Show Notes
Questions for Reflection
Each episode we offer you a few prompts to think about how that day's conversation applies to you. You might pause the podcast and answer them right then and there, but if you keep a journal (Steph and Beth both do), you might find one of these PDFs useful. Choose the orientation that fits best in your journal.
Transcript
Beth:
Welcome to the Discovering Our Scars Podcast. Steph: Where we have honest conversations about things that Mace us different. Beth: Our mission is to talk about things you might relate to, but that you don't hear being discussed in other places. Steph: Our hope is that you're encouraged to have honest conversations with people in your own life. I'm Steph. Beth: And I'm Beth. Steph, what's our topic today? Steph: Today we're talking about my puppy, my dog, my Greyhound Mac, and we have titled today's episode a little bit longer, but hopefully it's still a good title. Beth: It's not too long. It's okay. Steph: It's "How My Dog Disrupted My Life in the Most Beautiful Way." Beth: Yes, and this is most definitely about Steph's dog because I don't have a dog, but I love coming over and getting to visit with Mac. Steph: This episode is going to be for dog people, but also all are welcome to listen even if you're not a dog person. Well, we don't know what this episode's about yet, so it's probably going to be great. I'm pretty sure. Beth: Well, I also think the episode is about what has changed in you and in your life since Mac has become, since Mac has come into your life. We think in having this conversation, people may be like, "Oh wait, I am dealing with that too" and, or "this is how I dealt with that rather than getting a dog." You know, there are a lot of different ways you can go with it. So. Steph: Well I want to give a little backstory before we get started on how this dog thing happened. I was not always a dog person. I will tell you I had two cats growing up and I don't know if I was a cat person, but I had two cats! When I bought my house five years ago, I thought I, I might want to get a dog one day. And I didn't at the time because I knew it was such a big commitment. But eventually, last year I really was like, I think it's time. This is basically a year since I've had my dog and how my life has completely changed in that year for way for the better. And that's what we're going to talk about today. Beth: Actually. You dedicate your book to Mac, don't you? Steph: I dedicate my book to my niblings but in my acknowledgments, one of the last acknowledgements is to my dog Mac. I got her when I was doing the final draft of the book and that was like the end, like as much as like I'd put so much work into it and it was pretty much done, I still had to go through the final edit of the book and that was, that was tough. And she was with me that whole time. I set up her bed next to me as I was at my computer, at my desk, and she sat with me and she reminded me to get up and take her out. So we'd take breaks and she helped me get through that last edit, that push I needed to finish it and finish it well. So she wasn't with me for the bulk of the writing, but she was with me for the, for the end in that, that little bit that I needed. Beth: So why did you want to get a dog? Steph: We've talked about this, but I struggle with depression. That's something that is still a thing for me that I deal with on a regular basis. And so for the last couple of years I was trying to figure out how to help me combat my depression when it gets really bad. And so I was trying different things and I had tried depression medication for years and ultimately got off of it because it just was, I could feel it working my system and it just was very strange and I didn't like what it was doing and what I was really seeking was a way to kind of just shut down my brain for a little bit and just be calm. Meditation wasn't cutting it. Like, I just needed some kind of something. And I knew this was not a sustainable option, but for a while I thought, well, what if I just had, you know, a shot of liquor of some sort, like at night. And that was good. Like it helped calm me and I was like, that's cool. But then I also was like, really? This is not a great sustainable option because I do not want to get addicted to this. I don't want this to be like a habit that I can't break. So I stopped that. Beth: Right, because you weren't, you weren't drinking for enjoyment at that point. At that point you were drinking to change something in yourself. Steph: Yeah, like to chemically change and just kind of Mace me relax. And also I don't like the taste of it. So I was like, you know, I don't, does anyone love the tastes of liquor? Beth: I think some people do. Steph: Okay. Well I'm not them, but I would mix it with like mineral water and different stuff. And so then when medical marijuana became legal in Florida, I actually consider doing that. And I talked to my doctor about it and she said, well, I don't give you prescription for it. There are actual medical marijuana doctors that you go through. So I actually went through the process and found out that