Parenting UP! Caregiving adventures with comedian J Smiles

A Day In the Live with J Smiles

• J Smiles • Season 5 • Episode 1

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Can you imagine juggling a caregiving routine for a parent with Alzheimer's while preparing for a last-minute TV comedy appearance? That's the reality I faced as I navigated a whirlwind of chaos, laughter, and heartfelt moments. With help from my incredible teams, I managed to balance podcast production and the meticulous caregiving of my mom. Through all the craziness, I learned the vital importance of resilience, adaptability, and finding humor in the most challenging situations.

From the chaotic preparations to the serene moments of connecting with fellow comedians, this time was nothing short of an emotional rollercoaster. I share the behind-the-scenes antics that went into making the TV show appearance happen—think frantic late-night adjustments and last-minute logistical hurdles. But the real magic happened in the comedy green room, where I reconnected with the amazing Kelly Kellz and the legendary Cocoa Brown. I also met Palmer Williams for the first time.

Lastly, we explore the importance of trust, integrity, and authenticity in building relationships, both online and offline.

Visit fox5atlanta.com/shows/portia for the Season Finale of the Portia Show featuring J Smiles!

Hosted by: J Smiles
Producer: MiaHallTV
Editor: AnneliseTV

"Alzheimer's is heavy but we ain't gotta be!"
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Patreon: https://patreon.com/jsmilesstudios
TEXT 'PODCAST" to +1 404 737 1449 - to give J topic ideas, feedback, say hi!
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Speaker 1:

So I look back over the last 36 hours and I say, ok, how did this all happen? Why did it happen? Shit, I don't know. I don't know. But what I do know is this I am a master of showing up. I show up. I might be sleepy, I might be late, I might not have any cash on me. I have been to Europe twice people with no wallet and no cash. How you get all the way to Europe? Jade, that's another whole thing. But you know, delta got the fly ready and digital, whatever. I showed my passport and they showed my face and got on the thing and I didn't have no, I mean no money, not one single US dollar bill, not even a debit card, and they don't have cash up in Europe. Did y'all know that? So nobody couldn't send me nothing. So anyway, I'm going. So nobody couldn't send me nothing. So anyway, I'm gonna show up. I might not have any money, I might be late, I might be a little sleepy, but I'm gonna be there.

Speaker 1:

Parenting up, caregiving adventures with comedian day smiles is the intense journey of unexpectedly being fully responsible for my mama. For over a decade I've been chipping away at the unknown, advocating for her and pushing Alzheimer's awareness on anyone and anything with a heartbeat. Spoiler alert I started comedy because this shit is so heavy, so be ready for the jokes. Caregiver newbies, ogs and village members just willing to prop up a caregiver, you are in the right place. Hi, this is Zeddy. I hope you enjoy my daughter's podcast, is that okay? Today's supporter shout-out goes to Portia Bruner.

Speaker 2:

Hey there, portia Bruner from the Portia Show, so excited to have an opportunity to brag just a little bit about one of my favorite and really the funniest bites that I know, ain't you? You already know Jay Smile? My goodness, this woman has been on the Portia Show, I think, 152,000 times and we only do 200 episodes a season. Wait a minute. Did I say only 200? Thank you so much for watching and thank you so much for supporting this venue. We want you to be seen, feel, heard, and that's why we bring women like J Smiles on the show, because she's not just funny.

Speaker 2:

She's not just a comedian, but she's a caregiver and she's taking care of her mother and she's teaching us so many lessons. You've seen how this woman travels the world. Was she like a captain of a ship or something? At one point on some vacation she had a little hat on, looking like the captain. I was like what is this? What in the whole entire world? But that's why we love her, because she is living a really full and robust life and I'm happy to be a part of A Day in the Life with J Smiles. Woo, I'm for sure.

Speaker 1:

A Day in the Life of J Smiles. This is one of those 36-hour periods that is real and is raw. This is caregiving in the fast lane. It's HOV, with one person in the car. You know you're driving so fast, the police not going to catch you. Yes, okay, not in this car, I mean like in my car. I'm not saying that, but yeah.

