Surviving Summer | Meredith Masony | MomCave LIVE - MomCave LIVE

Episode Transcript
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Jennifer Weedon Palazzo (00:12):
See it says live. It's says live. We're
totally live. Welcome to MomCaveLIVE where we may have lost our
minds, but we haven't lost oursense of humor. And I'm live
tonight with my buddy Meredith.
You might know her as that'sinappropriate. All things that's
inappropriate. And we're justgood. Oh, and it's of course,

(00:32):
were getting rid of that. It'sgoing to do the thing where it
gives us an echo. Okay, hold on.
Are we halfway through summer?

Meredith Masony (00:48):
I think. I think we only have well, my kids
go back to school August 10.
Yeah.

So you have you go back to school much
sooner than us.

Yes, Florida goes back, but we were out May
25.

Oh my god. Okay, so we're just
shifted. It's the same. Samething. Okay. I'm trying to make
us go live on all the places andgo live on Instagram to know
watching a Facebook comment, sayhello. We're gonna talk about
how we survive. With kids duringthe summer, it may or may not go

(01:29):
to Instagram. That's all good.
Okay. So, Meredith, um, do youhave a busy summer?

So let's see, my kids are 17, 14 and 12. Okay,
so my oldest just got back twodays ago, from seven days away
at a pole vaulting camp. Whenwhen my daughter leaves, he
leaves again Friday for anotherpole vaulting camp. My daughter
leaves Sunday for a week at acamp in Tennessee, which isn't

(02:02):
even in the same state as weare. And then she comes home on
Saturday, I get to wash all ofher clothes, repack everything.
And then I drive her to her nextcamp the day after.

Oh, wow.

And that camp, she's going and my youngest, but
this today. And tomorrow, we'rethe only two days this summer,
that all of my kids were home atthe same time. And so we decided
to kind of make a quickstaycation out of it. So we
could at least spend some timewith them. But it's just been

(02:40):
brutal with between sports andcamps and everybody's
activities. And I tried to takesome time off from the tour. And
so I didn't schedule too much inJuly, and August, but it's just
been nonstop. And then today Ihad a total meltdown in my car.
Because I had to sign up myfirstborn for his senior

(03:06):
pictures.

Oh, so sad, no. And it's good that you
guys all get to be togetherbecause you soon he's going to
be taking off flying coopleaving the nest and you won't
spend much time together.

I know it's been crazy. And so I wish I wish
we would have planned like aactual trip. But I say that
knowing that any if we had spent1000s of dollars to take them
somewhere they would have foughtthe entire Yeah. So I was like
we can we can be staycation infor free. And you can fight all

(03:43):
you want because I don't spendany money.

Jennifer Weedon Palazz (03:45):
Fighting free fighting. It's fine. It's
paid by the

same fighting that you do at home. Right?

Yeah.
No, they always say like, that'swhat vacation for a mom. It's
just parenting in another place.
You're just doing the same shit.

But another laundry right now.

Oh, great on your sinking ship. So
Hi, Amy. Hi, Bunny, bunny.
They're popping in the commentsand saying hello. Tell us what
you are doing this summer andhow you're surviving it with the
kiddos. Um, yeah, we're having aweird summer too. Because this
summer, we decided to make noplans whatsoever. There's no
camp, there's nothing there.

(04:22):
There's just us and ourwonderful family time together.
As you can see, that's not goinggreat. Yeah, my husband and I
both work from home. And my kidsare a little younger. My oldest
is the age of your youngest. SoI have a 12 year old and a just
turned eight year old and I madea list I made a list on my phone

(04:46):
of all the cool activities I wasgonna do with them this summer,
and all the fun things in therereally creative and none of them
have anything to do withinternet or video games. I don't
think we've done one thing onthe list. Yeah.

I mean, that's brave of you.

It's, it's not like I made a choice,
really that it was two things itwas to way too busy, like at the
end of the school year with allof the baseball on the dance
classes and all the things and Iwas like, no more things. No
more schedule for the summer.
Yeah. And then also the factthat I'm broke, and I have no
money, so I can't afford camp.
So not only are they not incamp, but I'm working my ass off

(05:29):
to make the money while they'renot in camp. Right. Ready. It's
been crazy.

Yeah, it's tough, because I love having
some unstructured time where youdon't feel like you're pressed
to get to the next event or thenext activity. At a certain age
that goes, that's just not anoption anymore with them because
they have so many otherinterests and things that
they're doing.

That should be right? That's normal
development.

