January 14, 2025 • 31 mins
In this heartfelt episode of the School of Midlife podcast, we dive into how you can make a meaningful difference in the lives of those facing life-altering challenges, both in the wake of the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles and in other personal struggles that many people are going through right now. Whether it's loss, cancer diagnoses, or any unexpected hardship, this episode provides practical and compassionate ways to support those in need.
In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
- How to respond to the devastation in Los Angeles: The catastrophic wildfires have left entire communities destroyed. We discuss how you can help—whether you're on the ground in California or across the country.
- Donate essentials: Items like soap, deodorant, clothing, and other basic needs are being collected for those impacted.
- Send direct financial support: Whether through Venmo, PayPal, or GoFundMe, many people need help covering immediate expenses as they rebuild.
- Trusted charities: Learn about reputable organizations like the Red Cross, Los Angeles Firefighters Foundation, and World Central Kitchen, which are providing on-the-ground relief.
- The importance of offering proactive help: Rather than saying "let me know if you need anything," find out how you can offer tangible assistance like:
- Preparing meals, offering to walk pets, or helping with administrative tasks like insurance claims.
- Using your special skills to help people navigate their challenges—whether you’re in real estate, caregiving, or even organizing skills.
- Emotional support matters: A simple text or note, offering no-expectation support, can make a huge difference for someone going through a tough time. It's not always about the big gestures—sometimes it's the small, thoughtful acts of kindness that mean the most.
- Don't hesitate to accept help when you need it: Women, in particular, often struggle with accepting help due to feelings of guilt or shame. But remember, those around you want to help! By allowing them to do so, you're giving them the gift of supporting someone they care about.
LINKS + MENTIONS:
GoFundMe for Maggie, Maddie and Lucy
Red Cross
Los Angeles Fire Foundation
World Central Kitchen
Pasadena Humane Society
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:05):
this week's episode of theSchool of Midlfie podcast.
We're going to talk about whatyou can do when it feels like
you are helpless when reallydevastating things are going on
around you or going on in theworld, how can you be of
service?
How can you help when you feellike saying I'm so sorry, just
doesn't cut it.
Are there other things that youcan do to show up and be
(00:26):
supportive of the people thatyou love?
Welcome to the School of Midlifepodcast.
I'm your host, LaurieReynoldson.
This is the podcast for themidlife woman who starting to
ask herself big life questions.
Like, what do I want?
Is it too late for me?
And what's my legacy beyond myfamily and my work.
(00:49):
Each week we're answering thesequestions and more.
At the School of Midlife, we'relearning all of the life lessons
they didn't teach us in schooland we're figuring out finally
what it is we want to be when wegrow up.
Let's make midlife your bestlife.
Well, Hey friends.
(01:09):
Welcome back to another episodeof the School of Midlife
podcast.
I'm your host, LaurieReynoldson.
And I am thrilled to have youhere today.
I know at the end of last week'sepisode, we talked about today's
episode was going to focus ongoals because it's January and
we all.
It seemed to have goals on themind, but given what happened in
(01:32):
the world between last week'sepisode and today's episode, I
figured that we might as wellpush the goals episode off
another week.
Um, Let's talk a little bitabout going what's going on in
Los Angeles and how you canhelp.
Not only the people there, but.
All of the other people in yourlife that seemed to like life is
(01:55):
lifeing right now for a lot ofpeople, I personally know a
handful of people who have lostloved ones over the holidays,
whether that was to.
Sickness or suicide.
And others have had.
Cancer diagnoses pop-up thatwere completely out of left
field.
And then of course, Everythingthat's going on in the
(02:16):
geopolitical world, everythingjust feels a little heavy.
And that's in addition to what'sgoing on in Los Angeles, which
is unfathomable.
I mean, it.
It's so much, right?
It, it, the level of devastationand the amount of destruction
that has happened.
From those wildfires in LosAngeles.
It's, it's almost like you justcan't comprehend it.
(02:39):
Looking at the photos of.
Entire towns where.
People had houses and there wereschools and shopping centers and
it's completely gone.
And it feels like a lot.
Before we get into what I think.
You need to give you some ideason what it is you can do to help
people who find themselves insituations that.
(03:02):
Are less than ideal.
I want to implore you to stopspreading disinformation about
the Los Angeles fires.
On social media.
If you are reading it.
And it seems like it might beclickbait or it seems like it
might be politically charged,please.
Please don't spread it.
Most of the time on thispodcast, I don't want to talk
(03:24):
about.
What's going on politically.
I don't want to create anyadditional vitriol, but what's
going on with the disinformationonline right now is driving me.
Fucking crazy.
I mean, Los Angeles didn't sellits water or send it to Mexico
for the comfort of illegalimmigrants.
It did not do that.
If, if you are anything like meand you live in fire country,
(03:49):
you where, you know, Idaho is onfire every summer.
It just depends on where it is.
Is it deep in the Hills?
Is it near towns?
We have fire every year.
Because we're in fire country.
We absolutely know thatwildfires.
Just like they're having in LosAngeles right now, the best way
to fight those is with an aerialattack.
(04:11):
You fight it by the air.
Which means.
Um, when.
LA started experiencing thesefires in the Palisades in
particular.
And the hydrants went dry.
It wasn't because Los Angelessold it's water.
It's not because they turned offthe water it's because hydrants
are fed by reservoirs andthere's a whole pump system
(04:32):
that's involved in getting thewater from the reservoirs to the
individual hydrants.
But hydrants run dry because thepump system can't keep up with
the demand.
I mean, Hydrants are meant forsmaller urban fires.
Like one building is on fire.
Two homes are on fire.
A single home is on firesomebody's garage caught fire
(04:55):
because they were, Using hot oilto cook a Turkey on
Thanksgiving.
That kind of stuff.
It's not to cover.
12,000 structures.
That are all the sudden findthemselves in what, what can
only be described as a.
Is a dry hurricane, I mean, TheSanta Ana's at the time that the
fire broke out.
(05:15):
Blowing 70 to a hundred miles anhour.
So that is hurricane force.
The only differences.
There was no rain that wascoming down.
It was a, essentially a dryhurricane.
So when your fire hydrants, whenthe pump system can't keep up
with the demand.
Your best hope.
At fighting and containing awildfire is in the air.
(05:38):
An aerial assault.
When the winds are blowing 70 toa hundred.
Miles an hour.
You can't fight it by air.
The aerosault is grounded.
And when I say, when I talkabout aerosol, I'm talking about
like those huge, super scooperplanes.
