Peaks, pits and pivots - E67

Clancy Denton  0:00  
Everyone has had pits this year. If you haven't, then I don't know. You either sold your soul to the devil or you're sitting on the hand of Jesus. This is the loud quiet living the empty nest.

Rick Denton  0:11  
Welcome back, everyone to the loud quiet episode 67 and the first one that will be released in 2025 we're recording it here at the tail end of 24 but kicking off a new calendar year, which is always an exciting time. It's also kind of a nice time to, oddly enough, to get out of the holidays as much as we anticipated. It's kind of nice to, okay, get back to that normal world.

Clancy Denton  0:34  
Yeah, and it's been, you know, it's been a fun holiday season, having the kids home and, yeah, you know, it was a little a little more stressful for me this year, just because I'm also trying to recover from surgery, and I lost it a couple of times. But just because my energy level is still it's getting there, but it's still not because I still can't do my workout so I did snap a couple of times because I was tired.

Rick Denton  1:06  
But you know, and while that is true, that certainly wasn't the focus you did. You did a lot, and I think a lot of folks might say, oh, planning that big of a surgery during the holidays, when you are in charge of a good portion of that holidays could be something to think about, but

Clancy Denton  1:23  
it was also, you know, I knew we weren't traveling. I knew we weren't doing anything. You know, I tried to be as prepared as I could beforehand, which I was, yeah, but hosting and that kind of thing adds a different element to it, but I wouldn't have changed anything because the weather was gross. So, yeah, what a great time to so anyways, but we're back, yeah, so we're, you know, we thought we would do a little year end recap of peaks, peaks, pits and pivots, just, you know, we saw an article this week from a couple that we follow, and they're a relationship, love couple. And why

Rick Denton  2:09  
can't I think of their names right now? Leslie, there it is. Say it Les

Clancy Denton  2:13  
and Leslie Johnson, oh, boy. I don't know their last name. Sorry, less than Leslie is. I know that's what

Rick Denton  2:18  
we're going to do, though. It'll be in the links to what i'll do is i'll link that specific blog I would recommend. It's a good follow. It's not just empty stage. They even talk about pre marriage and stuff like, oh, yeah, but they're a good follow for relationship

Clancy Denton  2:29  
and yeah, their majority, I think, would be more focused on young couples. Yeah, I agree. Anyways, they put out an article about, you know, just having gratitude. You know, we know that the year not everything can go as planned. If you have a year like that, then amazing for you. But so just, you know, we just thought that we do a little highs and lows and how we navigated in

Rick Denton  2:56  
the article, the way they talked about it was, yeah, I think the premise of it was, if holidays have you stressed out, and we extrapolated beyond that, just if life or whatever, there's sort of three things that they had focused on. And one was, celebrate your victories. Remember your victories, because when you're in the thick of it, sometimes you forget that. And then the second part, because that can oftentimes it stops there. The second part was, what were your lessons learned? And where did you learn from that? And then the third was more focused just on loving each other and taking that into let's look back, because this year was an incredibly full year when I think about it, when we stop down and think about it. And so yeah, there were those peaks, the victories. There were those pits from which we have lessons learned. And there were pivots that came out of all of the above. Yeah,

Clancy Denton  3:44  
and, and it was a roller coaster of a year for sure. You know you I think we said this, and when we did our last year's many resolutions, what do we call it? Mini micro enhancement?

Rick Denton  3:58  
So go back and check out that episode.

Clancy Denton  4:03  
You know this? This the slogan that I had heard for 24 was, do more in 24 now I don't know what 25 is. Maybe just gonna be stay alive in 25 I don't know, but, oh

Rick Denton  4:16  
my god. Anyways, you know I'm here, so I don't know the theme, but one of the people that I follow in the content creation space, Jay Clouse, and I'm not going to get his phrasing right, but he talks about, it's actually the reverse, do less, but do it with intensity, like do focus on the things that matter and give it all. I think he said only do things full last if there's anything you're trying to do, half assed, stop only. And so it was more pull back from the list and go all in on it well. And