You're You're right at that. You're right. I
want to say, maybe halfwaythrough middle school, or even
eighth grade is where it juststarts like the wheels fall off.
And it's like, they just, youknow, they don't realize that
they can't drive yet, or theyhave no money. And they make all
sorts of plans. Right. And soyou're like right at the cusp of

(06:17):
where it's going to start, youknow, like, everything is just
going to be super hectic. Andthat's just how it is because
it's every phase and stage isdifferent. But I mean, that's
totally normal. But like it isnice. Like there were there
weren't many days this summerthat I woke up and had nothing
to do. But the days that thatdid happen when I say nothing, I

(06:38):
mean cleaning the house doinglaundry, this the normal stuff
that a mom does, when she saysshe did nothing all day,

You still have to do those things.

Right? Like that only happened not even a
handful of times because I hadto be up for horseback or up for
basketball camp or up to getsomebody's you know, my kids oil
changed or up to do it. Andyou're just like, Oh my God. I
just want to drink coffee. And Idon't want anyone to talk to me.
And that just that ends at somepoint.

I don't think that's an option. But like
everything we always say likeit's all a stage, even this,
this too shall pass. In many,many years, this too shall pass.
And we'll be like my mom, andall the grandmas out there who
are just like, Oh, I miss thosedays, and they have too much
quiet and too much coffee.

Yeah. So it's all you know, and you can't,
when it's everybody means well,for the most part when they like
like I was just did you go overto thread?

I did Thread are threads with an S

don't know, I call it the thread the thread.
I'm on the thread. Okay, so Iwent I joined over on the
thread. And I posted about mykid have, you know, having a
senior photos and I was like Isaid, you know, don't mind me,
I'm just going to be over in thecorner rocking back and forth
and snorting lavender because myyou know firstborn is getting a

(08:06):
senior photo

How very realistic of you and very
healthy compared to other thingsthat people can snort when
they're stressed. So good foryou.

So the comments are also supportive, right? And
there's always the comment whereit's like, wait until it's your
last born. And you're like, Iknow, like I can't even write
and it's all mean well, becauseit's like the you know, the
woman's like, I'm on my lastborn senior year, and I'm
falling apart and I'm like, Ohmy God. And it's just, there's

(08:33):
everybody always means well, butthen those comments, you just
feel like you're gutted, becauseyou're like, I didn't even think
of that

And you're like it can get worse.

And you just brought to my attention. This is
gonna get worse. I was in thehole. And you, that comment, and
I had to dig deeper into thishole. Right? Because I didn't
even think of that yet. Becausehe's 12 So that hasn't even
entered in yet. Because he'sjust now getting armpit hair and
you know, likes to watch. Whatwas he watching? Oh, he loves to

(09:05):
watch Friends right now. Oh,wow. Because Jennifer Aniston
so, you know, we're just gettinginto that right? But then I've
been I'm getting ready to sendone away, not to prison, but out
that and then when somebodybrings it to your attention,
they mean well, but you're justlike, oh,

yeah, like let me just deal with this
one catastrophe at a time here.
One catastrophe at a time.

Yeah. So it's, you know, but that's what that's
what it is like, I was thinkingabout it today when I was on the
beach. We take the kids to thebeach and I hate the water. I
love to look at it and listen toit, but I hate when they're in
it because I just feel like I'mscanning nonstop. And I was like
I can't remember the last timethat I truly like exhaled

Right?
Like the full on to be such arelaxing place but I made a tick
tock about it that went up todayit was like, it's like moms was
the pool moms at the pool you'relike, No, and you're like
counting the children. So Godforbid you, you sigh or look at
a book or anything you can't.

And my kids are older too 15. And, you know, my
15 and then 12 year old wereboogie boarding or whatever, you
know. And so they were trying togo a little further out, so they
catch some waves and the entiretime, I'm just like, Oh my God,
I hope, you know, like lookingfor a fin, you know, or like,
some catastrophic thing tohappen. And my husband is like,
You need to relax. And I waslike, if I knew how I would

If only relax, somebody can get eaten by
a shark, right? Who else iswatching out.

That's what think. That's what you assume
right away. And, of course, Imade. I'm so neurotic that I
made us sit next to thelifeguard tower. Oh, that's a
great idea. I was like this kid.
I was like, I'm gonna keep myeye on him to make sure he's
watching.

Right?
It's just a little extra help.
My family has a story that getstold over and over and over
again about when I was a kid. Wewere at the beach, my little
sister though my mom lost her.
Like she just disappeared. Andever since then. And so she was
walking on the beach. And theywere all the lifeguard stations
like every so often. And thelifeguards were bradoing

(11:20):
elbowing each other like are youlook for a little blonde girl,
there's a little blonde girllost. And they asked her, Are
you lost? And she kept sayingno, because she had been told
not to speak to strangers, shejust kept going further and
further. Anyway, ever sincethen, it's always about like
being next to the lifeguardstation and being like, Okay,
kids, this is where we are. Thisis our number. You know, this is

(11:43):
home base. We do what we can.

