January 5th, 2024 - Top 5-Bottom 5 of 2024wav

Corey, Marney, Jesse, & Cori talk about their top and bottom moments of 2024!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the two seventeen Recovery broadcast. If you don't
make mistakes, you won't learn. With your host Corey Winsfield, like,
oh my gosh, I'm going into a place. They get
a few people like talking to walls, and there was
some of that, but it was still pretty cool. Co
hosts Marnie Wiscus and.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
They don't get that sincere messaging, then they're not going
to have that conversation on a level where maybe you
can get through to them.

Speaker 1 (00:29):
Along with special guests Corey Smoker.

Speaker 3 (00:32):
Maybe one day I can make it onto the TV.

Speaker 1 (00:35):
Outcome too, Jesse Smoker.

Speaker 4 (00:37):
If you glass so you've got like big stick and
you don't got your ass.

Speaker 1 (00:46):
It is the fifth of January twenty twenty five, first
episode of the year two seventeen Recovery Podcasts, and we
had to go back and recap because see what happened
was COVID got my ass, we got Marnie's ass, we
got our son's ass, everybody's asses in our household. So

(01:08):
we wanted to do an episode. Normally we do an
episode on New Year's Eve or around there, and we
recap like the top five moments, top the bottom five,
moments of the year. We kind of go over that,
but I almost sounded like that. I mean, I still
sound nasily, but not as bad as I. You're a
lot better as I was before. But oh my god,

(01:30):
it was so bad. So it was like, now, let's
just hold off. So technically, since this is the first
episode of twenty five, we can go ahead and do
that today. Yeah, and our friends, the smokers, are over
and we're gonna get them to sit down, and we're

(01:50):
gonna do that with them as well. Well, first we
figured we would just do you and I. Yeah, so
we'll go over our top five bottom five moments of
twenty twenty four and what we're looking forward to in
twenty twenty five as people in recovery. Awesome, So do
you want to go first? You want me to go first?

Speaker 2 (02:08):
I don't know. You're a hard act to follow, but
why don't you take us away?

Speaker 1 (02:13):
Okay, all right, my let's go bottom five first. Okay,
My bottom five moments of twenty twenty four are as follows,
and they are in order. Number five. It's dark in
here and I can't read my hand. Oh oh oh, yeah,

(02:33):
this is a big one. Not filing company taxes in time. Yeah,
so you're nonprofit, you don't pay taxes, but they still
want you to report on it, and not being an accountant.
Took me a minute. And then by the time I
got it in it was January and then you're like
penalized fifty bucks a day for being late. I was
like it was like two grand or something.

Speaker 2 (02:56):
It was a lot. Yeah, it's one of those things
where it's just like a waste. Yeah, but you can't
do this. I could have just learn from.

Speaker 1 (03:04):
It, and it was a tough lesson to learn. Last year,
I got our taxes at a time it was good
because our fiscal year, which is kind of weird. But
if I had it to redo again, and I still
can go through and change it if I wanted. But
I heard it's a paint but the company we founded
it in May, technically April. By the time I got
through the state, it was like May. So I thought, okay, cool,

(03:27):
our fiscal or year end in May and it will
begin in June and then you have I don't know
until we have until October fifteenth or something like that
to get it in. This last year, I think we
got them in August or September I don't know way
way early you learned from that. I did, but it
was very expensive learn and like you said, a waste,

(03:49):
you know, like what does this money go to? Yeah,
come on, that was a tough one. I was number five.
Number four is getting an ant infestation in our residence.
H that was paying the ass I forgot about that.
Oh I didn't. And the reason why I was such
a pain of the ass because we knew right away,
Hey there's these ants in our in our place, but
we live in a association and we have to like

(04:16):
contact these management people and blah blah blah blah. And
I did and then it was just a send me
a picture of it, okay, and then like two months
later it was finally fixed. But these carpenter ants were
eating our place. And the reason why they were eating
is because all this wood is rotted wood that's outside
and then they're like, hey, let's go inside because it's
raining and eat these people's would. But until those were

(04:38):
dealt with it, it's made no sense. Like we put
little ant traps and stuff, and they was like, yeah,
that's cute, but we're just gonna keep eating this wood.

Speaker 2 (04:44):
So the ants made your list a.

Speaker 1 (04:46):
While number three is the diabetes scare, which technically depends
who you ask. If you ask my doctor, who'd be like,
what do you mean scare? You got diabetes? He asked
my wife, She'll say, no, no, you're you don't have it anymore.
It's gone. It's another piece of cheesecake. Two pieces of
cheesecake today. It was delicious.

Speaker 2 (05:08):
Actually that was one piece of cheesecake that was cut
into two because you wanted two different kinds of topic.
You feel better, okay.

Speaker 1 (05:18):
Number two was getting COVID Christmas morning. Woke up and
it was like, actually, I was told stop it, get
out of bed because Christmas Eve I was like, honey,
pick me up some niiculel on your way home from work.
Because she was one of those people that wanted to
work Christmas Eve, I was like, can you give you
some nicole? Someone's not feeling right well. When I woke
up on Christmas morning, which we were going to have

(05:39):
this great first Christmas with Parker, it was gonna be awesome.
And then I started coughing and you're like, oh, and
which wa can Parker up? And he was freaking out
and then we realized quickly he was not feeling well.
I wasn't feeling well. You weren't really feeling all that bad,
but not super great. Yeah, so then turned into like, oh,

(06:00):
we all have COVID, So that was not That was
pretty shitty. Like the whole holiday is just a blur.
And I took vacation time too, which is stupid. It
s took sick days, I know, but yeah, whatever, it
is what it is. But that was my number one.
Oh no, no, that was number two. Number one was
even shittier than that. And that was in the summer

(06:26):
when my beloved Nico went to kitty Heaven. Yeah, my
cat Nico died. That was a tough but I'm still
getting over and I still hate the other cats. I
hate all animals. And I said something to you the
other day. I was like, you know, before you have
a kid, pets are cute, but once you have a kid,
you're just like, what is this? This is fake? I
don't I don't need them anymore. I have the real thing, Like,

(06:46):
let's just open the door and let them run wild,
especially since my cute kitty that was smart as hell died.
These other cats are just stupid. And there's one nos
that we're talking about him.

Speaker 2 (06:57):
Yeah, he literally is up with the micro.

Speaker 1 (06:59):
He's like a crushing against the mic and that's a
weird thing where he puts his ass in the air.
And then like he tries to cuddle with me at
night because Martie got him cuddling when he was a
kitt and so now he thinks she needs to cuddle
like a person. But the problem with him is he
slobbers everywhere. What are those dogs that do that, those

(07:19):
big ass dogs. Yeah, he's a Saint Bernard cat. And
then if he's not his face, he's slobbering you down.
You wake up? Oh you got a brown eye staring
you right at your face. It's true though, Yeah, and
I'm like, dude, stop it, man, But he's real trying
to be affectionate.

