Part 2 - Embracing Life’s Challenges with Grace and Gratitude with Guest Bridget

Dirty Skittles [00:00:03]:
Was there anybody in your family that had Parkinson's?

Bridget [00:00:09]:
No. No one in the family. At one time this is a funny story. You know, when I was a little kid, I remember my grandfather, my dad's father, being really shaky In the morning, and my grandmother would bring him his coffee, and he always spilled his coffee all over the place. And, we just thought that's how grandpa Jim was. And so When I had that shaking stuff going on 7 years ago, I said, well, I think our grandfather had Parkinson's. Well, My grandfather was a alcoholic. Okay? So I knew that too, but I it didn't occur to me that this was alcohol related.

Bridget [00:00:52]:
So This last summer, I reached out to my uncle and asked him, did grandpa Jim have Parkinson's? And he said he started laughing. He said, no. I think grandpa Jim had a bad case of Tesler's. He said, I don't think it was Parkinson's. I think it was Kessler's.

Dirty Skittles [00:01:35]:
I was thinking, though, that must be hard then. Right? Because, like, how much can somebody who likes to prepare prepare if you don't have Knowledge or experience with somebody close to you, like, having that? And, like, have you known anybody with it before or any sort of resource or group that

Bridget [00:01:53]:
could help you prepare? I I didn't I don't know anybody. What I found out, though, was One of my very dear friends, one of my best friends, Sherry, when I was talking to her about it, she told me her dad had it. And, so I was asking a lot of questions of her, and she was, you know, giving me a lot of information. And since Then in this great neighborhood that I live in, I find out also there's a support group for Parkinson's patient in my neighborhood. And we meet And they meet once a month in our clubhouse. So I went to the meeting, In September? And happened to go to the wrong meeting because they have a special meeting for the caregivers and then another one for the patient. So I did ended up at the caregiver's meeting. And those people at that meeting were fabulous, so knowledgeable, you know, and so Compassionate and kind and loving and, you know, whatever you need, just call us, ask us.

Bridget [00:03:01]:
We'll we'll help with anything. And they told me about some other resources and another support group that met in in the town that I live in. So I went to that and then I went to the October meeting with the actual patients. There were about 5 people there Again, the kindest, most loving, generous, compassionate people you ever wanna meet. You know, for that 1 hour sitting with them, I was not afraid.

Dirty Skittles [00:03:34]:
That's good.

Bridget [00:03:38]:
There's resources around me. There's also about 3 miles From my house? Maybe three and a half miles. There's a a gym. It's called the therapy gym, and the lady there Has a specific exercise program for Parkinson's patients.

G-Rex [00:03:57]:
Wow. That's awesome.

Bridget [00:04:00]:
And I don't know. There's a boxing program called Oh, I'm not gonna remember it. Rocksteady, and it's for Parkinson's patient. It's boxing. And, they have a program that program there. And, you know, that's not available just in it for you everywhere. Rock steady bar rock steady Boxing. And so, you know, I have this list of things I'm gonna do.

Bridget [00:04:34]:
Anybody getting that trap? Yes. I'm gonna do that. I'm gonna do that. That's on my gonna list.

Dirty Skittles [00:04:40]:
Yeah. You

Bridget [00:04:40]:
know? Gonna. I'm gonna. I'm gonna. I was gonna call her a month ago. So, yeah, that's, on my list of things to do. And and I'm hoping that I'm just still feeling sorry for myself. I don't know.

G-Rex [00:04:57]:
Have you have you seen a therapist or anybody? Well Not for pride.

Bridget [00:05:05]:
No. No. This it's fine. I had a therapist that I had for years, and she retired on me. You know, when you get to be our age Yeah. Your doctors start retiring, And it's not right because then you got I went to see a a gastroenterologist today, and he looked like Dougie Hauser.

Dirty Skittles [00:05:27]:
I love Neil Patrick Harris. Shout out Neil Patrick Harris.

Bridget [00:05:30]:
I'm telling you. Neil Patrick Harris. Yeah. This guy, he's nicest. You know? He's a kid. He is.

G-Rex [00:05:38]:
He is 12.

Bridget [00:05:41]:
But, yeah, I had a therapist. She retired. And so, I went to my company's, employee assistance program, and they had a agreement with BetterHelp.

