Episode 21: Be a Lighthouse with Lorena Cooke

Lorena Cooke, a Florida real estate marketer of Mexican descent, has a challenge for you. And it might force you to get out of our comfortable bubble.

Think you’re up to it? Listen up and let us know how it went!

As the founder and Chief Creative Officer of West Gray Marketing, Lorena started the company in order to develop marketing software and solutions that produce real results for her real estate clients – something that was sorely lacking in the industry.

Childfree by choice, Lorena is married to an English gentleman and shares 3 beautiful dogs with him. When she’s not spending time with her family or working on her latest business venture, you can find Lorena exercising her creative brain in some way shape or form – whether it’s drawing, writing, singing (badly), or designing something new.

Lorena lives in South Florida where the weather is always perfect for outdoor activities.

Find Lorena online at:

• Instagram: @westgraylore
• West Gray Marketing
• The Chi Society

DM me on Instagram if you have questions about this week’s episode. And if you would like to apply to be on the podcast, fill out this form.

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy.*

In this episode

• 1:48 – West Gray Marketing
• 4:27 – Childfree Wives on Facebook
• 9:26 – Episode 15: my story about being CF 
• 15:13 – The Chi Society 
• 25:11 – The Wave Challenge
• 26:09 – Mel Robbins High 5 Habit

Transcript

[00:00] Paulette: Buen día y welcome to The Maker Muse Podcast, the place where childfree Spanglish speaking mujeres fuertes are inspired to find their confidence, su confianza, through creativity. I’m Paulette Erato, The Maker Muse.

[00:18] Today I’m chatting with Lorena Cooke, a real estate marketer who, like a few other guests this season, is also based in Florida.

[00:24] Seems like the Sunshine State might have a nice population of childfree Latinas, if you’re in that area, looking for friends. Oh, and this is a podcast first. I have a guest issue you the listener, a challenge. Listen through to the end to learn what that is and then how to let us know how it went for you.

[00:40] Welcome to The Maker Muse Podcast, where we are talking this season with other childfree Latinas and discussing what it’s like for you to be this in our modern world. So Lorena, why don’t you tell us a little bit about you, what you do? What makes you a chingona, and then we can, we can just get that ball rolling.

[01:00] Lorena: I love that chingona. Yeah. I currently live in Florida with my husband. We have three dogs and we are gonna celebrate our 10 year anniversary in September. Been an interesting ride. You know, marriage is, uh, is, is interesting to say the least fun, but interesting. Yeah. And, uh, I hail from Texas originally. Um, that’s where my family is.

[01:22] Professionally, I am a marketer. I’ve been doing marketing for over 15 years and recently broke out on my own and decided to, uh, try the entrepreneurship thing and see how that’s fairs. So I am, uh, I have my own marketing business now and we’ll see where that takes me.

[01:42] Paulette: Tell us about your, your marketing company marketing for real estate. Is that correct?

[01:46] Lorena: That’s correct, yes. Uh, West Gray Marketing is the name of my company. Funny story about West Gray. It’s an, it’s a street in Houston, Texas that I used to always pass by, used to live in Midtown Houston. And just loved the, the pairing of the words west gray. So I’ve always kept that in my projects.

[02:05] Growing up, you know, I, I had a, a quote unquote film company when I was younger and named that West Gray Films and it kind of stemmed from there. So now I have West Gray Marketing as my, uh, my new business and, and yes, I do real estate marketing. So it’s specifically for real estate agents. And I have a software that I’ve developed to automate their marketing and make it a little easier for them to perform their tasks and keep that client, uh, relationship going in the, in the best way possible.

[02:35] Paulette: That’s awesome. How did you decide to go into that market specifically?

[02:39] Lorena: Well, I am a realtor myself. I, I got my license about, I guess a couple years ago now. Never really pursued it. I did a fair amount of transactions, but I, my heart’s in marketing. I really love to create and develop things within that, that part of, you know, I wouldn’t say industry, but websites, graphics, that kind of thing.