I don't know if you've ever seenthem, but they, they look, um,
probably the best way todescribe it is a large.
(05:59):
Plane that drops down overeither the ocean or a reservoir
or a lake.
And they skim across the watersurface.
And they.
Capture water in the belly ofthe plane.
They used to.
fly over the fire, dump thewater on the fire.
There are helicopters that areused and those.
(06:21):
They can either pull large.
Scoops behind them and also dumpthe scoops or they can.
Disperse fire retardant That'sof course, in addition to
firefighters who are on theground, who are working with.
Fire hydrants.
If they're available, who aretrying to dig out fire But.
When the winds are blowing thathard, 70 to a hundred miles an
(06:46):
hour.
It is unsafe for the pilots tobe in the air.
So we don't want to add insultto injury by.
Not only.
Losing.
Structures on the ground, but.
Having the pilots put theirlives in danger.
To fight the fire.
I'd call it the perfect storm,but.
Jesus.
That's a terrible way to look atit, but really everything that
(07:09):
came together to.
Create the situation that'shappening in Los Angeles.
Awful.
And, and I don't want to fightabout, you know, did the budget
get cut?
Was that a bad thing the thingthat drives me, the craziest is,
uh, Elon Musk.
And other saying that theproblem with the Los Angeles
fire department is that thereare women.
Who are at the top of themanagement structure.
(07:30):
We should never have DEI hires.
We should never trust them withour life.
That's complete bullshit.
I hope none of you aresubscribing to that thinking
that.
Oh, if we had some men at thetop of what was going on here,
this would have never happened.
Because unless those men cancontrol the weather and as far
as I can tell, they cannot, thishas nothing to do with the
(07:53):
gender of the individuals whoare making the decisions.
Sorry to get a little worked upthere, but I just, I feel so
impassioned about this, that.
There will be a time to figureout how this started right now.
Spreading disinformation is nothelping them.
It's not bringing back.
Lives that were lost.
(08:14):
It's not bringing backproperties that burned to the
ground.
It's not actually.
Helping at all.
Two.
Use a very bad pun.
It's just adding fuel to thefire and we do not need any more
of that.
So if that's you.
Please stop it.
If you see it, call it out.
Just.
Call it out.
As I sit here and I watch thecoverage of the fires.
(08:37):
I think it's, it's reallyhitting home for me.
Because we could have easilylost our home in October.
We woke up.
On a Friday morning and out oureast facing window.
You could just see an entire redball the entire hill was on fire
probably about.
(08:58):
A mile and a half from where welive.
And then it seemed likeeverything was getting calmed
down.
They could bring in the aerialassault.
The planes were dropping fireretardant.
There was some favorable weathercoming in.
It looked like everything wasgoing to be great.
Theo.
And I went out for a walk.
We were kind of lamenting thatour favorite hill, where we hike
up to it appeared that it was onfire, which was a total bummer
(09:22):
because of course that's ourhome trail.
By the time we walked along theriver and got back, the winds
had shifted.
And so now the fire wasprobably.
A half a mile as the Crow fliesfrom us on the east side and the
north side.
Literally the foothills allaround our house were on fire.
(09:43):
Now there would have to be some,some significant travel.
To get from where they were inthe Hills.
Burned down a number of housesbefore it got to us.
But if we would have been in asituation where they couldn't
fight it through an aerialassault.
Or if the winds had shifted.
And increased.
So.
If.
They couldn't have brought thesuper scoopers in.
(10:06):
If they couldn't have droppedthe fire retardant.
That would have been a huge dealbreaker for us.
I mean, we could have veryeasily lost our home.
I mean, we're sitting.
For most of the afternoon, we'resitting in our backyard on the
courtyard and we're justwatching.
All of the planes flying over usin constant repetition, you
know, the re.
They're going out to thereservoir.
(10:28):
Which is about six miles out oftown.
They're picking up water there.
They're going to the airport.
They refilling the return.
I mean the air show that wasgoing on above us.
All day long and all night long.
Was crazy.
We are so lucky that we live inan area that has those kind of
capabilities.
(10:48):
And frankly, we are so luckythat the weather held.
And allowed for the aerialassault.
If the wins after they changed,if they had increased to that 70
or a hundred miles an hour, thatdry hurricane situation like is
in Los Angeles.
We would've lost our home.
No question in my mind, not onlyus, but everyone around us.
(11:10):
So I think that's why when I amwatching what's happening in Los
Angeles.
It's almost a little bit ofsurvivor's guilt.
Like I know I'm not in it withyou, but damn I was real close.
I know exactly how it feels.
To be watching it.
Come towards you and justknowing there's nothing you can
(11:30):
do about it.
And it's it's the most.
Helpless feeling.
Obviously.
I don't know what it feels liketo lose your entire home.
The more I think about it, whatpeople.
Are dealing with in Los Angeles.
It's just the mostheartbreaking.
Feeling.
Which is what I want to talk toyou about today.
And that is what you can do tohelp, because I think a lot of
(11:52):
us feel like.
We feel very lucky that we arenot dealing with the type of
decisions that are needing to bemade by so many.
People in Los Angeles.
Like we have, a roof over ourhead.
We don't have to scramble to gofind a rental to.
Rent.
While we are trying to rebuild,not to mention the people that
(12:15):
own the rentals now.
They see that this greatbusiness opportunity.
So any rentals that.
Our available.
Are renting out at asignificantly higher lease rate
rental rate than they werebefore, which I understand
supply and demand.
I understand economics.
I also understand.
Like shame on you for trying tocapitalize on a situation where
(12:38):
people have lost everything.
You actually have an asset thatcan help them.
And your way of offering up thatassistance is to make that is
expensive as possible so thatyou can get the highest rate of
return on it.
I'm sorry, but there, thereshould be some feeling of
humanity, some feeling of we'reall in this together, instead of
(13:00):
it's it's one for me, not foryou kind of a thing.
We are not all out for ourselveswhen it comes into this type of
environment, it shouldn't be, itshould never be that way, but
it's, it's really dishearteningto see.
What some.
People are doing to takeadvantage of the situation.
So.
People don't have a house.
There's nowhere for them tolive.
(13:20):
They're children.
Don't have places to go toschool.
The schools have burned down.
The businesses where they, theyown the business or they went to
work.
Those no longer exist.
No question in my mind, LosAngeles is going to rebuild.
I have spent some time in LosAngeles, there's a reason people
live there.
I know that.
LA gets a bad rap.
(13:42):
They think that it's just allcelebrities.
Pretty people that's not true.