Speaker 1:

So like when I woke up yesterday, sandy was having some more adverse reactions with her seizure medication. This has been going on for for like seven months at this point and I've been battling like in the trenches back and forth with the doctors, with the experts and with the primary care physicians, trying to let them know it ain't working. So there's a certain amount of anxiety that just lives with me whenever she's not good. Then there were meetings and there were schedules. My podcast production team and I scheduled two months in advance that today would be 10 hours of podcast recording like three or four episodes, and all this beautifulness, recording like three or four episodes, and all this good beautifulness. And then I get a wonderful opportunity to be on television with less than 24 hours notice. But hey, stay ready, you ain't got to get ready. And then, if you ain't ready, act ready, just act ready and put something on. Okay, my lip ain't on, but it'll be on after I get through eating this Power Bar. Thank you for the Power Bar that has something in it that I can eat that won't make me itch or belch so many Power Bars make me belch. Get on stage. I'm like. That doesn't work out. So then I was up all last night Like I slept like 50 minutes, like 5-0. And I don't even think that was quality If you could sleep quality, but I don't think I did, because I was getting Zeddy's schedule.

Speaker 1:

It's the end of the month, so caregivers want to put in their time sheet. So y'all, y'all. I had caregivers texting me trying to make sure all their July dates are right. The care manager in me says, of course, please share it with me. Good to lie to me. The talent in me is like I'm trying to figure out how to be on TV tomorrow. Well, in 11 hours, 10 hours, 9 hours, 8 hours, okay, but I do want to hear what you have to say, because these are the people who care for my mama, right? I don't want to short over them or putting their needs and their requests secondary to my own, because you never know that one time you might be a little short, get a little slippy, could be the worst day of their personal lives and it's just crossing over. So I'm like you know what I mean, and we on the way up, we ain't all the way up.

Speaker 1:

So the podcast production studio still has to be put together, assembled and disassembled about once every three and a half weeks. So probably assembly would take a process. And you know, on TV you can't wear what you want to wear. There are rules. You can't clash with the host. You can't clash with whatever the brand is of the network you're going with. You can't wear a brand name that hadn't been approved. Y'all know J Smiles, I was all about wearing white and a whole bunch of clashing fly colors and they're like yes, so don't do none of that.

Speaker 1:

What am I wearing y'all and I can't just wear J Smiles' brand, because that's anyway. We out here, we out here. And then I was like, oh, oh, I also get a segment to do stand-up.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I'm going to say something that don't have nothing to do with the podcast that I'm also going to record today.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, and Zay is good, and she didn't want me to go to bed and it's so hard, it's so difficult, if she's having a period of lucidness, for me to step away. And a couple times, around 1 am, she started trying to talk, first time in like a month. She was like it's the same as her saying my name, is that right? And I was like shit, I'm supposed to be finishing putting up a podcast or making sure I know what I'm going to say tomorrow. That's okay, mama. Yes, that's right. Whatever you say or thought you say, of course it's all right. It's all right.

Speaker 1:

So, anyway, everybody who wonders how come it's so hard, jay, for you to RSVP Today. I had to cancel on myself. Do you understand that? That I cancel on myself and on the team that I'm playing when you cancel on yourself? That's what love, that's what living, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to see local fans. This is just how we out here, we out here in the streets outside, in the streets outside of an open bank.

Speaker 1:

If I had a penny for every time, I got the question Jay, how do you do it? How do you balance being a comedian and being a caregiver? How do you book gigs, how do you give speeches, how do you do this podcast and take care of Zeddy? First is divine intervention and a really close second. First is I have a phenomenal team. Like I'm not recording myself right now. There are people who are here assisting me and that's exactly what happened today. Like the last 36 hours have been completely impromptu.

Speaker 1:

Nothing that I planned came to fruition. Prompt to Nothing that I planned came to fruition. Ten years ago hell, even three years ago, I would have been stressed and I would have been fighting it Like wait, I'm supposed to be doing A, b and C, mad Calling my best friend, trying to get an emergency session with my therapist. I don't know what's going wrong. I don't know. Is it God, is the universe? Is because I've dated that guy back and forth too many times and I wasn't right?