Clancy Denton  4:44  
I didn't see it as a list. I saw it as and that was one of my, you know, micro enhancements, was to say yes more last year, and we'll get into that. But so anyway, so so we just thought that we'd, you know, do a little highlight reel of things that you. You know happened this year, and you brought up the point the other day, when we were all the kids were home, everybody was home. It was nice. And you were like, I can't believe this year was the

Rick Denton  5:10  
year that Teagan moved from her toxic roommate. And those that have been following this episode have stuck, stuck with us. They've you've stuck with us through that episode, that experience that we had with Tegan. It was in January of 20 February. It was February she didn't get, I guess we were working through. It was starting in January and February of 24 that she moved and it feels like another life ago.

Clancy Denton  5:34  
Yeah. What a victory, well, and because she started the process in 23 Sure, yeah. And so, you know, it was, it took a while, but yes, thank goodness that got done. And in that, you know, she had already set up her housing for the year that she's in now. Great situation. Everything is going great. They've already signed their lease for next year, all four of them, yeah, that we don't have to move someone again, no

Rick Denton  6:02  
moves. We can keep her stuff in the apartment. So, yeah, like, almost very nice. That moment in February changed it to where things got stable from a residential perspective.

Clancy Denton  6:13  
That was nice. That was nice. So, so, yeah, so you brought up that that, you know, happened this year. Tanner also, you know, obviously found out. I don't think it was till April or it was late, go back and look at Yeah, I don't know, but that he got into SMU Law School, which has been a great experience so far. I mean, beyond what we expect. Yeah, he's loving it and loving the friends that he's made the contacts that he's already gotten connections or relationships.

Rick Denton  6:43  
It's not that we're here to advertise SMU law school, but I will tell you it's a good one if you got ones that are considering it. Because, my gosh, yeah, especially if you're planning to be in the

Clancy Denton  6:55  
Dallas area, I have the list, so I'm just kind of going down, because we did this actually last night. And here's another bonus, having your child that lives in an apartment down in Dallas at the Teagan and her friend Noe, they were going to the sonic symphony, which is a huge if you're into video games, and especially Sonic This is a traveling tour. This was the last one of 2024 they bought these tickets back in the summer, and so we we drove them. Teagan could have driven down there, but we're like, we'll drive y'all down there. We'll go eat. And then, you know, we asked Tanner, hey, can we, because he's gone, can we just hang out at your apartment? He's like, Sure. So yes, that was so nice. And again, right

Rick Denton  7:41  
there. It's not our I know the fact that they got into that where it was completely sold out, and if you're familiar with the wins Opera House, every seat sold out, and there weren't tickets on the secondary market, which was weird. So all excitement all around, yeah,

Clancy Denton  7:55  
just and again, I reinforced why I want to move down there. But that's another point. Hey,

Rick Denton  8:00  
what did we do? Though? We did wander and look at Sand housing. Now I will. Here's a side tip, don't go looking at real estate. It's hard to tell, but it did get because we knew the neighborhood. So start to look. So

Clancy Denton  8:13  
we the first ones are very kid focused, just because that's what we were talking things that had happened to them. You know, Tanner had three graduations. We had an awesome week. We actually were talking about that week couple of weeks ago. It had nothing to do with the weirdest like that was just a really well. It's because I miss it week.

Rick Denton  8:33  
I miss Scottsdale, Phoenix, Tempe, all of that. That was part of it. And I guarantee part of it's the weather was so crappy here that the thought was, oh my gosh, I miss it out there. And we started to think back, and that was, you know, we had that great dinner sitting outside with all of his roommates and their families. We got that crawl, which, okay, that was a lot of fun. It took a couple years of our life away from

Clancy Denton  8:57  
us, not me. But yes, I was not partaking exhausting. We were tired, but I yeah, not any

Rick Denton  9:03  
time about the booze, just the exhaustion and the people in the noise, but it was that was one of the more fun weeks that I've gotten to experience, both as just a traveler and as a parent. That graduation week was spectacular. It was