I mean, there's really abeautiful spirit of people who
live in Los Angeles and itshouldn't surprise anybody that
they're going to rebuild becausethere's a reason that they went
to Los Angeles to begin with,because it's a great place to
be.
But for right now, they don'thave a place to live.
They don't have a place to go toschool.
(14:03):
There's no place for them towork.
The magnitude of how their lifehas changed in the last week is
stunning.
None of us can even imagine it.
Which leads me to what you cando to help.
If you are not in the LosAngeles area, I have found there
are number of ways that you canhelp people who are directly
(14:24):
impacted by this.
One, you can.
Donate.
Items.
It seems like almost every daythere was a new wishlist of what
not wishlist.
That's a horrible, there's a newlist of daily.
Items.
Clothing.
Prescriptions.
Deodorant soap.
Just normal every day, basicessentials.
(14:44):
That people need.
And I know in Boise, there are anumber of local restaurants.
There are a number of localbusinesses who are collecting
donations and they take it, theywill box it up.
Most of them are driving.
Pickup trucks, you haul trucks.
Semi-trucks down to Los Angeles.
(15:06):
Uh, they, they wanted to makesure that it got there as
quickly as possible.
So instead of shippingeverything there, they're
personally driving it down.
And my guess is there are, theremust be.
Similar.
Donation sites.
Everywhere.
At least in the Western UnitedStates.
Maybe, if you're in the eastcoast or you're in a different
country.
(15:26):
Maybe you don't have the abilityto, take some, soap and
deodorant and some brand newclothes and drop it off.
But for those of you who are onthe west coast, Even as I'm sure
as far as Denver and maybe themiddle of the country.
There are.
Probably drop-off areas,donation sites in your local
(15:49):
community.
So that's one way you can help.
Another way is to donate tocharities that you know, and
trust.
So the Red Cross, obviouslythey're going to have people on
the ground there.
I've seen a lot of donation.
Links for the Los AngelesFirefighters Foundation, which.
Is essentially a burnout fund.
So those monies will bedistributed to individuals who
(16:13):
have lost everything who've losttheir home.
World Central Kitchen.
Is taking donations to providefood for families who've lost
their homes.
There are a number of.
Charities that you've heard of.
That you trust?
You can donate money to thosecharities.
I think the only thing I wouldsay about sending money to a
(16:35):
charity is just make sure it'slegit.
They're there just likelandlords who are trying to cash
in literally on the plate ofsome of these individuals, there
are some bad apples out therewho see an opportunity, think
they're going to cash in andthey set up a charity and the
funds don't actually go wherethey're supposed to go.
(16:56):
So if I were going to donate toa charity online, I'd make damn
well sure.
That I knew that the funds weregoing to be used for what I
think they're going to be usedfor.
If, you know, someone who hasbeen directly impacted, you can
send money directly to them.
So if you have their cell phonenumber, They probably have a
Venmo account.
You can send money over Venmo.
(17:17):
If you have an email for them,you can send money directly to a
PayPal account.
There are a number of go fund mesites that have been set up to
help people rebuild.
Obviously a lot of the insurancemoney is gonna come in later,
but what, what do they needright now?
(17:37):
Basic essentials.
Um, it's, you know, it'sinteresting.
I don't want to get too farfield here, but so many.
State farm in particularcanceled so many insurance
policies in the last yearbecause of fire risk.
And so.
Many families.
While they are insured.
Their homes, which by and largeare their whole retirement or
(18:01):
their whole savings.
There are homes are insured atlike a quarter of the value
because that's the best thatthey could get when the big
insurers, you know, state, farm,and looking at you when you pull
out of an area.
Homeowners have to haveinsurance.
They're going to buy as muchinsurance as they can for
whatever's offered.
And.
Many of the homeowners.
(18:21):
Yeah, they had insurance, butit's not going to cover the
costs for them to rebuild.
They're going to be in a bit ofa sticky situation.
And that there's going to be alot of negotiations as it
relates to insurance companies.
So when we're talking about.
Sending money for people torebuild.
We're really just talking abouthow can we bridge that gap
between where they are now.
(18:42):
And the time that it's going totake for them to have those
discussions with their insurancecompany, get the checks issued.
And actually rebuilt, which it'sgoing to take a long time.
So if you're able to send somemoney, if you know, directly,
you can send Venmo, PayPal,GoFund me.
If you got somebody's emailaddress, you can send them an E
(19:03):
gift card.
Most companies, Amazon included.
There, there are a number ofcompanies that issue E gift
cards that you can send overemail and they can use them to,
to buy the things that they needright now.
I also want to talk about, um,if you're someone who has
special skills.
(19:25):
Even if you're not on the groundin Los Angeles, there are ways
that you can help these people.
One of my friends from collegeloss, everything in the
Palisades fire, she and her twodaughters.
They got out safely, which isgreat, but they lost everything.
Everything is gone.
What has been so.
Beautiful to watch.
Is there village rallying aroundthem.
(19:48):
And in particular, the peoplewho are outside of Los Angeles.
Another friend from college.
She is a real estate broker withan office in California and she
set them up with.
An agent down in California whowas able to find them a rental
place.
So if you will have some rentalskills or you've got contacts in
that kind of.
Area then you could help someonefind housing.
(20:12):
Another college friend of ourshappens to be a personal
shopper.
She's a stylist, a personalshopper.
She got together and sent justbasic closing essentials to this
family.
You could do something verysimilar if you've got those
kinds of skills.
If you have administrativeskills or organizational skills,
You could help.
Displaced individuals help them.
(20:34):
Create their insurance claimsbecause they're going to need
copies of receipts foreverything.
Not only the receipts for thehotels and the gas.
And the clothing and the foodthat they have bought while
they're displaced.
But they're going to have toprove what was in their home.
So think about going throughyears of online credit card
(20:58):
receipts, trying to prove, yeah,I bought this piece of art or we
had this kind of stereo system,or we had just purchased this
computer, those kind of things,that kind of administrative
skill organization.
Project management there's goingto be a big need for that.
And that's something you can dovirtually.
If you have experiencenavigating a certain situation.
(21:21):
You have made a claim, aninsurance claim.
Following a disaster.
You had a mass casualty event,your house burned down at some
point, and you had to negotiatethat if you have those kinds of
skills, That is a way that youcan help.
Going, even beyond the.
Fires.
There are so many of us thathave special skills that.
(21:42):
When our friends or even peoplewe don't know, but we just feel
called to help them.
There are ways that we can helppeople in our communities who
need our help.
