28: Wholesome.. Or Our Definition of it 01:33:43

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Lights. Camera. Jerry. Hi. Oh my gosh, you're so funny. Oh, we have a laugh track. Very good. Why don't you tell people about your socks? Ah, well, you know, I really want to thank... You've got to hold them up again because the camera doesn't see them. Oh, God. Now that my back is broken. You need to stretch more. Yeah, evidently.

These are to let certain people in our life know that I'm thinking about them. And this is for Grandma Gargit, Morgan's grandmother, that she loves penguins. And I decided to let her know that we're thinking about her tonight. I'm wearing my penguin socks. But I really appreciate some of the comments that some of you make about my socks because all my socks do come with a story and meaning. So thanks for noticing. You're on. I have had...

A tough week at work. It's been emotionally draining, physically exhausting. I got in a fight with a doctor today over one of my patients. So I thought, what better way to feel better about life than with some wholesome stories? Let's do it. There's usually a lot of dark stories on this podcast, a lot of aggravating and irritating ones, and

I, first and foremost, I'm like the biggest advocate for these people. I don't want to be a bulldog today, so here we go with some wholesome stories. We're ready. I'm all in. Let's dive in. Hi guys, welcome back to another episode of Two Hot Takes. I'm your host, Morgan. I'm Justin. And I'm Dad.

Jerry. Just got to make sure everyone knows that. If you notice my new computer case, it's thanks to Velvet Caviar. Be sure to check them out. So mother-in-laws and moms got some heat a couple episodes ago. So in order to, you know, highlight that there are good mother-in-laws and, you know, moms out there, and despite what my mom thinks, I do love her.

We're going to start off with a mother-in-law story. Okay. Let's go.

Am I the asshole for making a scene of my adult son and sticking my nose in his marriage? I'm 60 and bad with the whole text thing on mobiles, so I'm hoping I won't be judged on my grammar. Here's the important background. My daughter-in-law, 32, and son, 33, have three children, aged 3 years, 2 years, and 4 months.

He convinced her to be a stay-at-home mom and sell her business by telling her how good of a childhood he had and how happy my marriage was without telling her, in parentheses, which I found out today, that our arrangement was everything before 9 a.m. and after 5 p.m. was split 50-50. Sunday was my day off, and I was brought out twice a week. On to the story.

On my last visit, I noticed my daughter-in-law was struggling mentally. So I, my sister, 55 female, and her girlfriend, 53, pulled our money together and paid for a spa weekend for them while we'd babysit the kids for her birthday last weekend. I was preparing on Thursday evening for the kids to arrive when my daughter-in-law rang me holding back tears, saying...

They won't be going because my son's friend came to town and he said he wanted to spend the weekend with his friends catching up.

I pressed her a little and I'm talking a little about her situation. She came clean about him doing no chores, no date nights, and her basically doing all of the childcare because, quote, that's what stay-at-home moms do. I was honestly disgusted. I convinced her to drop me off the kids and bring a friend to the spa. I even dipped into my savings to give her 500 pounds to buy herself something nice. When she dropped me off the kids...

I begged her to tell me where my son was. After five minutes, she told me the bar. She left for the spa while I left for the bar. She knew I was going there and my sister slash sister-in-law were taking care of the kids. Here's where I might be the asshole. I went to the bar where he and his friends were. I sat down next to the group and asked my son...

The post is getting long enough, but long story short, I humiliated him and got myself banned from the bar.

My daughter-in-law said she will be taking the kids to her parents when she gets back tomorrow, and my son is calling me an asshole for humiliating him, sticking my nose in his marriage. Maybe I should have stayed out. I don't know. Oh, I got stuff on this one. Wow. Kudos to her, though, because only a mother... Are you ready for me? Go for it. Thank you. I love both of you.

I love all my kids. There's no doubt about it. I have three of them. And I don't love one child more than a spouse when they're their spouse, meaning that I have no problem making you accountable if you screw up with something with him or him accountable if he screws up with something with you. As far as I'm concerned, I love you both, and I'll shoot each individually or both together. Okay.

And this guy... Easy, Tiger. Yeah, well, this guy clearly needs to have his mom... His wife was unable to do it. But the mom at this point in time could really come in and level the shit out of him and saying, you're out of line. Yeah, I love that. I would use stronger language than that. But, I mean, this is absolutely...

Get a gun. She should have walked in and just shot the fucker. See, the offhandle comments are coming out, you guys. I like it. I like it. I will share this with you. I was 17 years old and I was working part-time but doing very well at that time, making money that people that are 30 and 40 don't make, the company that I was with.

And I went out and bought a car, bought a brand new Corvette at the age of 17. And it went to my head very quickly. And I became a little cocky, a lot cocky. And my mother came to me and I've never heard this woman yell a day in her life at me. My father daily. My mother was the opposite. And she said, no son of no. I remember the actual quote. No son of mine is going to be a stuck up, egotistical bastard.

Damn. Doris popped off. She popped off and she said, you knock this shit off right now. Cause if I catch you ever doing it again, I'll take the car and I'll burn it. Oh, I love that. And she, and I've, this is a woman that was, I mean, you can't imagine more political, correct, you know, savvy, smart, intelligent, articulate woman. And she lost her shit on me. She needed to make a point. And I have to tell you, uh,

And it really worked because for someone who never piped off and she came on full force, it worked. Well, and you were the baby in your birth order too. And I think birth order plays a lot into how we treat our kids or how, you know, going off my experience, how kids are raised. And you were the baby. So you were kind of like probably this little angel. And then she just like, she laid down the hammer on you. I will tell you, I never got the hammer like I got that day at the age of 17. Yeah.

Look, we all experienced her. Your poor little brother got the look one time. He's had nightmares ever since. Yeah, my grandma Doris had this look that just was like the meanest mean mug you could ever get. And far from who she was. That's a great skill to have, though. She knew how to use it. It was good. And let me tell you, it was effective. She never yelled. I never got yelled at. But boy, the one time in my life changed me. Wow.

Well, and I hope that this mom's little, you know, tiff in the bar has the same effect on her son because I love this. I love that she like to me, I'm like, OK, yeah, there's problems here. Like the son is an asshole. You know, he's got to work on, you know, being more of a partner and more of a caregiver for his kids.

But to have a mother-in-law like this that is so supportive and – She jumped right in. She jumped in. She said, you're my daughter and I'm going to take care of you. It was beautiful. She said, bring me the kids. Beautiful. Here's some extra money. Take care of yourself. Enjoy the spa with a friend. Like not everyone has that experience. No, beautiful. And it's so, so refreshing and just – Yeah, and the thing that's annoying about it too is –

When did you know your friends were going to come into town? Yeah. Also, I mean, you could have said, hey, can we just push back the spa a day? I still want to go with you. I want us to be able to pamper ourselves. But hey, maybe instead of going Friday night, we go early Saturday. And then Friday night, I can go and catch up with these guys because maybe he hasn't seen them in years.

And I get it's really important. It didn't sound like he did that. He didn't make any compromises. And I think that's what's so unfortunate is, you know, he could have just said, I haven't seen these guys in two years, five years. Got to grow up. I think there's a very unfortunate stigma surrounding stay-at-home moms or dads. Oh, so stigmatized. To the point where, I mean, in my experience, I almost feel like being the stay-at-home parent

is more of a job than it is to get up and go away to your job every day. It's, I mean, the amount of stuff you have to coordinate and think about and pull together and bridge the gap on everything for your family is more than just bringing home the money.

And yes, you don't ever get a break. You're on the clock 24-7 of every day. There's actually like a lot of opinion-based articles from people that are saying, okay, you think stay-at-home moms have it easy? Let's pay stay-at-home moms accordingly.

They're full-time cooks. They're full-time cleaners. They're full-time nannies. Just a full-time nanny every year is like 60K. I have a friend that's a full-time nanny, just moved to Colorado. She's making bank. Like, okay, there's just the nanny. Now let's pay for a full-time cook. Let's pay for a full-time cleaner. Shopper. If you were going to pay a full-time mom what, you know, everything that they do, it's...

Over six figures. Look what it took to raise you. It took a village. I know. We had grandma, great-grandmas. We had everybody. I know. A team. Yeah, because my mom was a stay-at-home mom for a little bit, but she went back to work pretty early, so I really spent a lot of time with my great-grandma and my grandma, and I'm so...

