UAP's that rockets are bouncing off of. 

Jesus Calls His Disciples Welcome to the Gospel in a Year on the Catholic Sprouts Podcast. In this episode we are reading Matthew 4:12-25   To get the most out of this journey through the Gospels, we suggest you PRINT THE GOSPEL IN A YEAR NOTEBOOK. It's free and ready for you right here ----> http://catholicsprouts.com/the-gospels-in-a-year-on-the-catholic-sprouts-podcast   Thank you for joining us! Come Lord Jesus!

Mystery abounds when a parachuting box crash-lands in the Honeybee Neighborhood, revealing Barry Beaver!

Mystery abounds when a parachuting box crash-lands in the Honeybee Neighborhood, revealing Barry Beaver!

On this weeks episode, Mom and Me talk about Pluto out of bounds and where Pluto is moving next.

WATCH THE PODCAST HERE: https://tinyurl.com/jjrpodcast It's been another 7 WEEKS since we last checked in with Noah and Lenora. This week, it's LIVE STREAM STYLE (with edits lol because they procrastinate) but you get an exclusive behind the scenes phone call with Noah's Grandma and Mom, Winnifred. WE FILMED IT ALL! It will make more sense if you choose to WATCH US, aside from just listening to the audio, but the audio one is fine too if you prefer it. Lenora BROKE UP with "that STEVE guy" and Noah wants to give Justin Bieber's new album a FIGHTING CHANCE! If you trust our pop opinions, hear us out! Plus, California was a vibe and Lenora got a TRAMP STAMP!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“My mom hadn't spoken in four years. But when my dad passed away, she let go of his hand, her head shot upward, she began pointing straight up—and then the play-by-play began.” ---------- Sometimes heaven breaks through in the most unexpected ways. Heather's parents had faced years of suffering—cancer, strokes, and decline. Her mom, weighed down by Alzheimer's, had not spoken in four years. Yet, at the very moment Heather's father passed away, everything changed. Mom suddenly lifted her head, pointed upward, and began to speak—doing the impossible. What she revealed left no doubt that she was aware of exactly what was happening. In this unforgettable episode, Heather shares not only this remarkable moment, but also other experiences that remind us there is life beyond what we see. Enjoy the podcast! ---------- Share Your Story If you have a Touched by Heaven moment that you would like to share with Trapper, please leave us a note at https://touchedbyheaven.net/contact Our listeners look forward to hearing about life-changing encounters and miraculous stories every week. Stay Informed Trapper sends out a weekly email. If you're not receiving it, and would like to stay in touch to get the bonus stories and other interesting content that will further fortify your faith. Join our email family by subscribing on https://trapperjackspeaks.com  Become a Patron We pray that our listeners and followers benefit from our podcasts and programs and develop a deeper personal relationship with God. We thank you for your prayers and for supporting our efforts by helping to cover the costs. Become a Patron and getting lots of fun extras. Please go to https://patreon.com/bfl to check out the details. More About Trapper Jack Visit Our Website: https://TrapperJackSpeaks.com Patreon Donation Link: https://www.patreon.com/bfl Purchase our Products ·       Talk Downloads: https://www.patreon.com/bfl/shop ·       CD Sales: https://trapperjackspeaks.com/cds/  Join us on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/TouchedByHeaven.TrapperJack Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trapperjack/ Join us on X/Twitter: https://x.com/TrapperJack1