Speaker 2 (07:38):
And but you're the whole perception of the cuddles with
cat cuddles has changed since the baby, for sure. Yeah,
it's more of an annoyance than it was, but that
doesn't make him not still a cute in our little
blooded pets. So do you want me to do my
bottom five?

Speaker 1 (07:57):
Yeah, and then we'll do the top.

Speaker 2 (07:58):
Okay, So well, first our friends are over, Corey and
Jesse Smoker and who brought up a really good point
that it's like, do I really want to reflect on
like the negatives? You know, because because you know, trying
to be like a strength based, forward focused individual slash therapist,

(08:20):
that that's the modality that I choose to roll with
professionally and also as a person.

Speaker 1 (08:28):
But it, I mean, is this your disclaimer We don't
really want to do this.

Speaker 2 (08:33):
No, it's it's I I mean, because it is truly
reflecting on the past year. There everything's not always great,
you know, but so let's at that. The thing is
is a lot of mine with the same as yours.
So do I have to I didn't really have them

(08:53):
numbered really per se. But Nico, well, Nico was on there.
It was as for us for sure, you know, she
was she was a package deal. When I met my husband,
it was like either the cat comes with me or
we're not gonna I'm not making a move, you know. Yeah,

(09:20):
I mean straight up, it was like, yeah, that sounds great.
We could try to find a place together, but it
needs to be able to tap cats.

Speaker 1 (09:27):
And just to clarify this, son Nico and we'll give
her her moment here for a minute too. When my
grandmother died back in two thousand and ten. That's when
I got nicol, like that weekend after because I was
just missing something and she really did fill a void.
And then she was there through all the hard times,

(09:48):
the drinking and me being a pretty bad cat parent. Really,
how could I be a good one? You know? And
then the liver failure, and then she would always cuddle
with me after that, and I think it's probably because
I wasn't drinking than that I was drinking every single day.
But it was then when we really started a bond.

(10:08):
And then I moved back home and she moved with me,
and then things didn't work out, and then I had
to move back to my mom's. And I hear so
many people talk about why they can't go to sober living.
It's because they have a dog or they have a
cat and they know they're struggling and they go out
and get this animal, thinking and will help them, and
then it doesn't. Now it's their excuse of why I
can't go to treatment, why I can't do this, why

(10:29):
I can't do that. At the end of the day,
I had to look in the mirror and realize what's
more important me or my cat. I love my cat, sure, absolutely,
but I'm not going to be anything good for my
cat if I can't pull my shit together. And so
when I went to treatment, you know those two months,
and then my cat actually went from my apartment to

(10:49):
my back to my mom's place, and she just kind
of slept in this room, hung out in this room,
never was really out, never interacted with anybody. Just a
really horrible jail sentence for her, pretty much. And when
I went to sober living, I was like, I know
my cat's in there. I remember one time I went
home for something, maybe Christmas or something, and my mom

(11:11):
was like, you want to go see your cat? And
I said, no, I don't because it would hurt too
much and there's nothing I can do right now. And
it wasn't Christmas. It might have been like I don't
know what it was, but it was something, and I
know Nico could hear me. Cats have great hearing, and
I knew she knew I was there, but it would
have just been too much. And to try to put

(11:33):
myself in situations that aren't too much, especially early in recovery,
but I chose not to see her. With then my
mom was like, ye didn't even see your cat, And
I'm like, well, there's different reasons for that, but regardless,
I did get her back. And when I moved into
the sober living home that I managed, that was one
of the things too. It's like, well, can I bring

(11:54):
my cat? He was like sure, So I just kept
her in the room there, but at least I was
there with her, and that was fun. And then we moved.
At first we went to this hotel because it was
during COVID and we were trying to find a place. Yeah,
and she stayed there with us for what over there,
like a week or two something like that. There for
longer than that, but yeah, and then we moved into

(12:17):
our apartment and she came along with and I think
she had a pretty good end of her life. Oh yeah.
And then she moved into the mansion here and she
didn't know how to work the elevator, so she kind
of just stayed up in our room most of the time.
But yeah, it was getting bad, and I'm glad she's
in a better place now because you know, cats, they
don't live that long, and when stuff starts going bad,

(12:38):
it goes bad pretty quick sometimes.

Speaker 2 (12:40):
So how old was she?

Speaker 1 (12:42):
Fourteen? Fourteen okay, yeah, fourteen in a few months.

Speaker 2 (12:46):
Yeah, she had and she was she wasn't acting herself
for sure at the end of her days.

Speaker 1 (12:52):
And very sad. I avoided her just because I knew
something was wrong and I didn't want to face it.
And then finally it was like, no, we got to
take her in and it was blood in the poop
and it's like, okay, something's not right and I still
feel back. So I just grabbed her up and took
her in. But then we spent some time with her
before they gave her the SEAA later shot. But yeah,

(13:13):
but yeah, it was a tough one. But anyway, that
was kind of like the Nico thing because pets are
very important for people in the early recovery, but a
lot of times will choose, well, I can't go to treatment,
I can't get help because you know the pet. Well,
think about it. The pet's going to live six more years.
Don't you want that to be great? A great six years,

(13:35):
you know, instead of a drunken filled like or using
whatever back and forth battle like that was hell on
my cat. You know, she hated when I drink, and
you know, to really be there for your pet, really
be there for your pet. You know. Don't say though
I can't get clean, I can't go get help because

(13:55):
of this or that. I've just I've heard it way
too much.

Speaker 2 (13:59):
But the long term, in the long term, it's going
to be more beneficial for the animal if you become healthy.

Speaker 1 (14:06):
Yeah, you know, you can move up to the mansion
or whatever. You know you can move up to. But yeah,
it's it's the way to go. You know, you got
to look out for yourself in one If you can't
take care of yourself, how you're supposed to take care
of a cat, how you supposed to take care of
a dog, hamster, rabbit, pig, whatever, Right, you know, you
have to get your stuff lined up first. But anyway,

(14:28):
back to your list.

Speaker 2 (14:30):
So similarly from yours, I had Christmas, COVID was not
It was a struggle. Having a husband and a baby
both sick is not easy. And I also had COVID.
I didn't have I wasn't asymptomatic, not even close to

(14:52):
what you experienced or our child. But that was the
first time I actually had to see our little one
not feeling well, you know, and that was hard to do.
But knowing that we did everything that we needed to
to take care of them, and even I took them
into the doctor even just to make sure everything else.