So thankful for that. Yeah, it was really... It takes a lot to raise kids. It takes a village. I don't think there's a better saying than that. I'm going to raise my glass to the memory of Doris and that one little talk we had. It shaped you up. It did. Shaped you up. I hope that this guy has the same experience, but kudos to his mom because she sounds amazing. Yeah, I love it. Just picturing her sneaking up and just sitting there. Going into the bar and just calling him out. And just looking over like, oh, hey, Doris.

Can you imagine how embarrassed he probably was?

His friends are probably like, buddy, get it together. Unless they're all single. I have no idea how embarrassing. I think he's just purely an asshole. He is the asshole mom, not you. And I'm really impressed. You get embarrassed when your mom shows up when you're in middle school. I am totally impressed what you did. Fantastic. Yeah. I know I don't want to dive into this one so much because I really wanted to keep it wholesome. But I'm also really annoyed with the fact that he like... And the mom...

The way the mom describes it here, he convinced her to be a stay-at-home mom and sell her business. Like... Yeah. But we're keeping it wholesome. We are, and that's a decision they made. They did. They did it, and we got a lot of...

Honestly, I hope it's just a big reality check because any of us can get into these modes where you get so into what you're doing. You're so locked into this one vision and you just kind of get stuck in this vicious cycle. It can happen to the best of us. You get kind of complacent sometimes. And so it's good to have a nice reality check, whether it be your mother-in-law or whoever else. And maybe you can rethink it and get back to reality.

Doing what you're supposed to do. Doing it better. Yeah. So the top comment on this one, not the asshole. It sounds like your misogynistic son needs some humiliation and to have someone stick their nose into his marriage. It's not like you are a stranger. You are his mother. Also, this is not a minor thing. This is your son treating his wife like a servant, not a spouse. What would have happened if she just walked in with a paintball gun and started shooting him? I think that would have been appropriate. Yeah.

I mean, maybe not. Paintball guns hurt. Paintball guns hurt. Maybe a couple of eggs. No, I think walking with a paintball gun. Only a mom could do that and just blow the shit out of the guy. You're going to get this video taken down on YouTube for violence. There's a vision that I could see. Okay, let's roll on. See, I got threats. I can't mess up. By the way, that would have been a happy thing.

I mean, she already got banned from the bar just for saying what she said. So OP replies back to the mom and she goes, I honestly don't know where this attitude comes from. His father treated me with respect and his brother seems to be respectful to their partners too. And someone replies back to the mom and goes, since you're on a roll right now, maybe call each of their partners too, just in case. Like talking about her calling the brothers. Yeah.

To make sure that they're good? And she goes, oh, I did. Believe me. I rang each one of my kids and their partners. My son's partners, Jackson, Sarah, and Bella, all were surprised at what happened and assured me my sons would be single if they were mistreated same with my girls' partners. Well, no matter what, your parents always will have more experience. They'll have more intelligence. They'll have more experience.

everything to do with life than you will have. And so even when you are 50 years old, there's still something you can learn from your parents. So it's, I don't think it's out of place as a parent to come in no matter how old your kid is and say, Hey, here's a little wake up call for you. Yeah. And like, I think that's really cool. Yeah. Everyone, everyone needs a swift kick in the ass sometimes, you know?

Sometimes we self-sabotage. Don't think our kids don't teach the parents too sometimes. Oh, I know. I got you. I got you. Remember that one too, guys. All right. Now where's the happy stuff? Oh, we're going. We're going. We're moving along. I'm ready for happy. So some of the happy though is non-traditional happy. Are you telling me there's happy with a twist? Yeah, yeah. And I'm a little biased. Like I kind of picked happy stories that would make me happy because I've had such a rough one.

So they're happy. Wait, team. Only she had the rough week. Oh, yeah. You had a week from hell too. You did. I'm sure a lot of us did. That's why we're here to enjoy the show. Exactly. I'm sure there's a lot of the fam out there that can use Pick Me Up. It's still drama. It's happy drama. It's happy drama. Happy drama. All right. Nail us. Bring it on. Nail us. Let's go.

Okay. This one I was really into. So, OP goes, I, 26, female, am an escort, and I am falling in love with one of my clients, 39 male. She kissed him.

Well, we've all seen Pretty Woman. We know the rules. This was my... Okay, Pretty Woman is one of my favorite movies of all time. I love Julia Roberts and Richard Gere is great too. She kissed him. Yeah, she kissed him. So that was... When I first read this, I was like, oh my God, it's Pretty Woman. And you'll see where that comes in. Okay.

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Visit Safeway.com for more details. If you are going to pass judgment on my profession, please don't. If you are going to tell me I'm being exploited, please don't. I'm not here for that. I took on this client about a year ago and I was immediately struck with how handsome he was.

As I got to know him, he showed himself to be a kind, sweet, charismatic, utterly brilliant person. He is always gentle. I never had to enforce any boundaries with him. I have come to look forward to visits with him above any of my other clients. If there's a scheduling conflict, I will give him the priority. Lately, I have been more intimate with him than my other clients.

Cuddles, kissing, hugs, and other things I don't do with my other clients. I love my overnights with him. We have long, deep talks about everything. We have a lot of shared interests and we just get along really well. I feel very safe with him.

I'm falling in love with him. It's never happened to me before. I have always kept emotions separate from my work, but I can't help it with him. I will spend time with him. I don't bill him for. I spend extra time with him and I just love to be with him. I've been spending time with him casually going on dot, dot, dot dates, I guess, for lack of better word that I'm not billing for either. I'm

And the lines are starting to become very blurry. I don't know what to do. I think I want to move the relationship from professional to personal. Truth is, it's already becoming personal for me. But I can't imagine he would be okay with my work if I was his girlfriend.

I'm afraid of being rejected by him and ruining our work relationship. I think I would give this up to be with him, but that prevents a whole new set of problems for me in finding a new career. I don't know what to do. Do I go for it, risk rejection, and ruining our professional relationship? Do I give up my career for him if he says yes? I don't think I could continue this if I was with him personally.

Do I just keep silent and continue our relationship as is? Or do I drop him as a client altogether? I was never looking for a guy to save me, but I can't help what I'm feeling for him. It's a very interesting problem to have because you're blurring the lines between like charging for time that you actually need.

don't feel you should charge for because you're starting to actually it's very well and like this is her job like you know whatever whatever your opinions are on this you know what she does this is still her job and it's like it's kind of an odd concept to think about but how many people have met their partners at work true she she met you know you you actually hit exactly where i was thinking you don't let's take away the work

Of what it is, yeah. It's just work for her. It's a livelihood. The bottom line is that in life we meet people that we want to be with. And where's her work environment? In the bedroom or in the hotel, wherever it might be. And she met a guy that she's growing. This isn't the issue about that part. The part is why is he going for intimacy with...

outside of where his normal realm is. I got you. And what does he want in life? And is he going to accept that? He may be in love with her himself and he may be going to her because he's in love with her, but not the most important part of a relationship. Hey, in all these talks, let's...

You're going to have to grin and bear it and be honest to see where do we go. So we have lots of updates. Let's keep it rolling. Okay. Got an update? Yeah. Let's go. I want to hear it. So edit number one, I know why he's single. His wife died in an accident three years ago. Edit number two.

Nice. Edit three. Edit four.

Lunch was nice. We had a good time. I did ask him if he felt like he could ever be married again. He said three years ago, the answer would have been a hard no, but now he wasn't so sure.

Wow. He said he'd like that. I'm going for it. Wow. Final update. It makes me smile.

I'm a romantic at heart. I'm a hopeless romantic, which is like, I don't think a lot of people get that because I'm such a hard ass on people on this podcast. But I'm like that because I know how good love can be when you're with someone that genuinely cares for you. And so I read these stories and I'm like, fuck this dude. No. Like what? Why be miserable? If someone makes you feel sad, bad about yourself, questioning everything, gaslit,

Don't. There's better people that will love you and respect you out there. And that's why I'm a hard ass. Well, and it, I know, I feel like I say this every time I'm on, but it feels like all the movies that I watch with you where it's like two people that are just, are not destined to be right for each other. And then it just comes out of nowhere and it just ends up being this really beautiful thing. I may be watch pretty woman with me, with Julia Roberts. They go to the polo match. Yeah.