Clancy Denton  9:17  
you and Teagan did a road trip, yeah,

Rick Denton  9:20  
and I've talked about that on here, but the road trip, you know, you never know what it's gonna be like to be locked away in a car with your kid for 16 hours. And it is a it's not that we planned any of this, but it's amazing what you get to learn about your kid about each other, and just kind of experiencing life together. One thing is, I got to see the Tegan is an absolutely confident and competent driver on highways out in West Texas and through cities and all of that. We even had the little icon, the picture that I think you sent me, or maybe Tanner did, but had the little race car showing the Teagan. It was. Going over the seed limit confidently out there in West Texas. And so that was fun. Carlsbad Caverns was absolutely spectacular. Road trips are a really good idea with the adult kid, and especially one on ones.

Clancy Denton  10:13  
Yeah, and y'all, you know, just did it again to bring her back because she needed her car. And everything went. Everything

Rick Denton  10:19  
went well. Pecos, Texas, not as exciting as Carlsbad Caverns. We did, however, get to enjoy some good food along the way, which you always do. I'm

Clancy Denton  10:29  
skipping a couple because we're going to talk about them and the you know, we've already focused on our kids are doing awesome in school. I'll brag on Teagan, she, you know, is maintaining her 4.0 that child is doing really well. And she said, the other day, she said, you know, college just works for me. She likes the way that it's structured. She's not a procrastinator, which helps. So, you know, they're both just doing great. We got to do some fun traveling. We went to New York City, we went to New Orleans. We went to Mexico. We did the fly out real quick for her birthday, which, you know, is super special. And I, and I know that'll be a core memory that she'll have for ever. And

Rick Denton  11:13  
that was featured. I'm not going to know the number, but there's, it's cakes on a plane. Cakes on a plane is the episode. And there's some footage there of Clancy actually baking her number cake and taking it on the plane. And, well, we didn't record this, but my gosh, you got celebrated in a lot of the airports.

Clancy Denton  11:30  
And you know, we're really enjoying seeing the travel bug hit Tanner now that he can do and Teagan wants to too. She just needs to find a group that is willing to do it. But, you know, he's had some great trips. He's actually, right now in Phoenix, headed to San Diego for a huge you know, a lot of his revolve around music festivals. He's big into music and

Rick Denton  11:56  
travel, and that's something that I really like seeing in our kids, and that's as empty nesters. Obviously, we have our life. We also have our adult kids. We want to see our kids embrace values that we value. And one of the values that we have is stuff isn't nearly as important to us as experiences. And I think if you you know, what do they always say, look at your checkbook and see that'll tell you what you're where your real values are. We open up the checkbook on experiences pretty freely, and stuff tends not to be as much of a focus and watching.

Clancy Denton  12:29  
I like stuff, but okay, I like both. I'm not gonna I like things too.

Rick Denton  12:44  
There that'll be the next list that I give you is I like things. Watching him though, be willing to spend and prioritize. He has worked, he has saved. And choosing to prioritize spending on experiences is something that I'm and travel experiences isn't my value,

Clancy Denton  13:00  
and that's, you know, well, I'll just move into enjoying having adult children. And just even last night, when we were in his apartment, like, did you turn off all the lights? Did you, you know, my gosh, he was so Daddy, even though his, you know, stuff, is being funded by people, he was still, because he wants to do other things with that money that he gets every month. So he is, I mean, he has a huge sign above his air conditioner, like that. He put a piece of paper turn off air

Rick Denton  13:37  
Yeah. I text him last night, said, yeah, hey, thanks for letting us hang out at your place. It was nice to have a place to just sit there, as opposed to you and me trying to burn time at a bar or restaurant. And his text was it was something along the lines of, no problem. Did you lock up?

Yes, of

course. Then it makes me worried. So now I'm thinking, is that what we do to our kids, that even though they know they did something, we ask them or nag them about something, then we put

Clancy Denton  14:03  
pressure on, yeah, and it is fun. You know, we the day after Christmas, we went to pottery, which is an indoor golf place here. That's a bar. And, you know, different levels. It's It was fun. And, you know, it's just fun now, being with children that are adults, and you can do those kind of things with you can have discussions about things that you can't when they're, you know, little children and right, so that you know. And as we talked about, I don't know what category this would be in, but it is weird that, you know, Tanner now brings a suitcase to come here.