(15:14):
There wasn't anything else that we were missing. So that
was yeah, not not the Christmas I expected for the
first family Christmas, but we were the most. We made
the most of it, for sure. So so that kind
of following that is just overall. Uh, And this isn't

(15:35):
really like a negative. It's just more like there are
little things that where you question, you know, yourself and
your role like parental parent parental struggles, right, Like there's
this learning curve that exists that is inevitable, and you know,
I'm a new mom and you're a new dad, and
so there's like am I doing it right? Am I

(15:57):
doing it? Could I do it better? Could I? There's
something else I should be doing? Am I? Am I?
You know, I don't know how to explain it, but like,
am my hitting? Is my child hitting the milestones you're
supposed to be hitting?

Speaker 1 (16:15):
You know?

Speaker 2 (16:15):
Should I be taking a different you know, giving them
different toys or different food or more food or less food,
or you know, hold them more or hold them less
or whatever. So that has been challenging. But that's also
verging on the positive. So we'll get to that. I
put on here the election worry, and it's not because

(16:38):
I'm like politically that knowledgeable. It's more just like the
unknown of how things are actually gonna go, you know,
with moving forward with our leaders and how they handle
things is you know, concerning. I think regardless however it
panned out, it would have been concerning just overall just

(17:00):
that in general. And then this is also kind of
a segue into my positives too, is that I did
kind of close a door on a company that I
had worked for for a long time and ATS which

(17:20):
we work with a lot of addiction treatment services and traversity.
They kind of were a platform that kind of was
a part of me launching myself into my professional role
as you know, a social worker. And so for that,
I'm very grateful and I'm grateful for every minute that

(17:42):
I worked for them, the opportunities that opened up for me.
And but I did kind of just need to reevaluate,
you know, the roles I had and then where my
time was going to be spent. And I was, you know,
obviously on board with two seventeen, and so those opportunities

(18:02):
have you know, grown and increased, and needs there for
me professionally have have increased. So so that's my segue
from it was a negative but not really a negative.
It led into more positives into my positive list.

Speaker 1 (18:16):
We're going to keep going if.

Speaker 2 (18:18):
You want me to. Yeah, well okay, So that is
would roll into the progress and development of seventeen recovery
and the opportunity that I've been able to take is
or take and establish my role there, and that goes
hand in hand with my been able to when Daddy

(18:40):
has Daddy tuesdays, mommy has working working Tuesdays where I'm
doing my clinical work with individuals at a private practice
that I work for, so I can eventually get my
full MSW licensure Yahoo, which means down the road, you know,
be able to to provide therapeutic services for individuals as

(19:04):
a therapist for two seventeen recovery. So that's like the
big picture stuff. So that's on there. And then connecting
with family overall. I think as a person in recovery,
you know, you earning trust back from family members and

(19:26):
re establishing these relationships. You know, it continues to be
an important thing for me and the fact that we
I think us as a family, as a husband and
wife with like in laws and such, and as well
as my nuclear family. I've really kind of maybe not

(19:49):
as much as I should, but I feel like I've
done a better job than I have in the past.
Is kind of keeping in contact with everybody and trying
to you know, keep outing for buddy involved, and this
is what we're up to, and you know, keeping people included,
connecting with my dad, connecting with my mom, siblings as

(20:10):
much as I can and as much as they want
to be connected. And then my in laws who are
my family now as well, you know, my mom and
dad and oh on that piece and aunts and uncles
that I have and that end, and brothers and sisters
now that I have through marriage, which is beautiful thing,

(20:33):
and nieces and nephews and the whole shebang.

Speaker 1 (20:36):
Okay, so that's number four for you, is keeping in
touch on those people.

Speaker 2 (20:39):
Yeah, do you do you want me to? Am I
talking too much about that?

Speaker 4 (20:42):
No?

Speaker 1 (20:42):
I mean I just was wondering if that was.

Speaker 2 (20:45):
Yes, well, it was family planning, family trip that I'm
that we're excited about.

Speaker 1 (20:51):
So you'd look so that you're talking about twenty twenty
five you're looking forward to or are you doing in
the top That's five things twenty.

Speaker 2 (20:58):
Four plant that was planing into the twenty twenty five okay,
but connecting with family? So okayright, all right? Now these
go equally together. And it's number one and number two
is my sobriety what because without that I wouldn't have

(21:19):
anything else.

Speaker 1 (21:20):
Number one, Number two is your sobriety.

Speaker 2 (21:22):
Nope, that's one and two go together. Two is our
is our child?

Speaker 1 (21:27):
Confused? Two is our child?

Speaker 2 (21:30):
One and two sobriety and our child go together? Okay,
because I wouldn't because I wouldn't. We wouldn't have our.

Speaker 1 (21:37):
Baby was number three, so confused? Obviously, m.

Speaker 2 (21:46):
I don't have them. I have Sobriety's number one and
number two, well, one and two sobriety and our child
and then being a mom, right, and then progress and
development of two seventeen recovery and also my MSW licensure,
and then connecting with family.

Speaker 1 (22:03):
That's five.

Speaker 4 (22:04):
I really hate to do this to you guys, but
I really have to go to the bathroom really bad.
I just like can't hold it anymore.

Speaker 1 (22:12):
How did Mitchell get on this podcast? All? Right?

Speaker 2 (22:15):
Is that what you have to do.

Speaker 1 (22:17):
No, But that's awesome list. You know obviously, the the
sobriety and the child and being a mom. You know,
those are big things for you. It was huge in
twenty twenty four. That's good. Okay, Okay, you mind, yeah,

(22:39):
all right? Number five, Sorry, you look like you're so
mad at me. No, I was just I was there,
very very confused there. So I have COVID brain. It
takes me a minute. Number Okay. So there's a honorable mention,
which would be like because I just remembered it when
you were talking about it and I found out I

(22:59):
had a sister, but I haven't really met her yet,
so it's kind of honorable mention like that could be cool.
It could be better to get to know her. So
it's a great Christmas card, which I need to write
her back and think for. But Number five, though, is
winning the trash Bowl in our fantasy football league. Okay,
Jesse Smokergre, He's he's giving me the pump because how

(23:21):
I had to do it. I had to rig it
to her. I didn't finish in the top tier, but
I had to go through the bottom tier. If you're
in a fantasy football you know I'm talking about if
not that, I'm sorry, but then I set up my
revenge tour. Everybody that had beat me by like a
point or two points or half a point, I got
my revenge on him, and I got to revenge Mitch
what the Monday night and I got to win it

(23:41):
all with a Monday Night And those are how I lost.
So those two people was on a Monday night game.
So it was great to like, oh.

Speaker 2 (23:48):
Yeah, so losers can be winners too.

Speaker 1 (23:50):
Absolute fricking lotly, Like you've talked to somebody like Justin
Burke who's like, oh, I made the playoffs for the
money round or like the top tier. He barely made
it in and then loses first game he's done. See ya,
No thanks, I'd rather win the trash ball and get
redemption go on a tour, a victory tour. Okay. So anyway,

(24:11):
that's number five. Number four is getting the house repainted.
Never done that before? Has this heard? My son?