[03:01] Pretty stuff. I’d love to do that. And so. You know, I, I kind of strayed from the actual transaction relationship building part, and now my husband is actually a realtor. He has, he recently embarked in, in, in that whole endeavor and I’ve been helping him with his marketing as well. So it, I, I love real estate.

[03:18] I love the industry and I’m always around people who are in real estate. So I figured it was a natural progression for me to, to go into that.

[03:26] Paulette: That’s cool. So you find your, your community, your industry supportive around your company, your goals.

[03:34] Lorena: Well, since I’m relatively new with my company, um, not a lot of people know yet what I do.

[03:40] Um, so I’m hoping to get the word out and I’m thinking that we, I, I will have a, a fair amount of support. Uh, I have a lot of contacts within the industry itself, so I’m going to knock on their doors and say, Hey, this is what I’m doing now. Can you kind of spread the word for me if you could. So.

[03:56] Paulette: We’ll, we’ll leave a link and try to help you out with all the marketing on our end to help promote that. Get some SEO out there for.

[04:03] Lorena: Yeah.

[04:04] Paulette: Lorena, and I are gonna dive into what led to her becoming childfree. Her answer is going to sound similar to a lot of other people’s because it’s a commonality we’ve all experienced. Eventually we all realized that the quote unquote life script is bullshit.

[04:19] So let’s talk about what we wanted to talk about, which was being childfree and being a Latina who is childfree. You and I met in a childfree Facebook group.

[04:27] Lorena: We did.

[04:28] Paulette: For childfree wives, which is a really nice little corner of the internet. There’s it’s a judgment free zone.

[04:35] Lorena: Right? Exactly.

[04:36] Paulette: It’s a different conversation when you know that nobody’s gonna bring up their kids.

[04:41] Lorena: Right.

[04:41] Paulette: What has that experience been like for you?

[04:44] Lorena: So the whole childfree thing. Um, I didn’t even know it was a word until, or a thing really. I mean, I, when I was in my mid twenties, even I, I thought the natural pro progression of life was find a man. Get married and then have a child, you know, and that’s, that’s what I thought. I mean, that’s what everybody around me, my family, that’s what they did.

[05:06] It’s just, that was a thing to do, but it always scared me. I never really was excited about that next step, even marriage, you know, that wasn’t even something that I wanted to pursue. But love found me so that part, I, I decided to go after. But then even, even while engaged to my, my now husband, that fear was so real.

[05:29] That okay, if we get married, we’re gonna have to have kids. It was always in the back of my mind, but I did tell him upfront that this is probably something I’m not going to go after. You know, so just be forewarned, before we actually get hitched, I, kids are probably not gonna be in, in my future. So if you’re okay with that.

[05:45] Cool. If not, then maybe we should rethink our whole thing. So he was, he was okay with it. He was like, sure. Okay. Yeah, kids take ’em or leave them. So let’s just leave them.

[05:56] Paulette: it’s an important conversation to have before you, you commit like that because that’s, that’s the deal breaker.

[06:02] Lorena: And I see a lot of ladies, you know, not have that conversation before they actually get into that, which is really amazing to me. That’s huge. I mean, that’s a deal breaker, I think.

[06:12] Paulette: It is absolutely a deal breaker. And I think that our society does not do a good job of illustrating what healthy communication in a relationship looks like. So people just take for granted that you’ll figure it out after marriage and

[06:28] Lorena: yeah.

[06:28] Paulette: No, that’s not how it works.

[06:31] Lorena: Exactly. It’s, it’s amazing to me that that is a topic that a lot of people really don’t give a lot of thought about. And I don’t wanna generalize, but it’s just. It just like, like I was thinking when I was in that frame of mind and, and seeing all my, my family take that natural progression and have children after.

[06:49] So, so that was kind of, I made my decision before I got married, not to have them. And I never really told my family that, you know, I just kind of kept it to my myself and, and my husband obviously knew, until afterwards. And then, you know, you start getting the when are you gonna have a family, you know, questions.