Rick Denton  14:45  
He has moved out, and that is a peak. It's a pit, but it's really more of a peak in the sense that he no longer lives in this house. He is a visitor in this house. We joke that he stays in the hotel room, because you would convert. His room and painted it once he left, and knowing that he's got his own life away from the house, when he comes back for Christmas, it was like he had traveled from Seattle or something, even though it was just up from Dallas. And there's something that is really valuable in seeing that, knowing that you've launched them,

Clancy Denton  15:23  
and I did have to tell him I've taken over your closet so you're not going to have room if you need to hang I didn't know that part. Oh yeah. Oh

Rick Denton  15:32  
my god. Okay, so back to the stuff.

Clancy Denton  15:39  
No, I already did that as I was moving the spring and summer clothes up to the closet. No, we need a bigger closet. Anyways, absolutely not. Well, the next house we have is going to have a better closet situation. So, anyways, so yeah, it is nice just having adult children that you know want to do things outside of just being a little kid, you know, you're talking to them as adults. Yeah, we did enjoy that we were not traveling at all during the holidays and did not have any pressure to because everyone that we would be was gone anyway. So

Rick Denton  16:19  
and as much as I loved our Japan experience two years ago, as much as I enjoy Christmas in Austin and doing the things in Austin and all that, so nice to just sit in your own home,

Clancy Denton  16:31  
this was nice. Now I don't mind the traveling to another destination, because then I don't have to do anything that I don't mind. I The getting up, like I even thought about that on the 26th when I woke up. I was like, if we were having to get up right now and get in the car and drive to Austin, I would be not, I would do it, but I would not be super happy about it. So I'm glad that we didn't even have that thought pressure, nothing right this year. So and we are, your sister is coming here, so we will get to see them.

Rick Denton  17:07  
And the fact that a peak of this year is that we prioritize going down to Austin at least once a month. And so that takes some of that holiday pressure, yeah.

Clancy Denton  17:16  
So some of our some of our peaks also involved some pits and so, and this is where the pits and the pivots come into, you know, one of the reasons we went to New York City, you know, was Spring Break with Teagan. But you were also there working. I was there working, which

Rick Denton  17:41  
allowed us to to make that trip happen, right? You know, be able to visit a client there that, however, was the last client that I had, and likely will have in that business. And that was a bit of a pit coming to that realization. Well, the struggle of trying to find the next client in that customer experience consulting space, really trying to find that that's though a pit, that is really that lessons learned. And I think it's if you don't get a lesson out of your pit, then it really is a pit. None of these come without a lesson. And that was during that time, the only revenue that I was getting was actually through the podcast, the CX passport podcast, and brands and individuals were eager to sponsor episodes. There was an excitement about things, and it brought to mind the realization of, hey, I enjoy this. Oh, and people are willing to pay me for it. And I didn't really like what I was doing before. Hmm, let's pivot. And so while that absolutely is a pit to think that was the last client, man, look, I will look back on that as actually an incredible peak

Clancy Denton  18:53  
and and I could see it because you are already moving into that. I really love the podcasting, but you didn't have any time to focus on it, because you were doing consulting work for a client. And so I think, you know, while it hurt at the time, yes it did, and now we have, you know, created this new venture that we're now doing together, which comes into, you know, one of my pits that turned into a peak that turned in, and it was, you know, I was starting to feel dissatisfied with my work as well. And it has nothing to do with who I worked with, the people that I was around. It just got to be too routine and monotonous for me and and I just knew that it was time. And so, you know, I did retire, which then allowed me to free up some time so that now we can really, you know, we had already started focusing. In this new business, but now coming in 2025 we know that is our