He's like a business guy? I don't think I watched it with you. Oh, my God. We're going after this and watching it. We just watched Me Before You last night, though, you guys, and I bawled. It was... Good movie, by the way. It's such a good movie. Excellent movie. It's so good. Okay, so final update.

Really? Oh, wow. Yeah.

were the thousands of comments and messages of support. Wonderful. Yep. You were all right and that I did know what I really wanted. I did know what my heart was telling me, but seeing thousands of people tell me to go for it was the push I needed to not waste any more time. That a girl. Shoot your shot, right?

I'd like to address a few things before I get into the update. A few people mentioned the story about his wife might be fake and he's secretly married. I was pretty sure he wasn't married. I did call outs to his home and my married clients never take me to their home. Always a hotel. But I was regularly in his home. I saw pictures of her around the house. I knew she was real. How can I trust a guy who uses escorts?

Well, this is a silly thing to judge him on considering what I do. I can't imagine judging a man for using my service. I was his first too. And unless he's a good actor, I know the awkwardness of a first timer. And he was definitely awkward when we first met. Okay. It's always awkward having sex with someone new for the first time.

Always. It is. Yeah. Do you not have that? No, we have the master over here. No, I just thought I would pitch a curveball to you. That's really what it was. I feel like it always is. No, I just thought I threw a curveball. Okay. It's the chin deal though. I just had to have a little fun with you. Yeah, okay. I never asked him if he started seeing other- I got her attention, didn't I? Yeah.

I never asked him if he started seeing other escorts because, frankly, it's none of my business. I should wait for him to approach me. Unfortunately, this probably wouldn't work. As the lines became blurred, I did tell him about a few clients who became overly possessive, obsessive, and jealous, and I had to drop. I am sure he thought the same would happen to him if he tried to tell me he wanted a personal relationship.

I had to be the one to make the move. True. Yeah. Yeah, especially if she's already outlined that. Do I want to do this forever?

Do I really want to give it up? Different variations of this theme of leaving the biz. Some in favor, some against. Bottom line is, I don't think I see myself doing this into my 30s. It used to be fun and exciting, but lately it hasn't been. It just feels like work now. And the only meets I look forward to anymore are the ones with him. I also don't feel good about the idea of being committed to him, but still seeing clients.

I heard from a lot of other sex workers and clients who were able to make that arrangement work, but I just can't.

Even if he would be okay with it, I just can't. I like this one. Another add-on to this is a friend of mine who has never been crazy about what I do. She's giving me a standing offer to go work with her company on the sales team. Nice. A lot of people suggested we try going out as friends and doing things outside of our working relationship.

I imagine my comments answering this one were buried in the flood of comments, so I'll put it here. We have been for some time now. We meet for lunches, dinners, we go to the movies, and make little trips to sites around where we live. We also text throughout the week. Okay, on to the update. Yes.

I think I left off yesterday that we had met for lunch. This was sort of a normal thing for us lately, and we had a nice chat. I posed to him the question of if he ever saw himself falling in love and marrying again. He said after his wife died, he didn't think it would be possible, but now he thinks he might be able to with the right person.

Then he followed up with a question about if I would ever think about leaving the biz and getting married. And I sort of answered the same, with the right person, followed by a pointed chair. He had to go back to work by this point, and I invited him to my home for dinner. This was a first. He has never been to my home. I don't bring clients back there, only friends. I hoped that sent a strong signal to him. I went back home and started getting ready. I had to go shopping for some things and get the place ready to have a guest over.

I called my friend up. She knows about this guy and has been on the same page as Reddit, pushing me to make a move and settle down into something more normal. I told her about the Reddit post and said I was making the jump. I also let her know I wanted to take her up on her offer. I called up my upcoming appointments and canceled. I said something had come up and I wouldn't be available. I'm out.

I'm done regardless of what happened with him. If I can't get my head in the game anymore and I'm getting too personal, plus now I'm realizing I want to be in a relationship, I can't separate sex from my feelings like I thought. It's time to call it. This isn't what I want anymore. Gross. That's very cool. Just like finding you, being happy, doing you. Like even, again, regular jobs, people go through this.

We all plateau in our current position and we're like, okay, I need more. I need bigger. I need better. I'm ready to handle more. I've grown. So...

Yeah, it's awesome. A lot of respect for her. So much. I'm not even making my comments, if you notice. And I had a boatload of them. I know. You're a very sexual person. And this woman gets a free pass on everything that she has said. I have the utmost respect for the way she processed her love, her feelings, and her growth. And I think it's fantastic. And I think there's a lot to be said, too, where no matter...

what your job is like everyone is entitled to respect everyone is a human i think you know sex workers are very stigmatized and that is something that i think a lot of places are making advancements in and i you know if you don't come out with a happy ending on this okay okay there we go okay okay i'm going i'm going i'll keep justin but you are out

This choice was for me, not him. Even if things didn't work out with him, I realized I really did want to be in a committed relationship with someone. One thing that people mentioned was the idea that he could turn violent when I told him. I honestly didn't believe he would, but I asked my friend to call and check on me just in case.

She knows the drill. We have safe and emergency words set up and we have a plan for if she gets no response from me at all. I got my shopping done and got dinner going, set the place up nice and romantic and got myself dolled up nice and sexy and got ready to have him over. He came by at around seven. He had flowers for me and a bottle of wine. I invited him in.

He said he wasn't sure if he should bring payment or not and just did. I told him that wasn't necessary. He wasn't here as a client. I don't bring my clients to my home. I was really hoping he got the hint. Dinner was going nicely. We had our usual rapport, but I could tell he was a little perplexed about what this was all about.

So I put on my big girl pants, gathered my courage, and shoot my shot. Yep. As you put it. I told him I was dropping him as a client. He looked surprised and hurt. He wanted to know why. What did he do wrong? Did something happen?

I assured him it wasn't about him. I was leaving the business and dropped all my clients. I told him about the job I took and he wished me luck. He said I was attractive and charming and he was sure I would do well in sales. He said he was going to miss me. I took a deep breath and said, quote, you don't have to miss me if you don't want to. Nice. And then I spilled it.

He was the only client I brought home to tell in person. I laid it all out, all the things I mentioned in the post, how I felt about him and how I didn't want to be his escort anymore. I wanted to be his girlfriend. I said, I understand. He paid me to leave and not stick around. And now I was asking to stick around and I would understand if he didn't want to continue on. He said, who told you that?

that he paid me to keep coming back, not to leave. He said he felt it too, but he wasn't sure if it was appropriate to ask me that. He was still hurt over his wife...

and that he wasn't even sure if he was ready, but that some of the best things in his life he started when he wasn't sure if he was ready. He asked me if I was okay with being with someone who was still hurting over his ex. I told him I could work with it and that I wasn't trying to replace her. We kissed. I let him into my bedroom, and we made love.

We spent some time after in each other's arms talking about what comes next. He offered to help me make the transition, but I told him I wanted to try and do this on my own and not rely on him. I appreciated his offer, and if I needed the help, I would ask, but I need to try on my own at first. He respected that.

I told him that things would change now. As his girlfriend, I would have expectations of him I never had as an escort. He was okay with that. I told him I never asked or cared if he saw other women before, but now I wanted monogamy. I would give it, and I wanted it in return. So if he was seeing other escorts, that would have to end. And I reminded him I dropped my clients. He said that wasn't a problem. I was the only one. That's what I thought. He spent the night with me and left this morning.

Where is this going to lead us next? I have no idea.

Maybe I'm making a huge mistake. Maybe this was fate. Maybe this was God working in mysterious ways. Maybe we're just two lost and lonely souls tossed around by the stormy seas of life that managed to find each other and cling to each other. Fate, fairy tale, or fluke, we are going to see where this leads us next, and we're doing it together. I am excited, elated, and terrified all at once. My whole life has drastically changed in just a day. I'd

I didn't intend to move this fast, but once this train started rolling, it seemed like there was no stopping it. To everyone who said I was a worthless whore who could never be loved, fuck you too. To everyone who expressed concern, thank you. Maybe this is a mistake, but I have to find out. To everyone who encouraged me to go for it, thank you. You were right. Without the thousands of responses to go for it, I would have languished in that limbo for a lot longer.

