MC's Ep10 

A Year in Review, Where’d the Time Go?

Mel: Welcome back everyone. It's been a little break. We've had a little bit of a break while we collected our thoughts ourselves. We started working on getting our physical bodies together, cuz we all had little itches and scratches and things going on.

And we're still working on pulling it together because that's the world that we live in right now, but we're here. We made it, we're back and we're gonna have, I think, a sweet little episode that is our year in review. I'm gonna find that little sparkle music. That sounded more like a car starting.

KJ: It totally did. And I was just like, it sounds like, a dying duck. I'm sorry. Take that part out. 

Mel: Oh, I love it. No, We're keeping, it. We're keeping it. That's real life shit right there.

KJ: It's like my death knell.

Mel: Sometimes your sparkle sounds like a car muffler. Okay. That's fine.

Ish: A sexy, dying duck car muffler.

KJ: Phlegmy duck.

Mel: Yes.

Ish: If you’ve ever wondered what a phlemming duck sounds like…

Mel: That's right. KJ’s got that impersonation deck.

KJ: I got it locked down.

Mel: Yes. so we thought what we do is, have a little opportunity for reflection. So we each recorded about five minutes except for the crazy person Jocelyn who's like, oh my gosh my time was six and change... but we figured we'd do our own little individual reflections. We haven't listened to anybody else's and, um, we're just gonna kind of listen to each person's reflection and give some feedback. We're gonna reflect on the reflections. And I just thought that would be so sweet because I mean, we're all gonna say super sweet things.

I'm probably gonna cry. But it's okay. It's all good. I'm excited to hear everybody's. So any thoughts on this reflection, this review and reflection before we get started, ladies? 

Jocelyn: I was gonna say I'm excited to hear what everybody's saying. It's been over a year now. This is gonna be grand.

KJ: I don't know how it's possible.

Jocelyn: I know. Yeah. it's like, I don't know how it's possible, but of course it's possible. 

Mel: right. Cause it's been like 57 years, but it's been a year. So somehow it feels like 57 years and less than a year. All at the same time. So we're gonna start with Ish and we're gonna let Ish give us her reflection.

And, we'll just listen in silent reverence or maybe not so silent because I feel like I'm gonna laugh. I'm gonna cry. I'm gonna do all the things, like they say, with the movies. So we'll start there and then we'll see, we'll see how that goes. Then we'll move on.

Maybe we'll draw straws of who's gonna go next. Take it away Ish. 

Ish: all right. So my year in review for all the things with the Magical Cartographers, it has been such an amazing experience to do this. Just looking back on the year, I have always really wanted to kind of do something like a talk show.

I really like the concept of The View and here we are, and here I am in like my own talk show/podcast, which and just with women who I trust and what I really love about what we did is that we wanted to come together. We wanted to have some serious conversations and put it out there.

Cuz we feel that there are these issues that we just really wanted to create a space for people to hear and talk about. But really I have gained so much because that space was really for me. And being able to talk about that and being able to trust and just sticking to it. And the other thing too, is that what I really loved is that we didn't have this outcome.

We weren't trying to X number X figure or do something, we were just really trying to get these conversations out there and finding our way and being messy in the process. And so not everything always went off without a hitch, but it came off without a hitch. Just, I think it's a really weird way to say that, but really, that's how I feel.

I think about really why this year and doing these monthly recordings and having the lives, why it's been so meaningful for me. And I think it's because it really speaks to some of my core values. So the connectedness, every single time that we have recorded, I have just felt a deeper connection and really hearing everybody's perspective. It’s just been so enriching for me and then perseverance.

So it's not like a huge core value, but it is one of the core values. And I think all of us have had some incredible changes. I know I have had some incredible changes this year, and I'm just really proud that we've all been able to continue and put out the podcast, despite all of the things that go on, that we were really good with winging it. We were really good with winging it in conversations and just the collaboration. I feel really fulfilled and there's no money. We don't make any money from it. We didn't, you know, it was not about business. It was about connection, collaboration, having deeper conversations, and giving folks some space to do that.