Rick Denton  20:04  
focus, right? We have the time to go to a conference for podcasters in January that we never would have considered going to in the earlier world. I think it's interesting that you said that you observed in me that I wasn't able that I was interested in the podcasting, but wasn't able to do it because of the other stuff, and I kind of knew it, but it shows that how your spouse can know more about you than you know yourself. It was very apparent to me with the words you said, with the way that you felt, the way that you expressed yourself, that you were getting tired of the work that you were doing, and thankfully, we were never in a situation that you were required to work, there was always that flexibility. You just it was something that was part of your identity, was something that you enjoyed. Well, as that enjoyment started to wane, and as you started to explore other elements of your identity and your expression, well, it was clear that it was time, and it, I think it became clear to my eyes before it became clear to yours. And that's so good about a spouse relationship, I

Clancy Denton  21:05  
think things got sped up a little bit. I didn't know what my timeline was, right? And then I think things got sped up a little bit. And, you know, going back to your point of, we're going to this podcasting thing in January that goes along with the saying yes, right? I felt like a lot of the times I couldn't say yes again, not by anyone else, but by me, because I didn't want to let my people that came to my classes down. I didn't want to let Ashley down. And so i i I had already started. We had already started. And especially me, this was a harder thing for me than it was for you, but to say yes, more to Hey, like even yesterday, as we were talking about, I wasn't sure if I was going to go with you down in Dallas. I'm so glad I did, because I loved the pub we went to. You know it was listening, getting to hear the girls and all their excitement coming home. So, you know, I think I have done a good job with that last year, and I, you know, plan on continuing that and increasing it, but now I have so much more flexibility that I feel like I can say yes, yes, let's go and let's add an extra day so we get there earlier, you know. So it's just, yeah, those are nice things. I'm just, you know, going along with that. Our first, this was a pit, our first big, oh gosh, event that we did have planned, and we and we talked about it already on the podcast.

Rick Denton  22:38  
It was supposed to launch the business, yeah, effectively it was the CX pass, not the CX passport. Live was to be launched, in reality, in October in Orlando, doing the live podcasting at events for B to B, SAS companies. We were going to build relationships. We could pass out cards, meet people, see how others did it. And then the hurricane hit, and we're not going to like you said, we already did it. The tragedy is the folks that were impacted there by the hurricane, not us, but it absolutely disrupted, and I'll say just straight up derailed, like I was somewhat adrift when it came to the business, because all the energy was going to that. That was an absolute pit. The activities that I did during that pit kind of kept me going. They weren't really the pivot that needed to happen. I think that's what it's sort of the realization here in December, I'm out of the activities. It's time to do what we need to do to grow the business, and that's what we're doing in 25 and we

Clancy Denton  23:31  
did, you know, because we were home, Tanner came out and watched the Cowboys get you know, so some things that wouldn't have happened did happen, you know, I'm not trying to Pollyanna, because it was not great, but I went

Rick Denton  23:46  
camping. I mean, I never got it. I've been able to go camping. So there's ways to use it, and it's not just I like it. You said, Pollyanna, we're gonna have a lesson learned out of each of these pit and it's easy now, with the passage of time, to look back and see that there was that in the moment it sucked.

Clancy Denton  24:02  
Oh yeah, it was totally Yes. So, but I don't want to go too far into that, because there's an episode out there all about that. So you did, you mentioned the Cowboys sucking this season, which I actually wrote, and I don't, I said, Yeah, but that's pivoted into, we don't have to be in front of the TV every we've actually done some things, and I'm like, Oh, the Cowboys game's on. You're like, I don't care. Now, the last couple weeks, they've actually looked better, but they're done. So that

Rick Denton  24:31  
is funny. That has been an absolute pit. As much as I can't stand the owner, I still they'll always be the team that I root for, and so I need them to do well.

Clancy Denton  24:41  
So we kind of went through, you know, and you our biggest pet this year.