[07:05] And when you get with family and, and get togethers, and that’s the first thing they ask you. And, and then I just kind of just started saying, well, we’re not. I’m, I’m not having children. I’m just, I’m not gonna go there. I was pretty blunt about it too.

[07:18] Paulette: Tell us how that was, uh, received.

[07:21] Lorena: Well at first, nobody took me seriously.

[07:23] Paulette: Mm-hmm.

[07:24] Lorena: Nobody, you know, everybody’s like, nah, you’ll change your mind. Uh, even my mom, you know, it’s like, no, you’ll, you’ll, you’ll have kids. You’ll you’ll have kids. Never really pressured by my parents. Uh, thankfully, but they didn’t believe me when I said that I wasn’t having children. Until I started getting a little older and you know, 35 came along.

[07:43] Now 40 came along and they still see that I don’t have children. They pretty much accepted the fact that I am not going to have a child. And I don’t know if they are disappointed or, or, or not, but they’ve never really led on that they have. I think the, the biggest thing that I took away, one conversation that I had with my dad, which kind of took me off guard because he never pressured me with anything.

[08:09] He was always supportive in everything I did. But he did just kind of come out and say, you know, I, I really do want you to have children only because you guys bring me so much joy that I want that for you as well. And I had to say, dad okay. We bring you joy and I I’m glad we do, you know, if we, if we didn’t bring you joy, I, I, I’d feel that, and I, and I’d resent you for having us, you know, but, but you have to understand that children don’t bring me joy.

[08:38] They wouldn’t, they would bring me misery. And you don’t want misery for your daughter, do you? I mean, it’s, it’s a different thing. So I, I have so many other things that bring me joy. You don’t have to worry about that. I have joy. And I don’t think he still understood, but he accepted it. So we had that conversation.

[08:55] But after that, you know, now he, he calls my dogs, his grand puppies. And so, you know, that’s, those that’s as far as he’s gonna get with grandchildren from me.

[09:05] Paulette: Um, are you an only child?

[09:07] Lorena: I’m not, no, I have two brothers. I have an older brother and a younger brother. My older brother had kids very young. He has three kids.

[09:14] Paulette: Mm-hmm.

[09:15] Lorena: So he, they have grandchildren. They’re okay.

[09:17] Paulette: Yeah. Which I always find interesting when it’s like, well, now it’s your turn.

[09:26] So I’m, I’m always interested to see how other people’s parents react to, to that. Because I know my story is probably not as common. Yours is probably not as common either where your parents were like, oh, okay.

[09:38] Lorena: Yeah, exactly. I think, uh, I think that is pretty rare. I think more in our culture, especially, I think they would get more grief.

[09:48] All my family, I think, and I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna talk bad about anybody, but I, I really do think a lot of people settled in, in having that, making that decision and having children when they probably didn’t want to. Some cousins that I have that probably didn’t want to, but they just figured that they had to.

[10:04] Um, and they did. and I wish I would’ve spoken up at that point. You know, like, you know, you don’t have to, if you don’t want to, you know, there is another option which is not having children. But people are gonna do what they’re gonna do.

[10:15] Paulette: Well, there’s also that life script that we’re fed and when

[10:18] Lorena: Right.

[10:18] Paulette: People like you and I exist, it’s so jarring for some people to that they’re like, wait, what? That’s an option.

[10:26] Lorena: It really is.

[10:28] Paulette: And yes,

[10:29] Lorena: Absolutely

[10:30] Paulette: it

[10:31] Lorena: is.

[10:31] Paulette: It turns out you can have a fulfilling lifejust choosing one thing differently.

[10:37] Lorena: Right.

[10:37] Paulette: I’m sure that in a lot of other ways you are exactly like those cousins, you have many of the same interests and shared traits. There’s just this one little thing.

[10:47] Lorena: Yeah.

[10:47] Paulette: And it’s not, it’s not little, I don’t wanna minimize it. But like you were saying, you have joy. You are fulfilled. You are beginning stages of launching a company. You are a chingona! So it’s like, this is good.

