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Tricia and Rob return to podcasting after taking a scheduled week off to relax and refuel, undoubtedly giving them each time to think on more ideas for podcast conversations! While they were off, our nation (and daresay, our world) erupted with racial and political crises. Rob opens this conversation by asking Tricia, “How are you as a family talking about all that is going on in our world?”  They readily agree on how uncomfortable it can be to talk about these values, yet it is more important now than ever.

Tricia’s experience over the previous week had been different from most others: she and her family had been “off the grid” for a week, enjoying a mountain home where there are plenty of wonderful amenities: mountains and rivers for boys and dogs to explore, wonderful fresh air and relaxation for the adults, and that includes no TV, radio, or internet—an environment that makes for a wonderful vacation. But when they returned to “civilization,” the family was suddenly faced with the overwhelming amount of critical issues and current events: riots, looting and protests (peaceful and otherwise) in cities across the US as sparked by the death of George Floyd. When Tricia’s family left town, COVID 19 was the national crisis; when they returned, it seemed to have taken a second or third row seat.

Tricia reports plenty of watching, learning, and reflecting with her sons, advising them, “You may watch it and actually you should watch it, because the events of this national crisis will be talked about for the rest of your life. But know this: it will change you—and it should.” She wanted them to understand that,
“in our family, we are upstanders; we are not bystanders. In our family, we stand up for what is right, and kindness always wins. The things that are happening in our city are not kind, they are not loving, they are not helpful, and this is not okay. You have to watch and see it so that you can know what you will do differently when you are faced with it.”

Rob reflects on the question that he and his wife Kate are asking themselves: “What does this look like for OUR house, to stand up and to speak up?” In the area near Orlando where they live, protests are happening very near them; they see both the protestors and the police officers in the streets within minutes of their home. “It’s national, but it’s also very personal for us.” 

“It is ALL of our places to speak up.  I have been a bystander for long enough, and I don’t know that a hashtag is going to help. And when you don’t know what to say or what to do, it’s okay to speak up and say, ‘I don’t know what to say or what to do. It’s all right to be that person, and to open yourself up to being educated.’” –Rob

Rob and Tricia discuss and agree on their preference to stay independent, not aligning completely with either party. “I don’t need to wait for them to tell me how I feel.  I don’t need to wait and see what they are going to take a stand on, for me to figure out if that is something that I should be doing. I can move forward; I can take the next step in the right direction, to do the next right thing, right now.” - Tricia

Rob shares a list he created of ways to take a step by being kind and loving to someone who doesn’t look like you. “Let’s all just get better at seeing each other—at acknowledging each other, at letting each other know, ‘hey, we’re here and we got each other!’ It’s one thing I can do right now to change the story.” - Rob