So I look back on the year as being a really successful year and a really, enriching experience for me. And, just I'm looking forward to the next phase and I'm also really grateful because doing the podcast has also helped with a lot of clarity around things that I wanna do and ways that I want to move forward.

So, yeah, that's my year reflection.

Mel: Aw, that was so sweet. I love that focus on winging it and it not being like a bad thing. I've certainly been in many situations where people were winging it and that shit was not cute. So I appreciate that. Yes, we do a lot of winging it, but it works out and it's not because we couldn't do it different. It's because we're choosing to be, as authentic as we can and not try to overanalyze it and not try to, you know, there's a time and a place for the statistics and the, facts and figures and numbers and, specializations. But I think for the most part, at least in that first year, I really like that we were just, friends having a conversation and, that's what we did.

And I think it worked.

Jocelyn: Yeah, I definitely agree with that. That the winging it is not with the four of us, it's not a bad thing. we're showing up and it is what it is and it's good. And our energy is really playing well with each other. And I think we're all in different, similar places in our lives. And we're ready for this, winging it and it not being a bad thing. We're ready for these conversations. 

KJ: Nothing felt so natural to me then to connect with you ladies and talk about topics and conversations that were near for us and important for us, I almost especially love it when we are winging it, because I think it's really, really honest and that we all feel safe enough to honestly show up with each other.

Jocelyn: We live at a time of Instagram perfection. If you're gonna be online and you're gonna have to show up, you've gotta be practiced and polished and perfect and piss off. I mean, it's like.. 

Ish: Wait, “We gotta do practiced, polished, perfect. Piss off, piss off. 

KJ: That's phenomenal.

Jocelyn: Yeah, because it's just, I'm not worried about showing up and looking silly. because I know it's not going to be silly. And if it's silly, it's gonna be because we're silly. When we show up, it doesn't have to be this polished, perfect thing that people are gonna look at. It's like, no, this is who we are. Take it or leave it. and I love that. Yeah, agreed.

Mel: Agreed. okay. So I have three little pieces of paper in my hand, So let's see who gets to go next? 

I dunno why I made these damn papers so little, like it's just me. There's no prizes. Number three. So we're gonna listen to KJS next and see what amazingly insightful and sweet information she's gonna give. I'm gonna have to turn my volume up cuz her sweet, sexy voice,

KJ: The sexy phlegm.

Mel: Sexy flam phlegm.

KJ: in review of the last year together with these extraordinary women, I have flashes images that I recall buried under blankets and walking alongside a busy street in Colorado. Our first in person meeting it, of course felt like we'd known and been together for lifetimes before. I have images of being in various parts of my house. And then ultimately my office, as I transitioned back from being a work from home solely corporate mental health supervisor and manager, to turning in my notice and leaning on these ladies as I absorbed the fallout and the pain, and also the revelations and reflections of making major decisions, like leaving my job, stepping back from the managerial position I was in being asked to do an exit interview, but then not actually having an exit interview. I can recall the day that Mel and I had our first touch base meeting about talking, just talking and connecting about.

Conversations and topics that light us up. I was sitting in my car having just finished an event with one of my clients in which I called story whispering. And it was literally lifting out stories after some deeper, more complex questions, more so than what's your favorite color, although knowing what your favorite color is important. Questions, like where do you think your ideas of what you could do as a woman came from? So when Mel and I first talked about these questions that I was interested in answering, we kind of knew that it was meant for us to work together. 

So I remember us going live on zoom and we had a little bit of an audience then, and I really loved that people were tuning in just to see what the conversations were about.

It's actually really impressive that from our retreat, our summit meeting in Colorado, we actually created a podcast from it. Having created my own podcast before I know that it's a layered, complex and emotional process as well as a triumphant one. Knowing that we were able to pull one off and then have successful and fun live events, that was incredible.

So there's this energy when the four of us get together. That's incredibly, inspiring and uplifting and motivating. And there isn't ever a feeling of, I don't belong here. I don't have anything to say here. It has always felt equal and supportive and warm. And I really think that the conversations that we're having right now are just the beginning and that we are fleshing it out and we're trying it out.

And I think there are people seeking more chats and really, maybe I'll say the word uncomfortable. People are willing to get vulnerable and uncomfortable, around the topics that we're interested in as well. I think that this is just the start. I couldn't be more honored or pleased to be in the company of such fine, fine women.