that it could actually affect my sleep in a negative way. And I was not having that because I'm a good sleeper. If I'm good at anything, it's sleeping. So I didn't I didn't want that to mess with my sleep. So I was stuck with: now what do I do? I wanted, I needed something to help me get out of my head at times and I wasn't able to do it with exercise, which I was, you know, going to the woods regularly and I just wasn't able to do it on my own. And so that's when I went back to thinking maybe I should do this dog thing. Beth: Let me interrupt you. Did you consider getting a service dog then? Steph: The reason why I thought the dog front is because there's so much research and people talking about dogs helping with their depression and anxiety and things like that. And so I actually considered, I looked into service dogs, like what does that look like? Because my thought wasn't that I wanted to take it everywhere with me. It was really that it would be like a well-trained dog for my depression specifically. And so I looked into it. I found a place down in South Florida that trains them, but it seemed very complicated. I also wasn't sure if it was right to go that route for me, if I really needed a service dog. So I ultimately didn't do that. And then a friend of my mom's actually has a greyhound and was telling my mom how great greyhounds were. I knew there's a Greyhound bus, but I didn't know that. I knew there was greyhound dogs, but I didn't really know much about them. I don't think I knew that they were like racing dogs like that they had, there was a whole industry of people betting on dogs for running. Beth: I think there is a track not far from Tallahassee. Right? Steph: There used to be. It's closed, as far as I know, in Monticello. New Speaker: So when you were growing up though, there was one sort of down the street? Steph: Yeah, but I had no knowledge of it. I knew about horse racing but I never really was familiar with the dog racing. So I looked into it because then I was thinking well how does this all work? Like how did she get a greyhound? Is it a racing dog? And so I found out that once dogs aren't a good racer anymore, they just adopt them out, you know, years ago they put them down, which was not great. But there's a lot of legislation now on, on the dogs. And that's what I learned when I did the research is that they are highly regulated. And like once a week they have government officials go check the dogs at the tracks and all that in their ear. They have a unique tattoo that has all their information. So you can actually look up, I can look up her, her whole family history, all of our races, everything online by her tattoos also by her racing name so you can look it up to it's LKFreestar was her racing name and you can find all of her videos. She was actually a really good racer. She won 31 races I think and came in second in 20. And so she was adopted out at four years old and usually they get adopted between two and five depending on how good of a racer they are. So after I had done that research on greyhounds, I realized they don't shed a lot. They don't bark a lot. They don't have that big doggy smell because they don't have an undercoat. They are really lazy. They don't need a lot of exercise. Like I was like, Whoa, this is like, this is like a magical dog breed. I had no idea this was a thing. Beth: You just called your sweet dog, lazy. Steph: She is! She's a lazy grey. I call her that to her face all the time. Look, she's laying right behind you sleeping right now. Yeah. That's what they do. And then I don't feel bad because she loves to just be lazy. I mean they sleep 18 hours a day. Like that's the thing, that is the breed and that's just totally normal for them. And they love to run. Typically greyhounds love to run. They're very competitive. I try to take her running as as much as I can cause she just, she bolts and it's a magical thing to watch when she does that. But anyways, your question is how did I decide on a dog or a greyhound? I did that research and then I found an adoption agency in Jacksonville. And that was the closest one to Tallahassee. And I called them up one day and then I had an appointment like two or three days later. I walked four dogs and Mac was the first dog that I walked and I just was like, I was deciding between two dogs, but it was like Mac was like the one and I went back a couple of days later and I was able to get her and it was rough at first. I'm not going to lie, it was a big transition cause greyhounds have never been in homes before. They've always been with their pack. They, you know, have been in crates their whole life and so they actually tell you to get a crate because that's what they're used to. And she hated her crate. She hated the crate. She chewed on the crate. It was very bad. And ultimately my Vet said, get rid of the crate. And I did. And that totally fixed things. She completely respects my whole house. She doesn't chew things. She doesn't leave her mark any way or you know, anything like that. So she's like, she's great. Beth: I mean, I guess I already knew that, but I thought that you