[11:04] Lorena: Yeah, for sure. For sure. And I wish more, more people would, would realize that.

[11:09] Paulette: So how do you feel life would’ve been different if it had gone the other way?

[11:14] Lorena: Oh my gosh. I, I even, I, I don’t like to think what if. It’s not that I hate children. I don’t, I love my nieces and nephews. But I, I see my life now and how fulfilled I am and how happy I am waking up. Having a cup of coffee, completely silent.

[11:33] My dog’s just there just being good. And I feel like if that was any other way, I would be so miserable and stressed and I couldn’t do what I have have done in the past 10 years. If I had children, I know I couldn’t have.

[11:48] Paulette: Do you think the pandemic in any way better illuminated that for you? Um, and the reason I ask that is that for me, from my standpoint, where we had all the flexibility to work from home and didn’t have to worry about homeschooling and all of the difficulties that came with, you know, having multiple children at home one, or even just one child at home and all those new responsibilities that parents and teachers faced in the last two years. For me, I don’t know how people did it.

[12:17] Lorena: Oh, no, I sympathized a lot with actually, no. I would, I would go as far as I empathized a lot with parents and teachers who had to go through that. And, you know, people made fun of them because they’re like, whoa, you had, you made the choice of having children. So deal with it kind of thing. But I don’t, I didn’t wanna be that harsh and say, I mean, they didn’t have a choice for a pandemic to happen and they have to stay home.

[12:41] I did feel really bad for those who had, were forced to, to be at home and, and be with children who were there 24 7, and they didn’t have that break. And I can’t imagine, I really can’t imagine how that, how they may have, uh, felt. But I, I know that I would’ve been miserable if, if I were in that situation. So I’m very grateful and thankful and blessed that I didn’t have to go through that.

[13:07] Paulette: Yes same.

[13:09] When I asked Lorena about what else she’s creating, she talked a lot about her professional life and that’s pretty natural, if you were in Lorena’s position, who at the time was in the middle of launching her own business.

[13:20] So we drilled down a little deeper and now my dog niece Jolene will probably have something in her stocking from tití Paulette and uncle Ryan this Christmas.

[13:28] Well, now that we’ve talked about what we have in common, which is being gorgeous, childfree women, Latinas . So tell us what else you’re creating these days. We’ve talked about your company, which is amazing. What else is going on?

[13:42] Lorena: Well, I may have another, another opportunity in the works, working with a former colleague of mine, who is a fantastic salesman in the construction space. And he called me up one day and said, Hey, what are you doing these days? And I’ve only left my job for, I think it’s been a week.

[14:03] Paulette: Wait a second. So when you’re saying you’re launching this company, I did not realize that it was like we are there at launch. Because I just assumed you’ve been doing this forever because you are so confident in it and you are projecting this CEO/entrepreneur, and I am very proud of you for that, but wow.

[14:23] Lorena: Yeah, no, it’s a recent change.

[14:26] Paulette: Wow, Lori!

[14:27] Lorena: I, I worked for a company, uh, for almost two years. And I, I decided to veer left and go a different direction. So.

[14:35] Paulette: All right, boss woman energy. I’m loving this.

[14:39] Lorena: So, yeah, this opportunity that came along too with, with him, with my former colleague might go places. I really, I really enjoy his whole energy and his positivity.

[14:48] He is the most positive person I know. But we’re scheduled to have a meeting soon to talk about this new project in the works and we’ll see where that takes us. But from there, um, I just love to create. Like I said before, just developing certain things here and there. I’m, I’m working on the marketing for my husband for his real estate endeavor.

[15:07] So I’m, I have my hands in that. I have a Chihuahua shop, it’s called The Chi Society.

[15:14] Paulette: Okay.

[15:15] Lorena: And, um, I just, I create, you know, apparel accessories, everything that a Chihuahua lover would want to own is in this store that I created. So it’s, it’s an e-commerce store, so they can find it online.

