James wanted to title this episode 'My son is gay! (now what do I do?)'. I just titled it 'Jace Taylor'. Jace is a recent high school graduate, has been very involved in ASB and sports medicine, and (as the title implies) has come out as gay. 

Jace was gracious enough to sit down with his dad and me to talk about his journey of self discovery, coming out to his parents and family and his friends.

We also talk about recent events where he was hired by a christian summer camp as a counselor then terminated because of his sexual orientation. 

I know we usually try to stay away from political or religious topics, and I know we dive deep into those areas in this episode. I ask that as you listen you come with an open mind, set aside (even for just an hour) any prejudice you may or may not have and listen to a young man talk about his struggle to find self.

Enjoy Jace Taylor!

Skyler is a local teacher and basketball coach. He married his high school sweetheart and they have a daughter together. We kind of shotgun this interview, hitting a broad range of topics. We get in to family of origin, marriage, adoption, drug addiction, teen suicide, high schoolers and the world they live in. We didn't have time to get into any of the topics as deeply as James and I would have liked. Rest assured we will get Skyler back on the show!

Today we get to chat with local hero Charlie Hanson. Charlie is co owner of The Elizabeth Station (local beer, wine, and cider shop with lots of good things), and Primer (local coffee shop with real good coffee). Charlie was my boss (and James') at Starbucks. We chat about growing up conservative, choosing relationship over being right, marriage, fatherhood, adoption. I feel like we just scratched the surface with Charlie and will need to get him back. Enjoy!

Its my turn on the hot seat today. James sat down with me to get into my story, family of origin, marriage, parenthood... we get into it all. Hope you enjoy.

Relationships are like cars. If you do regular upkeep and maintenance, if you get your oil changed regularly and check in with the tech about what they, as a third party, are seeing under the hood and take preventative steps to correct problems, you probably wont have a breakdown. But if you ignore the mechanic, don't take any preventative measures, turn a deaf ear to noises and whines you're hearing, you might just throw a rod and have the whole thing blow up in your face. 

This week we took our recording gear to an elephant club gathering. James put together a 3 counselor panel for a little Q&A session. The conversation we had was incredible. Get out your note pad and pen, there are lots of nuggets of wisdom in here. Enjoy!

 

Check out our panel at their websites:

http://www.amybrandttherapy.com/

http://www.markdotson.com/

http://breezepotts.com

This week we are talking fatherhood with Matt Atkins. Matt is a husband, father of 5, and grandfather of 4. We talk about the many challenges our kids face growing up, and how we can walk that journey with them. 

 

On a technical note, this is the last episode we recorded using a single microphone for 3 people. There are some background noises (water glass being picked up/set down, me scratching my beard...etc) that may irritate you, the listener. They certainly did me as I edited the episode. All recordings after this episode have better technology and I will (hopefully) be able to get rid of most of those noises.

On todays episode we talk about depression, and the different forms it can take in different people. We interview Jayson Bradley about his journey with depression. Jayson is a writer and blogger. He brings a sense of openness, vulnerability, and humor to an otherwise stigmatized and somber topic.

In the first episode we have a conversation with cohost of the show James Taylor on what the Elephant Club is and why it's important. Why husbands and fathers need support, and the importance of vulnerability.