As a final thought, I want to say that this isn't normal. If you see sex workers, please don't think this is the norm and that the woman you see may also fall in love with you. While I'm sure this happens, and I've heard from others who are in similar positions of mine, it's really not the norm. If you're considering sex work because you think you can find Prince Charming, know this outcome is very unusual.

Oh, and I hated Pretty Woman, by the way. I never thought it would be me one day. Oh, wow. Yeah. I still like her. I wish you all the luck.

In your love. Yeah. And you can't even think about it as potentially being a mistake. You just go for it. I mean, if you don't go for it, you're going to sit there the rest of your life wondering. That's beautiful. Great story. Thank you. Thank you for sharing. Well, life is full of chances and taking chances. And I think with the relationships, especially...

Yes, there's some that maybe shouldn't be acted on, like some stories like, oh, I've fallen in love with my sister's husband. Should I tell him? Right. There's some trickier ones that, okay, maybe shouldn't be acted on. But I think it's silly always wondering what if.

Take the chance. If you fall on your ass, that's okay. And that's relationships, a new job. Yep. Moving away from home. You never want to have to go a couple years later and say, what if? Yeah. There's no what if here. You did it. No. Fantastic. I always give my friends advice that too, people that are thinking of moving away from home or moving.

or moving and making a big change or chance or whatever. And I'm always like, it is so easy to move home or go back to doing what you were doing. Like, go for it. If you have the opportunity now, go for it. Yeah, I pushed a, there was this communications class I had in college that you were supposed to take as either a freshman or sophomore. And I pushed it all the way to senior year.

And it ended up being the last class I ever had in all of my schooling. So it ended up being the last class on the last day of my senior year of college. And that was speech day. And in this class, it all built up to this speech at the end where I gave this speech about following, I guess in a sense, following your heart, following your passions, following what you want to do.

And just going for it, try and make it happen. And if you don't, it's going to be the easiest time in your life to kind of reset and regroup. But then you're not sitting there wondering what if. And so I stood up there, gave this full speech and went on and on about how I'm leaving Minnesota. I'm going to New York. I'm going to try music. I'm going to do this, that. And I said, I truly said, I'm scared. I'm very scared, but I'm excited. And I'm so driven and so ready for it.

I ended up getting an A and doing really well even though I did none of the required things. And what's funny is I still have friends from that class that are still in Minnesota, kind of followed the path they didn't want to. They don't love their job. They don't love what they're doing. They work for the weekends. And that's just what I was trying to portray is that it happens to too many people I know. And when you really go for it, you never know what can happen. Yeah.

No, and I don't think there's a right age to like, I think the younger you take the chance and do what you want to do, the better. But like that being said, there's never a wrong age to take a chance. 30, if you're unhappy at 30, change. Go do what you really want to do. 40, 60, 80. Yeah. Do what you want to do. So she does give another little update. Hey, everyone. I've been getting a lot of PMs and chats about my original post, and I decided I'd give you all a Thanksgiving-ish update and a new question.

So I know this hasn't been long since my first post, but one of the things that people had brought up was that I was a fantasy to him and that if things ever became real, the fantasy would be over and the real him would show up. Well, I'm happy to say no abusive, misogynistic, malignant, nefarious side of him has as yet been revealed to me. He's very much still the same kind and wonderful man I fell in love with.

Our relationship is changing and very much for the better. There's no longer any fear between us. We can both be honest and we can both be honest about how we feel about each other. Without the other being scared, we're crossing lines. Plus, now that I am out of the biz, my nights and weekends are much freer than they were previously. And that's time I am spending with him now that otherwise I would have spent working. It's really nice to be able to see him whenever I want and not have to worry about other clients booking.

We were able to get away for the weekend together. I feel like a teenager in love.

Love it. Amazing. I do too. Amazing. Great story. You did say you had good stuff. I know. This is my happy stuff. I know. I'm feeling good. My tough week is draining away. It's good. Okay. A little beluga caviar from the caviar guys. I know. Velvet caviar case on both the computer and the phone. Oh, really? I know. And a little smiley because I got to be more positive. I just...

I've been letting my stress get to me. Oh, I got more. Really? I got more. On to the next. No. No. We're done right now. Just two. Let's go. Just two. Okay. Let's do it. What do you have? So I have been getting a lot of flack for sharing so many poop stories. Thank God. And apparently you're not the only one that has problems with poop. I don't have problems with poop.

I don't have problems with them. Oh, my God. You have a hard time handling the big stories, though. I find them ridiculous. Well... I mean, there's more important things in life, like this wonderful one we just had with the woman that made some life choices, and my God, how wonderful. Well...

I mean, the guy that slices his poop. With a knife. I'm sorry. They make toilets that will suck a Hoover vacuum cleaner. You never forget it, though. Not everyone's house has that kind of water pressure. No, they make toilets that do it.

I mean, there was an American Standard commercial. They took five or ten golf balls and it sucked the golf balls down. Oh, my God. Okay, well, not everyone has the ability to install a new toilet. No, they have the ability to take out a knife and make it. Knife is easier and more accessible, you know? That's true. To each their own. No, the bucket of water like he does. Yeah. Let's roll on. So, trigger warning because people have been asking for it. Poop. Poop.

Yeah. We're doing another one? Yeah. I thought we were getting away from it. No, but it's really wholesome. It's really good. I'm excited about this one. Okay. Let it rip. Literally.

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Visit Safeway.com for more details. I, 26 female, humiliated myself in front of the guy, 30 male, I am seeing, and his family. Need advice on if I can fix it or if I should move on. Oof. Oof-da. So, like the short little blip she gives, how can one bounce back from an absolutely mortifying situation involving a significant other in their family?

This is an unspeakable relationship situation, but I need the advice of others who don't know me personally. So I'm speaking it. So I've 26 female been dating new guy 30 male for five months. I like him and he invited me to his parents house for the long Memorial Day weekend sounded fun kind of taking the relationship to the next step. I was excited and

So the parents order takeout Friday night for everyone, and it's this extremely spicy Indian food. And I'm like, hmm, okay, not my first choice, but I'm going to try everything to be gracious. Wake up early Saturday at his parents' house, and I'm like, yeah, that's odd. I feel a bit off, but maybe I just need breakfast.

Meanwhile, the guy I'm dating and his father have planned a pre-breakfast run, and the dad is like really, really laying on the pressure for me to join in the kitchen. Yeah.

Reluctantly, I put on running shorts and whatnot and head out to the driveway with the two of them. We start running. After about 15 minutes, I had fallen a bit behind and I was realizing something was very not okay in my body. Everyone knows that not okay feeling and accompanying dread I'm talking about.

The dad slowed down to shuffle next to me. Quote, you okay? Oh, no. Need a break? Whoa. You look really white in the face. At that moment, I looked at him and it hit me that I was truly in a bad situation.

Oh, no.

At a point of no return and unable to fake graciousness in front of this guy's father. Leave me. Fast. Just run ahead. I'll meet you back at the house. Did they listen? You bet not. They insisted on staying. Chivalry. Chivalry. Chivalry ain't dead. Chivalry shows up. Let me help you, honey. Unfortunately for this gal.

Poor thing. They insisted on staying and calling his mom to drive their car to pick us up. I couldn't even speak. I tried to walk towards a tree, but it was too late. I fully shit in the middle of the road. Not like a cute shit I could hide in my shorts. The kind of unforgivable and unspeakable shit where you have to flush the toilet a few times.

A small or maybe large piece of my soul and dignity was left behind on that street a few weekends ago. Keep going. I have something. I'm ready to go, but keep going. I fled the weekend trip early after my shower, making up an excuse. I have told the guy since that I just can't face him in person yet. Someone please help.

If you were dating someone who liked you a lot but then shit herself in front of you and your family and fled the scene with a fake excuse, is there anything she could do after to make things okay enough to continue seeing one another? Yeah. That wouldn't faze me at all. At all. Really? Yeah.

Yeah, I care so much for people. It's normal bodily functions. It happens to everybody. Put your trust in the feelings that you guys shared. But she's probably so scared because they're still early on. Five months? No. Right, yeah, that's true. Five months isn't that long for some people, though.