Speaker 1:

First thing is is Zeddy remotely stable? And if she's remotely stable and I'm not in jail, that's just how bad. My life has hit rock bottom over and over again over this last decade. Plus that's my baseline, y'all I'm not worried about. Do I have some money? Did I pay my bills? No, is Zeddy alive and look stable? And am I physically free? And if that's the case. I'm like well, let me just keep it all going. What just happened was so beautiful. I can tell the story now. But the last 36 hours I was like I don't know when it's going on and I don't know why. But what I do know is, if I stop, that is doing a disservice to how many times the universe has held me up in the past.

Speaker 1:

I know y'all like with J smiles enough with all of this generic rhetoric. What the hell happened? Ok, zeddy has Been diagnosed as being epileptic. Don't know if y'all knew this, but if you have two seizures within 24 hours or something, you are defined as epileptic. It doesn't matter if you don't ever have another one. Well, zetty had that about seven months ago and literally for the last six months her epilepsy medicine has been wrong. Not wrong according to the doctors, wrong according to J Smiles.

Speaker 1:

I'm like my mama is walking around here looking like she on meth. That's not right. She's walking hunchback Looking like she's one of the people from Lord of the Rings. She's already five feet. So now if my mama is scrunched down to the point where she fold two, it's a problem. I call her name, I say mama, y'all. This is how she responds, staring off in the distance, looking like she's thinking about a lost loved one Maybe she is.

Speaker 1:

All of that freaked me out. So I started pounding the doctors and I encourage you all to do the same. You know your LOs. I don't care if them people got PhDs, mds, lmnops. Who cares If your LO is worse after the medicine, f the medicine. So I've been fighting with these people and so 36 hours ago I started going round and round with the epilepsy.

Speaker 1:

God, I guess he said. Well, I told you it was going to cause sedation. You just got to let her go through it for two weeks. On the other side of it, she'll be better. Sir, sir, I've been battling to keep my mama alive and now you want me, because of your little statistics and something that the FDA might have told you in grad school, to have her looking like she about to pass out. Her blood pressure skyrocketed but her sugar dropped. You know, old people can just fade into death because their heart rate get too low. I said let me tell you something. So y'all, I'm not, I'm not suggesting anybody else does this. But I wrote that man in my mama's, my chart and I said hey, you prescribe 20 milligrams, I'm giving her 10. And unless you call me back and say that me giving her 10 is going to kill her, thank you and have a good life, that me giving her a 10 is going to kill her. Thank you and have a good life. And now I'm waiting to see if my mama will be better.

Speaker 1:

So all that was going on at the top of yesterday, and then today, my podcast team, two of the baddest chicks in the game Annalise and Mia. Annalise and Mia we took two months to plan where the three of us could get together and then I find out I could be on TV. They were like J Smiles we have a slot. We want to make it this. We want to make it fun. We need a comedian, not a character. We need a comedian that can come in off the cuff and riff with other comedians and somebody we can trust. Can you do it?

Speaker 1:

I was like yes, of course, this is a call I got yesterday. Yes, of course, when Tomorrow? Shit, oh, first thing is that means I got to call my team. That means I got to quit on myself. You know what I mean Like psychologically. I got to stare myself up. I got to be a no-show to my own podcast production and I got to beg my folks, my producer and my videographer. You know that all that stuff we planned for two months and whatever you did in your life with all your friends, family, clients, manicure, pedicure, movies, dates, whatever, hey, can you move that? And while you're moving it, can you also come still be with me at the TV studio? And they were like, uh, hold on. They never said no To their credit, never said no, but I ain't going to lie. They didn't hold on. They never said no To their credit, never said no, but I ain't going to lie. They didn't answer as fast on the text messages as they usually answer, but that was valid, that's valid.