[15:29] Paulette: Oh, yeah, we, we will have the link for that in the show notes. By the way, to everybody listening to this, I had no idea that Lori did this.

[15:36] So on this show, we believe everyone is a maker, but that can look many different ways. And now I’m learning all of this and I am super excited.

[15:45] Lorena: Surprise!

[15:46] Paulette: Oh my gosh, this is so cute. Okay. Do you make this stuff or is it licensed?

[15:51] Lorena: No, I make, uh, these are unique Lorena Cooke designs.

[15:55] Paulette: Okay. Oh, no, we are talking to a real artist here, ladies and gentlemen, tell me how you got into this.

[16:02] Lorena: This happened in the, during the pandemic. I was looking for something to do online. That, that, that would allow me to flex my creativity, um, muscle and also my marketing chops. So. What better way than to combine my love of dogs, specifically chihuahuas and, uh, and the marketing side? So I created this website and, um, it’s been an interesting ride with that.

[16:28] Fun, love, love, love this side project. I think I really do believe everybody should have a passion project, whatever it is. Either if you like this, you know, graphic design or graphic, uh, or website design. Uh, having something for yourself, you know, just to, to pour your, your passion over, I think should, should be done.

[16:48] Um, or however you want to release your creativity in any form. I think that that’s really important for our souls. So I really highly am recommend it.

[16:57] Paulette: Um, yeah, you’re preaching to the choir here, so, but this is monetized, right? Like this is like the passion that you monetize.

[17:04] Lorena: Yeah.

[17:04] Paulette: What else do you do that is not for public consumption like that?

[17:10] Lorena: I really like to just not think sometimes, you know? And, and to do that, I think it’s just, just enjoying life, you know, um, just being in the present. Not thinking about a lot of stuff is, is what I enjoy doing these days. Recently got into meditation, um, where every morning I meditate for at least 20, 30 minutes.

[17:32] And, and that has really made a difference in how I really look at life. That and being grateful for what I have now, you know. I’m, I’m not necessarily where I want to be financially or career wise, but you know, it is what it is. It’s a journey. And, um, I think you take it as it comes.

[17:51] And, and I think that the secret is to just enjoy where you are at any given moment. Versus having a goal and, and saying, you’ll, you’ll enjoy it, you’ll be happy when you meet that goal. No, enjoy it now. Enjoy your life now.

[18:04] Paulette: That is the ultimate life hack secret right there. That

[18:07] Lorena: right.

[18:07] Paulette: You’re always on a journey, no matter whether or not you meet the goal, because then, then what? That’s awesome. I’m so glad that you said.

[18:16] What Lorena said here is very important. You’ve often heard it said how life is a journey, not a destination. In her own words, she’s saying that you’re always working towards something. I’ve actually done a deeper dive on this inside my Facebook, which you’re welcome to join.

[18:31] The link is always in the show notes. But I’m also gonna turn this into an episode in the future. So stay tuned because I think this is so important. We’re always looking for the next thing we’re gonna accomplish or the next best thing that’s gonna be in our lives without really taking stock of where we are now. And you can see that Lorena does that now on a consistent basis. This is how she likes to spend her free time.

[18:55] Changing gears. We’re gonna go back to talking about being childfree and how it’s a boundary, a measure of being self aware.

[19:05] It is so important to know yourself and part of these childfree discussions is like, we all recognize this boundary for ourselves.

[19:13] We all recognized that we know this about ourselves. And so we’re just gonna live that. And that’s peak adulting, knowing your, knowing your limits and knowing your boundaries and living by them. You know, establishing them and being true to them. Hi, we’re peak adults.

[19:28] Lorena: I really do think childfree women are the most self-aware people that I’ve I’ve ever encountered.

[19:34] I think that they know what they want and well, childfree men too. And I, I, I enjoy being in the community. When I found it the first time I was like, whoa, this is a thing. I didn’t know that. And I really didn’t see a lot of Latinas in the community and I still don’t! You know, I see here and there. Either they don’t know that this community exists or I’d like to think that that’s the reason. That they don’t know that this community exists versus not being a lot of us out there.