For example, I am of the agewhere so many friends and
community members, theirfamilies, they're dealing with
big decisions related to.
(22:03):
Elderly care.
Memory care facilities, dementiacare.
Mike and I have just gonethrough that.
So whenever I see somebody, youknow, asking a question they're
kind of at their wit's end.
I will always reach out to themand give them the information.
Talk them through the decisionsthat we had to make and give
them some help in navigating thesituation that they're going
(22:26):
through.
Just because you can't be on theground.
You wish you could do somethingmore.
You can still provide assistanceto people.
In very meaningful ways just byshowing up and.
Providing assistance in yourarea of specialty.
So fires aside.
Um, because yeah, we could talkabout putting together meal
(22:49):
train, it's an online.
Site where you can go and signup to provide dinners for
people, meals for people.
Generally, if they're goingthrough some sort of medical
issue.
Yeah.
I mean, we could try and set upa meal train for people in Los
Angeles, but I don't know thatthey're going to get the food,
but if you've got friends whoare facing a cancer diagnosis or
(23:11):
they've lost a loved one, or,you know, something else is
going on in their life wherethings are heavy, You can
easily.
Sign up to bring them a meal,whether you cook it or not.
These are all obviouslytangible, things that you can
provide for someone I don't wantto.
Undercut.
How important, just a periodic,like sending somebody a note
(23:34):
every now and then when they'regoing through a tough situation,
just letting them know that youare thinking of them.
Without any expectation of aresponse.
In fact, say that there's,there's no need for you to
respond.
I just want you to know that I'mthinking of you.
That kind of emotional support.
Really goes a long way, eventhough, you know, it feels like
(23:54):
it's not a big deal.
But sending somebody a text,letting them know that.
You're thinking of them, it goesbeyond saying I'm so sorry,
because for so many of us thatfeels like it's just not enough
and it's, it's a good start,but.
Maybe you can use your words togo a little beyond that.
You know, I I'm thinking aboutyou during this unimaginable
(24:17):
time.
I cannot.
Fathom the devastation that youwere feeling.
I will never understand whatyou're feeling right now, what
you're going through, but knowthat I am here for, you know,
that I am holding space for you.
No that whatever I can provideto you, I am here for.
You can, you can even go so faras send a note that says I'm
(24:41):
dropping off dinner tomorrownight.
I'm going to help watch the kidswhile you go.
Do something or take a nap.
I'm going to stop by and walkthe dogs.
I'm going to arrange a hotelroom for you to just go and be
away.
There are ways that you can helppeople.
Without asking, let me know whatI can do to help.
(25:03):
Because.
Uh, I want to get into this alittle bit, but this whole idea
of, you know, I'm standing by,let me know what I can do to
help.
A lot of women in particular.
They don't want to ask for helpWe've been conditioned to take
care of everyone else in ourlives.
Right.
So the last thing that we wantto do is feel like we are being
(25:24):
a burden.
We have an entire list of thingsthat we need to do when we are
in these unimaginablesituations.
Instead of putting the.
Onus on the individual.
Who's going through thesituation to reach out to you.
You be proactive and reach outto them.
Offer to help.
Bring the dinner by watch thekids walk the dogs.
(25:46):
Whatever they need.
Do that instead of.
Let me know what I can do tohelp.
And.
I want to bring this fullcircle.
We're going to end with this.
I know that so many of us feelcalled to do something right
now.
Hopefully you've got a couplenew ideas on how you can.
Help people who find themselvesin situations that.
(26:09):
They weren't planning on,especially, you know, if they're
in Los Angeles, If they haverecently lost someone, if they
were facing a diagnosis, that'snot great.
There are ways that you can helpthem.
And I want you to remember allof this when you are in need of
help to.
Because just like I said, womenare notoriously bad about
(26:30):
accepting.
Assistance.
We've been conditioned to, youknow, there's some shame
involved.
There's some guilt involved.
Like why can't I just do this onmy own?
Why can't I figure this out?
Your village, the people aroundyou, they desperately want to
help you.
Most of them don't know how.
They want to be there for you.
(26:51):
They want to do something otherthan say, you know, I'm so
sorry.
And they are.
But just know that when youdeprive someone else, the
opportunity to help you out.
That's exactly what you'redoing.
Your depriving, someone.
The feeling, the satisfaction,the fulfillment.
(27:12):
Of helping you, you are animportant person in their life
and they want to be there foryou.
So don't shut them out.
Don't not let them show I don'tnot let them do things for you.
That's a lot of doublenegatives, but.
You can be wildly successful.
You can be strong.
You can be completely bad-assand still accept, help.
(27:35):
When you need it, even, even ifyou feel like this is something,
you know, I've got it.
So many other people have it somuch worse off than I do.
All be fine.
If people want to be there foryou, you need to let them do
that because if the roles werereversed and you found yourself
in a situation, Where.
(27:56):
You needed help.
All of your friends want to helpyou?
Your entire village wants tocome to your aid.
So just know that.
You can accept the, the help youcan accept the assistance.
And you can do so proudly.
There's no shame involved.
There shouldn't be any guiltinvolved.
(28:17):
Just know that we are all partof this.
Beautiful community, this worldthat, that.
At the end of the day.
All we really have is eachother.
And I know that that soundspithy and it sounds kind of
something like you would see.
Stenciled on a piece of wood insomebody's dining room, but it's
true.
(28:38):
We need to be there for eachother.
We need to allow other people toshow up for us to and accept
that that is okay.
will include a couple ofclickable links in the show
notes for charities that I knoware doing great work in Los
Angeles.
I'm also going to include theGoFund me link for my college
(29:00):
friend, Maggie and her twodaughters, Maddie and Lucy.
And.
I'm going to, I'm just going toleave with.
Like be good people this week.
And I know.
He know you are.
But I just feel like the worldcould use a little bit more.
People being considerate andgenerous to others.
We're going to talk about goalsnext week, or at least that's
(29:22):
the plan unless, um, somethingelse.
Happens that is not expected.
Um, but I sure appreciate youbeing here every week.
I know that as high-performingmidlife women, We.
We we juggle a lot and any time.
Things get heavy around us.
(29:43):
A lot of us internalize that.
And it's, it's just hard.
And.
There is some survivor's guilt.
There is some guilt that we feelthat, you know, we've got, we've
got it so much better off thanso many other people do.
But we're good people too.
We need to understand that someof the stress and anxiety.
That comes from living right nowin what's going on all over the
(30:07):
world.
We need to be a little kind toourselves to.
So for now.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
Take good care of yourself thisweek.