Speaker 2 (24:20):
I do too?

Speaker 1 (24:22):
Go check on hi baby. Yeah, so getting the house
repainted it was awesome. It was nice. We tried to
do some of it before the birth of Parker, but
then it just kind of didn't work out and then
Parker was born and it was finished. But it feels
good and to do something like that because it did
like a hot mess in here before then it is

(24:44):
the way that people have ass painted it before we
moved in. So Number three was that I wrote a
script for a short film. Took this little class. It
was a real short class, but I took that and
I wrote it and you read it. Some need to
rewrite it and put the finishing touches on it, but
the fact that I wrote it, it's there. You know.

(25:07):
There's a few more things you need to do before
you turn into a film, but I'm gonna do it.
Number two is hosting and being the MC at the
UFAM rally in Michigan. That was kind of a big deal.
When they asked me to do that.

Speaker 2 (25:23):
It was just like, whoa man, that feels like a
million years ago.

Speaker 1 (25:26):
I know, you're about ready to pop. Yeah, because I
was going to turn it down and say no, no,
my wife's gonna have a baby. I'm gonna have a baby.

Speaker 2 (25:35):
And what was that like a week before?

Speaker 1 (25:38):
Yeah, it's like the sixteenth or seventeenth of May. And
second yeah, but it was it was an honor, you know,
like here, I am five years sober at that time.
I have six years now, but that time I had
five years and just think, wow, Like I remember going
back that first year, you know when we showed up

(25:58):
with a ragtag like table drop and it was me
and Rob and and I was there and it was
just like, it's nothing like what it was. Yeah, we're
actually credited with creating people bringing their own tents because
that's what we did. And then ever since then we
have done that and like it just grows and grows.
He was like, you guys are the ones that started that.

(26:20):
I was like, well, yeah, I didn't need your tent.
We got our own. But now we look a lot
better there. But yeah, so to be invited and to
ask to be the MC of it was it was
freaking huge. Man. So that for me is number two.
And then number one was I got a new Drone.
Oh just kidding, I got a new Sun Yeah, so

(26:45):
you can have my old drone. But yeah, having Parker
was it was huge. You know. It was quite the
I don't want to say battle. It was quite the
process for us, and there was a lot of ups
and downs and then to find out, hey, we are
pregnant and then to find out it's I remember the

(27:07):
lady she's like, you're gonna have a prince, and I'm like,
she just said we would have a boy, you know,
And I would have been thrilled either way, but you know,
to have a boy, you know, it was huge. And
then you know, going to the hospital and I didn't
want you to have a c section, and I was
just like, oh, we heard so many things and this
and that, and I don't know, just the thought of
you having to have more surgery, and I wanted to

(27:28):
be there with you and watch him, you know, come
flying out of you as much as I wanted to
see that that wasn't the case. And you know, but
being able to like just sit there and hold them,
and they're like they handed him too nice, remember, And
I'm almost like white outfit and all this stuff they
made me put on, and they just brought him to
me and I'm sitting there in this like rocking chair

(27:50):
just looking at him and he can't even really see me,
I don't think, but he's just staring up at me
and not crying or nothing. I don't know. It was
just a really cool moment. And then we like, where's
my wife, you know, and then they will you in
and then we you know, I give him to you
and he just I don't know, it was just it
was a it was a very magical moment. It was
very cool. Yeah, that was number one.

Speaker 2 (28:14):
For me, Absolutely number one, hands down.

Speaker 1 (28:18):
My sobriety goes in through one through I don't know, mention,
it goes through all of them. Right, He's in there.

Speaker 2 (28:23):
I don't even need It's almost like a given.

Speaker 1 (28:25):
Yeah, God's God's been pretty awesome to us and to me.
And that rolls me into twenty twenty five and the
things I'm looking forward to personally, uh, to make my
short film, to film it, to edit it, to put
it out there and have that done before twenty twenty
six comes around, doable and professionally, which I guess that

(28:46):
could be professionally, but that's more personally. Professionally, you know,
secure funding, which I think we may have for two seventeen,
recovery to actually purchase vehicles, you know, to help us
and do what we do. We take people to them
from treatment. You know, it's kind of I would say
the number one thing that we do, and we provide
safe transportation using Recovery coaches, taking people where they need

(29:07):
to go and taking them home. Yeah, you know, and
it's huge, it's such it's overlooked, and what we do.
We know it's important because we do it and we
talk to the people and we hear the people's stories
and we hear them. We see them later and they're like,
thank you so much. I had no other way to
get the treatment. Yeah. If you guys didn't come get me,
i'd be dead today. Yeah, you're just like, wow, that's awesome.

(29:27):
But it's just so overlooked. I just put them on
a bus. Well, their family take them. Well, last time
I was supposed to go to treatment, uh it was
it was my mom going And I'm not picking you up.
And I don't blame her. I'm not picking you up.
I'm not taking you anymore. Like I'm done with it. Yeah,
And so I had to ride the bus, which is

(29:47):
not a very safe option for people going to or
from treatment. So yeah, to secure funding for that would
be awesome. Yeah, that'd be kind of a big deal. Absolutely,
What about you.

Speaker 2 (30:00):
So mine or just to carry out like continue doing
what I'm doing. Right, So, like I said, that learning
curve of you know, being a new mom, and you know,
being able to see our child grow, which is like insane.
I mean, he's seven and a half months and I
can It's like when I look back at pictures when

(30:23):
he was just a little itty bitty baby, which was
only you know, it seems like a million years ago,
but then it was only a little bit ago. And
now he's like getting upstairs on his own. What's so
it's like you want him to grow up, but you
don't want him to grow up, but all of it
is just it's a miracle and it's just so exciting
and just to be able to be a part of

(30:43):
that every day is amazing. And looking forward to, you know,
establishing myself more professionally as come August of this year,
I will be eligible to take the asw B because
which would make me an official licensed Master Social Worker,

(31:05):
depending that I have all my clinical hours done, which
is you know, what I'm doing through mental wellness and
that's huge. So I'll have to do some studying for that,
but it's kind of like it's one of those things
that I'm not worried about it, but just any any
testing is bothersome, you know what I mean, When there's

(31:27):
a past fail situation. You're always worried about what you
know or what you didn't what you don't know, or.

Speaker 1 (31:32):
Almost like taxes, get almost like taxes.

Speaker 2 (31:35):
Yeah, so yeah, and then I'm looking forward to the
family trip that we have been able to plan that
is gonna be in the beginning of June, right after
your bird's Day.

Speaker 1 (31:53):
Or something like that sort of. Yeah, yeah, that'll be fun.
Your cat decides it's going to work out.

Speaker 2 (32:00):
Now, it's your cat.

Speaker 1 (32:03):
My cat likes to go outside. Let me let him
out there.