Five months for this, absolutely. Just have faith and trust in his love that this is just life and he's going to be there to support her. I honestly would feel worse about her

her leaving early then about the situation at all I'd just be like I wouldn't let the person go like I've had stomach problems I know I get it I mean I did triathlons and my stomach would like get all weird like that I get it yeah it's normal it happens to everybody I wouldn't let I wouldn't let my partner or my like

boyfriend girlfriend whatever like at that time leave I would be like no no no like seriously like take some time to like compose yourself like I get you're embarrassed but really not a big deal like there's you google online there's pictures of marathon runners that are so serious and so into it they just shouldn't keep running and it's like dripping down their legs

Triathlons. Yeah, yeah. It never happened to me, but I definitely, you know. Yeah, thanks for the clarification. We were worried. Oh, no. I'm being serious. I saw it, though. We know. Yeah, no. But I'm very, very happy to know I could shit myself at any time and you would still love me. Oh, I'd be just fine.

That makes me feel really good. I'd be proud. I feel so. I would be proud. I feel so safe. I, yeah. As for her. I was saving this particular story for our dear friend Lauren. And I'm going to ask her to record her story and I will include it on the YouTube segment. Yes. Because Lauren has had this exact experience before.

Except it was not with her boyfriend's family. It was with her and her boyfriend running out on a leisurely jog in Minneapolis. And she had an accident. Running will get you going. Running gets the bowels moving. If you're constipated, just go for a big old run. Yep.

So, top comment on this one. This is a story you may tell your grandchildren one day. Call him. Text him. Whatever. Tell him you were so embarrassed and didn't know how to handle the situation. This is something you can overcome. OP replies back, we've talked on the phone a few times and texted and I explained I just feel mortified and need a bit to get myself together before seeing him. But still. Ugh.

Someone goes, girl, oh my God, I'm sorry, but I'm laughing so hard. If this is even real, because it sounds like a scene out of the movie Bridesmaids. Yeah. There is only one way to face this and it is just hateful.

head on you had stomach trouble it wasn't your fault if you rocked up there the next time like yep it's me and before you ask i have not had any takeout today they'll probably get the cue that it happened and we're moving on bonus they probably won't harass you to go running again yeah true i that's my you honestly just need to own it and then that's an amazing story you can tell

Yeah. Like it's just, it's one of those really good ones. Yeah. OP replies back. I mean, I truly was the woman in bridesmaids, but it was a guy I'm dating's mother who I had never really met pulling up in a car to give me clothes and hold a towel up around me as I dealt. Not my best friend. Unbelievably terrible. I honestly would prefer to be the bridesmaids woman.

You'll be fine. She'll be good. Yeah, I had like – I had something to say when I read – oh, to the running comment though. Bonus, they probably won't harass you to running again. My biggest fear when I was like dating, like not my biggest obviously. This is like – that's a hyperbole or whatever you want to call it. But one of my fears was like dating or marrying into a family that runs those Thanksgiving 5Ks.

I used to do it every year. Oh, thank God you don't anymore. I would, though. I like a good run. What the fuck did I get myself into? Start running. I don't know. I'll be back and make you breakfast before you get up. I love this. Yeah, it's a great plan. This is super weird because a lot of my dreams tend to be back in kind of like high school times, I feel like, back in school. A lot of my nightmares, I'd say. Yeah.

I'm pretty sure that last night I had a dream where I was at school or some school and I could not find the bathroom and literally this thing happened to me. I charge $400 an hour to hear these stories. If you want to switch places, lay down on the couch, tell the story. Oh my gosh. So Opie does respond to one more comment. She actually responds to a lot. Yeah.

Which I'll just read some of the funny ones real quickly and then we'll move on to her update. Okay. So someone goes, it sounds awful to live through. Honestly, though, they sound nice. And if I was the mother, I'd have no thoughts except sympathetic ones. Nobody chooses to get food poisoning in the middle of the public road.

OP goes, so true. And you are spot on that this could now be a very easy out for me to never have to do a run with my significant other's family again, which would over time be a huge win for me. Someone goes, you lost the battle but won the war.

Cute. Okay, bathroom break over. Are we ready for the update? I am. Hey, everyone. Checking in here with an update to this wonderful sub full of people who talked sense into me earlier this summer. If you don't remember me, I'm the one who explosively shit herself in the middle of a quiet residential street around 8 a.m. Memorial Day weekend on a run with the guy I had been seeing for five months and his father. I holed up in my apartment for a week after and came here out of desperation for advice.

I'm really going to spare the details here, but my original post is available if anyone cares to dive in. So I mentioned the last time I posted that the guy and his wonderful mom had continued to reach out to me the following week after the incident, after I made up an excuse and left the trip early.

Nice. That's so cute.

He gave me a huge hug and said that the whole shit myself thing and then suddenly not having me in his life immediately after made him realize how invested he is in the relationship. I cried. I think I was also laughing, but there were definitely tears.

We've been dating since. I really, really like him. I even saw his parents again last week when they visited him in the city we both live in. Turns out his dad did go to therapy. Kidding. I will forever be made fun of by him so long as we stay together, but I'm okay with that. If you ever shit yourself in front of your significant other...

Perfect. Aw. Love it. Perfect ending. That was a good ending. Yeah. See, you can shit yourself and nothing is ruined. Yeah. Besides your pants. Right.

You know, the fact that they just are happier to see what kind of woman she really is and that she had nothing to worry about at all. People went beyond that. Yeah, it's a very quick way to bond. It's a very traumatic bonding experience. Actually, it's a great test for anyone to go do to see how the other...

How will the family respond? You'll know real quick. Do I dump them now because they dumped me or are they solid and they're going to weather the storm? Like this guy. Yeah, this is great. I know that was a test. You did it purposely. Perfect. No, that is like a good point because five months –

isn't that long for some people. And so like, she's not even saying I really, really love him after they were together for five months. And then they've been now together for a few months more in this update. She's still not saying she loves him. So their relationship might move a little slower. So if that happened kind of early on too, and like she said, watch how everyone around you reacts. I think it was a great test. Good job. Yeah. Really great job. I know this is, um, maybe everyone just needs to shit themselves. Yeah.

I mean, we should actually make a product that's like, you know, phony stuff. Yeah. That would be better than doing it for real. Yeah, I couldn't deal with that. You know, the phony stuff. Just like you pop like a balloon. Like a balloon. You know, you carry a balloon, you know, and... Oh, I shit myself. And just see how everybody reacts. Oh, my gosh. Yeah. I'd rather not. I think me and Justin had a bathroom experience while we were traveling abroad that...

That kind of replicated this. It brought us closer together. Very quick bonding experience. And thank God you never shared it with me. It's not that bad. We just... Oh, now you're going to share it with me. Yeah. I happened to pick a hotel in Copenhagen, Denmark, and...

I just, it looked really nice. It was in a great area, but the bathroom was like a glass box in the room. Like next to the bed. Yeah, next to the bed, like just a straight glass box. Really? And this was still pretty early in our relationship. Like there's definitely no talks of farts. We were really not acknowledging when each one had to poop. Like I'm, so. Yeah.

So, yeah, you could hear everything. It was just frosted glass, you know. It's not like a wall at all. You're there. It's a glass. You're in the room still. It's a mutual experience. It's a glass showcase. Yeah. Yeah. And you could hear everything. It echoed. Oh, it almost amplified the sound like when you put your phone in something. And did they have like, you know, spotlights inside? It felt like that. Practically.

Yeah. You turn the lights off in the room and turn the lights on in the bathroom so it's like you're on stage. Yep. How nice. Leave it to Copenhagen to really be in Amsterdam, the two places. Yeah, I had to go down to the lobby a couple times. I loved it there, though. I could live there. Copenhagen? Oh, it was amazing. Really? Absolutely incredible. Okay, well, happy ending here. Happy ending. On to the next one. What do you got? Some funny, wholesome animal content.

Animals. See the penguins? Yeah. Hey there, it's Ryan Seacrest for Safeway. Take care of yourself this summer and save on all your personal care favorites. Now, through August 27th, save up to $3 or more when you purchase participating personal care items like Pampers Wipes, Gillette Razors, Metamucil, Crest Toothpaste, Secret Body Spray, and a Swiffer Power Mop.

America, we are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

By honoring your sacred vocation of education, you impact your family, your friends, and your community. At Grand Canyon University, our online bachelor's, master's, and doctoral education degree programs allow you to balance online coursework with observational and hands-on experience in the field. Find your purpose at GCU. Private. Christian. Affordable. Visit gcu.edu. Help. We like animals. Help. Yeah, we love animals. Help. My rescue cat loves Shrek.