Dirty Skittles [00:05:55]:
I love

Bridget [00:05:55]:
so I was able to get 3 sessions with a BetterHelp counselor, and that was fine. But, you know, as well as I do, if you're doing therapy, You're not gonna connect and really get down to what you need to get down to with a therapist in 3 sessions. It's Just not gonna happen. I did make some progress in, some other areas that were not even related, Which was good, but that's where it stopped. And that's on my gonna list too just in case you Just so you know, it's on the gonna list. I have a list.

G-Rex [00:06:37]:
You have a list? I have a list too. Like, I've got like, I'm gonna clean my office. Mhmm. And I'm gonna clean my room.

Dirty Skittles [00:06:44]:
Mhmm. I have to trick my brain. So if I we all have a list. We all have things that we're gonna do.

G-Rex [00:06:53]:
Mhmm.

Dirty Skittles [00:06:53]:
If it's something that needs to happen, right, like, I'm procrastinating on it, I just have to jump into it. Like, I almost have to, like, trick myself. Like, this is an extreme example, but, like, to do dishes. I'll go in the kitchen and trick myself. Like, I'm just gonna go get a snack, and then I'll, like, shift gears really quick and then just jump into the dishes. Like, I can't Think

Bridget [00:07:14]:
about it. I just have

Dirty Skittles [00:07:15]:
to, like, throw myself into it because I keep putting it off. But I have a I have a friend who writes Her to do list onto little scraps of paper, she throws it into a mason jar. Every weekend, she shakes it up, pulls it out, and she commits? Like, this is the day I'm doing this thing. And I'm like, bless your heart. Like, I don't that don't work

G-Rex [00:07:35]:
for me.

Bridget [00:07:36]:
So she only does one thing. She sure does. But you know what? She checks

Dirty Skittles [00:07:40]:
it off her list.

G-Rex [00:07:41]:
But I'll

Bridget [00:07:42]:
tell yes. You know what? It's I feel like a very productive doctor. If I can scratch something off the list, I'm sure. So yeah. So no. I have not been able to follow-up and get more therapy, but I definitely know I do need it. And, I mean, this year I mean, just take the Parkinson's away. My mother is in a nursing home.

Bridget [00:08:04]:
I had to go through the Process of clean your house out and selling your house. And I get a call from the realtor. We put the house on the market the middle of December. I said, it's not gonna sell in the dead of winter in Northern Michigan, so we got some time. Go ahead and list it. The house sold in 3 days. Wow. Holy cow.

Dirty Skittles [00:08:29]:
Good girl.

Bridget [00:08:30]:
My mother had a house that she'd been living in for 40 years, And she never threw a thing away. House is 4 1000, 5000 square feet. Every inch, nook, and cranny in that house had something in it. So I get a call on The closing is January 23rd. So I had to put my little dog in the car, drive up to Northern Michigan in the middle of a snowstorm. And I went through that mess, 3 weeks of hell, trying to get rid of everything and having everything work out. There was a snowstorm the day I was supposed to leave, and I said, I don't care. I gotta get the hell out of Dodge.

Bridget [00:09:12]:
I gotta get out of here. So we got the I got that all taken care of. And then I had to go through the wrath of my mother Telling me I had no right to sell her house, and she's gonna sue me. And I said, okay. Here call your attorney. Sue me. Mhmm. No? You had no right.

Bridget [00:09:33]:
Like, yeah. Yeah. I did. But, you know, I wasn't gonna argue with her. Yeah. Presume me.

G-Rex [00:09:37]:
Mhmm.

Bridget [00:09:38]:
You know, raise hell. Raise hell. Every time I talk to her on the phone, she's screaming and yelling at me. How could I how could any daughter do that to her mother after all I've Sound free. And, but things got better because, Yes. My mom found a boyfriend in the nursing home.

Dirty Skittles [00:09:57]:
Well, there you go.

Bridget [00:09:59]:
And I'm thanking god every day for Stew.

Dirty Skittles [00:10:03]:
We love you, Stew. Shout out to Stew.

Bridget [00:10:05]:
Shout out to Stew. Love you, Stew. Yeah. So at least she laid off me for a while. Every now and then, she'll bring it up, but she's not quite as hostile as she was. So I went through that. Then my son in June I have a 34 year old son who lives in Memphis. Not married.