Mel: Oh, you get my cute face. Oh, How sweet.

Mel: Yeah. I really, sorry. I know. I'm I feel like I'm always the first one jumping in, but I always have shit to say but I really, well, first I wrote down the story whispering and like, can we do more of that? Like, can we come? Can we come back to that?

KJ: I think that's actually what we're doing.

Mel: Yeah. I mean, yes, to some degree, I think it is. but I think I'm gonna put out into the universe and so that everybody will pressure you to make sure that it happens, I want some iteration of that, story whispering, like on a more, don't wanna say on a more personal level, cuz I think we get pretty personal with our stuff on this podcast, but I would love to see that idea, allowing people to answer some of those questions, more thoughtfully and in a more free flowing way.

I feel like something more I wanna say with that, but I wrote it down. Like I need that. We need more of a piece of it. 

Jocelyn: I loved your images of when we met in Colorado because it was like the most surreal experience that worked in the weirdest way. It felt like we'd been meeting in Colorado for months and months and months and months. I don't think any of us had physically met at that point. We were all just like, bits on, screen screen. Yeah. On the screen. And it felt like, I've met a lot of people that I've only known online and it's very rare that it feels that comfortable, that it's just like, oh yeah, this is just totally normal. We've been meeting forever. And this is the first time. So to have it be that smooth and to have us all just roll into that was just very, very comfortable and rare. 

KJ: You hear sister?

Mel: Yeah. Yeah. I'll say the only difference was Ish was even littler than I imagined in person. I knew she was gonna be little, but when I first saw her walking through her giant suitcase, like as big as she was

Ish: A giant carryon. 

Mel: That tells you how little she is full size, get in my pocket.

KJ: Same. So adorable. And then I was actually struck by… so I remember walking next to the highway and Jocelyn thinking Jocelyn was so tall. Oh, I was just like, if a car comes barreling into us, cuz there is no sidewalk here. I was just like, we're gonna make it. We're gonna make quite a collective. We're gonna make quite a, yeah. Quite a scene here. Ish and I going into the liquor store to get a whole bunch of wine.

Mel: That's what I was gonna say. Like, I don't know how it happened, the way that it did that. We were randomly walking on a street with no sidewalks to get food and alcohol. Like, but we all agreed instantly. we had to make this mission happen. 

Ish: We didn't didn't wanna go to a restaurant. What we thought was, okay, we go to a restaurant and like, yeah, we'd have fun. But what we really wanted to do was just really talk and like talk and be together. It was kind of like this little vortex. Right. And so then it was like, well, we want stuff to munch on and then trying to figure out, you know, dinner, but we didn't wanna UberEats anything in either or Door Dash or any of that stuff.

Jocelyn: We were also the only masked people. Yes. Because at that time we were still sort of like, eh

Ish: But it just really, I mean, I really love KJ that you, like, I so resonate with that. and I'm so glad that in your reflection that you really mm-hmm you brought that, that was something that you really remember.

I mean, it was a really very meaningful experience and even Jen Morris came, you know? It was really like, just this really beautiful moment, but that was really the start of like having everything, like we've been talking about some things. But like, that was really where things kind of got solidified, from not really, you know? 

I mean, Jocelyn, when you said about, in reflection about meeting people online and it's not quite like this. It's just really very special to me that it worked out and I don't know. It's just been such a fun ride. That's like the other thing too, that comes out is KJ, just, you know, we all have had changes, but you also have had some incredible changes, right? So as we're starting this podcast, you were like leaving behind some really incredibly important things that you'd done for a very long time. 

Stepping into this underworld of the unknown , you know, if you think about that hero's journey, I don't know, that was kind of like a call for all of us. Like in a way we crossed some thresholds there. Right. Mm. but just being that vulnerable in the podcast and with us, again, I think, because we didn't have those, oh, we are trying to like, build this business or whatnot, like have those kinds of things.

I think it was a really, just your, like recognition in your reflection of honoring where we're all at. 