Be kind to yourself.
Be kind to others.
And I will see you right backhere next week when the School
of Midlife is back in session.
I'll talk to you soon.
Thank you so much for listeningto the School of Midlife
(30:28):
podcast.
It means so much to have youhere each week.
If you enjoyed this episode,could you do me the biggest
favor and help us spread theword to other midlife women?
There are a couple of easy waysfor you to do that first.
And most importantly, if you'renot already following the show,
would you please subscribe?
(30:48):
That helps you because you'llnever miss an episode.
And it helps us because you'llnever miss an episode.
Second, if you'd be so kind toleave us a five-star rating,
that would be absolutelyincredible.
And finally, I personally readeach and every one of your
reviews.
So if you take a minute and saysome nice things about the
podcast, well, that's just goodkarma.
(31:10):
Thanks again for listening.
I'll see you right back here.
Next week when the School ofMidlife is back in session until
then take good care.
this week's episode of theSchool of Midlfie podcast.
We're going to talk about whatyou can do when it feels like
you are helpless when reallydevastating things are going on
around you or going on in theworld, how can you be of
service?
How can you help when you feellike saying I'm so sorry, just
doesn't cut it.
Are there other things that youcan do to show up and be
(00:26):
supportive of the people thatyou love?
Welcome to the School of Midlifepodcast.
I'm your host, LaurieReynoldson.
This is the podcast for themidlife woman who starting to
ask herself big life questions.
Like, what do I want?
Is it too late for me?
And what's my legacy beyond myfamily and my work.
(00:49):
Each week we're answering thesequestions and more.
At the School of Midlife, we'relearning all of the life lessons
they didn't teach us in schooland we're figuring out finally
what it is we want to be when wegrow up.
Let's make midlife your bestlife.
Well, Hey friends.
(01:09):
Welcome back to another episodeof the School of Midlife
podcast.
I'm your host, LaurieReynoldson.
And I am thrilled to have youhere today.
I know at the end of last week'sepisode, we talked about today's
episode was going to focus ongoals because it's January and
we all.
It seemed to have goals on themind, but given what happened in
(01:32):
the world between last week'sepisode and today's episode, I
figured that we might as wellpush the goals episode off
another week.
Um, Let's talk a little bitabout going what's going on in
Los Angeles and how you canhelp.
Not only the people there, but.
All of the other people in yourlife that seemed to like life is
(01:55):
lifeing right now for a lot ofpeople, I personally know a
handful of people who have lostloved ones over the holidays,
whether that was to.
Sickness or suicide.
And others have had.
Cancer diagnoses pop-up thatwere completely out of left
field.
And then of course, Everythingthat's going on in the
(02:16):
geopolitical world, everythingjust feels a little heavy.
And that's in addition to what'sgoing on in Los Angeles, which
is unfathomable.
I mean, it.
It's so much, right?
It, it, the level of devastationand the amount of destruction
that has happened.
From those wildfires in LosAngeles.
It's, it's almost like you justcan't comprehend it.
(02:39):
Looking at the photos of.
Entire towns where.
People had houses and there wereschools and shopping centers and
it's completely gone.
And it feels like a lot.
Before we get into what I think.
You need to give you some ideason what it is you can do to help
people who find themselves insituations that.
(03:02):
Are less than ideal.
I want to implore you to stopspreading disinformation about
the Los Angeles fires.
On social media.
If you are reading it.
And it seems like it might beclickbait or it seems like it
might be politically charged,please.
Please don't spread it.
Most of the time on thispodcast, I don't want to talk
(03:24):
about.
What's going on politically.
I don't want to create anyadditional vitriol, but what's
going on with the disinformationonline right now is driving me.
Fucking crazy.
I mean, Los Angeles didn't sellits water or send it to Mexico
for the comfort of illegalimmigrants.
It did not do that.
If, if you are anything like meand you live in fire country,
(03:49):
you where, you know, Idaho is onfire every summer.
It just depends on where it is.
Is it deep in the Hills?
Is it near towns?
We have fire every year.
Because we're in fire country.
We absolutely know thatwildfires.
Just like they're having in LosAngeles right now, the best way
to fight those is with an aerialattack.
(04:11):
You fight it by the air.
Which means.
Um, when.
LA started experiencing thesefires in the Palisades in
particular.
And the hydrants went dry.
It wasn't because Los Angelessold it's water.
It's not because they turned offthe water it's because hydrants
are fed by reservoirs andthere's a whole pump system
(04:32):
that's involved in getting thewater from the reservoirs to the
individual hydrants.
But hydrants run dry because thepump system can't keep up with
the demand.
I mean, Hydrants are meant forsmaller urban fires.
Like one building is on fire.
Two homes are on fire.
A single home is on firesomebody's garage caught fire
(04:55):
because they were, Using hot oilto cook a Turkey on
Thanksgiving.
That kind of stuff.
It's not to cover.
12,000 structures.
That are all the sudden findthemselves in what, what can
only be described as a.
Is a dry hurricane, I mean, TheSanta Ana's at the time that the
fire broke out.
(05:15):
Blowing 70 to a hundred miles anhour.
So that is hurricane force.
The only differences.
There was no rain that wascoming down.
It was a, essentially a dryhurricane.
So when your fire hydrants, whenthe pump system can't keep up
with the demand.
Your best hope.
At fighting and containing awildfire is in the air.
(05:38):
An aerial assault.
When the winds are blowing 70 toa hundred.
Miles an hour.
You can't fight it by air.
The aerosault is grounded.
And when I say, when I talkabout aerosol, I'm talking about
like those huge, super scooperplanes.
I don't know if you've ever seenthem, but they, they look, um,
probably the best way todescribe it is a large.
(05:59):
Plane that drops down overeither the ocean or a reservoir
or a lake.
And they skim across the watersurface.
And they.
Capture water in the belly ofthe plane.
They used to.
fly over the fire, dump thewater on the fire.
There are helicopters that areused and those.
(06:21):
They can either pull large.
Scoops behind them and also dumpthe scoops or they can.
Disperse fire retardant That'sof course, in addition to
firefighters who are on theground, who are working with.
Fire hydrants.
If they're available, who aretrying to dig out fire But.
When the winds are blowing thathard, 70 to a hundred miles an
(06:46):
hour.
It is unsafe for the pilots tobe in the air.
So we don't want to add insultto injury by.
Not only.
Losing.
Structures on the ground, but.
Having the pilots put theirlives in danger.
To fight the fire.
I'd call it the perfect storm,but.
Jesus.