Bridget [00:10:27]:
Just kind of still trying to figure out what he wants to do in life and addicted. So my whole life I've spent out where he is, what he's doing, When am I gonna get the call? Blah blah blah blah blah. And I get the call, June. And he's had a terrible car accident. And, I heard so many stories before I got there. You know? Everybody it was just chaos. And and by the time I got there, it turned out it wasn't as bad as I thought it was was going to be. But he was in the hospital for a good 6 days.

Bridget [00:11:03]:
He had a Fractured pelvis. And, wasn't bad enough for surgery. They said it could probably heal on its own, But he would not be able to walk. So, that was my son's bottom. Hopefully, that's the last one, because I'm happy to say that he has He went into treatment in July, and he just got a 123 days just this past week. 123 days clean and sober.

Dirty Skittles [00:11:38]:
That's awesome.

Bridget [00:11:40]:
He's in Fort Lauderdale. Too far away for me, but he is Cribing. He is scribing. He spent the 2 months in the treatment. He's in a Assisted living. He's in he's in a sober living house now. And with several other recovering people, he got a Job at a boatyard, marine shop. So he's working on big boats.

Bridget [00:12:11]:
People bring their to get their boats worked on, and he's doing that. He loves it. He's learning how to speak Spanish, because he thinks he needs to have it in South Florida. I'm like, yeah. Probably.

G-Rex [00:12:22]:
Because you do. Yeah.

Bridget [00:12:24]:
And then he wants to he wants them to meet him a cute little Latina girl. To get married? Then I said, well, that'll that'll be a good Place. Thing for you

Dirty Skittles [00:12:33]:
to know. Yeah.

Bridget [00:12:34]:
So, yeah, I mean, he is. He's thriving. I am I could not be happier. It's a miracle. Every day, I just I still can't believe it. I've been you know, he's been struggling since He was in high school in a constant thing, and he's he said he was done. He said he was done and got him Praying every day that it really that it really was that he really has done. And the more I talk to him, the more I believe it.

Bridget [00:13:05]:
So Yep. So yeah. I've had all things to deal with. You know? I'm in that sandwich generation. Right? You got your kids over here. You got your parents over here. And then, God has to drop the Parkinson's bomb on me too in the middle of all that shit.

Dirty Skittles [00:13:22]:
Yeah. I wonder if that, because you said stress makes the symptoms worse. Yeah. I wonder if that all Just happened at at the right time?

Bridget [00:13:34]:
You know, I hadn't thought of that. But yeah. I mean, I was a little shaky, but I mean It got bad there for a while before I got on the medicine. So yeah.

G-Rex [00:13:49]:
And is the medicine is the medicine helping a little bit?

Bridget [00:13:52]:
It is helping. And I gotta tell you another funny story about me because I'm so Stubborn. God, I'm stubborn. So Yeah. Week before last

G-Rex [00:14:04]:
Never.

Bridget [00:14:05]:
Week before last, I decided, Yeah. I don't think this medicine is doing anything for me.

Dirty Skittles [00:14:11]:
That denial coming back.

Bridget [00:14:13]:
So so I mean, this is craziness. And, you know, I'm sure I'm not the only one that does this kind of stuff.

Dirty Skittles [00:14:22]:
You're not.

Bridget [00:14:22]:
It's alright. I'm I'm hoping that people are gonna Listen to this and relate because the stupid crazy shit we do. So I'm doctor Bridget. Right? And I'm like, I'm I'm I'm gonna just see. I'm gonna stop taking the medicine and see if there's a difference, Because I really can't tell if there's a difference. But maybe I don't need it. So I stopped taking the medicine on a Thursday, And then I went out with my friend, Sherry, on the on the weekend, and I've decided Sue, teller. Because, you know, when we're doing crazy shit like that, we don't typically wanna tell anybody because we know we shouldn't be doing it.

Bridget [00:15:06]:
Right?

Dirty Skittles [00:15:07]:
It's usually the First red flag.

Bridget [00:15:11]:
I don't wanna tell someone. There's a reason. Right? So I told her. And right then she's on her phone. She's grabbed her phone, and she's googling this medicine.

G-Rex [00:15:22]:
You know? What what are

Bridget [00:15:22]:
the withdrawal symptoms of this medicine? And she's reading all this stuff, and she's going, you know, For all symptoms of this medicine, and she's reading all this stuff, and she's going, you need to start taking it. I'm like, well, I just thought I would it a try, and it really I did notice my symptoms getting worse, but I didn't wanna admit that. So yeah. So that's another crazy trick I tried. I was only off 3 days, though. So Wow. It's a long time,

Dirty Skittles [00:15:52]:
actually. 3 days.