Mel: Yeah. Mm. And I'll also add that, So I have our card sitting here in front of me and we already looked at our main card, but I happen to, and normally I don't pull a second card for us or even do the underneath card for us, unless some crazy message comes across. But coincidentally, I had flipped the deck over and I saw the underneath card and I thought was thinking before we even started, “Oh, this card is one of the cards that came up when we were together in Denver.” To me, it was the weirdest card. And I think it was mine. I can't remember. You can tell me if, you remember if it was mine, but I remember this weird beetle happening on this 10 of wands and this, you know, emergence coming out from under. And so yeah, this card was just staring at me while I was listening to you talking about our time together in Denver.

KJ: Oh my God.

Mel: It's just signs that we're on the right track, magic. So, I also wrote down that when you mentioned that you felt equal unsupported, and that's really important for me to know that again, because I, not that we're not all pretty chatty, cuz we all have our moments, but as, the unofficial cat wrangler, you know, there's always a part of me that feels like I'm talking too much or I'm, doing too much. And so to have you talk about that feeling of equality and support, means a lot to me. So I'm glad you said it and I'm glad you feel it more importantly. was anything else before we move on? All right, let's see. What is it? I really smack myself or looks like

Jocelyn: You turned it into a spitball.

Mel: Oh my god. It, and now it's like, number one. Was that me or you Jocelyn?

Jocelyn: That was you. 

KJ: I love you ladies. Like this is honestly the best I've felt in like four days, cuz I've been so sick and I come and you all are medicine, so good. Thank you.

Mel: Oh, Let me know. If you can hear it.

This is Mel Morris for me this first year of recording all the things with the magical cartographers has been really enlightening.

I was excited to round these lovely ladies up. We didn't know what we were gonna get started on. We certainly didn't know where things were going to go. We just knew that we needed to get some shit off our chest. We knew there were some systems that we wanted to start talking about how to burn down and we just knew we needed to get started. We couldn't stay still. And it meant so much to me that I was able to literally just ask these ladies to come together and start this journey with me not knowing where we were going. And they all were like, hell yeah. So I knew pretty early on that. These were my sisters in chaos, if you will.

And it's just been so amazing ever since to work with all of them. When I look back and I think about how we started this on the notion of exiting, we started with exit interviews and how to really come face to face with what was going on in our life so that we knew when it was time to exit.

I think it was really powerful for us to start there and start with a conversation that we all found so difficult. And we heard from a lot of other people that they found it really difficult to think about exiting and what that meant for them. It was much bigger than just quitting a job. I think for me, those first two episodes really solidified the idea that there weren't enough people talking about what we wanted to talk about, what we thought was important.

And it really helped me to know for sure that. Conversations were so important to keep having of course moving from exiting to starting over again. That conversation was just as important because we live in a society where everybody says, “Oh, just hope for the best. Just look for the rainbows and sunshine.”

And we knew that was bullshit. New beginnings and new opportunities can be exciting. But there was a lot of sadness and hardship that you have to go through, honestly, to start over again. So I learned a lot from being able to express how I felt from that episode. And it led right into our episode on imposter syndrome and how valuable me having my ladies right by my side was going to be moving forward to help me to recognize it's okay to just be who you are. You don't have to put on any errors and you need that when it's time to move forward. I was really excited in that episode to get a little bit deeper into that. 

When we moved onto the episode about female friendships, I felt a little bit bad because I recognize that I am so blessed to have these ladies and other ladies in my life and really positive female friendships that it occurred to me after we recorded that there are so many women, especially who have never had these types of experiences, and I didn't want anybody to feel bad about their life or feel like they weren't good enough to have these types of friends because that's absolutely not true.

And I really hope that we were able to empower women into recognizing that you don't have to be what is seen on television. You don't have to fit into any kinda mold, your friendships. Don't have to look like anything other than what they are, as long as they help you to grow. As long as they make you feel good about who you are, then they are the right types of friendships for you.

And then we finally got into the big conversation about the patriarchy. And this is something that got us thinking initially, got us going, keeps us frustrated continuously, and we will continue to talk about in future episodes, but it was really important for us to start laying some foundation down about what the patriarchy is, how it is affecting us in our day to day lives, regardless of how you identify your gender, the patriarchy is affecting us all.

