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NOTE: Tricia and Rob have made a decision to not publish a podcast on the last week of each month, “in the name of margin, longevity and staying strong.”  They will step away from the microphone for that week of each month, and devote a little more time to reading, having life experiences, chatting with their spouses and walking the dogs—which will result in more topics to talk about together.  They love doing the podcast and aren’t going anywhere, so just keep this decision in mind when you notice a lack of podcasts on the last week of each month!  They’ll be back on the first Monday of each month! Thanks for your understanding and support.

Rob had a birthday this past week!  Because Tricia is almost two years older than Rob, this brings us to the narrow window of time each year when suddenly it feels like his age is catching up with her age—a concern that used to be far more bothersome when they were children!  Her attitude about that has changed; she’s very happy to have him seem closer in age for a brief season each year, as it helps her feel…well…younger than she is.

To celebrate his birthday and stay within quarantine regulations, Rob’s wife Kate surprised him with an evening ‘with’ Ferris Buehler at a drive-in movie theatre!  (The city of Lakeland is the home of the Silver Moon Drive-in Theatre is the name of the drive-in, for you Floridians who might enjoy a similar nostalgic evening at an “old-timey” drive-in theatre!)

Rob and Kate thoroughly enjoyed this nostalgic experience, and it caused him to reflect on the his favorite parts of Ferris Buehler, along with the very first movie he ever saw at a drive-in: his parents took Rob and his sister to see ET, and they were 3 and 5 years old, respectively. Tricia remembered it well also, and so they reflect on how well their childhood movie experience started—and how emotionally it ended!

Both Tricia and Rob are so encouraged by the remarks and stories they’ve heard from listeners of the podcast, including one dad who told him that he and his family listen at the breakfast table—since no one is talking much yet anyway!  His children are young, and Tricia is both encouraged and humbled to know that parents of children are trusting this podcast to be a ‘safe’ one for little ears to overhear. She also shares her husband Peter’s perspective on the podcast (with her brother heckling along, which is nothing new for her).

School is finally ending officially, though as we all know, the school experience ended many weeks ago when the quarantine began.  Tricia went with her sons to get their belongings from their lockers this week, and shared with listeners a most beautiful and touching letter written by her son’s social studies teacher, summarizing and closing out the year with her own heartfelt thoughts about teaching and education and the supreme importance of families. This school year didn’t end in the way anyone across the US ever expected it to, but still, American children and their parents crossed the finish line of another school year, one whose ending no one will ever forget.  They talked of Rob’s original imaginary plan for how the pandemic would finally end—and his realization that actually, it won’t end that way at all.

Rob closed the episode out with a reflection on the annual terrible, awful, miserable adolescent summer experiences of his life that was…mowing the lawn.  It’s the job that never really ends, because the grass starts growing again as soon as you stop growing it.  His childhood was damaged by this, but Tricia reminded him to ask himself: “If there was something I liked about this, what would it be?”

TALK BACK!

We’d love to read your responses to these two topics!

A closing question: What is the most ‘retro’ thing you have done in this quarantine?

A shout out: Some praise for the teacher(s) in your life that recognized that learning did not end when the school experience ended early.  Tag them—let’s give them some praise for the tremendous work they do!

You can “talk back” to us through these options:

Quoted in this episode:

Ferris Buehler, in the movie Ferris Buehler

Nora Ephron

Jim Henson