Bridget [00:15:54]:
3 days. I thought you were gonna

Dirty Skittles [00:15:55]:
say, like, 5 hours later, I took it again or something.

G-Rex [00:15:58]:
Through Oh, no. That that's not Bridget. No. She can have cocaine

Bridget [00:16:02]:
cocaine. Gone longer. I would've gone longer if I hadn't had dinner with her that night.

Dirty Skittles [00:16:08]:
What's her name? Should we give her a shout out?

Bridget [00:16:10]:
Shout out Sherry.

Dirty Skittles [00:16:11]:
Shout out Sherry.

Bridget [00:16:13]:
Yeah. You know, I got I can't be unsupervised sometimes. I just

Dirty Skittles [00:16:18]:
I think that's all

G-Rex [00:16:19]:
of us. That is every single one of us.

Dirty Skittles [00:16:22]:
Yeah.

G-Rex [00:16:23]:
You know, look at me. I went to Fort Lauderdale for my retirement party. You know, came home. I had a big old gash on my forehead, A big old gash in my knee.

Dirty Skittles [00:16:36]:
Didn't wear the helmet.

G-Rex [00:16:37]:
Didn't wear the helmet, unsupervised. K? Broke my Hotel room because I was so drunk. I, like, slipped and fell into the the windowsill. No. If that had been, like, anybody else who wasn't Gnome size, they wouldn't have broken their nose. I, on the other hand, fell right in. Nose is still broken. I'm never gonna get it fixed because it would require surgery.

G-Rex [00:17:05]:
So, you know, we we do we all do it. Right? We all look on Google. Listen. I can breathe. I can blow my nose. It doesn't hurt anymore. I'm fine. Mhmm.

G-Rex [00:17:17]:
But, you know, I I think that we all go through our own medical stuff in our in our own ways. Right? Like, for some of the stuff with me, I'm I'm never gonna accept it. Right? I'll go through the I'll go through all 5 stages, but I'll never hit the acceptance part. And I I think it's just human nature. Right? Because, like, as we get older like, fuck. I don't wanna deal with getting Hurt or anything? Because as we get older, it takes a lot longer for shit to heal.

Bridget [00:17:51]:
Mhmm. Yeah.

G-Rex [00:17:53]:
And, you know, we have plans. Right? And I don't want anything to fuck up my plans. So, I I mean, I think that you're doing Some some of the right stuff right now. You know, I really think you should go to that gym.

Bridget [00:18:08]:
Yeah. Yeah.

G-Rex [00:18:09]:
I think and and, like, as you're doing your, like, your to do list, not telling you how to live your life, but maybe put that at the very top of the to do list. Like, right next to like, I need to feed myself, and then I need a college. But, you know, you can call me back on Monday when you come back to the office in LA. Yeah. I didn't do any of that shit you told me to do. So, yeah, I'm good with that.

Bridget [00:18:34]:
Okay. So tomorrow and my other day off, it's still Friday, so I can get a hold of people during the week. I'm gonna call the gym. I wrote I wrote it down. And the second thing I'm gonna do is I'm gonna call The, center of excellence? Because there's a lady there that told me to call her. She'd help me With some stuff.

G-Rex [00:18:53]:
Okay. So can you, like, text me tomorrow and just let me know how you're doing with that?

Dirty Skittles [00:18:57]:
Hold her accountable, Durex.

G-Rex [00:18:59]:
I I I am the accountability police. And, actually, like, when I need to be held accountable for something, I reach out to Derick Skittles. I reached out to Lisa the Lesbian, my wife. Like, I listen, man. I I'm the fucking worst procrastinator in the entire world. The worst. Mhmm. I have been my entire life.

G-Rex [00:19:22]:
But if I need to be held accountable and, like, do shit, Reach out to your friends, ma'am.

Dirty Skittles [00:19:27]:
Yep.

G-Rex [00:19:27]:
And you and you have a community there. You're your lady friends?

Bridget [00:19:30]:
I do. I I I I am so blessed. I I hate to think where would be right now if I were still living on the house on the hill Yep. In isolation. Total isolation.