And there are absolutely not enough conversations about what that means as it relates to us as individuals, as members of different societies, how it connects to race, how it connects everything, all these systems. And I'm really proud of the fact that we took the time to start to map out what that looks like, how we can communicate that.

And I know we're gonna continue having these and other amazing conversations. And I'm really just so proud of what we've been able to accomplish so far. And I really am looking forward to what's coming up next in All the Things.

I feel bad talking first after me.

Ish: Oh, I can talk. I have all sorts of things to say, but KJ, Jocelyn, I'll let you guys go first.

KJ: I was gonna say that, you talk about my sexy voice. You have the best voice, Mel. I was like lulled, as you were speaking, and you were taking us on this incredible journey and you were so, so intentional, but I don't know you were guiding us through this beautiful story. 

This reminiscing that got me all fired up and inspired again, you really brought me back to the present of, this is what we're meant to do. This is how lucky are we, or did we design this? We requested this. So we built this at the same time. What extraordinary gifts we have being with each other.

And so I'm trying to think of something specific that stood out for me, cuz it all stood out for me. But I actually was nodding when you said, “I kind of felt bad when I thought about perhaps not everybody has this.” And you're absolutely right. not everybody has this. This is extremely, extremely special.

So I may say more, I'm just like cocooned right now by your lovely thoughts and gratitude. Our resident, cat wrangler is extraordinary. Like I said in my piece, I remembered the day that we very specifically that we started talking about this and I was just like, it's done and done. We're doing this. And now look at us a year later.

Jocelyn: A year later, when you talked about not everybody having this, I think one of the best parts about our group is we have found something very special. And part of what that specialness is, is that we want to expand to include others. We are expansive. It's not just like, “Hey man, look at this cool thing that we've got. Don't you wish you had it as you press your face against the glass on your cold frozen street corner.  Here we are inside with this amazing thing.”

It's like, no, we want you to come in and we will break the glass to make space for you to come in and be with us. We will open the doors. And it's not even that we're showing you it's possible. We're saying come with us, get on with us and come to this journey with us.

And I'm like, I wanna listen to this podcast. Was I there? Yes. I wanna go listen to it.

KJ: Wow. We tackled some incredible topics and this is just the beginning. Yeah. 

Jocelyn: And it's fun. Mmm. It's easy. And, more than that is, it's fun. We're laughing and we're having a good time. And there's an enjoyment here that I think is really special. 

Ish: I loved how you, I mean, you really did the year in review. Well, like, you know, you took this the episode…

KJ: She did it. She did it did good.

Ish: I thinking all about, “What did I get outta it?” Like, oh, what we did get.. but, again, that's why it works is these perspectives.

Right. And just sort of thinking about these themes that we went through. I love how Jocelyn talked about the expansiveness and like. You really took us through that, Mel, but it's also inclusive. That's the other word that comes to mind, we talk a lot about inclusivity in this day and age, how do you create that? And I think one of the things about this is that people may not have this, but I also think too, there have been times and points in my life where I haven't had this. What you sort of have brought out Mel, is that when you said I feel bad because recognizing not everybody has that. I was like, oh, there were times in my life I didn't have that. it really brought to mind like how in non-growth I was during those times. And that this idea and concept of vulnerability, Brene Brown talks about that whole, like, you don't grow without being vulnerable. And I think this is a really vulnerable step for us to do this podcast.

I feel like we were lucky we had KJ who had experience with the podcast, but there was a lot of things I didn't know, but not having to do it alone? That really made that vulnerability was like, I wasn't so scared. Every other thing in my life I'm like, “Should I do that? What are the pros? What are the cons?” And in my Human Design, my spleen is all lit up. So my fear centers are all lit up.  I like go places and it's nice to be able to have other people where I don't have to fall into my own traps in my head. I really like the arc that we did when we weirdly winged a very nice arc this first year.

Thank you, Mel that was so wonderful to hear that. Oh, I'm rambling now.

Mel: It's funny as I listen to you and then to KJ, like, oh man, mine was so analytical. I tried to high, I tried to like do the year in review. I was like, oh, I should talk more about how feel about things, but it all works out.