just picked Mac because she's so beautiful. I guess that's kind of a vain way to look at it, but she's a really beautiful dog. Steph: Yeah. Well the other thing is when I started researching greyhounds, at first I was like, greyhounds are kind of funny looking like I don't really love the way that they look like that was a thing. And I was like, but I love everything else about them. And I'm like, I'm not gonna not get a greyhound cause they look funny. But now that I have a greyhound, I think every greyhound is the cutest dog in the world. I think they look amazing. I think all dogs are cute now because I'm like, now I'm a dog person, but I think greyhounds are just the cutest. Every greyhound I see like even the ones before I was like, Oh I don't like the color of that dog, which is so silly that I even thought that. But now I love every color of greyhound, every color of dog and just like they are the best. They're all the best. And they all have their own little personalities. You can say like certain things about the breed, but every dog is different because my neighbor across the street now has a greyhound. They got a couple months after I got Mac because they just saw how amazing Mac was and her personality is different than Mac's. They get along super great, but there are certain things. She likes to run, but not like Mac likes to run and not as much. So it's interesting. Cool to see. Just like people, you know, we're not all the same even though we're human. Oh, and if you're wondering, I named her Mac because when I used to work for Apple and there was a girl that had a dog named Mac and I thought, Oh my gosh, that is the best name for a dog. If I ever get a dog, I'm getting a name at Mac, whether it's male or female. And so I did just that. I've been keeping that name. I got, I've had fishes and hamsters and I was like, Nope, keeping the name from my dog. So I was very excited to name her Mac, but I call her so many things. I call her girly. I call her, I call her Macintosh. Beth: You call her Macintosh? I thought you were saving that for when you got your second dog. Steph: No, that's Tosh. So if I get a second dog, I'll name that dog Tosh. So then I'll have Mac -n- Tosh. It's the cutest. I know. Beth: When are you going to get a second dog? Steph: I feel like I'd be outnumbered with a second dog. So I was really trying to convince my mom to get a dog. So then we'd both have one. My mom loves being like Mac's Oma so she can play and then give her back and not have to have all the responsibilities of a dog. So I don't think my mom's going to do it, but I'm okay with that. Beth: I like coming and visiting Mac too, and not having responsibility. Steph: But, you know, you have a perfect house for a dog. The layout is perfect for a dog and you have great yard. You, in fact, could have Tosh. Next podcast: We get a dog for Beth. Beth: So what about the idea that with that when you brought Mac home, it was a rough transition? Did people in your life discourage you from trying to do it because it was going to be such a big commitment and such a change? Steph: I'm trying to think. I don't really remember anyone outwardly discouraging me from getting a dog. I had done so much research and I was so ready that there was no saying maybe it's not a good idea, cause I was ready! I had been preparing, I had been thinking about it for years and so when I was ready, I was ready. People could see there was no messing around here. So no, I don't think people were discouraging. They weren't as excited as I was, which you know, few are. So it's okay. Beth: Like unmatched excitement. You're just at that level. Steph: I'm trying to remember when did we decide to start this podcast? Was it before or after I got Mac? Beth: It was almost exactly the same time. Steph: Yeah, it was. I thought so. Yeah. So it's been about a year since I got Mac and we started planning it. Yeah. So then I was struggling with some of the early stuff when we when we were starting the podcast. Beth: Yes. I do sort of remember being worried because you had done all the research and you thought you knew what to expect, you thought you knew everything that was going to happen and then you know, the reality is always a little bit different than what you can read in the books and what you can prepare for. But I mean obviously you handled it really well. Yeah. Steph: You are not a dog person or really a pet person and you were like, cool. You weren't discouraging, but you also weren't like, Oh, I'd love to meet her. I don't remember when you met her, but it was a while. Beth: Like that's a nice thing for you to do. However, I know I'm not a pet person and that probably Maces me sound like a monster to some people. But I think if you know you're not a pet person it's irresponsible to commit to a pet. Steph: Oh yeah. Just like with kids, like if you're not, if you don't want to have kids, don't have kids and own that. Like I think there's nothing wrong with that. But I would say I was not a dog person. I was not a big pet person before. Even though I had pets, I was not a big pet person before I got Mac. So I think