G-Rex [00:19:43]:
Yeah. That would be your that'd be your neighbor that wouldn't shut the fuck up. I'd just come over every day and be like, hey, Bridget. What you doing?

Bridget [00:19:52]:
Yeah. So, I do have experience with acceptance, but it's very and it and and as I look fact, it's very similar to what I'm doing the stuff I'm doing right now. Like, I'm 10 years sober from alcohol

Dirty Skittles [00:20:06]:
measures. Congrats.

Bridget [00:20:09]:
And I got sober in 1995 the first time and Never really accepted that that that I had a problem with alcohol. You know? Especially hearing the stories when you go into AA and you hear, I went to jail. I lost my kids. I lost a job. I totaled my car, blah blah blah blah. Ain't none of that stuff happened to me yet. I'm still up Here, you know. Too bad for you down there, but I'm still up here.

Bridget [00:20:39]:
So 12 years of that, And I decided one day that I'm gonna drink again. So I did, And I guess I had some proven to do to myself. So for 6 years, I drank and then decided to come back. In 2013, I came back, Got sober again. And, you know, when I was so sober the 1st 12 years, it was It was denial, anger, bargaining. I went through all those steps, but I never got this The 5th one. Right? Never got to acceptance. This is why I drank again.

Bridget [00:21:23]:
Today, I know without a doubt that I'm an alcoholic. And if I pick up a drink, I'm off to the races again, and it's not gonna be pretty. And especially now. I certainly don't need that on top of anything else. So so I can look at that and say, I got this Acceptance on that?

Dirty Skittles [00:21:42]:
Yeah.

Bridget [00:21:43]:
So I can get to acceptance on this too. I think you can.

G-Rex [00:21:47]:
It was

Bridget [00:21:49]:
I was really angry that I was a alcoholic. I I was mad as hell. Why can't I have a drink?

Dirty Skittles [00:21:55]:
Yeah. You

Bridget [00:21:56]:
know? She can have a drink. He can have a drink. They can have drinks. I can't have a drink. Why? That's not fair. And and now it's so plain to me. Yes. They can have a drink.

Bridget [00:22:10]:
Bridget don't drink 1 drink. You know, if can't have all I want, I don't want any. Yeah. You know, I got there. I'm so grateful I got there. Hate to think where I'd be right now if I hadn't, but that that I have to remember that. And, I I tell you what got me there is the 12 steps, and there's no reason why I can't use the 12 steps on this particular one too because I am totally powerless.

G-Rex [00:22:38]:
You are. Yeah.

Bridget [00:22:40]:
I am totally powerless. Yeah. And it's making me insane.

G-Rex [00:22:45]:
But you also hold some cards in your hands. Right? Mhmm. So you have some things

Bridget [00:22:50]:
I have the tools.

G-Rex [00:22:51]:
Yes. Have tools.

Bridget [00:22:52]:
I have to pick them up.

G-Rex [00:22:53]:
Yeah. You have to pick them up, and you have to hold yourself accountable. But if you can't hold yourself accountable, have your friends help you because that's what friends are for. And, like, if you have really good friends, they will hold you accountable.

Bridget [00:23:06]:
They will. Yes.

G-Rex [00:23:08]:
Like, if you have a shitty friend, they probably will not help help you be accountable, And they won't let you, you know, go out and do other things that you probably shouldn't be doing. But, you know, the other thing you do to help you It should do your art, and your art is beautiful. And I think that that also helps you clear your mind because you're a creative person and a lot like Dirty Skittles is. If you're using your brain to kinda get out of your Get out of your own head. So, like, with us, you know, it's shit that goes on our heads. Okay. We all have a lot of shit going on in there. But if I'm sitting and focusing on Something I really enjoy doing, like the podcast or, believe it or not, I like to crochet.

G-Rex [00:23:55]:
If I sit and just focus on that, If all the other shit stops just for that little bit of time because the same thing that happens when I go to the gym, and I need to go back to the gym, And I am holding myself accountable to that because I felt better. But, like, that time that I spent at the gym, that is 1 hour That I'm either focusing on, not falling off the fucking treadmill, or dropping a weight on my foot. Yeah. So I think just by doing your art, that gives you that outlet to do something that you that's gonna make Everything else stopped for that moment because you have to focus while you're doing your part.