That's a terrible way to look atit, but really everything that
(07:09):
came together to.
Create the situation that'shappening in Los Angeles.
Awful.
And, and I don't want to fightabout, you know, did the budget
get cut?
Was that a bad thing the thingthat drives me, the craziest is,
uh, Elon Musk.
And other saying that theproblem with the Los Angeles
fire department is that thereare women.
Who are at the top of themanagement structure.
(07:30):
We should never have DEI hires.
We should never trust them withour life.
That's complete bullshit.
I hope none of you aresubscribing to that thinking
that.
Oh, if we had some men at thetop of what was going on here,
this would have never happened.
Because unless those men cancontrol the weather and as far
as I can tell, they cannot, thishas nothing to do with the
(07:53):
gender of the individuals whoare making the decisions.
Sorry to get a little worked upthere, but I just, I feel so
impassioned about this, that.
There will be a time to figureout how this started right now.
Spreading disinformation is nothelping them.
It's not bringing back.
Lives that were lost.
(08:14):
It's not bringing backproperties that burned to the
ground.
It's not actually.
Helping at all.
Two.
Use a very bad pun.
It's just adding fuel to thefire and we do not need any more
of that.
So if that's you.
Please stop it.
If you see it, call it out.
Just.
Call it out.
As I sit here and I watch thecoverage of the fires.
(08:37):
I think it's, it's reallyhitting home for me.
Because we could have easilylost our home in October.
We woke up.
On a Friday morning and out oureast facing window.
You could just see an entire redball the entire hill was on fire
probably about.
(08:58):
A mile and a half from where welive.
And then it seemed likeeverything was getting calmed
down.
They could bring in the aerialassault.
The planes were dropping fireretardant.
There was some favorable weathercoming in.
It looked like everything wasgoing to be great.
Theo.
And I went out for a walk.
We were kind of lamenting thatour favorite hill, where we hike
up to it appeared that it was onfire, which was a total bummer
(09:22):
because of course that's ourhome trail.
By the time we walked along theriver and got back, the winds
had shifted.
And so now the fire wasprobably.
A half a mile as the Crow fliesfrom us on the east side and the
north side.
Literally the foothills allaround our house were on fire.
(09:43):
Now there would have to be some,some significant travel.
To get from where they were inthe Hills.
Burned down a number of housesbefore it got to us.
But if we would have been in asituation where they couldn't
fight it through an aerialassault.
Or if the winds had shifted.
And increased.
So.
If.
They couldn't have brought thesuper scoopers in.
(10:06):
If they couldn't have droppedthe fire retardant.
That would have been a huge dealbreaker for us.
I mean, we could have veryeasily lost our home.
I mean, we're sitting.
For most of the afternoon, we'resitting in our backyard on the
courtyard and we're justwatching.
All of the planes flying over usin constant repetition, you
know, the re.
They're going out to thereservoir.
(10:28):
Which is about six miles out oftown.
They're picking up water there.
They're going to the airport.
They refilling the return.
I mean the air show that wasgoing on above us.
All day long and all night long.
Was crazy.
We are so lucky that we live inan area that has those kind of
capabilities.
(10:48):
And frankly, we are so luckythat the weather held.
And allowed for the aerialassault.
If the wins after they changed,if they had increased to that 70
or a hundred miles an hour, thatdry hurricane situation like is
in Los Angeles.
We would've lost our home.
No question in my mind, not onlyus, but everyone around us.
(11:10):
So I think that's why when I amwatching what's happening in Los
Angeles.
It's almost a little bit ofsurvivor's guilt.
Like I know I'm not in it withyou, but damn I was real close.
I know exactly how it feels.
To be watching it.
Come towards you and justknowing there's nothing you can
(11:30):
do about it.
And it's it's the most.
Helpless feeling.
Obviously.
I don't know what it feels liketo lose your entire home.
The more I think about it, whatpeople.
Are dealing with in Los Angeles.
It's just the mostheartbreaking.
Feeling.
Which is what I want to talk toyou about today.
And that is what you can do tohelp, because I think a lot of
(11:52):
us feel like.
We feel very lucky that we arenot dealing with the type of
decisions that are needing to bemade by so many.
People in Los Angeles.
Like we have, a roof over ourhead.
We don't have to scramble to gofind a rental to.
Rent.
While we are trying to rebuild,not to mention the people that
(12:15):
own the rentals now.
They see that this greatbusiness opportunity.
So any rentals that.
Our available.
Are renting out at asignificantly higher lease rate
rental rate than they werebefore, which I understand
supply and demand.
I understand economics.
I also understand.
Like shame on you for trying tocapitalize on a situation where
(12:38):
people have lost everything.
You actually have an asset thatcan help them.
And your way of offering up thatassistance is to make that is
expensive as possible so thatyou can get the highest rate of
return on it.
I'm sorry, but there, thereshould be some feeling of
humanity, some feeling of we'reall in this together, instead of
(13:00):
it's it's one for me, not foryou kind of a thing.
We are not all out for ourselveswhen it comes into this type of
environment, it shouldn't be, itshould never be that way, but
it's, it's really dishearteningto see.
What some.
People are doing to takeadvantage of the situation.
So.
People don't have a house.
There's nowhere for them tolive.
(13:20):
They're children.
Don't have places to go toschool.
The schools have burned down.
The businesses where they, theyown the business or they went to
work.
Those no longer exist.
No question in my mind, LosAngeles is going to rebuild.
I have spent some time in LosAngeles, there's a reason people
live there.
I know that.
LA gets a bad rap.
(13:42):
They think that it's just allcelebrities.
Pretty people that's not true.
I mean, there's really abeautiful spirit of people who
live in Los Angeles and itshouldn't surprise anybody that
they're going to rebuild becausethere's a reason that they went
to Los Angeles to begin with,because it's a great place to
be.
But for right now, they don'thave a place to live.
They don't have a place to go toschool.
(14:03):
There's no place for them towork.
The magnitude of how their lifehas changed in the last week is
stunning.
None of us can even imagine it.
Which leads me to what you cando to help.
If you are not in the LosAngeles area, I have found there
are number of ways that you canhelp people who are directly
(14:24):
impacted by this.
One, you can.
Donate.
Items.
It seems like almost every daythere was a new wishlist of what
not wishlist.
That's a horrible, there's a newlist of daily.
Items.
Clothing.
Prescriptions.
Deodorant soap.
Just normal every day, basicessentials.
(14:44):
That people need.
And I know in Boise, there are anumber of local restaurants.