Speaker 2 (32:07):
Yeah, he's on the running wheel, which he never ever
gets on unless we're doing a podcast.

Speaker 1 (32:12):
They're gonna go put the stopper in that. But I
go do that, and then we'll grab Jesse and Corey
Smoker and we'll get their top five. Marnie, thank you
for being the pocket. Maybe you can talk with Corey
about her top five bottom five. Okay, and we'll do
that and just admitute. But first let's bring in Jesse Smoker. Hey, hey, Jesse,
how you doing.

Speaker 4 (32:31):
I'm doing really good yourself. I mean, besides, yeah, the
whole covid.

Speaker 1 (32:37):
A you know, over covid, but it's kind of on
the uptick, so I think it's a good thing. Good.
So you heard Martie and I talking about we did
our bottom five top five moments of twenty twenty four,
and then we kind of talked about a couple of
things that either we look forward to or I'm trying
to make happen in twenty twenty five. So if we
want to start with your bottom five of twenty.

Speaker 4 (33:00):
Four, bottom five, let's see, I didn't really have five,
but I did have I don't think I was the
best husband this year, okay, meaning just need to give

(33:23):
a little just a little more, kind of help out
a little more around the house, or go to those
things with my wife that I don't want to go
to and just go.

Speaker 1 (33:36):
Because all the shit she does because yeah, you know
she doesn't want to, but yeah, you got to look
at that, and the women are so good at that.

Speaker 4 (33:43):
Yeah, and I'm a little selfish in that area. So
it's like I feel like I could step up a
little more. So I'm kind of I don't want to
say it's it was a bad twenty twenty four on
our marriage or anything. It's just I know I could
do a little better. Okay, So that one. The other

(34:08):
one was with mikaela stepdaughter. I feel like.

Speaker 1 (34:14):
I can.

Speaker 4 (34:17):
Improve in areas with some help through counseling or whatever
you want to call those people therapist.

Speaker 1 (34:29):
Yeah, so.

Speaker 4 (34:34):
That's another one I didn't. I didn't do real good
with the whole step parent thing. Yeah, that's you know,
those are my two biggest, I think, biggest things. And
I don't want to say regret that weren't weren't real
highs for me in twenty twenty four. Those were kind

(34:54):
of my lows.

Speaker 1 (34:55):
Gotcha. At least you're aware of them and you can
be thinking about them.

Speaker 4 (34:59):
Yeah, And it's always you know, it's it's not like
a resolution or you know, in New Year's resolution, right
because I mean when I was drinking a party and
I'd make those all the time. Now now it's just
about being better just a little bit.

Speaker 1 (35:17):
Though. Yeah, it's gonna change. Yeah. Reacting versus acting like
that's the biggest thing. Man. It's not reacting to situations,
not reacting to people. And it's tough. Yeah, it is
tough because it might not even be that person that
gets you. Maybe you're riled up about something else and
like the ant issue if somebody comes and I just

(35:38):
was having it out with HOA and the guy's being
smart ask me to me a picture of it. Oh,
if you'd have came in that toy. You can react
to other situations, but it's all based on this. But
yet this has hitting me now, so you know what?
Fu two? And then I'm like, oh no, that's not
how you handle that. Damn it. Now, I got two
fires going, and you know us in our past, what

(36:00):
do we do when the fire's going, Well, let's get
some let's get something, you know, and set. The whole
world will burn us down too, and it'll be their fault.
But we live differently today and to be accountable for
things that we do, things that we say, and then
to look in the mirror and go, you know what,
I could have handled that different? What do I need
to do? You know, because a lot of people are like,
well I could have handled different O nukes to them,

(36:22):
But no, to actually seek professional help. And I'm not
saying like, hey, everybody goes see a therapist because you're crazy.
I'm not saying that at all, But you need somebody
to help you balance that and go, Jesse, was that
the best thing you could have said? To them? Well? Right,
how would you said it again. And the thing is.

Speaker 4 (36:36):
Is like, how can like you said, oh, next time,
I'll do better. Obviously not because I don't know. I
didn't do so hot this time around. So it's like
I don't I.

Speaker 1 (36:46):
Don't know how how do you how do you do better?

Speaker 4 (36:48):
I don't know how. I don't know how to shut
the you know what, Yeah, I don't know how to
close my mouth hard.

Speaker 1 (36:53):
It's so hard. It's terrible, and you're not gonna be perfect.
I'm gonna work on this other day I die and
it it's tough. But you'll you'll look back at those
moments where you do where you just shut up, and
you're like, come back to that later, Yeah, And you'll
come back to it later and you're like, my god,
I'm so glad it didn't blow up I was I
was the one in the wrong or how I didn't
have my facts or or whatever it is. You'll you'll

(37:14):
but you'll thank yourself and you're like.

Speaker 4 (37:15):
Yes, yeah, I'm really kind of looking forward to learning that.

Speaker 1 (37:19):
Oh, it's it's just one of the best things you
can ever feel, is that dods that bullet. Yeah, you know,
and you're just like, and I handled that correctly man,
that I was.

Speaker 4 (37:29):
Just I feel proud. Yeah, grown up things.

Speaker 1 (37:31):
Yeah, you know, you know, still like the next day,
fly off the hand out something else. You're like, damn it,
but I know I can do, you know, but it's
it's just it's a constant I don't want to say battle,
but it's a constant something you got to keep in
the front of your brain like all the time. And
because it's gotta be got to be aware. Yeah, for sure,
it takes a lot of practice. I'm proud of you

(37:52):
for doing that. Yeah. So let's move on to the
list of the top five things.

Speaker 4 (37:57):
Oh okay of twenty twenty four. Top five things first
and foremost or first and foremost. It has to it
has to be uh sobriety. You know, your wife said it.
You know, Without sobriety, we really don't have a chance
at any of this stuff, you know. So that was

(38:19):
that's my biggest one. My second one is basically my
wife decided to love me for another year. That's a
big thing because really without my wife, man, I I'm
a pretty I don't know, I guess kind of closed down,
you know, you know, basically like a hermit. Don't go out,

(38:44):
don't really show myself to people, don't really want to
do things, and she gets me out of that comfort zone.
She's like, we're doing this, we're doing that, We're going
to go see your family. Oh and by the way,
I'm like, oh my god. But so the wife was second.
The third was finding out that we are going to

(39:04):
be homeowners for the first time. Very excited about the
first time homeowner ever, so really really looking forward.

Speaker 1 (39:16):
You can do it, really.