It's just so it's just a lot all the time
coming in from every direction.
Yeah.

And cover every base.

And that's what it is. So I'd love to be more
flexible. But I just I, I justfeel like that's not an option
for me.

No, no.
And I don't know that I actuallycould relax if I was given the
opportunity. Really. It's likeI've been on watch for so long
that I wouldn't know what to door what not. Yeah.

Yeah, that's what it feels like. But so

what do you do for fun? What's fun? And
you guys comments, tell us inthe comments. What do you do for
fun?

I mean, honestly, I don't know that I've
sat down and said, like, let'sgo do this for fun. Like
forever, like, I have no idea,like what I would do for fun if
we're being honest. Because ifI'm not on the road, with the
comedy show, then I'm, you know,working on, you know, the

(12:53):
podcast, or the next big projectthat I have been cooking for
over a year that we're just nowhoping to get launched soon. Or,
you know, like, there's, there'sjust always something else that
I'm doing. And that's on mebecause I start projects, right?
I am somebody who just so maybefor fun, I start projects
And maybe that's it.
But that's what I do is I juststart projects, and then I go

(13:16):
and like we're doing a communitycruise in October. That will be
fun.

That sounds very fun.

Yes. That I'm we're I'm so excited about that.
We have like 60 people signedup. It's very small. I mean,
it'll be on a cruise ship witheverybody else. But it's just a
small group that got togetherand we decided we were going to
do a community cruise andeverybody is taking their kids.
So like all the kids are gonnaget to hang out. And

I am a big fan of cruising. And people
don't understand that the cruiseis the ideal vacation when you
have kids, because almost everycruise has free child care.

Yeah.

And these kids, and the kids want to
go to it. It's not like, youknow, my kids beg to go they beg
to stay the place stays opentill like 1230 at night or
whatever.

And they can charge you is if you don't pick
them up at like 12 or something.
Right? Which I gotta be in bedby 10. So

Right?
Oh, god, it's, it's just theperfect thing because you can
still like have alone time andnot have to make a babysitter
arrangement and all that. So goyou that's great. But of course
you have the older kids. I'm nowthinking about that. Because the
last cruise we went on, my sonis just about to turn 13. And I

(14:36):
didn't realize that at that age,like the kids club. You no
longer have they no longer likekeep track of them. You don't
have to sign them in and out.
They're allowed to come and goas they please. So for the first
time in his life, he had likefull run of the ship and like

(14:57):
got that. I mean you're notbecause you're like I know I
know because you're like waybeyond the stage and parenting,
but it was like the big thing oflike, I didn't realize that was
gonna happen on the trip wherehe would go and have friends.
And some of them will be girls.
And they all have phones, andlike they'd be doing their own
thing and want nothing to dowith the parents.

Yeah. Yeah. But that's also, like, great that
they're able to do that. And youknow that they're not going to
go anywhere. And our rule wasalways, you know, if you if you
go off you go all together. Andif you know, and my my oldest,
now probably won't do that thistime when we're on the cruise,

(15:37):
because he's not gonna wantanything to do. But my daughter,
I will saddle my daughter withmy son. Right? They, anywhere
you have to go together. That'sour third care what Kid Care
says, You go together? Yeah.
Because you know, I don't trustmy 12 year old as far as I can
throw him. So

for us to be able to sibling mine are
just too far apart. They're fiveyears apart. So like, that
doesn't always work. Becauseshe's not old enough. She has to
be in the little kid place andhe's in the big kid place.

Right? Well, and that's like, my, my oldest
and youngest are five yearsapart. Okay. So Sophie and Brian
are 18 months apart. So I smooshthem. They have she gets all the
time. I'm like, Nope, you gowith your sister.

That's what that's what sisters are
for. I'm a big sister. Andthat's what we do. Okay, so
we've determined that you don'thave any idea of how to have
fun.

No.

You're workaholic?

Yes.

Um, okay. What about do you have any
grand like, parents,grandparents of your children,
in proximity of you

No,

No grandparent help?

No, no, we are kind of out on our own all of
our family. We moved during thepandemic. Right. So in 2020, we
moved from West Coast of Floridato East Coast of Florida. And
it's it's not close. It's a fivehour drive. Oh, that is that's
way too far. Yeah, that's notlike, let's take a day trip.