There are a number of localbusinesses who are collecting
donations and they take it, theywill box it up.
Most of them are driving.
Pickup trucks, you haul trucks.
Semi-trucks down to Los Angeles.
(15:06):
Uh, they, they wanted to makesure that it got there as
quickly as possible.
So instead of shippingeverything there, they're
personally driving it down.
And my guess is there are, theremust be.
Similar.
Donation sites.
Everywhere.
At least in the Western UnitedStates.
Maybe, if you're in the eastcoast or you're in a different
country.
(15:26):
Maybe you don't have the abilityto, take some, soap and
deodorant and some brand newclothes and drop it off.
But for those of you who are onthe west coast, Even as I'm sure
as far as Denver and maybe themiddle of the country.
There are.
Probably drop-off areas,donation sites in your local
(15:49):
community.
So that's one way you can help.
Another way is to donate tocharities that you know, and
trust.
So the Red Cross, obviouslythey're going to have people on
the ground there.
I've seen a lot of donation.
Links for the Los AngelesFirefighters Foundation, which.
Is essentially a burnout fund.
So those monies will bedistributed to individuals who
(16:13):
have lost everything who've losttheir home.
World Central Kitchen.
Is taking donations to providefood for families who've lost
their homes.
There are a number of.
Charities that you've heard of.
That you trust?
You can donate money to thosecharities.
I think the only thing I wouldsay about sending money to a
(16:35):
charity is just make sure it'slegit.
They're there just likelandlords who are trying to cash
in literally on the plate ofsome of these individuals, there
are some bad apples out therewho see an opportunity, think
they're going to cash in andthey set up a charity and the
funds don't actually go wherethey're supposed to go.
(16:56):
So if I were going to donate toa charity online, I'd make damn
well sure.
That I knew that the funds weregoing to be used for what I
think they're going to be usedfor.
If, you know, someone who hasbeen directly impacted, you can
send money directly to them.
So if you have their cell phonenumber, They probably have a
Venmo account.
You can send money over Venmo.
(17:17):
If you have an email for them,you can send money directly to a
PayPal account.
There are a number of go fund mesites that have been set up to
help people rebuild.
Obviously a lot of the insurancemoney is gonna come in later,
but what, what do they needright now?
(17:37):
Basic essentials.
Um, it's, you know, it'sinteresting.
I don't want to get too farfield here, but so many.
State farm in particularcanceled so many insurance
policies in the last yearbecause of fire risk.
And so.
Many families.
While they are insured.
Their homes, which by and largeare their whole retirement or
(18:01):
their whole savings.
There are homes are insured atlike a quarter of the value
because that's the best thatthey could get when the big
insurers, you know, state, farm,and looking at you when you pull
out of an area.
Homeowners have to haveinsurance.
They're going to buy as muchinsurance as they can for
whatever's offered.
And.
Many of the homeowners.
(18:21):
Yeah, they had insurance, butit's not going to cover the
costs for them to rebuild.
They're going to be in a bit ofa sticky situation.
And that there's going to be alot of negotiations as it
relates to insurance companies.
So when we're talking about.
Sending money for people torebuild.
We're really just talking abouthow can we bridge that gap
between where they are now.
(18:42):
And the time that it's going totake for them to have those
discussions with their insurancecompany, get the checks issued.
And actually rebuilt, which it'sgoing to take a long time.
So if you're able to send somemoney, if you know, directly,
you can send Venmo, PayPal,GoFund me.
If you got somebody's emailaddress, you can send them an E
(19:03):
gift card.
Most companies, Amazon included.
There, there are a number ofcompanies that issue E gift
cards that you can send overemail and they can use them to,
to buy the things that they needright now.
I also want to talk about, um,if you're someone who has
special skills.
(19:25):
Even if you're not on the groundin Los Angeles, there are ways
that you can help these people.
One of my friends from collegeloss, everything in the
Palisades fire, she and her twodaughters.
They got out safely, which isgreat, but they lost everything.
Everything is gone.
What has been so.
Beautiful to watch.
Is there village rallying aroundthem.
(19:48):
And in particular, the peoplewho are outside of Los Angeles.
Another friend from college.
She is a real estate broker withan office in California and she
set them up with.
An agent down in California whowas able to find them a rental
place.
So if you will have some rentalskills or you've got contacts in
that kind of.
Area then you could help someonefind housing.
(20:12):
Another college friend of ourshappens to be a personal
shopper.
She's a stylist, a personalshopper.
She got together and sent justbasic closing essentials to this
family.
You could do something verysimilar if you've got those
kinds of skills.
If you have administrativeskills or organizational skills,
You could help.
Displaced individuals help them.
(20:34):
Create their insurance claimsbecause they're going to need
copies of receipts foreverything.
Not only the receipts for thehotels and the gas.
And the clothing and the foodthat they have bought while
they're displaced.
But they're going to have toprove what was in their home.
So think about going throughyears of online credit card
(20:58):
receipts, trying to prove, yeah,I bought this piece of art or we
had this kind of stereo system,or we had just purchased this
computer, those kind of things,that kind of administrative
skill organization.
Project management there's goingto be a big need for that.
And that's something you can dovirtually.
If you have experiencenavigating a certain situation.
(21:21):
You have made a claim, aninsurance claim.
Following a disaster.
You had a mass casualty event,your house burned down at some
point, and you had to negotiatethat if you have those kinds of
skills, That is a way that youcan help.
Going, even beyond the.
Fires.
There are so many of us thathave special skills that.
(21:42):
When our friends or even peoplewe don't know, but we just feel
called to help them.
There are ways that we can helppeople in our communities who
need our help.
For example, I am of the agewhere so many friends and
community members, theirfamilies, they're dealing with
big decisions related to.
(22:03):
Elderly care.
Memory care facilities, dementiacare.
Mike and I have just gonethrough that.
So whenever I see somebody, youknow, asking a question they're
kind of at their wit's end.
I will always reach out to themand give them the information.
Talk them through the decisionsthat we had to make and give
them some help in navigating thesituation that they're going
(22:26):
through.
Just because you can't be on theground.
You wish you could do somethingmore.
You can still provide assistanceto people.
In very meaningful ways just byshowing up and.
Providing assistance in yourarea of specialty.
So fires aside.
Um, because yeah, we could talkabout putting together meal
(22:49):
train, it's an online.
Site where you can go and signup to provide dinners for
people, meals for people.
Generally, if they're goingthrough some sort of medical
issue.
Yeah.