Speaker 1:

But to prepare, watching my mama last night because y'all know I gave her a different medicine than what the doctor said. Ok, not a different kind, but a different dose. So I'm super watching her all night Because the caregivers are not responsible. I'm walking in and out of her room, I'm looking at her. I'm also setting up for whatever my podcast team would be able to do because spoiler alert they would normally be able to get to the studio and set up everything. I wouldn't have to do that. Okay, so I'm not a New York Times bestseller yet, but I do have a podcast team that sets up all the stuff for me. But hell, if I'm asking them to meet me at the studio, I can't also ask them. Well, hell, if I'm asking them to meet me at the studio, I can't also ask them. Well, if I'm asking them to meet me at the television station, I can't also expect them to be at the studio and set up for our podcast production, which is now gonna happen. It's gonna Start eight hours later than it was supposed to. You know what I'm saying. So I did it. Now the jury's still out on whether or not they're going to think I did a good job. So I'll tell you all about that in an outtake or a reel, because they may say you know what J Smiles next time you help the bear, because what you put together is trash. But I tried. So last night I put hours into setting it up and getting it right, hopefully, so we can get in and have a smoother Parenting Up podcast, our production of other episodes this evening.

Speaker 1:

And then the television show, the Porsche show. They gave me directives. They didn't say tell this kind of joke, but I know her brand. I know her personally. I've come to know her because she went to Howard she's a Howard Bison and she told me what it would be about Like.

Speaker 1:

And so now I got two minutes to try to come up with and these two television minutes and for any of you who haven't done television whatever, let's think of it like this what if you had an outfit to go to brunch with your crew, male or female? Or if the dudes you about to go to cigars? You got your outfit to go do cigars and play pool with the boys. And if you're a chick, you got your brunch outfit, and then, all of a sudden, you find out that there's no brunch and there's no cigars. You're going to the White House but the mall is closed. You know what I'm saying? Like you got to flip. You got to flip. Who are you talking to, what you talking about and what you wearing.

Speaker 1:

They gave me Wardrobe don't do's. All of the wardrobe don't do's are my do's. Don't wear white. Y'all know J Smiles. All I wear is white. I wear white bottom, white top. They might think I'm a white girl by the time I get through putting all that damn white on. And no black and no multicolcolored bold prints. Anybody who has been to my outside, been open, shows my whole top looks like granimals or a crossword puzzle threw up with me, threw up on me with crayolaola markers. I said, damn, that's my whole closet, that's all my gear. What am I going to do? Still go check on Zeddy, I mean because right now it's about 2 am.

Speaker 1:

I got to roll with me on this because I didn't get the call to about two or three in the afternoon, not like it started eight in the morning. So I had done all the stuff that don't even matter. No more All that stuff. Tony, I'm looking at that like shit. Why'd I bother do any of that?

Speaker 1:

Had to call my brow lady hey, are you in town? I need to get threaded. Not only she said hey, not only am I not in Atlanta, I'm in Mexico. Boo, I need y'all to know. Nobody has touched my brows since my daddy died. But this lady and she said I'll be back, you know, in three days.

Speaker 1:

I was like I'm going to be on TV tomorrow. She said, oh shit, okay, she was like my best friend, jay smiles. Please go to my best friend. This is her information. You can trust her. She knows that I, you know, I was like what?

Speaker 1:

And then I called my nail people and they were like what do you mean? It's already three, 30. You got to come in today. Yes, I have to come in today, I'm going to be on TV tomorrow. And they were like you got to come in today, yes, I have to come in today, I'm going to be on TV tomorrow. And they were like what? Now? First of all, you got to understand, and I can, I can feel it in their tone. It's like you lying, jake, like if you're supposed to be on TV, you should know before today, you should know before four o'clock the day before. Well, maybe, maybe in other people land, in the other people land, it might work that way. But in J Smiles comedy, parenting up, caregiving land this is how it's been rolling since the beginning.

Speaker 1:

Be flexible and nimble, my child, if not the silver lining or the purple lining, because that's the color for Alzheimer's I got Fifty minutes of sleep, five zero 10 minutes, less than an hour. I was nervous, I was worried, I was like, oh my God, my brain is not even going to be awake enough to be witty or to be spontaneous, which is the kind of comedy they wanted. Because I asked them is there a theme you want me to talk about or stay away from? They said, no, jay, just come in and spitball with the other comedians. What I sleep long enough to spitball. I told my team I think, ok, I need a Coca-Cola and I need to just kind of get my mind right so that I can clear my mind enough to then allow the universe and the Holy Spirit to just put stuff in it as needed.