KJ: It all worked out.

Mel: It all worked out. Okay. Anything else before we listen to Jocelyn? I'll give you the same opening even though we know as you.

Jocelyn: I feel like we've been passing notes in class.

Mel: I know.

Ish: Well, do you remember those things? We used to do like the little paper thing. Do you remember that?

Mel: The numbers and the… yeah.

Ish: What do we, what do you call that?

Mel: I don’t remember now.

KJ: I don't know that we ever called it anything. I would just call it like that thing. The flip flop?

Jocelyn: Yeah, the little, the little, yeah.

Ish: If people can only see what we're doing.

Mel: Yeah. We're and we're all doing the same, like without paper.

Ish: Okay. We have to put it in show notes. We've gotta like show people what we were doing, cuz it like, I don't know.

KJ: Or like grab a clip clip from this video of us going..

Mel: Right? Yeah. Pick a number, pick a color you're gonna marry so, and so. Okay. Let's get Jocelyn up here. 

Jocelyn: First year reflections. Working with the three of you this last year it's been like coming home. If this were a movie, there'd be this montage of me running through the dark forest, crawling across the desert wasteland, swimming in a stormy sea until finally I'm running up over the hill in the last scene.

It's a sunset. It's gold and purple. And I get to the top of the hill and there are the three of you are standing in a field of all these wildflowers waiting for me and you're calling out and telling me, “You can do it!” And, “Only a little bit more to go we're here. We've got you.” And I know I've made it.

And I may be rolling down the hill and doing summer salts and totally awkward in an ugly arrival, but I know it's all gonna be okay because you're there and that's really what this collaboration that we have found in each other feels like to me.  We're taught to expect these kinds of relationships out of life because of the books we read and the movies we see and these grand stories of friendship.

And when they don't happen to us, it's like, well, everyone sucks. And sometimes, maybe everyone does suck. And maybe when everyone did suck till I got to this point. Maybe I just wasn't ready. We're just not ready until we're ready. And I needed to find the right people. And maybe I'm now in a place where I've become that person who's ready to receive this kind of friendship and this kind of collaboration. 

And for whatever the reason. It's worked, we've all clicked in together. And I just find that so absolutely precious and priceless that, I'm gonna swim across those stormy seas and run through those dark forests and crawl across the wasteland to get here.

Because the three of you, we have the kinds of conversations that not only do I think people need to be having, but that I needed to have. The kinds of topics and thoughts that it's really hard to find people to have these kinds of thoughts with in a way that is, let's talk about this and what do we do? How do we react? How do we change? How do we evolve? Once we've started discussing this what happens next? One, it's just not the small talk of casual conversation that, “Hey, how's the weather, how did the Seahawks do last night?” But it's like, okay, so what do we do with the world that we're living in? How do we understand that world in ourself and ourselves in that world? And then what do we do about it? 

And finding people to have those conversations with is so rare that I am just absolutely lit up that I have been able to find in the three of you, a place to have those conversations and to know that I can come in with any conversation, as ridiculous as it might sound and know you're gonna have the conversation with me, I can come in and say, well, you know what about blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

And y'all might look at me and go, “You're crazy, but let's talk about it.” There's no judgment here. you're not gonna tell me that, “You don't know what you're talking about. Don't have that conversation. Oh, that's just stupid. Stop thinking about that.”

 You're gonna talk it through with me then I can come to the oh, well that maybe is a dumb topic. That has just been absolutely priceless to find a group of women who can have these conversations, because I haven't found it before. I haven't found it on this deep level or this collaborative connection, to be able to say that I've got three women in my life. That mean the world to me, in a deep sense, and in a deeper sense than this moment, this project, whatever we happen to be doing, I know the three of you are ride or die with me, whatever I'm doing.

Whichever direction, you're all going, we are still all a unit. And to me, that is so priceless. Because you really don't find that very often. And I'm gonna fight like, hell for this group. You're not getting rid of me. None of you are getting rid of me. I'm here. Like I say, our directions may change and we all may go in different places, but we are still, the Four Musketeers, the muses, we are still a unit together that moves forward even when not necessarily going in the same direction.