I mean, we could try and set upa meal train for people in Los
Angeles, but I don't know thatthey're going to get the food,
but if you've got friends whoare facing a cancer diagnosis or
(23:11):
they've lost a loved one, or,you know, something else is
going on in their life wherethings are heavy, You can
easily.
Sign up to bring them a meal,whether you cook it or not.
These are all obviouslytangible, things that you can
provide for someone I don't wantto.
Undercut.
How important, just a periodic,like sending somebody a note
(23:34):
every now and then when they'regoing through a tough situation,
just letting them know that youare thinking of them.
Without any expectation of aresponse.
In fact, say that there's,there's no need for you to
respond.
I just want you to know that I'mthinking of you.
That kind of emotional support.
Really goes a long way, eventhough, you know, it feels like
(23:54):
it's not a big deal.
But sending somebody a text,letting them know that.
You're thinking of them, it goesbeyond saying I'm so sorry,
because for so many of us thatfeels like it's just not enough
and it's, it's a good start,but.
Maybe you can use your words togo a little beyond that.
You know, I I'm thinking aboutyou during this unimaginable
(24:17):
time.
I cannot.
Fathom the devastation that youwere feeling.
I will never understand whatyou're feeling right now, what
you're going through, but knowthat I am here for, you know,
that I am holding space for you.
No that whatever I can provideto you, I am here for.
You can, you can even go so faras send a note that says I'm
(24:41):
dropping off dinner tomorrownight.
I'm going to help watch the kidswhile you go.
Do something or take a nap.
I'm going to stop by and walkthe dogs.
I'm going to arrange a hotelroom for you to just go and be
away.
There are ways that you can helppeople.
Without asking, let me know whatI can do to help.
(25:03):
Because.
Uh, I want to get into this alittle bit, but this whole idea
of, you know, I'm standing by,let me know what I can do to
help.
A lot of women in particular.
They don't want to ask for helpWe've been conditioned to take
care of everyone else in ourlives.
Right.
So the last thing that we wantto do is feel like we are being
(25:24):
a burden.
We have an entire list of thingsthat we need to do when we are
in these unimaginablesituations.
Instead of putting the.
Onus on the individual.
Who's going through thesituation to reach out to you.
You be proactive and reach outto them.
Offer to help.
Bring the dinner by watch thekids walk the dogs.
(25:46):
Whatever they need.
Do that instead of.
Let me know what I can do tohelp.
And.
I want to bring this fullcircle.
We're going to end with this.
I know that so many of us feelcalled to do something right
now.
Hopefully you've got a couplenew ideas on how you can.
Help people who find themselvesin situations that.
(26:09):
They weren't planning on,especially, you know, if they're
in Los Angeles, If they haverecently lost someone, if they
were facing a diagnosis, that'snot great.
There are ways that you can helpthem.
And I want you to remember allof this when you are in need of
help to.
Because just like I said, womenare notoriously bad about
(26:30):
accepting.
Assistance.
We've been conditioned to, youknow, there's some shame
involved.
There's some guilt involved.
Like why can't I just do this onmy own?
Why can't I figure this out?
Your village, the people aroundyou, they desperately want to
help you.
Most of them don't know how.
They want to be there for you.
(26:51):
They want to do something otherthan say, you know, I'm so
sorry.
And they are.
But just know that when youdeprive someone else, the
opportunity to help you out.
That's exactly what you'redoing.
Your depriving, someone.
The feeling, the satisfaction,the fulfillment.
(27:12):
Of helping you, you are animportant person in their life
and they want to be there foryou.
So don't shut them out.
Don't not let them show I don'tnot let them do things for you.
That's a lot of doublenegatives, but.
You can be wildly successful.
You can be strong.
You can be completely bad-assand still accept, help.
(27:35):
When you need it, even, even ifyou feel like this is something,
you know, I've got it.
So many other people have it somuch worse off than I do.
All be fine.
If people want to be there foryou, you need to let them do
that because if the roles werereversed and you found yourself
in a situation, Where.
(27:56):
You needed help.
All of your friends want to helpyou?
Your entire village wants tocome to your aid.
So just know that.
You can accept the, the help youcan accept the assistance.
And you can do so proudly.
There's no shame involved.
There shouldn't be any guiltinvolved.
(28:17):
Just know that we are all partof this.
Beautiful community, this worldthat, that.
At the end of the day.
All we really have is eachother.
And I know that that soundspithy and it sounds kind of
something like you would see.
Stenciled on a piece of wood insomebody's dining room, but it's
true.
(28:38):
We need to be there for eachother.
We need to allow other people toshow up for us to and accept
that that is okay.
will include a couple ofclickable links in the show
notes for charities that I knoware doing great work in Los
Angeles.
I'm also going to include theGoFund me link for my college
(29:00):
friend, Maggie and her twodaughters, Maddie and Lucy.
And.
I'm going to, I'm just going toleave with.
Like be good people this week.
And I know.
He know you are.
But I just feel like the worldcould use a little bit more.
People being considerate andgenerous to others.
We're going to talk about goalsnext week, or at least that's
(29:22):
the plan unless, um, somethingelse.
Happens that is not expected.
Um, but I sure appreciate youbeing here every week.
I know that as high-performingmidlife women, We.
We we juggle a lot and any time.
Things get heavy around us.
(29:43):
A lot of us internalize that.
And it's, it's just hard.
And.
There is some survivor's guilt.
There is some guilt that we feelthat, you know, we've got, we've
got it so much better off thanso many other people do.
But we're good people too.
We need to understand that someof the stress and anxiety.
That comes from living right nowin what's going on all over the
(30:07):
world.
We need to be a little kind toourselves to.
So for now.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
Take good care of yourself thisweek.
Be kind to yourself.
Be kind to others.
And I will see you right backhere next week when the School
of Midlife is back in session.
I'll talk to you soon.
Thank you so much for listeningto the School of Midlife
(30:28):
podcast.
It means so much to have youhere each week.
If you enjoyed this episode,could you do me the biggest
favor and help us spread theword to other midlife women?
There are a couple of easy waysfor you to do that first.
And most importantly, if you'renot already following the show,
would you please subscribe?
(30:48):
That helps you because you'llnever miss an episode.
And it helps us because you'llnever miss an episode.
Second, if you'd be so kind toleave us a five-star rating,
that would be absolutelyincredible.
And finally, I personally readeach and every one of your
reviews.
So if you take a minute and saysome nice things about the
podcast, well, that's just goodkarma.
(31:10):
Thanks again for listening.
I'll see you right back here.
Next week when the School ofMidlife is back in session until
then take good care.
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