Speaker 4 (39:18):
Yeah, however, I'm just so excited about that whole situation,
you know. And my new puppy. Got a new puppy
for Christmas, a little buster. He's a little bastard, but
I love him, you know, and all the other dogs
are enjoying him. He makes number three. And yeah, I'm

(39:42):
looking forward to the new house to put them in
so they'll have a yard to run around in that
would be real nice and a dog door. Really looking
forward to those things. So yeah, I think that was five. Yeah, house, Sobriety,
a wife, puppy. Oh, one more, I have to say

(40:04):
you and Marnie and Parker, you know, I mean like
didn't really you know, I didn't know a lot about you,
and then you brought in my wife to work and
she's grown as an individual. And then I came by
and you guys were just awesome, open arms and got

(40:26):
a lot of the same beliefs, and we want to
help people. We want to make things better and let
people know that there's a there's a way out of
this misery, you know, this uh powerlessness of just not
being able to not drink, not do drugs. Yeah, you

(40:46):
guys are You guys are a blessing in our lives
for sure. And uh yeah, those are my top five.

Speaker 1 (40:52):
Nice like them, good job. And there was a time
when all of us and I'm gonna include Corey schism
but an yet, we were at a point where we
would never be fixed, where this is how we were
going to die, that's how we're going to go out.
So if somebody is listening, and if it's your son
and your daughter or your cousin's your wife, it's your husband,

(41:12):
whoever is going through that, we have been there in
them shoes and we are not in those shoes anymore.
We traded them in. God, we got some new white
sneakers and they're brilliant and they fit well and they
got like art support and there. They're brilliant shoes and
we just all in. It wasn't easy breaking them in.

(41:34):
It wasn't easy finding that pair, let me tell you.
But we did find it, and thank god, you know,
we weren't shopping at the thrift store looking for the cheapest,
quickest one that we could get. We had to take
our time with it, and we finally found the ones
that fit. And it's just beautiful and life is beautiful

(41:54):
and we've never literally lived life until now, and now
it's just like new homeowner pup be.

Speaker 4 (42:00):
Yeah, come on, I mean, dude, things are just ridiculous.
Things I'd never I mean I dreamed of, just never
thought they'd be possible.

Speaker 1 (42:07):
Yeah, and here you are.

Speaker 4 (42:09):
They're possible.

Speaker 1 (42:10):
You know, you got a loving wife, you got some
stuff going for you. Yeah. And is there some stuff? Sure,
you know there's stuff that that gets under your skin
and bothers I spend. At the end of the day,
you will want to break it down and look at it.

Speaker 4 (42:22):
You know.

Speaker 1 (42:22):
I call them sober people problems.

Speaker 2 (42:24):
You know.

Speaker 4 (42:24):
It's like, yeah, I mean, I way rather take my
problems that I have today than some of the other
problems I hear that people have. Yeah, I'll take mine, yeah,
any day of the week.

Speaker 1 (42:37):
And it's just and it's you know, this is where
being in recovery kind of comes in because people can
be sober, well, I just don't drink, I just don't use, Okay.
Being in recovery is a whole different ballgame for me anyway,
and from how I look at it. And this is
why this is one of the things I was going
to write on the things I want to do in
twenty twenty five. I want to have Gordon Keith on

(42:59):
my cast. I look up to him, He's my idol
nice and I want him to talk about recovery. And
I want to find the person who and I may
able have to go through sea car to find this,
but the person that says you're in recovery when you
say you are, I want to talk to that person. Yeah,
I would really want to have a conversation with you,

(43:20):
to have them kind of explain what they meant by that,
because so many people throw you're recovery. You say you are,
and there's chief and down or drinking, you know, and
I'm like, no, no, no, I mean you can you
can say that you're the president of the United States
if you want to doesn't mean shit, you know. Like,
but what what I fear is is the up and comers,
the people that don't even know they have a problem
yet that's going to hit them in two years from

(43:42):
now and they're going to be struggling and they're going
to be seeing people chief and down packing down their
arm ready for another another shot. And they're like, no,
you're in recovery. When you say you are, bro I'll
be in recovery tomorrow right, No, Because it's it's changing
your life.

Speaker 3 (43:59):
You know.

Speaker 1 (43:59):
It's paying your bills, it's going to the doctor, it's
going to the dentist's, it's doing the stuff you don't
want to do, working hard, You're creating things, you know,
going in on a Saturday when you don't have to,
you know, like it it's those little things that's changed
in your life that makes it recovery. You know, it's
not just swamps so I don't use anymore, okay, you know,

(44:23):
it's building this whole new life. So I really want
to talk to that person.

Speaker 4 (44:25):
Yeah, yeah, i'd look forward to that. That would be
really great, And it would.

Speaker 1 (44:30):
Because there's a lot of people in recovery and there's
a lot of people teetering or borderline. And I get
it from a like money aspect of it, because you know,
like through the state and all this other stuff. They're like, well,
we want to say that there's eighty million people in recovery.
Easier to say that if you're in recovery when you say,
you are right. But if you really took the numbers down,

(44:53):
I wonder what they really would be. I don't really know.
I don't think anybody would really know, no, because it's
kind of protected by hippa.

Speaker 4 (45:00):
You know, they want to know it's really yeah, it's
really what comes down to.

Speaker 1 (45:04):
But it's this is one of those things. You know,
we're told so many different things, well this and that
and this and that, and you can do this and
you can do that, and this is like no, no, no,
I can't do that. Right, Well, you can do medically.
It's just a treatment. I mean, I tried vivatrol. It
was a band aid for me.

Speaker 4 (45:18):
Yeah, you know, thallium was dope, and Mitch.

Speaker 1 (45:21):
Mitch swears By, He's like, oh, vivitrell saved my life,
you know. Where at me, I was like, okay, when
does the viatrol wear off? Okay, cool, my mom wants
me to watch the house in October. I'm gonna stop
getting that shot in August to make sure I got
enough room because I'm gonna get lit in October. That's
how I looked at viviatrol. Yeah, but again, I was
in the right mind space where if you talk to Mitch,

(45:42):
he'll he'll flip it around. Oh no, this is that,
And then you talk about the other stuff that they
give you too, and it's just like, are you using
it correctly? And my number one thing that it's not
is because and this is my opinion on it. And
I talked to my doctor about it, and I'll talk
to him about it tomorrow when I go see him too,
is that when they put you on on some of
the stuff, there's no outdate. There's no like, we're gonna

(46:03):
get you started today and we're gonna stop you in
November of next year. Nope, it's you're on it and
there you go. Yeah. And when treatment center is this
person I know works at treatment center said we have
to burn all of them, and we only did the
first half batch and we do this once a month,
and that was like eight thousand dollars of taxpayer money
that we just burnt up. That again, raise a flag.

(46:25):
Now I'm not against it, I'm just saying it needs
to be regulated. We don't just throw everybody on it
because oh, if we put this person on it, then
we're gonna get this much from the insurance and this
and that, and that's why they're doing it. That's a
waste and there's no outplan. There's no when you're gonna stop, right.
I mean, he's gonna have crazings rest of my life.

Speaker 4 (46:42):
I mean even detox and treatment has outdates. Yeah, you
got five days here in detox and then you got ninety.
Maybe we can get you another thirty after that.