Rick Denton  24:50  
And if you're a listener, if you know me, if you know us, you know what the biggest one is. And that's my mom passed away in May, and I'm still dealing with it. Like everyone would with that. It it for it to have happened. It was something that was okay. So I won't go into great detail. You can tell that I'm trying to form my thoughts here, right here, real time. We talked ad nauseam about it already, because she suffered from Alzheimer's. It was not a shock. It still is a pit when it happens. And for it to happen during his graduation,

Clancy Denton  25:25  
when we were at the peak. And, I mean, yeah,

Rick Denton  25:29  
we knew going into it, we flew out there, that things were winding down, but for him to have graduated, yeah, yeah, we we got

Clancy Denton  25:38  
a call when we got out there that hospice had brought in. I didn't know any we had been talking about. She was declined things that I had noticed. Okay, gotcha sorry, yeah. And so there was

Rick Denton  25:50  
an inkling, but not necessarily, that was gonna be that week. And so I guess peak is it wasn't before, thank God, but he graduated, had one of the celebration. And then the next day she passes, and then we have other celebrations to do, and being able to make sure that you can just almost separate your personalities and to celebrate personality and greet personality. It was a pit that was, that was, well, duh,

Clancy Denton  26:13  
yeah. Oh, and you know, when you brought up that, you know, you thank goodness it didn't happen before, you know, it seemed like every big event, teen against graduation, moving them into college, moving them back into, you know, we were always like, please don't, please make it through this next thing you know. And so for it to happen, and there was nothing we could do, and there was nothing to be done at that point, just trying to get logistics stuff together, yeah. But for it to just happen during that, you know, week of great celebration,

Rick Denton  26:52  
when I look back on it, I think we actually did a really good job of still celebrating. What do we talk about earlier that? We had a great week, and I think that's a lesson that works for us. There is in that, in that moment, in that grief, in that time, whatever the downfall is, we we focused on something positive, and I think that helped carry us through in that moment. And

Clancy Denton  27:14  
I think, and if you want to cut this out, you can, but I think you were masking a lot of emotions, and you were almost trying to over, no, no, no, I'm good. I'm good. Let's celebrate, you know, and I'm sure you know, that's very common for anyone when you know, hopefully not very many people have been through a death at a time that is supposed to be high celebration, but I think there was some over compensation, which it was fine, but I was just aware of, okay, we need to leave and you need to go home and just decompress by yourself for a little bit, and that's why you have a spouse that is in tune with your emotions. But yes, we, you know, we knew again, there was nothing that we could be doing if we were in Austin at that point. So that helped too, that, you know, we could continue on with doing all the things that the

Rick Denton  28:23  
only challenge I have to the phrase that, what you said there is one I can't know whether you were right or wrong to pull out of scenarios or anything like that. But the masking, I don't masking sounds more like a like hiding. I don't think I was actually masking. I was making sure that my grief didn't carry into others celebrations. Okay,

Clancy Denton  28:44  
I use the wrong word. That's when i The overcompensating, I think is what you know, but And again, that's just, you know, that's when it's nice that you have a partner that can recognize those things to protect you, everyone else, those kind of, you know, things. So, um, but yes, that was definitely a pit. And going through, I think it was probably good that we were here for Christmas, Thanksgiving, you know, was a little tougher, I think, than you were expecting it to be at certain point I didn't have both parents, and we talked about that, yeah, so I think it was good that we just didn't even have to be in familiar surroundings there. But,

Rick Denton  29:31  
you know, related in this vein, though it is, it is amazing how much we are still dealing with the estate and so that this pit,

Clancy Denton  29:42  
pit has grown. Well, it's closing up. The Pit is starting to close up. Yeah,

Rick Denton  29:47  
the lessons learned is just, again, I don't know what. I don't actually think there could have been that much done differently, to tell you the truth. Yeah, it just, there's just a lot of work. Yeah. Think that's the realization of that, and just a tripling down on you me doing the things like I referenced the Swedish death cleanse, we got to make sure we are on top of that every year, every time we're just thinking about cleaning out and making sure that our kids aren't burdened with the things that we see in this house. Yes,