it's also stages, like one day you may be like, well let me try this dog thing and be like, Oh my gosh, my life just changed. You know? You never know. But I wouldn't say because I'm so much happier with my dog that everyone's going to be happier with a dog. Like, no, that's not accurate. Beth: Yeah, much better to just know yourself and-- Steph: And where you are in life at that time-- Beth: And be open to change. Right. Never say never. Yeah. And I guess the other thing that was happening when you were first starting to tell me about the idea that you're going to adopt a greyhound is that we had had this legislation in Florida about closing the the greyhound race tracks and so greyhounds were sort of everywhere in the conversation, right? Steph: It was really annoying because I had done all this research before. It had nothing to do with the legislation and it just happened to be that the day after I actually went to pick her up was when the amendment passed in Florida where they were going to stop greyhound racing in two years. The adoption agency was overwhelmed with people filling out applications because they thought they were going to kill all the greyhounds. By the way, they are not killing all the greyhounds. The place I adopted Mac? They have a 100% adoption rate. People want these dogs. These are amazing dogs. They are well taken care of. In my experience--I know there's always two sides of everything--but in my experience in having gone to the adoption agency and hearing this and meeting trainers who actually train the dogs for the racetracks. The trainer knew all about my dog. He knew she had just had an accident and she had to have surgery and nurse her back to health and he knew all this history and was able to share that all with me because he knows these dogs. They work with them day in and day out and they take care of these dogs because it's money. It's an industry. They're not going to, we're not going to, perform well if someone's mistreating us. And so they, from what I saw, they treat the dogs really well. They care for these dogs. They know these dogs. She was only in the adoption agency a week. That's how long she was there. They only keep the dogs about like a week or two cause they get adopted out so quickly. It was frustrating because everyone was thinking, Oh, you know, greyhounds are being abused. We gotta stop the racing. You can look into that on your own time. But you know always look to who is actually presenting these bills and what is the money behind it. That's all I have to say about that. Anyways. Beth: So your decision, although it sort of, it might have seemed like it was coming about because of the legislation. It actually predated all of that legislation. Steph: It predated all of that, but when I got her actually was right around that. So yeah, greyhounds are in everyone's sphere and everyone when they saw me with a greyhound was like Oh my gosh, did you just rescue her from the legislation? No. It just happened to be that time. And by the way, if there is an influx of dogs, it's going to be more towards the end of the two years and it wasn't going to be then they weren't going to just like stop racing all the dogs. Although, with Mac, they were going to retrain her to keep her racing cause she was a good racer, but they decided just to adopt her out because of the legislation. They knew it was probably going to be changing and they had, you know, new dogs coming in. So I do think they're gonna probably adopt out dogs sooner than they would have in the past or move them to a different race track. But we have, Florida has 11 racetracks. I'm not sure how many have closed already. I think some already might've closed. Like the adoption agency I went to for Mac, they send dogs all over the country to be adopted. So there's a place in Canada that comes to get dogs. There's a place in, oh, I can't remember some other places in the United States that will come get dogs from the Jacksonville. So the dogs are, are well taken care of. Beth: I was trying to figure out how I knew that greyhounds were racing dogs because it's not like I, it's not like my, my mom and dad were down at the track or anything. But where I grew up, I grew up in Pensacola, which is Northwest Florida over by the Alabama border. And we had a road and it was called Dog Track Rd. And so that's how I knew, I guess, that that there was a track there were dogs were raced and that greyhounds were fast dogs and like to race. Steph: That's how I knew that a horse racing was a thing cause I grew up in neighborhood in Tallahassee that has all of their streets are named after famous horses. Beth: Is that what they're named after!? Steph: Yeah, like Secretariat and Gallant Fox. All of those are actual horse names. I know, I had no idea! I had no idea, but I lived over in there. And so that's how I knew. Beth: So how was the transition? You had to get rid of the crate and then what were some other aspects of the transition? Steph: When I first got her, I tried to really stick with the schedule that she had from the adoption agency and so it was very intense. Like they were fed