My rescue cat was tortured nearly to death before she was rescued. She hides and is very mean all the time. The only thing that comforts her is Shrek. I am now trapped in a Groundhog Day-esque nightmare of always watching Shrek.

Last year, I got a rescue cat. I love animals and I've always had a way with them. That makes them very attached to me. I got Marnie after learning she'd been tortured by her previous owner. They nearly tortured her to death. This made me very sad and I decided to take on the challenge. For the first couple of weeks, it was very hard. She would run around the house very fast from one hiding spot to another. She tried to climb out of a window, would scratch and hiss all the time, and hated any form of offering food.

I even tried waiting until she was asleep and filling her food dish, and she refused to touch it. Then, one day, I decided to watch Shrek while doing some cleaning. She came out of her hiding spot and laid down on the floor in the middle of the living room. She started to groom and walked to the dining room to drink water.

Note that this happened after All-Star by Smash Mouth had played. I have tried putting on other movies, playing music in the house, and nothing else works. No way. It is only Shrek that you will come out and eat and play for. So how do I stop living in this hell world I have created for myself? By continuously playing Shrek.

I now play Shrek three times a day at minimum. Wow. I am scared that if I stop, she will stop eating again. If she dies, I'm going to be distraught forever. What the fuck can I do? Wow. Please help. She'll eat. That is crazy. Shrek? Yeah. Must be donkey. Yeah.

I mean, I saw a TikTok the other day where this dog gets super excited when their owner puts on a certain movie. Oh, yeah. And he'll get all excited, spin around on the bed and set himself up almost like he's about to eat candy and popcorn and just enjoy it. But he literally lays there and watches the movie. It's not like he curls up and goes to sleep and is all happy. Watches the entire movie. They actually do have the animal network.

Well, yeah, but I think sometimes it's not even animal movies that these animals tend to love. It's so funny. Like, what makes it Shrek? Or what makes it this movie for this dog? Isn't that so interesting to think about? I know. And I wonder if, like, other animals like Shrek, too. Or if it's just this cat. Like, I wonder if there's, like, in their ears, like, if there's ranges or some noises in Shrek that they love. But if it's just this cat, then...

I don't know, maybe she just likes the big green ogre. I mean, it's pretty dramatic to be... I mean, I understand it was severely tortured and it's terrible. Yeah. To go from that to just all of a sudden coming out and changing because of a movie. Yeah, instantly. That the character gives her a paradigm shift. Yeah. Something, yeah. That's really wild.

So there's a lot of comments on this one. It really did pop off. Someone goes, this is one of the most hilarious serious posts I've ever seen. I'm not kidding. Get a cardboard cutout of Shrek for the cat. Yeah. OP goes, it's ridiculous, but I'm willing to try anything. Someone goes, what happens if you put on Shrek 2? Will she be happy seeing the sequel? Someone goes, I have the same question. Down the thread, what about 3?

After seeing Shrek 2, nothing else will ever be good enough again. Shrek 2 is the best Shrek. People took this one very seriously. OP replies to all of these comments and she goes, she did watch the sequels, but in my opinion, she didn't enjoy them as much as the original. Ha ha ha.

She left and came back a lot during the sequels, but during the original, she usually stays for the entire viewing before wandering throughout the day. Right now, I'm a little too deeply embarrassed to post pics, but I will someday soon. Can't leave you people hanging forever. Wow. I want to watch Shrek with his cat. I know. There's one more comment that's actually pretty good too.

Someone goes, maybe try getting some plushy Shrek toys for her to play with. Also, maybe try wearing green and seeing if she opens up a little bit to you. And Opie goes, I actually tried wearing green. I didn't see any change in her. You got to get a full costume. I know.

Shrek, like the big blow up ones that are like actually like Shrek shaped. Or she might go back into hiding. So for the update, well, it's been a fun week since I posted that. I went all out and I bought a matching Shrek and Donkey pillow set.

Shrek and Donkey Stuff toys. Yes. A Shrek cardboard cutout. eBay is a wonder. And a Shrek greeting card that went open says, Get out of my swamp. Ogres have lairs. Onions have lairs.

and a couple other lines from the movie. I took a lot of crap that was in my home office and put it in the basement since it wasn't really serving a purpose anyways. I got a small 22-inch TV and a cheap DVD player and hooked it up in the office. I put a cat tree in there, cat toys, a litter box, and food and water dishes in there as well. I also added scratching boards and posts today that just came in the mail this morning.

Essentially, I've turned my home office into a 24-7 Shrek viewing room, Shrek shrine, kitty living space. She loves it. Amazing. Like all caps too. That's funny. She sleeps in there during the day and plays with me in there and eats and drinks normally now too. It took her a day or so to adjust, but she loves it now.

I took the suggestion of a few people and tried showing her other Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy films. This didn't work, unfortunately. She came out of hiding spot out of curiosity, but retreated after she was sure it wasn't Shrek. I guess. I also turned the volume down on the new TV and she's fine with it. She still enjoys her Shrek time as I'm calling it. At first she spent all day, uh,

in the Shrek room, but now she comes out in the morning and follows me around while I change, make breakfast, brush my teeth, and start work. Then she goes and enjoys her Shrek time. This seems like a good fix. I was overwhelmed before, and I didn't really think of any of the obvious solutions. I was also scared that any change in the Shrek routine would cause her to retreat and stop eating again. I was worried that once she got used to the Shrek room, she would get territorial.

But she actually comes to me when I open the door and welcomes me as I intrude on her Shrek time to play with her and feed her. All is well with Marnie. Thanks everyone for your help and I'm glad this put a smile on people's faces. That's amazing. Cute story. That's amazing.

P.S. My new challenge will be explaining this whole thing to guests and family that come over eventually. No, no. I'm not obsessed with Shrek. My cat is. It's the cat's Shrek room. Not mine. I think it's really cool. I could see little 17-inch monitors on the cat pole as like drive-in movies for them. Yeah. Yeah.

I absolutely love people that care this much about animals. I know. It's amazing. She does go on to say, what if I bring a date over and they find my very Shrek themed room? To which someone replies, I would ask you to marry me on the spot instantly. Yeah. I just think it's amazing. I mean, going that far out of your way to give this animal a new life and just everything is really cool. It's so, so incredible. Such a...

Heartwarming story. Bravo. Yeah. I know. I feel like I picked some good ones. You did. I picked some good ones. Well, folks, this is Dad. He's had a tough week as well, and he's going to go crash. Goodbye. Bye. Thanks for joining. So this one is titled, I Found Out My Husband Brags About Me to His Friends.

My husband still keeps in touch with his high school and college friends with various online communities. The other day he was playing some game online with one of them and at one point left the room. I made small talk with his friends while he was gone and he asked me about a project I'd been working on.

When I asked how he knew about that, he said that my husband is always talking about me and bragging about my cooking and a lot of other stuff that I do. He said it always amazed them because he has always been a generally sarcastic guy and disguises his compliments as insults when talking about anyone else but me. 10 years of marriage and I love this guy more than ever.

Top comment. This is what I hope to find one day. All the money in the world can't buy it. No. As someone who feels they have this, you can't find it. It finds you. That was the next comment. Another person goes, I really wish more couples understood this. I see guys all the time talking about the old lady or the old ball and chain and talking about how marriage is a prison or some shit.

Dude, what the hell are you talking about? I will never have a crossword to say about my wife to anyone. The only words anyone will ever hear about her from me will be praise of the highest regard. Granted, she is a truly amazing and wonderful woman, but she's still a human and she has flaws. But I'm never going to sit and bitch to my buddies about them. And be prepared to catch your teeth should a foul word about her cross your lips in my presence.

OP replies completely agree with you. Yeah. I mean, I feel the same way. I think it's, I feel like if you don't have positive things to say, then why are you together? First of all, but I, at least for me, I have always tried to, I've always searched for someone who truly challenges me

and inspires me at the same time. And you want someone that really drives you and pushes you to, and it sounds so cliche, but to like be your best, to, to just go for it and to, to make everything you're trying to do. You just feel, I kind of got lost in my thought. No, keep going. You're good. Um, I get what you're saying. Like, I think, I think when you find a partner, you want someone you can grow together with. Like,

I think a lot of the problems that I come across on Reddit are people that feel that they're growing apart from their partner or they're growing and their partner is not. And so I think the best relationship you can find is someone that you can grow with. Like you're both growing together. That you challenge each other, like you said, but you're also, you're not growing apart, you're growing upwards together. Yeah. I think that's... Yeah, I mean, it's someone who...

You, when you, I mean, I feel like I just think about when I go into studio sessions and as soon as kind of single or relationships or because we get really into it when you write a song, you kind of got to get close with the people you're writing with. And so you get very personal very quickly. It's almost like a therapy session. A little bit. Yeah. And.

I always get very excited really quick and I'm just like, I have a girlfriend. Her name is Morgan. Here's what she's doing. And I honestly feel like by the time some of these people meet you, they already know you super well. But yeah, you always try to surround yourself with people that make you better and challenge you. And I just love that. I love that I found that too. Babe, you make me cry on the podcast.

No, I think that's one thing to look for in a partner and friends. There's like a saying, you are who you surround yourself with. And I think that is very true in a lot of cases. Well, it's just cool to be so proud of someone and just to have some little piece of that. You're a part of that in some sense, and it's very cool. You're a big part. This podcast...

Would not exist if it was not for your presence of buying the equipment and really pushing me and to kind of bring it back to take a chance. This podcast was a chance. And I'm so thankful for everyone listening. And I do love doing this. So take the chance. You never know what it'll bring you. And doing a little popcorn for this next one, you guys. We got it.

Okay, I've never seen this many awards on a post ever. Really? Let's see. Oh my gosh. Yeah, it's got a decent number. Probably a couple hundred. My boyfriend and I ran into his second grade teacher at McDonald's.

Hey there, it's Ryan Seacrest for Safeway. Take care of yourself this summer and save on all your personal care favorites. Now, through August 27th, save up to $3 or more when you purchase participating personal care items like Pampers Wipes, Gillette Razors, Metamucil, Crest Toothpaste, Secret Body Spray, and a Swiffer Power Mop.

The more you buy, the more you save. Catch these deals before they're gone. Offer ends August 27th. Restrictions apply. Promotions may vary. Visit Safeway.com for more details. I literally cannot stop laughing about this, and it's killing me, so I had to share. Basically, the title sums up the beginning of the story. My boyfriend works at McDonald's, and when he gets off sometimes, I stop by to talk to him before he goes home.

Well, while we were talking, suddenly someone called his name. Both of us turned and he was like, Mrs. Name? It's in parentheses. Yeah. We walked over and he started talking to this random lady about how surprised he was to see her.

Turns out she was a second grade teacher who moved to Texas while we live in the northern U.S. So Texas is quite a ways away. Who had been driving through our town and just happened to stop at the right McDonald's at the right time to run into him. Talk about timing, coincidence, fate. Literally.

Wow. He introduced me and I talked to her for a little bit. And then my boyfriend and the teacher told me that when he was in second grade, every single time her husband would come into the room, he would chant, kiss her until the husband did. And while other kids said, ew, he apparently always cheered. Oh, wow.

Well, after we said goodbye, as we were walking away, the teacher and her husband rolled down their car windows and chanted, kiss her. And when he kissed me, they cheered. It was probably the most wholesome thing I've experienced in quite some time. So cute. And so the first edit, wow, thanks for the awards, guys. I've never had a post this big before. I'll have to share some of your kind comments with my boyfriend.

Edit two, I just read some of the comments. For those wondering, my boyfriend and I are in high school. This would have been about eight years ago, maybe nine. I'm not sure, LOL. The fact that she was able to still recognize him, what an amazing teacher, memory. You know someone cares about their students if they can still recognize them eight years, ten years later. Like, what? I had a couple teachers like that for sure. So amazing.

Edit three, I just read my post to my BF. He said thanks for all the nice comments. He was surprised at all the attention this got, but we're both grateful. Thank you guys so much. So stinking cute. Top comment, no wonder his second grade teacher still remembers him after all this time.

True. Very true. And the comment on this one, it's amazing how well teachers remember their students. I was on a webinar a few weeks ago when a familiar name popped up, a teacher who I had for a year in a single subject back in the mid-90s. So maybe two times 40-minute periods a week.

Wow. What? Yeah, that's crazy. Oh my God, that's insane. Yeah.

I, I feel like that with my patients though. And we've had a crazy experience here at my house where I live in a very secure building. You have multiple codes to get in. And somehow we had a few individuals like break into our lobby.

And I go down the elevator and I open the door and sitting on the floor. Well, we went down just to go grab something from the car. It was super late. It was super late at night. It was like 1.30 in the morning and I needed something in my car. Yeah, I don't remember what it was, but I was like, oh, yeah, it'd be great to grab that. And we get out of the elevator and the elevator doors opens and I go, oh, my God. And sitting on the floor. Well, this guy literally turns, is sitting there, looks over and goes, Morgan, what?

I was a deer in headlights. Froze, just frozen. I froze and I was like, oh my God. I was like, are you good? Are you okay? He's like, no, I'm not good. And when it's so like out of context, like this is my home, this is where I live. And this was a patient that I had at like my psychiatric unit. Yeah. It was just like, oh my God. And it wasn't him, my patient that I was worried about. It was like the other guy that was in the lobby. And I was just like, oh, I was just like,

It was just so crazy to see someone that out of context, but I remembered him. And I've had this experience where I've ran into a few of my past patients now, and I remember them, and there's people that stick with you. And it's amazing how our brains remember faces and people. And I just heard something the other day, and I don't know if this is true, so we should fact check, but apparently our brains don't have the capacity to come up with new faces anymore.

So whenever you dream and you have people in your dreams or faces or characters or whatever you want to call them, obviously there's people you know, but then like other people you don't know that are in your dreams, like those are people you've seen that your brain is just like pulling from. Weird. Because apparently we don't have the ability to create new faces.

But we should check that. No, the brain doesn't create faces and dreams. Every person you dream of has been someone you have either known personally or merely came across. Dreams are narratives that we visualize, experience, and feel in the deep phase of sleep or REM state. Any other additional sources? Really interesting question, but unfortunately it's an impossible question to answer experimentally. Okay.

So we have some mixed sources on this. But this is extremely long. Yeah. So to answer your question, because the vast majority of our dreams involve mundane elements from our waking life, it stands to reason that the strangers in our dreams also come from waking life, even if we don't recognize them in our dream.

Certainly our brains are capable of inventing a unique person, although even a unique creation would be composed of facial and body features that we've seen before. And there's nothing that would necessarily prevent a sleeping brain from doing so. However, based on what dreams are and where dream content comes from, it is more likely that the strangers in our dreams are a version of someone we've seen in our waking lives. Okay, so like partially true, true, true.

Kind of impossible to prove because we still, our brains are like the most complicated things ever. Like we still really don't understand how our brains function. Or just our bodies in general because if you have a thyroid problem, try finding a good doctor. Impossible. Where was this thing? You're probably on the same tab. Safari? Yeah. There you go. Okay. Back to the story. There's just three comments. Okay.

These are the cute moments that make life great. Seriously. Ha ha ha. So sweet. That's awesome. Funny story. I'm typing this as I'm on my way to work at McDonald's and seeing past teachers is always a very wholesome thing, especially given your guys' circumstances. That's the coincidence fate of this experience slash run-in. Like, so, so cool. I mean, I've had teachers that have definitely had a lasting connection

impact on me for sure. Yeah. And there's moments where things will happen or off certain decisions or circumstances in life and some things that those teachers said or taught will come to mind. They definitely stick with you. And it would just be very cool to run into them in this type of situation where you both remember each other. Yeah. Because I get it as a student, there's one teacher in the room.

But as a teacher, there's like so many, however many people in the room, depending on the class. And to just remember someone so specifically, especially in this funny of a context. Yeah. Like kiss her. The only kid who's not like, oh, cooties. Oh, gross. Yeah. And championing like love your wife, love the relationship. It's adorable. And then they flipped it back to just kiss her. Yeah. It's perfect. Amazing. You can't make this stuff up. Amazing.

Okay, you ready to popcorn back? Thank you. Okay, on to the next one. If you're watching this on YouTube, tune into the podcast because there's going to be some exclusive stories. And from this point forward, it is just Justin and I. My dad is off to bed. So let's keep going. Let's do it. What is the most a dollar has ever gotten you?

And someone comments, a wife, three beautiful children, and frankly, my life as I know it. Story time. Back in junior high, I liked a girl and flirted with her quite a bit. One time during a band trip, we stopped at a gas station and she bought me a pack of gum. I tried to pay her back $1, but she refused. So I slipped the dollar in her pocket. She then slipped the dollar in my backpack. And so began the back and forth with the $1 bill.

We found silly ways to give it back and forth. I mailed it to her house. She stuffed it in a gum wrapper and offered me a piece. I then decided that I would ask her out on this $1. I wrote, quote, will you go out with me on it? And put it in a note and gave it to her. She said, yes. Of course, it would be a terrible story otherwise, I suppose. About four years later, I still had the same dollar kept away.

On our anniversary, I wrote, will you marry me on the bottom of the dollar? We've been married for 15 years and have three awesome kids. We still have the dollar stored away. It's perfect. It's so cool to have something like that. There's literally like a cat meme that they post.

And that is like exactly. It's like the emoji. It's exactly how I feel inside. Oh, my God. It's just like this cat with like watery ass eyes. Yeah, that's amazing. I think they should like put it up in like a shadow box on their wall and just like. I put that bitch in a safe. It's too special. At that point, that almost becomes a bigger symbol of your relationship than your wedding rings would be.

That is, yeah. I mean, it's like you owe your whole life to that doll. Well, it just holds so much. There's so much symbolism in it. Yeah. I guess a ring and there's a ring and there's tradition and it represents your marriage and all that. But this is a true token to your entire relationship. I know. And it goes so deep. It goes all the way to the, practically to the moment you met almost. It's just so cool. It's everything. It's really cool to have that. It's,

I love, I absolutely, absolutely love hearing people's relationship stories. And so for the YouTube on this one, in the comments, please tell us if you met in like a really cute way like this or even if you didn't. Like, I love hearing how people met. I just think it's like, it's so amazing to me how something so simple like borrowing a dollar.

can have this domino effect on their lives and trigger such an amazing string of occurrences. Especially from junior high. Junior high, it's not every day. On a band trip. This one time at band camp. No, I used to play trumpet.

You haven't seen American Pie either? I saw American Pie, yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah. This one time at Bandcamp. Yeah. Oh, and I know. Okay. Yeah. My dad used to say that all the time. Yeah. So, yeah, I played the clarinet for a little bit. I wasn't very good, but... You did? Yeah. Oh, we should break out the clarinet and trumpet someday and see how we sound. I don't even think I could suck my reed. We'll start an episode like that. Yeah. No, it would be brutal. People would be like, shut that shit off. So, up next...

My 8-year-old turned off my alarm so I could sleep in. I woke up around 9.30 this morning, and she was snuggled up against me with her school Chromebook, camera off, doing her live lesson, and even scribbling down notes. Showered, teeth brushed, and a warm bowl of oatmeal on the table next to my bed. She also knocked out over half of her assignments while I was peacefully snoring away. Honestly, I'm fucking speechless.

I've always had issues sleeping properly due to anxiety if I had to guess. Instead of taking my being tired slash irritable personally, she grabbed it and ran in the opposite direction. The most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me came from an eight-year-old. I just really needed to share how warm and fuzzy I feel right now. Yeah, it'd be an amazing feeling.

That is the moment you become crazy proud as a parent. So, so incredibly proud. They woke up, took care of themselves, brushed their teeth, had breakfast, started their school, and had the awareness to say, hey, I'd rather you get a little more sleep. I'm going to turn your alarm off and then be right next to you having done all this stuff and I'm on my shit. I know. Truly like winning slash doing something

parenting at its best. Like the fact that she didn't even like just shut the alarm off and just say, hey, I'm going to take a rain check today. Like she fucking went full blast and like did her school scribbling notes. She made oatmeal. Like I think kids, one thing about children that I really, really love is how intuitive they are and just like so they just want to be so helpful unless it's like the dishes or something like that.

They really don't want to do, but you give a kid a task and like, oh my God, yeah, how can I help you? Like when I was nannying, I, I just, my nanny kids were the best. And even like my little niece and nephew, cause like I'm only there, you know, I'm not the parents. I'm not asking them to do a lot. So when I'm there, they're like always so helpful and just such little cuties. Well, and there is something to, uh, when you're growing up, there is something that feels so, uh,

great about doing something nice or completing a task when you aren't asked to do it and you're just doing it to to do it and help someone out and whether that be your parents or whomever else but it just feels good to do those things and it's really cool to see that in someone as young as eight I think it's intuitive um one of the things that I really deal with with OT is

is dementia, Alzheimer's. And one of the things that I recommend for my patients' families to do is to give them tasks, whatever you can find. People at their core like feeling needed. They like feeling helpful. They like feeling successful. So I always say it doesn't matter what it is. Give them something to do.

Give them socks to sort. Give them a flower arrangement to make. Give them like anything so small as like literally I had a teacher in grad school give me an example of garbage bag rolls. Like, okay, I need all of these garbage bags separated. Can you take this roll, split them individually and then like tie it in a bow? And so it's just like people at their core want to just be helpful and be good and it's

It's just so amazing to see a little nugget do this. And I know I probably come across as very anti-kids. And again, I'm very unsure where I am in regards to my own kids. But I love kids. I want to be the fun aunt and babysit, but then be able to give them back. That's just where I'm at right now. Yeah.

We're not in a place for kids. Like I made a comment. I was like, I have a food baby the other day. And you were like, thank God it's not a real one. We're just, we're not there yet. But this little kiddo is absolutely amazing. So there is an edit. He goes, I don't know what these awards do specifically, but they did make me feel even more fuzzy, which is what counts. Thanks guys. Please give me more cute stories. Even if I'm slow to respond, I really enjoy reading them.

There's a lot of really cute comments on this one. She's such a doll. You're so lucky to have a little kid like her, man. And OP goes, that's exactly how I feel right now. Parental pride is a hell of a thing. Yeah, that's amazing. Yeah. You deserve to feel all that pride. She's a keeper, all right. I've been showing my appreciation through making an ass of myself as per request, giving on-demand pony rides. My back hurts, but with homework out of the way so early...

I have no excuse. Truth. I loved those pony rides when I was little. Yeah, a lot of just like really great parenting supportive comments. So incredible. There is like another update. I literally cried into a bowl of oatmeal earlier today, but somehow I can't properly handle all of this wholesomeness. It's very fulfilling. So fulfilling. Like that's just amazing. So cute. So wholesome. So happy.

Yeah. I hope you guys enjoyed this episode of Two Hot Takes. I know it's a little bit of a mix-up from the high blood pressure aggravating stories, but nice change of pace. I needed to feel happy and good about something after a tough week, and I'm sure there's others out there that could use it. And hey... There's good in the world. There is good in the world, and I definitely want to make this more of an occurrence. I think...

Reddit is, like we said, like very – it's very easy to get lost in like the dark, you know, heightened stories. And I think Reddit is somewhere like a lot of people reach out when they're at their wit's end. And so I would love to hear more wholesome stories. I will definitely keep looking for more wholesome stories. But they're out there. And I think like a big part of why I've stressed this a lot this episode about why I am very hard on a lot of the stories is because

I know how good life can be when you have good, supportive, loving people in your life. And we all deserve that at the end of the day. It's out there. And self-worth and recognizing how great you are as a person can be extremely hard. I think like I still struggle with it on a daily basis. I'm sure a lot of people do. So just know like whatever you've gone through,

Whatever flaws you feel you have, whatever you're dealing with, you are still worthy of love, happiness, a healthy, safe, fulfilling life. And on that note. Can't top that. I need to get off my soapbox. Until next time, you guys. Until next time. Bye. ♪♪♪

Hey there, it's Ryan Seacrest for Safeway. Take care of yourself this summer and save on all your personal care favorites. Now, through August 27th, save up to $3 or more when you purchase participating personal care items like Pampers Wipes, Gillette Razors, Metamucil, Crest Toothpaste, Secret Body Spray, and a Swiffer Power Mop.

The more you buy, the more you save. Catch these deals before they're gone. Offer ends August 27th. Restrictions apply. Promotions may vary. Visit Safeway.com for more details.