[20:01] Paulette: Well, it’s also a matter of representation.

[20:03] Lorena: Yeah.

[20:03] Paulette: If we are not out there as childfree Latinas, they don’t think that there is anybody out there like us. Hence the whole reason for this season. And this entire podcast to exist. We gotta represent! When, when people say we gotta represent, this is what they mean, right?

[20:20] Lorena: For sure. I totally applaud your efforts in that. I think this is, this is what’s needed for sure. This is great. This is a great endeavor that you’re embarking on.

[20:30] Paulette: Lorena’s answer to the question of legacy is similar to everyone else’s so far this season, but I love her take. Listen, as she tells her story and weaves this imagery, she just paints this beautiful picture. And you can see how that became the title of this episode.

[20:46] A lot of people ask us, like one of the bingos that we get is, well, if you’re not having kids, what’s your legacy? And I think that is such a sad way to look at things. Truth of the matter, whether or not people have kids, most of the time they don’t leave a legacy.

[21:00] Lorena: That’s true. Yeah.

[21:02] Paulette: How quickly are, do we forget our ancestors?

[21:05] Lorena: Exactly. Exactly. It’s never just there. I mean, it’s, it’s, you’re, you’re completely right. That, that part I never really understood. Well, I’m having children to leave a legacy or leave my name sake behind or, uh. I, I did I, I just didn’t get it. But my legacy, well, I currently wanna be a lighthouse for others.

[21:24] Which means that instead of pulling people towards me, either with my business and in my, in the product and services that I sell. Or pretty soon in the fact that when I try to communicate or articulate what I’ve learned about how to live life, um, I, I want to try to reach as many people as possible to try to, you know, let them know that not necessarily the childfree way, which is a great way, and, and something that’s completely needed to, to broadcast out there, but, but just living, just living your true self.

[21:59] I wanna be a lighthouse for others to, to look up to. For people to know that you can be fulfilled in different ways. And you know, you can find happiness and joy in other ways, and in ways that you have maybe always dreamed about doing, but never really thought it was possible.

[22:20] I think that there’s always, there’s always truth in dreams. And, and when people think that it’s not achievable or it’s way too unrealistic to reach out for those dreams, I think that mindset needs to change. People need to be more, yes, I can do it. Yes. I can go after this. Yes. I can be a seven figure business.

[22:39] Yes. I can have a mansion by the waterfront. Yes. I can have an Aston Martin. You can have it. You can, and you just have to really believe and have that unwavering faith, um, to that you can do it. And hopefully by me actually putting my, my words to practice and actually doing and accomplishing what I wanna do, when people see that, they say, Hey, how did she do it? Well, let me tell you how I did it.

[23:03] Paulette: So we’re gonna be having this conversation again in 10 years, we’ll go back to your lighthouse imagery, which is beautiful. And we’re gonna talk about how many boats you have ushered through dark waters by being the lighthouse that you are.

[23:16] Lorena: I love that. That is so, oh, that’s cute. That’s great.

[23:19] Paulette: Girl you’re the one that developed the whole analogy. I just was like, I’m gonna ride these waves with you because I’ve, I’ve never heard it put that way and I love it. I love it. You’re a lighthouse.

[23:30] Lorena: I can’t take credit for it. I know I’ve heard it somewhere.

[23:33] Paulette: I heard you say it and lighthouses are so cool.

[23:36] Lorena: They are, aren’t they? Love it.

[23:38] Paulette: You must be a water baby too.

[23:40] Lorena: Oh, I live by the ocean. I’m in Fort Lauderdale.

[23:43] Paulette: There you go. Oceans, boats. And lighthouses have always just seemed like solitary and cool. And kind of like mysterious.

[23:53] Yes. Something about them has always, has always drawn me to them.

[23:56] Here it is. The moment you’ve all been waiting for. This is where Lori’s gonna offer you a challenge. Did you accomplish it? How did it go? If you did it DM us. Our contact information is in the show notes.

[24:08] What else about Lorena Cooke that is important for the world to know?

[24:13] Lorena: I, I want the world to know this: that we are all connected in some way.

[24:18] I really do feel that. I really do believe that there is some sort of connection that humans are meant to have. And for whatever reason, now with all this technology, that’s arising, um, social media and everything that’s kind of pushing us away from each other. I, I hope that changes and I hope that the human connection comes back.

[24:44] The conversations with strangers comes back. This this needs to happen more. We need to just talk to each other more, you know? We need to be happy with, with us! Our humans, our species, you know, and, and live life the way that it think it’s meant to be lived. So if that’s the one thing that I can maybe put out there in the world in the universe is, is that. I challenge everyone to do this the next time you’re at the, a red light look to your rights or to your left, where there’s a car beside you and just wave. And just smile and wave to that person and see what happens.

[25:21] Some might be weirded out by you and some might wave back! But who cares what they do? You did something and you may have brightened somebody’s day. Go out and do that and, and see what happens.

[25:30] Paulette: It’s a gesture of kindness that costs nothing.

[25:32] Lorena: Exactly.

[25:33] Paulette: And for all, you know, it could pay dividends for that other person. I think that is a beautiful challenge. Yeah. I want everyone listening to try that. The next time they’re out in their car, turn to the car next to you and just wave. Just wave. And then let us know what happens.

[25:47] Lorena: Yes.

[25:47] Paulette: You know, you can make a comment on the blog post that always goes up for this, or just DM us on Instagram and tell us how that went for you.

[25:54] Lorena: I’m curious to know what happens.

[25:56] Paulette: Quick editor’s note: obviously, we mean do this safely. If the person next to you looks sketchy, maybe don’t engage them. But if it’s a kindly old lady, somebody who recognize as your neighbor, you know, that kind of thing. Don’t put yourself in danger.

[26:09] Yeah. You know, Mel Robbins talks about doing the high five in the mirror for five days to yourself and how that’s like the act of giving yourself a high five is so empowering. Like you are recognizing yourself. You’re saying, I see you.

[26:22] Lorena: Totally.

[26:22] Paulette: And you’re turning that same energy towards another person, and sometimes that’s easier than giving it to yourself. So if you can’t do the high five challenge, do the hello wave challenge in your car. All right, Lori, thank you so much for your time today.

[26:36] This has been so much fun. I’m gonna have, I’m gonna be thinking about lighthouses the rest of the day. Thank you for challenging the listeners to wave to the people next to them. I think that’s super cool. And you know, you can find Lori on the internet, all of her links will be in the show notes. If you are interested in joining the Childfree Wives community, where we met, all you have to do is be married.

[26:59] You don’t have to be married to a man. You can be just partnered or engaged. I believe those are the rules.

[27:06] Lorena: Yeah.

[27:06] Paulette: This group doesn’t belong to either one of us, but it is a very nice corner of the internet. If you are looking for support in that way.

[27:12] Lorena: It is.

[27:13] Paulette: All right, Lori. So you know how we sign off on this show, right?

[27:17] Lorena: I do. I sure do.

[27:18] Paulette: Go for it.

[27:19] Lorena: That’s a burrito.

[27:21] Paulette: Wanna talk about this week’s episode? Feel free to DM me on Instagram. My info is always in the show notes. And if you’re looking to be a guest in the future for The Maker Muse Podcast, check out the guest form on my website at themakermuse.co. Yes, themakermuse.co. It’s also linked in the show notes.

[27:39] And hey muchisimas gracias for listening to another episode of The Maker Muse Podcast! Are you subscribed? If not now would be a great time to do that. New episodes come out every Tuesday. I’m on Apple, on Spotify, wherever you listen. And then can I ask you a favor? Could you please tell all of your friends and family about it?

[27:58] ¿Sus amigues, su familia? Because if you love it, they probably will too. And I’d really appreciate it if you could rate and review it wherever you’re listening right now, ¡Hasta la proxima!