Speaker 1 (46:53):
But we're gonna put them on the drug companies. Yeah,
bandwagon that got us into this mess, got you joy?
And then let's start to talk about the biggest one.
Let's talk about the one that kills the most people.
Let's talk about alcohol. Yeah, you know, come on now, Yeah,
oh no, that's fine. You're gona talk about Bannon Captain crunch,
you know, band Captain crunch. But you're gonna leave half

(47:16):
gallons of ninety proof Sailor Jerry right on the shelf. Okay,
go ahead, man, you tell me which one's gonna get
me first. I'll tell you it's the alcohol and almost
got my ass. That's right, Yeah, that's right. I won't
buy Captain Crunch. I don't have the money. I'm gonna
buy some liquor. Yeah, you know. Let me just explain
to you how that works. But anyway, that's a whole

(47:36):
different podcast. Hold everyone, all right, So I guess Marnie
now is going to talk to Corey and they're gonna
run down there or her top five bottom five moments wonderful,
But actually it'll be me because I can't find Marny.
The mansion is too big. I don't know where she's at, obviously,

(47:57):
so it'll be me. I mean, you, Corey, with your
top five bottom five moments of twenty twenty four. You
want to start with the bottom five?

Speaker 2 (48:05):
Sure?

Speaker 1 (48:06):
Do you have five?

Speaker 5 (48:07):
I have three definities.

Speaker 1 (48:10):
Okay, I'm the only one that played this game correctly. Obviously.

Speaker 5 (48:14):
That's that's because none of us ever listened to Corey Winfield.

Speaker 1 (48:18):
Obviously I get a cook because I'm the one who
did listen to the rules. But anyway, let's go. Let's
go Bottom five moments of twenty twenty four or bottom three.

Speaker 5 (48:29):
I mean I can come up with two more.

Speaker 3 (48:31):
Oh okay, So my first one that popped to mine
was on Thanksgiving losing my grandma. I mean, I knew
that was happening, but just when that does actually happen,
it's sad. And then in September I got a this moment.

(48:52):
I remember it very vividly, as I got a phone
call at one thirty in the morning from a Traverse
City police office sir, asking if my child had made
it home safely because she was in a drunk driving
accident and had left the scene. Oh and so, I
mean that was a pretty scary moment. And then I

(49:14):
couldn't get a hold of her, and I didn't know
where she was, so I didn't know like if she
was even medically okay.

Speaker 1 (49:19):
It's dined field somewhere, didn't know, no.

Speaker 5 (49:25):
And then of course the.

Speaker 3 (49:27):
Car that they were in and the person driving it,
like I didn't I couldn't know like anything. So it
was kind of scary. And then two times last year
I had to ask my daughter to leave our house
from her behaviors.

Speaker 1 (49:44):
That's a different that's number one kind of on your list. Yeah, okay,
that's tough.

Speaker 3 (49:51):
In the first time that I asked her to leave,
it was in March and it was a winter storm,
and just her behavior was so out of control that
I bundled her up and I opened the door and
I said, you gotta go.

Speaker 5 (50:06):
And she had no phone or nothing.

Speaker 3 (50:07):
So then I didn't know where she went, which way
she headed, did she find a ride, did she go
somewhere safe?

Speaker 5 (50:15):
But I just it was what I had to do
in that moment to not get physical with her.

Speaker 1 (50:27):
Wow, that's deep. Yeah, So you could have kind of
turned those into a couple more to get top five,
but well.

Speaker 3 (50:35):
I mean asking to relieve twice, so I guess that's two.
So I'm only really only lacking one.

Speaker 1 (50:44):
And we're not trying to relive all the negatives, but
just just a year of review, you know, as we
look back, you know, and go, Man, those are some
advertised but let's let's move into a different direction. Let's
go the top five moments. You have top five moments, Okay,
let's go. Let's hear them.

Speaker 3 (51:02):
Okay, So back in February, Jesse and I took his
mom back to California where she had resided, and she
hadn't been back there in fourteen years, so that was
like really amazing. And we got to go to recovery
meetings that she went to when she was out there
Nice and so it was like super cool to go

(51:22):
to these meetings and be with her and then see
some people that had remembered her.

Speaker 1 (51:27):
And it's not somebody you're gonna forget, yeah, I know,
So that was really fun.

Speaker 3 (51:36):
Another thing is is in August, I made a career
change to better myself and for my family, and that
was a change that was like took some time for
me to finally say yes, but it is a change
that I'm really glad that I made.

Speaker 1 (51:54):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (51:58):
Back in September, became partners with Habitat, and that was
like that moment we were actually coming back from Jackson
that we all had went down for an RCO retreat
and then we went to went home, picked up Mikaela,
and went to Habitat and they said it was just
meeting the board members, and actually it was the day
that they told us that we were going to be

(52:20):
their next partner family Nice and so it was like
a lot of emotions at once, and like we had
all these strange people looking at us. So but it
was like shocking. And then of course, you know, I
cried because it was like it was a dream come too.

Speaker 5 (52:36):
I really never ever thought that I'd ever be able
to own a home.

Speaker 1 (52:39):
Did Jesse cry?

Speaker 5 (52:40):
No, he was more like is this real?

Speaker 4 (52:43):
Like touch me? Is this?

Speaker 2 (52:46):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (52:49):
That's good. And then.

Speaker 3 (52:52):
Last this past year, I had lost some weight and
so that just mentally like made me feel better about
myself and made me more like activities this summer, wanting
to be outside. I played softball and so that just
sometimes when you're just mentally you feel better about yourself
because you lose a little bit of weight, it just

(53:13):
overall it helps you in your life. Yeah, and then
number five was actually yesterday. But this was something that
was planned because on the first year, we got to
wake up and go to a meeting and celebrate.

Speaker 5 (53:28):
Forty years with Jesse's mom. Forty years sober.

Speaker 1 (53:31):
Nice.

Speaker 3 (53:33):
And if I wasn't sober today, I wouldn't be able
to witness that. And that's it's amazing, Like I'm just
happy that I've continued every day to trudge the road
to stay sober.

Speaker 1 (53:46):
Yeah, forty years is a long time.

Speaker 5 (53:49):
That's longer than I've been alive.

Speaker 1 (53:51):
Yeah, people can do it m hm, you know, and
she's one of those. Clearly that's not like oh, I'll
be good after twenty years or I'll be able to
drink again after thirty. You know that it's a whole
different lifestyle and she's she's living it, and obviously it's good.
If it wasn't, she could easily. I mean, it's very
easy to go back to their old life, you know.