like six in the morning and then they had a long walk or they were they have like a big, like running area that they were let out and they could run and socialize. And then there was like all these, like every two hours there was like, they're, they're going out or they're eating or they're snacking or all these things. I was like, Oh my goodness. So I tried to stick with that, but it was not realistic. And it was a challenge. I think with any new dog, family member or anything like that, any huge change in your life, it's going to be challenging. Also, the struggle I had with Mac is I found that she had a UTI early on and so I had to find a Vet within a within the first week of getting her. And I happen to have a Vet right across the street that I was, I'm thankful that I could go to and have been using ever since. So I had medical issues with her right away. She also has hookworm, she had hookworm. And it was very hookworm in Florida in greyhounds are very, it's a strain that's really hard to get rid of and you have to do different practices than the normal stuff. So that took a while. She's finally over hookworm but that took a long time to actually get her over that. And when she finally got over it, I was very excited because we had put a lot of time and effort into figuring out what to do to get her over that. And so it was just those kinds of things and it really disrupted my life as we've said in the title, but in the best way. I think of her first in so many ways. Like, okay, I need to leave, but can I, can I leave her at this time? How long can I leave her? She had bad separation anxiety at first. It is so amazing. I kind of accidentally ran into something that didn't realize I was doing, but I have an Amazon Alexa device and I would have it play spa music because you know, who doesn't love spa music? And so I started playing that to kind of relax her and then when I would leave I would like play that. And I don't know why I started doing that. Now it's so cool. Whenever I'm about to leave I'll say, Alexa, play spa music, it will start playing and she will instantly lay down her bed and relax. She won't jump up and down, she won't get excited, she'll just lay down, she'll know that I'm leaving and she knows I'm coming back and it's like, it's so special that she just has been trained and I didn't even mean to. Beth: So one of the reasons that you wanted to get a dog originally was because you would have that racing brain thing where you just couldn't stop processing. You know, like you were just in your head too much. So has it worked? Steph: Yes! Oh my goodness. It has. You know, I had considered getting a dog that was like trained for helping me with depression, but then I had also read that dogs just in general are in touch with your feelings and kind of know what you need. I don't know how to explain it. I'm going to do a horrible job of explaining it cause it's just, it's a feeling that I get. I know my mom has come over before and she'll, she'll say, Oh my goodness, I was in such a crummy mood but just petting Mac. Like this dog is magic. She really is. And I mean she has said that multiple times and it's true. It's just like there's like this presence that I can't explain that she has this calming effect where like just before this podcast I thought, you know, I have a, I have like 20 minutes, let me take her on a quick walk. And you know, I wouldn't have gotten out of my house before this and now we're going to be sitting for a couple of hours recording the podcast. I wouldn't have done that on my own. I did it for her and that was such a good thing for me that I needed to do. So she helps me regulate my life. She helps me think of something beyond myself. I've talked to people I would have never talked to. I've got to know my neighbors so well that I've lived here like so long and never really met them. We walk multiple times per week with our dogs and we talk and just like she's the greatest and her husband their kids. You know, things that I would've never done. She has gotten me to do in the best of ways not forcing you to because I want to do it for her. And she also Maces me wake up every morning at 6:00 AM and that's not cool. But it is cool because it forces me into a routine and that's really important for me and my mental health. Before, it was hard to force myself to get out of bed at 8:00. Now it's like, well, when the dog's barking in your face, you get up, you just do. The annoying thing is then she just goes right back to bed. She'll eat a little of her breakfast and then she'll go sleep and it's like great, Beth: Like "now I'm awake and you're asleep." Yeah. Steph: It helps me keep on track with my mental health. So I can probably count on one hand the amount of bad days I've had since I've had her. And it's just crazy. It's really hard to even remember what it was like before I had her in my life. And me and my mom, both of us, we have very similar personalities and she just helps us to get out of that funk without doing anything, just being there and just being cute. Beth: I would think that as someone who is self-employed and, you