Bridget [00:24:33]:
Yeah. I mean, that's a the best way for me to get out of my head is to do something creative like that. I know that. However, I've come to the conclusion you know, I have done this art. I have always done some Form of fashion? No. Some kinda creative stuff my whole life. I started to crochet when I was 10 years old, so I get that. Yeah.

Bridget [00:24:57]:
I can't do it as much. I can't do it like I used to because of it it hurts. And I think that's arthritis too. But, And so I've always done art, and people look at it and say, oh, you should sell that. You should sell that. You know? So then I get on this, I'm selling my art thing. And I did a art show this past weekend, and it about killed me. You haul all the stuff in there.

Bridget [00:25:22]:
You set it all up. You sit there for 4 hours. People might buy some, but they you know, it's not as successful as you wish it could've been. And then you gotta haul all the shit back out, Put it back in your car. And, you know, I'm ashamed to say it's still in my car from Saturday. I couldn't walk Sunday morning.

Dirty Skittles [00:25:41]:
Wow.

Bridget [00:25:41]:
And I said, this is insanity. I'm not making this art to please anybody but me. Yeah. And this is not Why I do it? So

G-Rex [00:25:52]:
You do it for yourself.

Bridget [00:25:54]:
I'm trying to focus on the why. Why do I do this?

Dirty Skittles [00:25:58]:
Yeah.

Bridget [00:25:58]:
I'm not full I'm not gonna get rich doing it.

Dirty Skittles [00:26:02]:
Yeah. You know? That makes sense.

Bridget [00:26:05]:
So I had a switch. I had a mind switch on Sunday About why am I doing this? I certainly don't wanna be schlepping stuff for shows all the time, and then, You know, you gotta spend money to have the space. And then if you don't sell enough to even pay for your space, then what? Nope.

G-Rex [00:26:24]:
Lot of work. Maybe you need a po'boy.

Bridget [00:26:28]:
I do.

G-Rex [00:26:29]:
You just need a little po' Just need a little pull buoy. Yeah. Took left the shit from the house to the car from the car into the space. You know?

Bridget [00:26:38]:
Uh-huh. Yeah.

G-Rex [00:26:40]:
Are you laughing at me dirty skittles?

Dirty Skittles [00:26:42]:
I am. You're laughing.

Bridget [00:26:44]:
I am.

G-Rex [00:26:45]:
I am. Because our mother's takeaway.

Bridget [00:26:47]:
That was the

Dirty Skittles [00:26:48]:
takeaway for T Rex.

Bridget [00:26:49]:
Just get just get a boy to do it. Yeah. Yeah. That that problem with though. Then I'd have to pay him, and then then what?

G-Rex [00:26:59]:
Well, I I mean, you you can look pitiful. Maybe they'll just do it out of the kindness They're so good at heart, but you you don't look pitiful, so that ain't gonna happen. I mean, I would do if I was there, I'd do it for But I'm not coming down there. I I've I've already I've already been to the south. I'm not going back down.

Bridget [00:27:18]:
Yeah. It's exhausting.

Dirty Skittles [00:27:21]:
Yeah.

G-Rex [00:27:21]:
So I think you should just keep doing stuff for yourself. And, you know, look for look for the good For the good things you still have in your life. Right? And

Bridget [00:27:33]:
I have I have so much to be grateful for. Gratitude Here's another thing. I used to practice gratitude every day by writing down 3 things that I was grateful for and sending it to my AA sponsor. I quit doing that. I need to do that again. Maybe I can do that with you, dirty Skittles. Yeah. Or not dear.

Bridget [00:27:54]:
Yeah. You too. You and G

Dirty Skittles [00:27:56]:
Rex. I'm I'm here.

Bridget [00:27:57]:
Send them that, send you that list of 3 things. Just 3. Every day, 3 things.

G-Rex [00:28:04]:
It you

Bridget [00:28:05]:
know? Come up with 3 things a day.

G-Rex [00:28:07]:
That's helpful for all of us. Right? It's, like, 3 things that we're grateful for every day. Right? It's not that hard. It's just like, they say if you do something for 30 days, it becomes a habit. Right? Mhmm. Alright. So let's start day 1 and see what happens. If we can make 30 days, then there becomes a habit.

G-Rex [00:28:27]:
Right? And Being grateful for what we have at the at that very moment, that can help us kinda, you know, reflect on some of the other shit that We're not really grateful for, but we have to deal with. Yeah.