(54:12):
So there's there's proof right there that it does get
better and that it can get better. So much that
because right now, for a lot of people, especially in
early recovery, it's hard to even fathom like a week
or two weeks or six months are you kidding? You know,
But to stay the course and to do it like
you know Jesse's mom did or mother in law, you know,

(54:33):
like that's awesome. Yeah, that's that's very cool. And to
go to California and to experience that with her too,
you know earlier in twenty twenty four, like how fun
is that?

Speaker 5 (54:44):
It was super cool? Like I've never been able to
like rt we.

Speaker 3 (54:48):
I found the tickets the prior like is after Thanksgiving
and I found the tickets out of Traverse City from
a Saturday a Saturday, and they were one hundred and
sixty four dollars Wow round trip a person. So I
just told Jesse, i'p like, for Christmas, I want to
take your mom back to California. And it was so

(55:11):
cool because Jesse's friends that he grew up with they
live out there and that's where we went, and so
she got to also see them, which they've all been
connected for since Jesse was eight years old, and so
it was just really cool.

Speaker 5 (55:29):
And she does have still have two.

Speaker 3 (55:31):
Friends out there that she connects with, so we got
to meet them and have dinner and just go to
all the little spots that she remembers, and so.

Speaker 5 (55:39):
It was just really cool to be able to do that.

Speaker 1 (55:41):
Yeah, amazing. Well, any big plans for twenty twenty five?
What are you looking forward to?

Speaker 3 (55:49):
I'm looking I'm really looking forward into moving into our
new house and having a yard again so then we
can kind of host people. And also I'm just looking
for or to what endeavors awaits me in my career.

Speaker 1 (56:02):
Nice. Yeah, when we listen back to this a year
from now, we're like, ah, we didn't even mention this
or this. How cool? Was this or this to happen
in that because so many things are gonna come to
us that are just great that we don't have any
idea that God has planning for us yet, and it's
just going to be amazing to move forward with goals,

(56:24):
you know, like there's something that we're kind of wanting
to happen and in the works, and we don't know
how it's going to happen, but we're all working towards
that goal. And what happens when you work towards goals,
things happen. It might not happen as fast as we
want it or the perfect this or that, but it'll
happen because we want it to because they're working on that,

(56:47):
and we'll figure out how to do it. You know,
none of us know how to do it right now,
but we'll figure it out.

Speaker 5 (56:51):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (56:52):
It's kind of like two seventeen Recovery when we started that,
you know, like we know how we're going to make
it good or how we're going to make it relevant
and how were we going to help as many people
as we can And now we're doing a pretty good
job at it, you know, and we still want to
expand that in different areas.

Speaker 3 (57:07):
So yeah, I just want to say one more thing too,
that really, like touches, my heart is watching you and
Marnie become parents and just watching you guys like grow
on with Parker and how things that adjust to your
life and then also your views changed too, and it

(57:29):
just it's and it's also kind of cool for me
that you guys allow me to be part of your
little man's life because I had my daughter so young
and I went way back to work, so some of
it I didn't just get to sit down on the
floor and play with her because I was tired and
I was a single mom. And so to be able
to just come over and be anti and have fun

(57:51):
with them and spoil them and feed them so and
then just watching you guys and the love that you
both have for your child is it's amazing because and
I know that sobriety has done that for you both.

Speaker 1 (58:05):
Oh absolutely, And he's very lucky to have that and
we're blessed to have him. And yeah, I couldn't. I
couldn't do it without being sober raceed to tell myself, well,
I'll have kids, get married, but you know, I'll stop
drinking when I have kids. Which is a complete lie.

(58:26):
I would have been a drunk father, because that's not
how it works. And it's not that I didn't mean that,
because I clearly would have wanted to be sober for
my child. But it doesn't happen that way, you know,
the way addiction works. It doesn't just go away because well,
I'm just gonna stop doing this now. And I would
have had resentments towards him and towards my wife or whoever,
you know, and women were smart enough to stay away

(58:48):
from me at that point, you know, to go, oh, nope,
not changing him. I'm out see it, Yeah, because you
can't change somebody. Somebody's going to do They have to
do it for themselves. And I did too. And you know,
to be where I'm at today with Marnie and gone
through all the stuff I did, and she went through
all the stuff she did, and for us to meet
was a miracle. And then to have him as a
whole miracle baby is just amazing too. And it's great

(59:09):
to see him grow up. And as Tellimar the other day,
and if you're a teacher, nothing wrong with that, but
I'm just like, he better not tell me he wants
to be a teacher when he grows up, because I
got big plans for him. But we'll see how that changes,
you know, Like I'm a first time parent. I don't
know everybody probably thinks this, you know.

Speaker 3 (59:25):
Kind of like telling him no at the cat food
dish today and what you told me last week at
work when I say no, he's not gonna do it them.

Speaker 1 (59:34):
Okay, I hope.

Speaker 5 (59:35):
I really hope that worked.

Speaker 1 (59:37):
Yeah. I got to figure out how to make him
not do it.

Speaker 3 (59:40):
You just keep saying no, you keep and then also,
like another thing that really works that I hear other
people say too, is like when you're saying no, not that,
not the cat food dishes, get hand them, like turn
them the other way and hand him.

Speaker 5 (59:53):
But you can have this toy just distract him. That's hard.

Speaker 1 (01:00:01):
He was a big fan of the vacuum, so as
soon as he can.

Speaker 5 (01:00:03):
Walk, start vacuuming.

Speaker 4 (01:00:04):
Hell, yeah, here's your broom.

Speaker 3 (01:00:07):
Start sweeping.

Speaker 1 (01:00:08):
Yeah, like tuno change And I'm like I thought you
vacuumed the floor. And You're like I'm like, stop that
vacuum it again. Danny'll just do it. Never mind, wait till.

Speaker 5 (01:00:20):
He wants to sit down and ride the vacuum around
while you vacuum.

Speaker 1 (01:00:23):
That's kind of what he looked like he was doing today.
He wanted to jump on and I'm like, get away
from me, but no. Thanks for coming on though, and
thanks for running down your top five bottom three of
twenty twenty four. Thanks to your husband as well. I'm
glad to have Marnie on again. Of course she's with
Parker right now, but she says thank you to everybody
who listens. She says it all the time, so I

(01:00:45):
know she's gonna say it again. And if you want
to go back to previous years and listen, I would
say the easiest way would be through the two seventeen
Recovery app, which you can get in the Apple Store,
the App Store, or the Google Store. It's free, so
check it out and you go through like podcast archives
I think it's called or previous Episode something like that,

(01:01:06):
but you can go back and you can listen to
all the rundown of the top five bottom five moments
from Martie and I's life. But it was cool to
have you on, Jesse, and to go through that again. Corey,
thank you, thank you, and we will talk to you
again at another time of my choosing. Thanks for listening
to the two seventeen Recovery podcast. Listen to over nine
hundred episodes on the two seventeen Recovery app that's free

(01:01:28):
in your app store or online at two seventeen recovery
dot com