And, you don't find that in life very often.

Mel: I'm so glad that our resident story warrior went last. I couldn't have planned that out better. If I had planned it I think for me, just from the beginning, almost the only thing I wrote down about that was, “It's all gonna be okay.” From the beginning, when you said that I'm like, right, that's the message that no matter what, good, bad, crazy, ugly, whatever, it's all gonna be okay. I love that. I love that so much. I loved all of it but that, but I kept waiting to write something else down and I was like, there's nothing more profound that she's gonna say than it's all gonna be okay. Until you got to the ride or die part. And I was like, right. Cause we're ride or die chicks here. So. 

KJ: Oh, that was like story time at its finest. That was wonderful. I was in, and I was running through those wild flowers towards you, my friends. Oh gosh. Similarly like Mel, I didn't write anything down because I was just like, everything she's saying is epic and. Everything feels like home.

I feel like it was this home and this arrival and this coming together and this realization that we're so good. Everything's okay. Then you got to the part where like, you're not getting rid of me. And I was just like, girl, you think we're gonna try and get rid of you? There is no way. There's no way that I will have a life without Jocelyn. So, no, that just felt very complete and very, I don't know. I just felt like this was a perfect rap. A homecoming.

Mel: Yes. it was like an epic love story that I was like, “Oh, my gosh. I'm a part of this love story.”

Ish: You're one of four. Yes. 

Jocelyn: Were the happily ever after?

KJ: Oh, yes, that's right. Oh yeah.

Ish: That's right. What happens when the story ends? It just begins, right? Yeah. That's right. I resonate with what you said, Mel, about by design that Jocelyn went last, even though we're picking random numbers, for the word warrior at your best.

What resonated for me is when you said, these are conversations that we need to have. Right after that, you said these were conversations I needed to have, and that's the thing, somebody told me that when they listened to our podcast, like, they were just like, it's just girlfriends getting together, having these really great conversations.

Yeah. And, it's what it has been. And this concept of the collaboration, like not the competition, that also really, like, your reflection really resonated with me. Like we were all wanting the best for each other. And that sort of thread, which is this paradigm for some women that this sort of sense of backstabbing, right?

Like that doesn't exist here. People aren't using other people to propel themselves forward. We want to move forward together in whatever way that, that ends up looking like. And I really loved when you said, we think that you're crazy, but let's talk about it anyway.

So first of all, I have never thought when you brought up a topic that you're crazy. I'm like, let's talk about it. Let's dig. Let's go for it. Love it.

Jocelyn: Well, reflecting on what you're reflecting on IshI think everybody who's listening to this needs to know that you're getting us who we are.

What you're hearing are the conversations we have, even when we're not on the podcast. You're just getting us recording what we talk about and, you know, it's going back to when we said, we're winging it. This is just how we talk. I mean, yeah. These are the conversations we have, which is just so delicious.

Mel: I love this whole year in review. I love this whole, “refrections.” That's a little inside joke why we keep saying it that way. you know, we were saying in the beginning that it feels like, how could this be a year already?

And then stepping back to see what all of these amazing conversations were that we've had, I mean, I feel like I spent the first, however old I am amount of years before this year, not having that many good conversations, that many meaningful conversations. So to think that we did all of that in the year is kind of mind blowing to me. Again makes me so proud that it's us. We did that.

KJ: Mm-hmm. We did that. 

Mel: We have a lot of things that are gonna be coming up in year two. Season two, I don't know what we're gonna call it. I feel like now we need like a name for it. We need to be fancier in year two with just naming things, not fancier, more official cuz nobody needs that pressure. But yeah, I feel like there are so many things that we're going to expand on that we're going to revisit, we're definitely not going to leave the patriarchy behind and the conversations about that.

I think that I'm excited we've talked about some of the topics that we wanna get into and that we really wanna bring some other voices in as well. and some meaningful ways too. So I'm proud of what we've done and I'm really excited for what we have coming up as well.

Ish: So that's kind of nebulous, Mel. I can't, it's kind of like right? 

Mel: Suh duh duh,

Jocelyn: Stay tuned.

Mel: Stay tuned.

Jocelyn: Is Kevin still on the island?