Bridget [00:28:42]:
I mean, I've you forget. So if I'm not in the habit of doing this every day, I forget

Dirty Skittles [00:28:47]:
Yeah. Right.

Bridget [00:28:48]:
To be grateful. I don't even think about it. Yeah. I'm focusing on the shit. Right? I'm not focusing on what's good. And and and tonight, I'm really feeling grateful for the things that I can do, the friends that I do have, The security somewhat security that I have and that that I can really retire officially Yeah. In February.

G-Rex [00:29:10]:
And, like, I'm I'm I'm grateful for you, right, that you wanted to come and share your story. Because I think that your journey will help Our listeners, you know, understand that, yeah, we may have some really shitty shit shit going on in our lives. Mhmm. But Mhmm. You know, count on your community. Count on your friends. Count on count on your family. And if you can't count on those, There's, you know, support groups out there.

G-Rex [00:29:35]:
There's other people that could help you get through the the shittiest day in your life. And I I I'm thankful for your voice. Right? Because you're voicing concerns that, you know, people our age, Terry Scales here, way younger than both of us are. But it there will come a time when you will, like, feel like we do. That at our age, community is everything. Yeah. You know, there are we're getting to a an age where things get a a little bit more scarier when shit goes wrong.

Dirty Skittles [00:30:09]:
Uh-huh.

G-Rex [00:30:10]:
Because, you know, you you look at your own mortality. You look at, you see people around you dying or getting really sick, and it makes you really think hard about, am I living for that moment, Or am I still focusing on what's in the future? And so for me, I've chosen to live for the moment. Yeah. And if if Liz taught us anything, that's what she did too. She lived for the moment. And Right. I I go back and I reflect on that episode a while. I've I listened to her episode today because I I needed a good reminder of What do we what do we do for ourselves every day that are gonna make us happy even when we're having a crappy day? Yeah.

Bridget [00:30:57]:
And it could be just writing those 3 things down. Right?

G-Rex [00:31:00]:
Yeah. Writing those 3 down.

Bridget [00:31:01]:
It's as simple as writing those 3 3 things down. I used to journal a lot. I don't do that anymore. You know? I feel like, Like, when you asked me to do this podcast, I'm thinking, I don't have anything positive to say right now. Kind of in a shitty Like, I don't have anything to say like, oh, yeah, I got this Parkinson's thing and I'm doing this this and this and I, you know, In acceptance and all you know? Ask me again in 3 years to to do it again. But

Dirty Skittles [00:31:36]:
right now I was actually thinking that, like, we I don't I don't think so this is life. Right? Yeah. This is your life, and It life isn't always gonna be happy. So even though I can't personally relate right to your diagnosis, just hearing your story And you sharing that where you currently are and what you're battling with, I can relate to that, and I know other people will be able to too. Our diagnoses are just different. So I think this is actually really important for everybody to understand that it's not always gonna be a happy, funny story And being vulnerable and opening up and sharing your experience so that somebody else can hear it and know that they're not alone is what it's about.

G-Rex [00:32:25]:
Yeah. For sure.

Dirty Skittles [00:32:28]:
Yeah.

G-Rex [00:32:28]:
And and, like, in a year, I wanna hear back. I wanna see where you're at.

Bridget [00:32:34]:
Yeah.

G-Rex [00:32:35]:
See if you if you've gotten to that acceptance. And if you haven't, that's okay too. But, you know, maybe starting some new habits. You know? We're gonna do this gratitude thing. In the morning, you're gonna get 3 grad 3 things I'm grateful for.

Dirty Skittles [00:32:50]:
Yeah. Let's commit. 30 day gratitude challenge.

G-Rex [00:32:54]:
Yeah.

Bridget [00:32:55]:
Okay. I could do that.

Dirty Skittles [00:32:57]:
Well, thank you, Bridget. I appreciate your story. I appreciate you being vulnerable and opening up with us. So thank you.

G-Rex [00:33:04]:
Thank you too. I really appreciate you.

Bridget [00:33:06]:
Thank you, guys. You really got me to thinking about Everything. And how I do need to focus more on my self care because that's gonna help me to get just acceptance.

Dirty Skittles [00:33:31]:
It's okay to be not okay. Just make sure you're talking to someone.