Like, no,

I'm so we are literally all by ourselves here.
So we don't have any familyhelp. It's not like you can be
like, well, we'll just go awayfor the weekend. And so and so
can stay the kids. There's noneof that. So we haven't taken a
trip. Just the two of us. Idon't I couldn't tell you the

(17:26):
last trip we took that was justthe two of us. No, maybe I can.
Yeah, maybe it was 2019.

Mine was pre pandemic, for sure. It
was my 40th birthday. We did atrip.

Yeah, we went to New York City. Oh, fun. Yeah.
I think I can't remember. I'mtrying to think now. And I'm
like, I don't know. I don'tknow.

We don't know. Um, I had envisioned
us of having like lots ofhelpful tips to tell people
about like things to do and howto deal with kids over the
summer, but because it's us wedon't we just don't. Oh,
sympathy, empathy.

Yeah. I honestly, I'm not a tips and
tricks or a hacks kind of gal. Imean, that's why I like the name
of our podcast is advice ish,because you probably shouldn't
take it like it's not. It's notprobably the best advice. So we
just, I think, I thinksympathizing empathizing, and

(18:30):
knowing you're not alone isprobably the most comforting
thing in motherhood. You get astranger who you don't know
who's a mom can look at you liketoday on the beach. I watched
this woman run a zone defense.
And I think she had I think fourof the five kids there I think

(18:51):
were hers. I think one was afriend of the older kid. He was
just zigging and zagging andcatching kids before water and
here and there. And here and thewhole time I'm thinking, I
remember being you and like,scooping up kids and grabbing
and Don't put that in yourmouth. And you know, and then
she's got got an older one, two,who was running down, running

(19:13):
down the beach and not listeningto her. And I was just like, Oh,
I remember that. And I I feelfor you. Because it's all the
same stuff. Different daydifferent decade even. It's the
same stuff. We all go throughthe same stuff.

Thats just when you just make eye
contact with that other mom andlike you don't know each other.
You've said nothing, but it'slike I'm with you.

I gotcha. And

Jennifer Weedon Palazz (19:40):
totally, yeah. Well, Meredith, I'm with
you. I've gotcha. You have overthe internet. And please just
just pray for us that we make itthrough this summer.

I look I feel you I really do. It is so tough
when you do take away all thestructure and all the schedule
because you just feel like thereare no boundaries. There's no,
there's nothing holding ittogether. It's just all Flippity
floppity. But there are goodparts of that too, because you
aren't pressed to get somewhereat a specific time. You don't

(20:15):
have to be out the door. Youdon't you know, you don't have
to do those things. But then themoments in between where they're
jumping on the couch andscreaming and throwing crap at
the TV.

That's no good. Yeah, it's so yeah, it
is what it is, Meredith, telleverybody about when you're
going on tour next, when theycan see you, and all that good
stuff.

So I am doing Charlotte, North Carolina on
July 18th.

I just got back from there. My family's
there.

Oh, yeah. So I'll be there at the Comedy zone
on July 18. And then I go toGreenville, South Carolina on
the 19th. Then I come home and acouple of days later on July 25.
I'm in Gainesville, the 26th I'min Orlando and the 27th i'm in
Tampa. And then I have a coupleof down weeks while we get the

(21:05):
kids off to school and backtogether. And then I am gone
every week until the end of theyear. Wow. So, you can find
tickets and shows atMeredithMasony.com/tour. And I
have like, I think right now onthe schedule. I think I have 35

(21:25):
shows between now and the end ofDecember. And we're booking out
2024

Jennifer Weedon Pal (21:32):
Impressive.
Okay, well, you don't have timeto do anything for fun. Because
that's what you do. You to makepeople laugh.

But I love it.
So it is fun for me becausethere is nothing like being in a
comedy club with a bunch of momswho are all yelling at the same
time. Yes, that is me. Yes. Hi.
And there's nothing morevalidating than knowing that
your story resonates withsomebody else. Right. So that is

(22:03):
what I do for fun.

That's so cool. You guys go check it
out. Check out the tour. Thankyou for hanging with me for this
time, Meredith.

Of course anytime.

Yeah, I'm gonna go grab the feral I
haven't fed them yet. 753 So I'mgonna go do that. Welcome to my
world.

Macaroni and cheese and hot dogs are
completely okay, dinner. Don'tlet anybody tell you different.

You've put frozen peas in the mac and
cheese water when it's boiling.
And it's like health food.

That's what I told him. I already had a
freezer pizza today. And tacosfor dinner. And I'm gonna take
them for ice cream right now.

All right. All right. Enjoy your ice
cream. You guys. Enjoy yoursummer. Just come Laugh with us
when you need to cry with us.
Whatever you got to do, and I'llsee you soon Meredith.
BYE

BYE

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