know, a full time online content creator and you can completely control your schedule, you don't have anything sort of, you don't have any external forces like requiring you to be disciplined. You have very strong internal forces that draw you to be disciplined, no doubt about that. But it sounds like having Mac and having to think about her needs, just having that give structure to your life in a way that's healthy. Would you say that's right? Steph: She's definitely structured me in a very healthy way. And also like going out of town? I can totally go out of town, but that's just the extra step that I have to do. It's okay, I need to Mace sure she's taken care of. So I have a dog sitter that I hire to come and stay at my house to take care of her. When I'm going out of town but my mom's not, my mom will stay at my house and take care of her. And so I'm able to still do all the things I was doing before. I just figure it out in my new reality and it's not a big deal and it's nice cause I don't stress about her when I'm gone. I try not to because I know she's taken care of. Beth: So having more responsibility has actually de-stressed your life some? Steph: Oh yes! I don't know how to explain it, but I do have more responsibility now. I have to think about her needs and I can't be gone more than five hours. But yeah, like I have way less stress. She has disrupted my life in a beautiful way and just in the way where I look forward to seeing her in the morning, I even look forward to taking her out in the morning for her morning bathroom break. I have no problem with that. Picking up after her? It's not a big deal to me. She's my puppy, I'll do whatever for her. Beth: Awhile back, I took my son on a college tour. And as we were touring the campus, the person who was leading the tour was really emphasizing, really encouraging extracurricular activities. Even in college, you know you get involved in in Greek life or you get involved in a service organization or you get involved in something related to your major or you play a sport. Right? They were actually saying that there's, there's research--now I understand that this is hearsay, like somebody told me there's research, but it's all I got--somebody told me that there's research that actually when you have those external responsibilities that college students perform better. They stay more focused on their work. There's something about having too much free time that dis-incentivizes you to actually get your work done. Steph: Oh, I've totally agree. Yeah. I mean just for like the podcast for example. When we started planning it a year ago, we were coming up with all these ideas and then we realized we need to create a box that every title, every topic we talked about has to fit in that box. And it seems, you know, at first you can say, well, no one puts me in a box. It's like, well-- Beth: I think I did say that. "Nobody puts me in a box. Nobody puts baby in a corner." Steph: But you can put yourself in a box. I think that's okay. And I do that with a lot of things in my life. Like for Mother-Daughter projects, we have four areas that we stay within and those are the four areas that we focus on. I don't think it's a bad thing as long as you're in control of that box. Yeah, I can definitely see where having structure and having things that you were needing to do in your day that can make you more productive and make you help you be better at all of those tasks. I recently went to Universal Studios, that Harry Potter area with a good group of my ladies. We were going and so I was looking on Amazon for Harry Potter shirts and I found one that said, "My Patronus is a Greyhound." And I was like, "Oh, I gotta get that!" So I'll put a link to the my shirt that I got. But it's, that's what it says. And I wore it proudly to the parks. I was all excited and I had my wand, I was all ready, but then I started thinking about it more and I realized--if you know Potter, then you know this analogy, if you don't, I will explain it for you. So a Patronus is this, it's kind of like a spirit animal that you, you cast. You cast a Patronus to fight the Dementors. And a Dementor is this really dark character, like floaty ghost-like character. And Dementors suck all the good thoughts from your brain until all there's left is all the negative and horrible things and they ultimately can kill you. And so your Patronus, you cast that so that you're protected. And so the animal that comes out of your wand is what fights the Dementor. And so I was thinking about it, I was like, Oh my gosh, my Greyhound is my Patronus because she helps me fight the darkness that can take over and steal all the good thoughts in my head. I was like, wow, she really is my Patronus. Beth: So it's really true. Steph: It's so true. Beth: Your Patronus is a Greyhound. A Greyhound named Mac. Steph: Yes. So Beth, we're talking all about me and my great dog. And I know you don't have a dog. Beth: I don't have a dog. I had a dog when I was a kid, but I haven't had a dog as an adult ever. Steph: And no desire? Beth: No desire. Steph: No desire, even after seeing how great my dog is? Beth: So let me give you, let me give you some kudos because I have been pretty surprised that Mac doesn't shed. I think that's amazing. Steph: She does shed. She does, but not a crazy amount. Okay. There is dog hair in this house. There's plenty of it. But sheds about the same amount as like a, like a short-haired cat. Beth: Well, when I pet her, I don't come away with like a bunch of hair like on my hand, right? So I'm not noticing it that way. And I've never had allergy issues when I've come into your house and there is zero dog smell. Which is one of my huge reasons for not wanting a dog is that I don't want my house to smell like dog. And I know lots of dog owners who are like "my house doesn't smell like dog" and I'm like, "I'm your friend so I'm not gonna point out that it does." But I can honestly say that your house-- Steph: That's good to know! Beth: --And our podcast recording studio, actually do not smell like dog. So yeah, I don't have any pets but, but I know what you mean about that need to like get outside of your own thoughts and to not just be in a loop in your own head about either things that need to be done or an experience that has happened or feelings, you know, just to not be caught up in that because it can lead to darkness. So I understand that. And I, I think some of the ways that I get out of that racing brain space without having a pet are, are probably related to my family. I will just say to my husband, "I've got to verbally process this. You're going to have just let me. You're just going to have to let me talk and you're going to need to listen." And he's a good sport about that. So I guess I have structure in my life in other ways that helps. And then I have come up with some other coping mechanisms for getting out of that racing brain space. And I think it's really cool that you have Mac to help you do that. Steph: Yeah, I think she's pretty cool too. Speaker 2: Well thank you for joining us for today's episode. Hopefully you got a little something out of that. We do want to remind you that we are on all podcast platforms and one of those platforms you may not be aware of is Amazon Alexa. I think I mentioned that in this episode actually. I love that thing. You can actually say, "Alexa play the Discovering Our Scars Podcast" and she will play our podcast. So that's pretty cool. So we are on there and all of those podcast apps on your phone and computer as well. Beth: So yeah, I too, am a total fan of the Alexa. Love that she can turn on lights for me and turn off lights for me and play music for me and remind me to do things. And every morning gives me a news briefing and tells me the weather. Steph: Me too! Actually I do the same thing. And you can add a phrases for it to say. And that just reminded me that at the end of my news brief, I have it say "Give thanks for Mac today." I have it remind me of that. So every morning it reminds me to give thanks for Mac. Beth: Oh, I'm gonna have to look into how to set that up. Steph: It's super easy. You just can say habit, say any phrase to you. And so it's just like gives me a moment to just remember like being thankful for her today. Beth: Nice. I like that. Steph: We, at the end of each episode, we like to ask you a question that you are welcome to call into our voicemail number and answer. So today's question, Beth, what is that? Beth: So today we're wondering, do you have a pet? What kind? What's your pet's name? What's your favorite thing that your pet does? Call and tell us all about your favorite pet. Steph: Our voicemail number is (850) 270-3308 and you're welcome to call that. It's just a, call it on your telephone and it's just a voicemail. So we will not answer, but you can leave whatever message there. And you can answer any questions that we've asked in any of the podcast episodes and in the voicemail recording there might be a special guest. And by that I mean Mac since we just talked about her, so you might hear a little something from her in that. Steph: At the end of each show, we like to end with the Questions for Reflection. These are questions we put together based on today's show. Beth is going to read them out and leave a little pause between each one so that you can pause the podcast if you'd like to answer them out loud or we have a downloadable PDF on our website with the same questions. Beth: Questions for Reflection. #1: What in your life helps you fight the darkness? #2: Have you ever considered getting a pet? What's holding you back? #3: When you work specifically on structuring your life, do you notice a difference in your internal chatter? #4: Do the responsibilities in your life cause less stress, anxiety, and depression, or more? Why? Steph: This has been the Discovering Our Scars podcast. Thanks for joining us. Quotable
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Meet StephMental Health Advocate. Author. Podcast Host. DIYer. Greyhound Mom. 
Meet BethI'm a mom who laughs a lot, mainly at myself. #UMC Pastor, recent Seminary grad, public speaker, blogger, and sometimes lawyer. Learning to #LiveLoved. 
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