Clancy Denton  30:18  
well, I told you I was listening to a podcast this week, and they were talking about Christmas, bad Christmas gifts that you got. And someone said, Yeah, my sister gave my dad this book he opened. It was called, I'm dead now. What? Oh, no, all right. And it is on Amazon, Amazon, and it's basically a workbook for your parents who are older, or anyone who is older, to go through and put, this is where things are. This is passwords. This is how I'd like my service to be, you know. So there's, but he said that was just kind of a,

Rick Denton  30:54  
okay, maybe, maybe keep that one out of the holiday period. Just, Hey, Dad, I want you to look at this. But

Clancy Denton  30:59  
you know that, again, is something that we talked about, just, and hopefully prompted some of you to, you know, ask these questions of parents, each other, whatever. But, you know, we talked about it is, it was a great pit, lots of emotions. But out of it has come some very good peaks and pivots. Oh,

Rick Denton  31:26  
absolutely. And, you know, I'll say this, right? She's not suffering anymore. No, yeah, right. So it's that's a huge pit for those of us left behind. But for her, she's in paradise

Clancy Denton  31:38  
that and as we talked about, it's harder. Sometimes it's it's harder that disease, especially, yes, the person going through it, as long as they're not in pain, they don't know what's going on family, it's just horrible. So that, I mean, in itself, is a peak that we don't have to see your mom like that anymore.

Rick Denton  32:06  
And other things, Jerry got to spend Christmas with his side of the family for the first time in years. That's something he wasn't able to experience, and now he was able to experience that. And no, no one ever roots for death, but you can look back and go, Okay, well, here's the thing, the good things that came out of it. It

Clancy Denton  32:21  
has given us, you know, opportunities that for 2025, that we will be able to really start doing some of the things that we have set out in our future plans to do. So it's, you know, hopefully, if you've had, everyone has had pits this year. I mean, again, like I said, if you haven't, then I don't know, you either sold your soul to the devil or you're sitting on the hand of Jesus. I don't know

Rick Denton  32:50  
which. But wait a second, where did a phrase like that? I don't know. I just made that up. Boy,

that sounds like you are coming out of some straight Deep South gospel sitting on the hand of Jesus,

hallelujah. So

Clancy Denton  33:07  
I'm hoping that everyone can figure out, once you look back on things, and it takes time, but finding the pits, but finding the pivots that have come out of those pits

Rick Denton  33:22  
and celebrating the peaks that have been a part of it, that that is what 24 has it is. Everybody says this every year. I feel this strong, more strongly about this year than I have, perhaps in any year, maybe even all the way back to oh three or other. I mean, there's other years that might fit this, but 24 had more packed into it than I think any year that I can recall, from a peak, from a pit, from a pivot, from a man. I didn't think the empty nest would be so full. There

Clancy Denton  33:53  
were a lot of transitions for our children, for us, for, you know, adding in things that we didn't expect to be added in there. So yeah, this this year, like you said, has been just, it's been full and

Rick Denton  34:10  
and it's nice to be able to say that, not looking back in exasperation, but in primarily celebration with with the pits, of course, but looking back, it has been a good year with things that have been rough, but that have found their ways into something good. And

Clancy Denton  34:29  
I think I'm going to, I'm going to coin the phrase, I'm changing it though not stay alive. How about feeling alive in 25 feel

Rick Denton  34:37  
alive in 25

Clancy Denton  34:42  
There you go. We'll see how that goes.

Rick Denton  34:43  
We'll talk to our trademark attorney.

Clancy Denton  34:47  
Well, there you go. Hope you enjoyed our year recap, peaks, pits and pivots. That's really hard

Rick Denton  34:56  
to say that is, and I'd encourage you to do it yourselves. And honestly, let us. Know what your peaks, pits and or pivots were this year, and we'd be happy to talk about those or not talk about them, but let us know. Build a community with us. We'd like to hear from you. You can always hit us up at the loud, quiet pod@gmail.com and you can also leave comments on the Spotify feed or comments on the YouTube channel. We'll see all of those.

Clancy Denton  35:21  
All right, there you go. We're back in the studio. I've got my headphones on. I could wear headphones. I know it's been another episode of the loud, quiet living the empty nest.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai