Looking Back with LaQuita Monley on Life in Small Town America

So many people think that my story is inspiring.

How I became blind at just 17 years of age.

They always want to know how I've done it and how I've kept smiling all along the way.

Well, I've just chosen to focus my attention on seeing the positive side of the life.

And here on the podcast, that's what I want to do for you.

Because no matter what you may be going through in life, I hope to inspire you to focus on the positive.

And you know what?

I hope that I can also be a source of inspiration for you to just keep on smiling.

Hey, my name is Kevin O, and I am the host here on The Lowdown with Kevin O.

And today I am coming at you with episode number 62, where I am sitting down with Lakita Monley.

Now, Lakita, she does some pretty amazing stuff in her life today, and we're gonna get to that.

But for myself, it was Lakita's backstory, kind of where she grew up, where she came from.

What life did Lakita live as a child growing up in the South?

And I thought it was pretty awesome.

The power of human connection.

That here we are, me and Lakita, two totally different people, coming from two totally different walks of life, but we find such a common bond.

And today it was really a bond over growing up in the South.

So we're gonna be talking about catching tadpoles, growing up in strong Christian homes, you know, just getting into all that kind of life stuff.

But we also dive into, you know, other aspects of Lakita's life that that truly shaped her, like becoming a mother while she was still basically a child herself.

And, you know, we never understand fully why things have to go like they do in our life.

But I'm a firm believer that it all works out just the way God had planned.

And, you know, sometimes life is messy.

The road is is rarely is it ever smooth.

Sometimes it's got potholes way too big, it's way too messed up, the road is is rough.

You all you want is a fresh paved road to travel down.

But as I found in my life, rarely does that happen.

But you know what?

That's what makes us the people we are today.

Because we are the road that we've traveled down.

And you know what?

We've we've made it.

And in the case of today's amazing guest, Lakita Monley, well, she's doing it and excelling at it in unimaginable ways.

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SPEAKER_07: Growing up in the South, now, from where I'm sitting at in life now, it was great.

The kid that I was then, not so much.

But I grew up in a small town in Mississippi.

But and overall, life was good.

Lots of family around, my parents, my grandparents.

I grew up in a really big family on both my mom's side and my dad's side.

Longevity is a thing.

So growing up, I had my grandmothers, great-grandmothers, and even great-great-grandmothers there with me for quite some time.

I ended up at some point in my life society, staying with my paternal grandmother was cool because it was just me and her.

And that meant I got more stuff.

SPEAKER_02: So smart, smart.

SPEAKER_07: Yeah.

So, you know, I ended up, I was raised by my dad's mom, my paternal grandmother, and she really, really pushed.

She loved, she was an avid reader.

Still today, she's an avid reader.

So we had some of our best times with the library and different things, and she always encouraged me to read and read more in athletics.

And so as a teenager, I had this passion for basketball and sports.

And like any other teenager, at some point I discovered that boys were cute, right?

Most teenage girls do, right?

Discovered it was boys were cute.

I happened to meet my husband when I was a freshman in high school.

And, you know, by God's grace, we're still together today.

And I was a freshman a long time ago.

SPEAKER_02: I ain't gonna ask you how long, but we'll just go.

When you said, when you stretched out that word long, I was like, we're just gonna leave that one alone, right?

SPEAKER_07: But you know, God is good.

He's faithful.

You know, growing, like I said, being the kid, I didn't appreciate a lot of the things that were taking place in my life as a child.

Now, as an adult with children and grandchildren, I really wish some aspects of my childhood that we could have produced for our kids.

But with us having such a large family, and then, you know, being it's it's that benefit of small town living.

Your family has really been in that town for so long.

So you have cousins that are not cousins, but they are cousins.

Yep, yeah.

A lot of that.

Yep, you know, we have a lot of that.

So the love came from everywhere, you know.

And there was not a moment, I could, especially like in the summertime, there was not a moment where I can remember not having a place that I can go to to cool off if I was too hot, get something to eat if I was hungry.

And even with the eating, it wasn't necessarily going inside the house, but we grew up again in a small town, Mississippi.

And so a lot of people had gardens.

Whether or not you were a full-fledged farmer or not, you had gardens.

It was the common thing that most everyone had a garden.

So if we're out playing and you get hungry, you know, you can run through and grab a couple of tomatoes or cucumbers.

You know, me, I like fresh corn.

I could grab some corn, plums, apples, pears, blueberries, just whatever, you know, and you can keep right on playing.

And it was, it was during a time in life where parents were not afraid to let their children roam freely in the neighborhood because literally everyone knew everybody and you were safe.

You know, the moms were home, the grandmothers were home, and you were safe.

And if you did something you shouldn't, someone would correct you, and before you got home, your mom would know about it.

So you were not as likely to act up in public.

SPEAKER_02: But but I mean, was it wasn't that though, like, you know, I mean, I mean, talk about making us sound old, but like the good old days.

SPEAKER_07: You know what I mean, though?

It was.

It was.

It really was, you know, like some of when you're a teenager and you're in middle school and you're at that really curious, mischievous age, and you want to kind of do things and stretch those limits of what you know is approved and not approved.

Of course, you don't like it.

It was annoying to know that my next door neighbor and she was partially blind, but I promise it was only a it was a ruse because she saw everything I was doing.

It's like there was nothing that I could do that she didn't see.

And with Taylor.

SPEAKER_02: Well, I well, I started to say, as me, he was fully blind.

You better bet I would have known with Queenie out there running through that garden stealing a tomato.

SPEAKER_07: Yes, I've been on the phone.

That's exactly what happened.

It's like it's gonna, you know, go.

Miss Donnell is still living, bless her heart.

And but during that time, I would be so just amazed.

My friends would be like, isn't she like and her grandsons and I were friends, like, isn't your grandmother half blind like she's supposed to be?

And they'd be like, yeah, but she doesn't miss a thing.

And she didn't miss a thing.

SPEAKER_02: Oh my goodness, that is hysterical.

SPEAKER_07: You know, and and like I said, at that time, that was the most annoying thing ever.

And you felt like you were just being, you know, strangled, right?

Like I had no freedom and you know, all of the things that would run through a young person's mind.

But now, you know, as the adult that has raised children, my husband was active duty military for 24 plus years.

So my children were not raised in that type of environment.

So there was, of course, a degree of trust when we lived on the military installation.

But in those times where we lived in the neighboring cities, would I let my children go a mile or two miles away to go and play, ride their bikes or running and just go be free?

And as teenagers, yeah, big teenagers, you'll do that.

But I remember doing that when I was nine, ten, eleven, you know, seven or eight, even, because if where we live, to get to the creek where everybody likes to, you know, go, I'm southern, you guys.

So I hope y'all understand what I'm about to say.

You go about to go tadpoling or get you some crawdads or something like that.

You got to get to the creek, right?

And my parents live more towards the city.

So we had to go and and no and go through the and go through a couple of forests or some woods to get the shortcut to get to where you were going.

And you're at this lake or this creek or whatnot, and not everybody can swim.

And I was one of those people that couldn't swim.

But my parents were not afraid that I would make good choices.

And we were with a group of friends that were trusting, and they knew that along that route, there were so many friends and family that would have a good eye on us as we were going and coming.

Yep.

SPEAKER_03: Yeah.

SPEAKER_07: That we would be quite all right.

SPEAKER_02: In such a difference from the world today.

It is.

It is.

And and that's where, and and I can relate to everything you're saying so much because I can tell you so when when I was growing up, when I was little, and and I'm talking, I was probably like four or five years old.

My older cousin Josh, he was five years older than me.

So we're still only talking like nine or ten.

But at that point, though, it was, oh, well, Kevin's with Josh.

They're fine.

Absolutely.

Meanwhile, yeah, and so I mean, we were all over the place out where we lived.

And and when you're talking about, we'd go out, meet me and me and my cousin Josh, we'd always call it, we were going stupid.

We had us a net, and we'd go down and scoop it for crawfish and the little tadpoles and stuff.

SPEAKER_07: Come back home with a bucket of tadpoles, and your mama meets you at the door, like, why?

But she didn't throw them away, right?

Because she knew they'd die quick.

So, you know, me and my brothers, we got all of these tadpos and and and and polyguons, and sometimes we call it depending on where they were in their in their development, sometimes fish and just whatever, and these stinky things at the back door.

SPEAKER_02: Yeah, exactly.

Exactly.

Oh my goodness, that is so funny.

But but it is though, and and and and I mean, and like I said, just like those good old days when when kids could do that.

Yeah.

And and there wasn't this worry.

Oh my goodness.

Well, well, I'm I'm glad to know that you you had a an amazing childhood like that.

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07: I did.

I did, I did.

I wouldn't trade it for the world.

While I was experiencing it, I didn't understand the value of it.

But like I said, now as an adult, there were so many times that my husband and I, he would try to get stationed closer to home just so that our kids could have that experience growing up in the safety of small town America, right?

Because I know there are small towns all over America where people have this story.

And it's not, it's not something that's just restrictive to any ethnic group that is represented in America.

That's small town America, Barnone, wherever you find it, Small Town America has stories like that where it's the safest place on earth, right?

SPEAKER_02: Absolutely, absolutely.

So now, so now at some point though, so you so you mentioned to me in, I think you said ninth grade is when is when you met your now husband.

SPEAKER_05: Yes.

SPEAKER_02: And so, so as much as is like we're talking about though, like this childhood and stuff, childhood kind of entered adulthood real quick, though, for you.

SPEAKER_07: It did, it did.

Childhood entered adulthood because I made some bad decisions.

We collectively.

SPEAKER_06: You're saying it takes two to three.

You know, it works like that.

SPEAKER_07: It took two, so yeah, so you know, I met him when I was a freshman, and probably about I would say a good six months, nine months into dating, I figured I had met my life mate.

Yes.

And obviously, he felt the same way.

And I'm not, and I have to say this, it was a combined decision, but it wasn't a decision that he pressured me into making.

It was one day I woke up with this bright idea.

Yes.

And so, you know, prior to meeting him, dating had been brief.

You know, you might have a friend, uh, two weeks if you're lucky, right?

SPEAKER_01: Yes.

SPEAKER_07: Especially because I was not sexually active before I met him.

And when we initially started dating, and he asked that question like, is that a possibility?

And so my answer was no.

My faith and my fear won't let me do that.

I don't want to go to hell, and I don't know you're gonna be my husband.

And my fear wasn't necessarily of hell fire like that, but my fear of my parents and my grandparents wouldn't, no, nobody.

So if that's a requirement, we can just be friends.

And he grew up in a very strong Christian household as well.

So even though it was, he probably would have preferred that I did, he understood that I wasn't sexually active.

And so after that conversation, he never brought it up again.

He never brought it up again.

He respected my decision and we left it at that.

And I have to be honest, even so in some times where another guy would have just taken advantage of me, not like in a violent way, but would have used those moments when your emotions are overriding your good sense, he wouldn't.

SPEAKER_03: Yeah.

SPEAKER_07: If it was going in a place where he knew that I wouldn't stand on my decision to just say no, he would stop.

And we dated for several years like that, for a couple of years.

And finally one day I decided within myself, you know what?

He must be the one.

So I want to know what everybody's thinking and talking about.

Like, you know, what is this big thing?

And so we revisited that conversation, and now I have a 26-year-old son because I should have stuck to my original decision.

SPEAKER_02: Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_07: But you know, that's one of the things where I like to talk a lot to young men and young women.

Like, we're saying the good old days, but like you said, we're not old.

No.

And just like his father raised him to be respectful in that manner, we raise our children to be respectful in that manner.

So there is still young men and young women who will honor a person's decision of celibacy.

SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.

SPEAKER_07: They will abstain because they like you.

Yes.

He liked me.

So he was content dating me to get to know me.

And if I could tell my young self something, I would have told my young self to just hold on because God had him already ordained to be my husband.

He's going to be your husband.

So save that for that moment.

SPEAKER_02: Yep.

Exactly.

Exactly.

Well, so if you don't mind me asking that, so when you got pregnant, though, were you still in high school?

I was.

Or was that after?

SPEAKER_07: Oh, I was a junior.

SPEAKER_00: Okay.

SPEAKER_07: I was a junior, getting ready to go into my senior year.

And we had been dating since I was a freshman.

Well, so was he the same age as you?

No.

He was a senior when we met.

So I was 15, he was 17.

Okay.

SPEAKER_02: Okay.

Okay.

So how how did that affect life?

Oh.

As in the end of junior year, and now you you become pregnant?

SPEAKER_07: So I was this amazing athlete, and now that was over.

Because I made a decision.

And so we ended up making several decisions.

So we made I made the decision to have sex.

And because it wasn't a smart decision, it was unprotected sex.

And well, look who got lucky, you know.

And so nobody has to deal with this, right?

And so, of course, there there is that decision out there, you know, what are you gonna do with the pregnancy?

And then to be uh quite fair, I wanted to terminate the pregnancy because I was just out of my mind.

Like, what am I gonna do?

I'm a kid, I've got college in my future, we're already at scouts checking out.

I, you know, I like you and I know I want to be married to you one day, but not today, right?

And so he was adamantly against it.

SPEAKER_01: Yes.

SPEAKER_07: And so was my family.

But the decision was mine to make.

And so it ended up being a decision that I really had to put some for the first time in my life, try to apply adult thought to a situation when I was not yet an adult.

Having been in that situation, teenagers cannot make adult decisions.

Even in trying their very best to make adult decisions, sometimes teenagers can make good decisions, but even if in making that good decision is so life-changing, it's it's you're mentally, emotionally not ready for that.

So even though I did end up making the decision to not terminate the pregnancy, there was still adverse consequences to me making that decision.

And you know, it was a bad decision to say I'm gonna terminate the pregnancy because I still would have had to deal with the guilt of that for the rest of my life.

It was still because I'm a teenager, I'm a kid.

And now I've made this decision that I'm gonna fast-forward myself into adulthood, to parenthood, and I still struggle with what I was gonna wear that next day.

You know, not that women don't, but you know, yep.

I was still doing what teenage girls do.

So I know what you're saying.

That was still a really rough place in my life, and I did have some great support.

His family is super supportive.

My sister-in-law at the time, his oldest sister was living and working in New Orleans, Louisiana, and she had always been a really good friend to me.

And at that time, my husband was already in the reserves, he was in the Army Reserve, and she said, I know you guys had different life plans.

And because you guys are working hard to try to achieve your goals, you made this mistake.

So, what I'll do, I'll adopt your child so that you can go and do life according to your as much as you can according to your original plan.

And when you're ready, then you can come and get your child.

Wow.

And it's like, okay, that's a decision still.

So I made some bad mistakes, but again, I'll attribute it back to the way people are.

People, I think, in their heart, by and large, are good people, and especially when you have strong family ties.

SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_07: Strong family ties mean so, so much because at this point, yes, we were still girlfriend and boyfriend, but now I'm a part of your family for the rest of eternity because I am now the mother of your nephew.

So she'd finished university.

She was already working, you know, a working professional, young working professional.

And but she was willing to put her life literally on hold in order to be a blessing.

Us.

In the end, we ended up saying no.

Thank you, but no, thank you.

This is a decision that we've made and we're gonna see it through to the end.

Don't know how it's gonna work out.

SPEAKER_01: Yes.

SPEAKER_07: We just we're gonna believe God, you know, and and we'll be calling on our parents and grandparents a whole lot.

SPEAKER_01: Of course.

SPEAKER_07: In order to make this thing happen.

And yeah, yeah.

That was it was really stressful.

It was really stressful, though we did not get married right then.

We did get married in 1997, which was a year after I graduated high school.

So uh but still I'm 18.

So I'm 18 and I'm married with a kid.

SPEAKER_02: And wow right so did you did you continue high school for your senior year, or did you have to just drop out?

SPEAKER_07: Yes.

So if we can look at life and know, and you can see where where God had angels, right?

Where he had individuals that he designed them to be in your life for that moment to help you through.

Absolutely.

So because I was a teenage pregnancy, that automatically made me high risk.

Okay.

So that meant I had to have a social worker.

And my social worker, amazing woman, absolutely phenomenal woman.

And so one of the things that she was, what she was supposed to do was teach me life's coping skills and parenting skills.

And again, this is the early 90s, right?

So teenage pregnancies were at their like an all-time high.

It was this alarming thing that was happening across the nation, and nobody knew how to respond to it in a good way.

Yes.

And so she was determined that she would not allow the young ladies that were assigned to her to become a statistic.

Whatever it was that there was original life goal was just because you got pregnant does not mean that you cannot accomplish that goal.

You've made it harder on yourself to get it, but you can't get it.

And so at that time there were programs where girls who were teenage pregnancy, they were encouraged to, you know, go take a couple of vocational courses, get your GED, and learn how to use government assistance.

And that's not what I wanted.

Like I had a 3.7 GPA.

I wasn't stupid, I had a dumb moment, right?

I was already college preparatory.

I just had a dumb moment where I made not a good decision, right?

And so she was asking me in an appointment one day, what did I want to do next?

And I was so depressed.

And, you know, and I answered her for my truth right then.

My truth in that moment was, I don't know what I'm gonna do.

I can't do what I thought I was because I've got a kid.

So college is a no-go.

You know, I don't know how I'm not going to end up in some dead-end job or just living off of assistance if my boyfriend doesn't get a good job that can take care of us.

And she snapped me back to reality so fast and lovingly.

And she said, you know, she because she had access to my school records and everything.

And she told me, You can be and do whatever you want to be and do.

And because my boyfriend was still there, you know, she had the proper answer.

Wow.

Young men don't stick around to be fathers because oftentimes nobody teaches them how.

And so because we came from good homes, not only would she spend time with me, but she would spend time with him and go to his house and come to our house.

And that just meant so much to us, right?

So she let me know that finish high school, their programs, summer school is an option because you're gonna miss time when you go to have the baby.

With your GPA, you'll be all right.

You can make it up literally in summer school and you'll be fine.

You know, and at that time, my as my boyfriend, he was working at Walmart Distribution.

And so because what I needed wasn't available in my school district, there was out of district fees to pay for me to go to another school district to get the courses that I needed so that I could stay on graduation track.

And so he did.

He paid for that so that I could stay on graduation track.

And our social worker followed us from the time I was pregnant, and she followed us for five additional years later.

Wow.

When we left in 1996, we left in July of 1996 to come to Texas together.

That was his first active duty duty station.

When she came by, I didn't think about to give her any forwarding information.

I figured I've had the baby and she's done her bit, right?

Yes.

No, her follow-up still went on.

So when she came to the house for a drop-in visit, of course, my parents gave her what our new phone number was in Texas.

And I remember the first time she called, I was so amazed.

I was so amazed.

And she followed us to two more duty stations.

Wow.

She followed us to two more duty stations.

So the entire time I was in Texas from 96 to 99, we went back home to Mississippi for a year because my husband went to Korea.

She still checked on me then.

And then the third duty station was in Washington State.

I was there from 2000 until 2002.

I had my child in 1995.

SPEAKER_02: Wow.

She was somebody who cared.

Yes.

Yes.

And and I'm sitting here and I'm listening to you and I'm thinking to myself, you know, that's that's what, whether you're, it's your profession or or not.

Remember what you just said and how much it meant to you because you had somebody who wasn't related to you.

They weren't, they weren't your parent, they weren't your your sibling, they were, you know, a stranger, but they cared.

Yes.

And they left an impact.

SPEAKER_07: Absolutely.

Absolutely.

She is definitely a memorial stone in my life.

I knew God created Miss Boijensch.

If she didn't, if he didn't, I know she's got a husband and children, and he created her for them, but he created her for me and being.

SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no.

No, but that's that's so that's so awesome.

Yeah.

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07: Yeah.

She was very important, very, very integral part of my life as to why we didn't give up hope.

Like, I don't want to say that we would have given up hope had she not come along, but she was definitely that additional resource that our families needed to keep us moving forward in a good way.

Yes.

Because our families never ceased to support us.

Yep.

But like you said, it was that impartial person who was really speaking the same thing that they were speaking and encouraging us in the same way that they were encouraging us.

So even though we may have not always been listening to them because they're mom and dad, right?

Yep.

Coming from her was even, you know, that much more impactful.

SPEAKER_02: Yeah.

Wow.

You know, this entire story, this little piece of your story, you know, I can't help but but relate it to my family, to actually to my mom, because my mom, she she was a junior in high school when she got pregnant with my sister.

And so like I see that that comparison there.

But then I also see the big comparison with the support of family on both sides, both on my mom's side as well as as you know, my my dad's side, you know, all joined together immediately in support.

And and that's what I've said, even completely different subject, but even just from my perspective, my life, you know, is the family dynamic, the family support and stuff.

I just, I literally, I don't know how people make it through life who don't have family.

SPEAKER_07: Yeah.

I can definitely agree with that because of course there were some not good moments along that route, right?

Like there were some definitely rock-bottom moments.

But family makes a difference.

SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.

Absolutely.

Now, I am curious to know, though, as far as in the South, you know, I don't know, your family like Southern Baptists?

SPEAKER_07: So my husband's family is missionary Baptists and my family is free will Baptists, which to me, I mean, of course, there's differences, but at the end of the day, not a whole lot of differences.

SPEAKER_02: Of course, of course.

Well, I I just wondered with when when that all happened and you got pregnant and stuff, what did you experience anything in in regards to that?

SPEAKER_07: Yes, yes, I did.

I did initially.

One of the biggest rejections actually happened outside of the church, but prior to that, you know, I was the perfect little church girl, right?

You know, I was the one always picked to represent the church in any and all youth activities at other churches and, you know, at the summer Bible camps and whatnot.

And now I'm this big pregnant girl.

I can no longer do that.

Yes.

So no, you know, now I was not the epitome to look up to anymore, right?

SPEAKER_03: Yep.

SPEAKER_07: Yeah, I hear you.

Now, I have heard some stories where some young ladies just received some awful, awful treatment.

I will say that I didn't receive any blatant in your face, like, oh, you're going to hell, you're just this sinful person, da-da-da-da-da.

It was more or less, okay, you're not necessarily being the one that's picked anymore.

But what I can say for my church family is there was one Sunday school teacher.

Her name is Barbara Mac Morris.

And she was one of the people in my life that I like I really looked up to.

She's this beautiful woman.

She was an educator, so smart.

I love the way she talked.

I loved everything about how she carried herself.

And she always dressed amazing, right?

She never once wavered in how she treated me or responded to me or dealt with me.

Her smile never left.

And that meant a lot.

So, like when other people no longer had a smile, she always had a ready smile.

And we never directly spoke about my pregnancy, but she always spoke to me in terms of my life choices.

Like she knew what I want, she knew I wanted to go to college because me and her daughter were really good friends.

And so she always spoke to me like that.

Like, I was not pregnant, like this thing is not gonna stop you.

Yep.

So that conversation never changed with her.

SPEAKER_01: Yes.

SPEAKER_07: And it was always love.

So that's what I mean.

And that played a big role.

So instead of focusing on some of the people who may not have been that nice anymore, I could focus on her.

SPEAKER_02: Yes.

I love that.

I love that.

Going back to somebody who cares, somebody who who who can look past all of the things of society and in in the church and all these, you know, things that how everything's supposed to be, and just see people for who they are and be kind and and love one another.

Yes.

Yes.

So so I'm curious though.

So so after high school, so did you go on to college?

SPEAKER_07: Not immediately.

Not immediately.

It took a lot of years.

So I did not I didn't go to college until 2001.

Okay.

Okay.

Yep.

Uh right after high school, Ben and I, I left with my husband to come to his first duty station.

And we weren't married.

SPEAKER_00: Okay.

SPEAKER_07: To the chagrin of both of our families.

Right.

Well, that's how we got the kid.

So, like I said, I mean, we're young people, so we didn't always make the best decisions.

And so the thought process behind that was okay, we're going to see how this works.

And you can go to college because he'd been here, he'd been to Fort Hood because he got stationed in Fort Hood in May.

So he was at home for my graduation and then he left.

SPEAKER_00: Okay.

SPEAKER_07: And to go to his duty station.

And so he had leave to come home for the 4th of July.

And so we decided, because prior to that, we were like, eh, are we going to be together?

We're not going to be together.

SPEAKER_01: Yes.

SPEAKER_07: And when he left, we were more on the side of this probably not going to work.

And while we were we were separated for those few weeks, we decided, okay, let's try it, right?

But I don't know if I want to marry you.

So this is what we're going to do.

We're just going to live together.

Like bad decision again, right?

I do not recommend that for anybody.

So then he says, and here's the school.

So I was supposed to have been accepted at University of Southern Mississippi.

And as far as my family knew, I was going to University of Southern Mississippi because they had an amazing program, and they probably still do for single mothers fresh out of high school, that you get an apartment that you and your child could stay in, and childcare was available to you on the campus because you were a student.

Wow.

So people were trying to be accommodating because, again, most people just have dumb moments.

And a lot of those young ladies were just having dumb moments, but they needed an opportunity.

And I had a cousin who was attending USM in that program because we had a dumb moment together.

You know, we were dating friends.

So like I'm gonna come.

And my cousin is there, and so I wouldn't be alone, and she could help me navigate this thing.

And the University of Southern Mississippi is a good school.

So as far as my family knew, that's where I was going until the day they found out I wasn't.

Because we both knew neither one of our families were going to agree to this.

So we had agreed that we would tell them the day prior to me leaving.

Yeah.

Oh, I do not recommend that for anybody.

Bad decision number one.

Don't do that.

SPEAKER_06: Like, yeah, like, you know, a lot of bad decisions.

SPEAKER_07: So here we are, moving to Killing, Texas.

We're not married.

And because we're dumb, and because we're kids, right?

You know, so I don't I say dumb loosely, we're not just fully informed.

And but when you're a young person making these decisions that are not fully informed, you think you know everything.

Yep.

So instead of me doing the obvious, which would have been speak to a school counselor about how me coming to school in Texas would actually work, I didn't.

SPEAKER_01: Okay.

SPEAKER_07: And instead of him speaking to a school counselor on this end, an admissions counselor, about how school works, he didn't.

So we get here and we get things set up, and I go so that I can enroll.

We go out so we can get me enrolled and so that I can take courses at night.

Nobody told us about out-of-state tuition, mostly because we didn't ask.

And so our entire bubble burst that I could not go to school because there was no money for that.

Because that's out-of-state tuition.

And because we were not married, I could not use military benefits to be considered a resident.

I hadn't only lived in Texas, you know, a couple of weeks at this time.

So I wasn't quite a resident yet.

I needed a year residency back then.

You had to have a year residency.

So by the time that year came where I was now a resident and we were married, I was pregnant with baby number two.

SPEAKER_00: Okay.

SPEAKER_07: So, yeah, that wasn't even on my mind for a long time.

And then the children just kept coming.

SPEAKER_02: So, you know, they just kept coming.

And someone would start to ask, you know how that happens, right?

You know, I think what happened.

SPEAKER_07: It just kept happening.

You know, we fast forward to 2001, and I'm back in school.

Um I get to go to school this time.

My my children are in school.

They're they're all in pre-K.

And well, actually, the oldest one was in first grade, and the younger ones, we were paying for them to go to private school.

Something like a Montessori.

We're going to something like a Montessori.

So I had the time to go to school at night.

SPEAKER_00: Okay.

SPEAKER_07: So me and my husband enrolled together.

So the Army was really at this time really pushing the need for soldiers to get a higher education in order to get promotion.

And so they were allowing the so they were giving the soldiers laptops, everything you needed to be successful in college.

The army was giving that to them.

And so he was going to school.

And so he was like, okay, we're going to go to school together.

You know, it's our fault.

It's my fault.

You didn't go to school when you were supposed to go to school.

So look, this is what we're going to do.

You're going to school.

And so we both enrolled into Central Texas College.

And we started going to school.

And I loved it.

And then one day I found out I was pregnant again.

I was like, this has got to be the worst thing ever, right?

Like, this is not fun.

Like, what in the world is happening here after all of these years?

And now you tell me I'm pregnant.

Yeah.

Because at this time, my youngest son is four years younger than my daughter.

And everybody else has barely 15 months between them, right?

So it's like, what is this, Juju?

You speak.

I'm pregnant.

No.

What are you talking about?

Like, no, this is cannot be.

And it just spiraled me into another depression and the desire to make a bad decision.

It's like, okay, this is not happening because at that point, my husband and I had decided we didn't like each other anymore.

It's like, let's just agree that we're going to be great co-parents.

And we just not gonna be married.

Like, let's say, agree to that.

And so we had agreed to, we were working out that agreement.

And here I am, I'm pregnant.

And that was the last thing in the world that I wanted to hear.

And so here comes this decision again.

Like, you know, you could just get rid of the baby.

Yeah.

And so that seemed like the easy route, the easy way out.

And at this point, where we were living at the time, Washington State, it's very easily accessible.

And whether my husband agreed or not, and I think that's still the case.

Like, you're, even if you're married, your husband has no say-so in that.

And I don't think that's fair, but that's a conversation for another day.

So he could not stop me.

I knew that wasn't what he wanted, but he could not stop me.

But he would support me in that he would take me and you know take care of me after the fact until I just determined how I was going to move back to Mississippi or Texas, because at that time we lived in Washington State.

And I thank God for how he communicates with me.

And needless to say, David is here and he is wonderful.

And it did not happen.

And I remember when I let him know, I let be because we went to the appointments and everything.

SPEAKER_01: Yes.

SPEAKER_07: And when I when it was time for me to go to that last appointment to actually have the procedure, I told him I wasn't gonna go.

I changed my mind.

I didn't know what I was gonna do.

And he just grabbed me and hugged me and said, it's gonna be all right.

You know, I don't know how we're gonna fix it, right?

Like, because we didn't hate each other.

We just we're not working well together as spouses.

So, because even then, I was like, I don't even know how I got pregnant because I don't like you like that.

But it happened, obviously.

SPEAKER_02: So, what made you at that very last moment decide not to do it?

SPEAKER_07: The emotional stress, the emotional stress of it.

Like I could not get sleep.

Like nothing I did would give me rest, give me sleep.

That thing was just occupying every thought.

And when I did try to drift to sleep, it occupied every dream of just, you know, what are you doing?

SPEAKER_04: Yes.

SPEAKER_07: Right?

And at that time in my life, I have to be very honest, I was pro-choice at that time in my life.

I was pro-choice.

And pro-choice, especially with extenuating circumstances.

You know, here I am.

I'm a woman.

And so if somebody violates you in a very bad way, you know, do you really want to deal with that for the rest of your life?

I was still I was pro-choice, you know, you know, just depending on, but here I was.

None of those things were my story.

It was simply inconvenient timing.

unknown: Yep.

SPEAKER_02: Yeah.

So it's like, okay.

Exactly.

No.

Right.

SPEAKER_07: So you're gonna kill your kid because it's inconvenient for you right now.

You know, and you know, these are conversations I'm having with myself.

SPEAKER_02: Exactly.

SPEAKER_07: Your mother then killed you, and it was inconvenient timing, right?

You know my mother was young when she gave birth to me.

SPEAKER_02: Yeah, but but you know though, I mean, like when when you say it like that, when sometimes sometimes when when you wrestle with something and you can flip it around a little bit and flip it a around the way that you just did, it does, it does kind of make like, well, what am I?

Thinking.

You know what I mean?

But I mean, yeah.

SPEAKER_07: That's how I came to that.

It was just, would it have been like for my first son, it would have made life easier.

Probably not emotionally, right?

Because I would have had to deal with the guilt of that.

But maneuvering life with no kid and still being able to continue with my dream or whatnot.

Yeah.

Life had the potential to be better, just looking at it from that.

Or, okay, instead of having to negotiate life with, you know, with four kids, now I gotta negotiate life with five kids, a new kid, and I don't want to be with this daddy.

So yeah, and that was the motivating factor, right?

Like this is so inconvenient.

I cannot start all over again.

I cannot go to work with a little baby.

You know, I can't do any of the things that I need to do in order to start my life afresh.

I mean, I can, but it would be so much easier if I did not have a newborn.

Yep.

And it, you know, no one pressured me into changing my mind.

He didn't pressure me.

He didn't talk to me.

Yes.

So the decision was mine and mine alone, you know.

And it was something that I had to work out for myself.

SPEAKER_02: So at that point then, so what happened with your marriage?

SPEAKER_07: So at that point, once we decided that that was going to happen, the marriage was still on the fence.

It was just unspoken.

Like we didn't talk about it.

We were still going through counseling.

And actually, what ended up happening was my mother-in-law became deathly ill.

SPEAKER_00: Okay.

SPEAKER_07: I mean, she had several massive strokes, and she was given just days to live.

And so we got a Red Cross message: gotta come home.

Gotta come home because mom's not gonna make it.

And at this point in my life, I know my mother-in-law since I was 15.

So she was like my bonus mom, right?

Like my mom mom.

SPEAKER_01: Yes, of course.

Of course.

SPEAKER_07: Here nobody knew I was pregnant.

So we get off the plane in New Orleans to everybody's surprise I was pregnant.

We had not told the family.

We were still trying to deal with it ourselves, like, you know, and my you know, the little ones were sometimes like, Mom, you're getting so fat.

And so the family was just thinking I was getting fat.

SPEAKER_02: I was getting fat, but she'd been enjoying that Texas barbecue a little too much.

SPEAKER_07: We've been in Washington State, right?

You've been eating a whole lot of seafood there.

Stay out of Puget's town, right?

SPEAKER_02: Yeah.

I just said that being like, be like, look, Queenie, you need to lay off the apples, huh?

SPEAKER_07: He didn't know that I was pregnant.

He didn't know how to say that.

SPEAKER_01: So Of course, of course.

SPEAKER_07: With that, having to come home and help with my mother-in-law and spending some time, it gave us time to focus on something else other than to just focus on the negative things that were happening in our relationship.

And so it caused us to have to start to communicate in a different way because I did not want my mother-in-law to die.

SPEAKER_01: Yes.

SPEAKER_07: Right?

Yes.

For my own reasons.

They didn't have anything to do with being.

SPEAKER_03: Yep.

SPEAKER_07: I love my mother-in-law.

And oh my God, Jesus, whatever I need to do, like what can we do?

Right?

Yes.

It brought us back to a place of communicating.

SPEAKER_01: Yes.

SPEAKER_07: And we ended up having some conversations that needed to be had and actually listening to each other because my husband's parents were married until the day my father-in-law passed away.

And my father-in-law had passed away a few years prior to that.

And here we are.

It looked like my mother-in-law was going to pass away, but God, not only did she survive, but afterwards she thrived.

You know, when she survived, the doctor said she'd be in an invalid condition forever for the rest of her life because of the amount of massive structs that she had, the brain damage was just rough.

And the damage to her body was just rough.

But God is a healer.

SPEAKER_01: Yes.

Amen.

SPEAKER_07: And through that process, you know, me helping my sister-in-law and my husband with my mother-in-law and just she's always she's always been a woman that was encouraging.

Did she know what was going on in our marriage like that?

No, she didn't.

But just to have her love and support when she when she learned how to speak again, because she couldn't even talk.

Like she had to learn, relearn everything.

And it made a difference.

So we ended up spending 30 days at home in Mississippi taking care of my mother-in-law and having those conversations that we needed to have.

So then when it was time to get back on the plane, I decided to get on the plane because I could have stayed.

Yes.

I decided to get back on the plane, and we made a decision at that moment.

Okay, we don't know how to fix it, but we both made a decision that we've got to figure out how.

SPEAKER_01: Yes.

SPEAKER_07: We've got to figure out how.

And that I'll say between the birth of David and that time that we got to spend caring for my mother-in-law, those were transformational moments.

SPEAKER_01: Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_07: But what the enemy meant to that, the Lord used it and worked it out for our good.

SPEAKER_02: I love it.

The only thing could have made that any better is if you told me y'all got back with that social worker and she counseled y'all.

SPEAKER_07: So we did eventually.

SPEAKER_02: You did eventually?

We did eventually.

Oh, thank goodness.

I was like, come on, she gotta fit back in the story somewhere.

SPEAKER_07: She does.

She does.

She does.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_07: It was a lot of years later.

SPEAKER_01: Yes, okay.

SPEAKER_07: Because she actually ended up moving out of the city and moving to another state.

So there was like, you know, lost contact for a while, and we actually ended up getting back in contact with her around 2018.

And it was by accident.

It was a God's design.

Yes.

I was at my my uncle was the guest speaker at a church where he was actually applying to become the pastor of that church.

And so, you know, you have to come and do a couple of sermons and whatnot so that that deacon book can determine who's going to take the pastoral position anyway.

SPEAKER_01: Yes.

SPEAKER_07: She had moved back to the area, and that was the church that she belonged to.

And so when we came to support my uncle, I saw her.

SPEAKER_02: No way.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Oh, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_07: It was so, and for the first time, I had an opportunity to openly express to her how her just being her was a blessing to our life because the little, you know, 16, 17-year-old girl that she first met and spoke life into and prayed for and whatnot.

Now, and when she when I saw her again there, when I was there supporting my uncle, at that point, I was living out God's purpose for my life.

I'm a mother, I'm a grandmother, I'm an international speaker.

The Lord had blessed me to travel to some amazing places around the world to preach the gospel.

And I'm a businesswoman.

And you were a major reason that I chose to continue to move forward and not to make a worse decision and saying, okay, I'm just gonna accept what society says I should do.

SPEAKER_02: Yes.

SPEAKER_07: Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: Oh, that had to be the most powerful reunion.

It was so amazing.

It was so amazing.

Both of you.

Yes.

It was so amazing.

Wow.

So so I would love to ask, kind of, you know, skipping forward to today.

I feel like people may be very surprised, you know, after listening to our conversation today, that that you actually love to turn your story around and help others.

I I can't imagine they would would would get that idea out of you or to think that you're inspiring others and motivating others and helping others.

But but in fact, that's what you do.

SPEAKER_07: Yes, it it is, and I love it.

SPEAKER_02: And which is pretty much evident as soon as like, you know, you came in and said hello, it's like, oh, yep, we we got her pegged.

But so I would love though to ask you though, how did you come to the point that you decided to take all that you've been through in life and use it to help other people?

To put it out there, to not even because you know, it it's one thing, like we we live our lives and stuff, but to literally to put out the deepest, darkest parts of our lives, to put it out there for the benefit of others.

Like what led you to want to do that?

SPEAKER_07: An experience that I had.

So along the way, you know, so many people have been a blessing to my life.

And there was this young lady that I had met in the 90s when we first moved to Kalleen.

And we started out as friends and ended up as enemies.

And I wouldn't see her again for a lot of years.

And so we ended up back in Kaleen in 2002.

And I saw what I thought was this girl, but there was like, no way could this be her because she looks rough.

And so one day, I kept just bumping into her.

So I said, okay, Lord, obviously you want me to say something.

So the next time that I saw her, I said something.

And come to find out it really was Monica.

Life had really beat her up.

And to the point where she had turned to drugs and prostitution and she had lost her kids, and just so many different bad things had happened.

And needless to say, she wasn't happy to see me, not because of the past, but because of her current condition.

Because at this point, we're we're adult, for real adults now, and that's just silly kid stuff in the past, right?

SPEAKER_01: Yes.

SPEAKER_07: And so I was trying to stay connected to her and stay encouraged.

And but not like I wasn't really trying, but if I saw her, I talked to her, right?

On one of those occasions, I dropped her off at home so I knew where she lived.

And the Lord just kept pressing in my heart one day, go to Monica's house.

Go to Monica's house.

Go to Monica's house.

And so finally I was like, okay, I am going to Monica's house.

I got up and I went to Monica's house.

When I knocked on the door initially, nobody answered.

So I was getting back in my car.

He said, nope, go back to the door.

SPEAKER_01: Yes.

SPEAKER_07: And so I went back to the door, and this time I hit it harder.

And she lived in a really old mobile home.

So it doesn't take much to jostle the door open.

And so when I was hitting it harder, the door came open, popped open.

And I was yelling and calling for her and looking for her.

And she would had attempted suicide in the house.

And I found her.

And it's like, oh my God.

What do I do?

So of course, you know, you call 911 and I just began to pray.

Just like just intently, like, oh this, this is not the way her story is supposed to end, Jesus.

Like, no.

And, you know, just the glory of God.

And she did live, praise God.

She did live.

And she ended up joining our ministry through a rehabilitation center that our ministry at that time was partnered with several other ministries in town.

And they had a drug rehabilitation center, an addiction center.

And she got herself clean and sober.

And I was one of her partners, prayer partners, through that, and just sharing life's story and sharing some of my story and just being there for her and being supportive of her.

Seeing how having the right people on your team and especially people who are people of prayer makes a difference.

Like your testimony, my testimony was not one of drug addiction myself, but there were family members that I had who have had suffered, you know, serious drug addiction for 20, 30, 40 plus years.

So one of her biggest things that kept her in addiction was she felt like her kids wouldn't love and respect her anymore because she had been an addict.

SPEAKER_01: Yep.

SPEAKER_07: And I had, you know, through my experience, I was like, no, that's not true.

SPEAKER_01: Yes.

SPEAKER_07: That's not true.

That's not everyone's story.

I'm not saying, you know, everyone's kid will feel that way about them, but you have to believe that your kids remember you prior to that.

They know you love them.

SPEAKER_03: Yep.

SPEAKER_07: And, you know, speaking as the loved one of delivered addicts, people who have come out of the addiction, we love them just the same.

And we're proud of them because they've overcome.

And that from that experience and just watching that process of change for her, it was really a process of change for me that says to hold on to who you are in God, your gift, your anointing, your talents, your story is selfish.

SPEAKER_01: Yes.

SPEAKER_07: Somebody needs you.

The Lord calls you to be an overcomer so that you can help someone else overcome.

SPEAKER_01: Yes.

SPEAKER_07: So you can't keep it to yourself.

SPEAKER_01: Yep.

SPEAKER_07: And that literally started my journey into being someone who shares their story so that others might live.

Like wherever you are at in life's journey.

If my story relates to your story, know that you are greater than your struggle.

And why are you greater than your struggle?

Because you're still alive.

That struggle is in the past.

It's done.

It's over with, but you are still standing.

And I just, it's so refreshing.

So like there's no words to describe the joy that I feel when someone allows me to be a part of their journey, their transformational journey.

SPEAKER_02: Yes.

Well, I can relate in a small way with my own life in sharing my own story.

And, you know, there was a book that had been written, and my my mom had read it to me soon after.

I feel like it was soon after I had gone blind.

And we we were literally, every night my mom would read a little bit in this book to me.

And at the end of the book, and it was when it was a story about a guy who, you know, it was his story of being blind and had had went blind.

And at the end of the book, he he said something, and and it was something to the effect of if what I have said, if what I have shared can help even one person, then it makes all of this that I've been through worth it.

And being somebody who at that point was just dealing with the loss of my eyesight.

I can remember thinking how ridiculous that was.

As I come in and share my story, story with the kids.

And one year I had gone, the middle school teacher afterwards had told me that that one of the students in the class was homeless, that her and her mom were, she had found out were living out of their car.

And she told me, and yet that student, who, you know, I guess you you would you would call her the, you know, probably the the bad kid in the class, you know, she was the one who was the most in tune to everything I said.

She asked the most questions of anyone.

And at the end of that day, I sat there and I thought to myself, I finally get it.

I finally get what that guy said at the end of that book.

And that has been the walk I have walked ever since then.

And is why I tell my story and share it, is because I've said, if I can help even just one person, then it makes all of this that I've gone through worth it.

SPEAKER_07: Worth it, yeah.

Yeah.

So very true.

So, so, so, so very true.

And it and it does.

Like, that's the reward, is yeah.

The reward is when they have that light bulb moment and you can hear it in their voice.

Or see it for me, you know, I can hear it in their voice if we're on the phone, if we're face to face, I can see it in, you know, in that expression, like that aha moment.

Like, I am powerful.

Yes, I am an overcomer.

I can do this.

It might be tough, but I can.

Like, yes, those moments are so worth the journey that I had to take in order to gain the wisdom and insight that I currently have now.

You know, because I mean the word tells us it's it's it's the word of God and the power of our testimony that causes change.

SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.

SPEAKER_07: I gotta have a test in order to have a testimony.

SPEAKER_02: Yep.

Exact, exactly, exactly.

Exactly, though.

Exactly.

And oh my goodness.

Now, now, where can somebody, if they're interested in learning more about you, the more about what you do, where can people go to?

SPEAKER_07: So they can go to, I'm on most major social media platforms.

If you Google Laquita Monly, you'll I'm on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

They can also email me at info, that's I-n-f o info at laquita monly.com.

And I also have a website.

They can visit me on the website, and that's laquitamonly.com.

And if they want to reach out to me via the website, just complete the contact us form.

And someone, if not myself, a part of my team, will respond to them within 24 hours.

Now, if they want a more immediate response, message us on any of the social media platforms.

And I actually, myself and my assistant are the only two people that are managing those platforms.

So if you DM us, private message us on social media, I will get that and respond immediately.

SPEAKER_02: That's that's wonderful to know.

Well, well, as always, all the links mentioned will be in the show notes.

So don't worry about having to drop those down.

Just uh check out the show description and you'll find all of those links provided.

You know, today's conversation with you is so, so awesome.

And, you know, I just what I love about podcasting, what I love about just getting to sit down with complete strangers and have a conversation is is how two people can be two totally different walks of life, yet find so many similarities and common bonds.

Yes.

And that's what I just know for myself, like as I listen to you and your stories is is that.

And and I think for myself, the biggest common bond is that unwavering faith.

Yeah.

And as you speak and everything that you speak in your truth and stuff, I can hear it in your voice.

And I love it.

SPEAKER_07: Yes, amen, amen.

And and it's it's you know, and in all honesty, as that young person whom when we were started doing life, we weren't strong in our faith.

Like we raised, we were raised, and we and you know, you want to you love the Lord.

Like, okay, I know that there's a God, I know that there's a heaven and a hell, and I know I don't want to be in the hot place, but you know, you you you you have this like rudimentary understanding of it.

And so your relationship with him is not quite built.

And the more you grow, the you know, the more mature you get, that relationship grows.

And so when I got to the place where I said, because when we when we left home, we left church, right?

SPEAKER_01: Yes.

SPEAKER_07: And coming back as as a twenty as a 25-year-old woman, now I've got five kids and a dog and a bad marriage.

And the thing that I kept hearing was, you just gotta go to church and you gotta pray.

And like, well, I've been going book to church my whole life.

That didn't make a difference.

I'm praying, but that's not making a difference.

Nobody had yet taught me the importance of relationship.

Religious things had been happening my whole life.

I knew religion.

I can fit into anybody's Baptist church and flow just as smoothly because I understood how to operate in.

It was like Samuel.

I knew how to do what needed to be done to make the temple flow and work.

But I had not yet had an experience where I understood the voice of God and had the relationship with God.

And it was when we came to Texas, again, that we partnered with Bounce Believers Ministry.

And we met Apostle Grace and his lovely wife, Pastor Danielle.

And they took the time to mentor us and taught us the difference between religion and relationship.

That now I have a completely different understanding of why people said to us what they said and how to actually apply it and see the change in my life.

SPEAKER_01: Yes.

SPEAKER_07: And that caused my faith to grow, like beyond the fact that I just don't want to burn in hell, right?

SPEAKER_02: Yep, exactly.

Exactly.

SPEAKER_07: It's so much greater than that.

So, you know, and life still happened, challenges still happen, but with each step, our faith level increased more and more.

SPEAKER_02: Yes.

Yeah, and and and and you know, and that's what I I love about what you just said is because that's what I always tell people when when I talk about my my walk with Christ, is I say, it's a relationship.

And that relationship, I feel just continues to grow stronger and stronger, just like any relationship does.

SPEAKER_07: It's true.

It's true.

And that's um no matter where whether I'm ministering the gospel in women's groups or marriage conferences or whatever the case, and you know, uh oftentimes my husband and I have partnered and taught leadership and courses in church, or whether it's me with a client, and whether it's a coaching client, a transformational coaching client, or an organization that has brought me in to speak on a topic.

Whatever we're doing, whether it's organizational development, team building, or whatever, it goes back to relationship.

We cannot evolve to the better us without being in right relationship.

Whether it's in right relationship with Christ and growing in that relationship or getting a right relationship with one another as human beings.

Relationship is so important and we can't, we can't, you know, do away with this.

SPEAKER_02: Exactly.

Exactly.

And I just out of, I was just sitting here thinking to myself, I thought, baby, somebody listen to this podcast episode.

They better they better have been prepared for some hard-hitting truth on life.

And they better have been had their little notepad handy with a pen.

Because I feel like we just laid down the smack down on life in this episode.

SPEAKER_07: So well, hopefully, if they didn't come prepared with the pen and the pad, they'll hit the replay button and listen to it again.

Exactly.

And and have some things to write with in the write on.

That's right.

That's right.

SPEAKER_02: Oh my goodness.

Well, listen, I have enjoyed our conversation so much.

And just uh I want to thank you so much for coming on the podcast and for just getting to share not only your life story, but your amazing just insight into life with me and my audience.

So thank you so much.

SPEAKER_07: You are so welcome.

Thank you so much for allowing me this opportunity to come onto your podcast and to be able to share with your audience.

I mean, this has been a beautiful experience.

And I really am prayerful and hopeful that your audience will be blessed with the information that we've given in this conversation because I've shared some great things, you've shared some great things.

And so hopefully the listener will just leave and they'll be changed.

They won't be the same as what they were when they turned this episode on.

But by the end of the episode, they definitely would have received what they needed to move forward in a forward direction in life or business.

SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.

Well, wonderful.

Well, well, to you listening today, I want to thank you again for for being here to be part of the podcast and for supporting the show.

And, you know, as always, you know, I hope you enjoyed another amazing conversation.

And I hope that you you came away with something that uh will will benefit your day.

I'll as always make tomorrow a little bit better than today.

And that's the lowdown with Kevin Lowe.

I hope today's episode inspired you, motivated you, and excited you to get out and enjoy life.

No matter what obstacles may be standing in the way.