Speaker 1:

Y'all, I walk into the green room. Y'all, I walk into the green room First thing. No, I walk into the station. I'm walking up the steps. The executive producer is coming down the steps and she said I've been looking for you. I left my office early to come down and give you a hug. What I wish y'all could see my face, where they do that at. She said, okay, go ahead to the green room. I'm going back upstairs now. I just wanted to catch you before you got camera ready. I was like, okay, all right. Universe, all right, ancestors, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, they really want me here. All right, all right, ok, let me do this, let me do this, let me do this. I walk into the green room. Chase smiles. Of course you'll be here. Hell yeah, girl. What's up, what's up, what's up.

Speaker 1:

And it is the biggest love fest with me and comedian Kelly Kells. If you don't know her, you're welcome in advance. Kelly K-E-L-L-Y, k-e-l-l-z. She's phenomenal, full of energy, super positive. She's killing it all over the United States. She gives me a big hug then and then, um, your fly auntie says I'm y'all's soul roar too. I hadn't even met her before, so I don't even know how she whatever, it doesn't matter, because Kelly and I didn't say we were deltas, we just started hugging. She said I'm y'all, so right too. She all leaned in and she was looking gorgeous and she's a lot taller than me. So her lean in. You know I was like right, you win, that's big energy.

Speaker 1:

And he go, this big ass hug back turns out she has a phenomenal story of overcoming. Anyway, look her up. But she's out here doing big things, big positive things and making sure that other people know. Not only are you not alone, the big thing is, you always have your damn self. Her story to me sound like quit looking around for somebody else to come do something for you. You got you and figure out whatever it is inside of you that can help you do the thing you need. It was pretty amazing.

Speaker 1:

I turn, I look around and then I'm like I know so damn well, that can't be her. I know. So I'm spinning in circles, I'm like I know so damn, that ain't her, the infamous Coco Brown. I mean Comic View, tyler Perry, netflix. She got a Netflix special, y'all. I go to hug her and stand up and she's like I remember you. I'm sorry, coco Brown, did you say you remember up? And she's like I remember you. I'm sorry, coco Brown, did you say you remember me? She's like haven't we met? I'm like, yeah, I remember when we met, I got the selfies in my phone. The point is, you remember me, listen, y'all, she can call Tyler Perry, she can call Oprah. Do you understand what I'm saying? She could call Jimmy Kimmel, like now. And she and she was like, yeah.

Speaker 1:

And then she ran down the other comedians that were on the show and I said, yeah, I've been trying to, I've been, I've been wanting to be with you and talk to you and ask questions and mentor you. And she was like but what happened? I said, well, some of the people that I knew, that knew you, said you were really busy. She was like today is the day, yo. She started sharing her story with me.

Speaker 1:

She was a caregiver for both her parents. I didn't know that they now have their wings, both of them. She's going to be on the Parenting Up podcast and she's going to be my comedy mentor. Look, in that part she offered. I didn't even have to force, but I did a little bit kind of say, you know, you got to be on my podcast and she kind of looked. I was like okay, anyway, let me tell you what the podcast is, cause I can only imagine how many people have asked Coco Brown and it's C-O-C-O-A Coco. There's an A on there. I'm talking fast, but just make sure you put an A on there. Coco Brown, I can. She kills the game and she's a real actor. She's an actor and a stand-up comedian. She didn't even have to let me finish the conversation but she said well, what's your podcast about?

Speaker 1:

The minute I said parenting up, I'm a caregiver, she was like done. I was like but let me, I just like says done, and Whoever it was that knows me, that didn't let us meet earlier. She said I apologize, don't hold it against them and don't hold it against me. I'm not that kind of person and I was like Yo the energy and Kelly Kells that's my soror. I've known her for years but I hadn't seen her live in a minute. That energy was crazy. She was like Jay.

Speaker 1:

What are we going to do? We need to start talking every day. We need to start talking every day. We need to build something together. Let's make a movie, let's make some skits. What are we doing? Let's keep each other lifted. I'm like bet let's get it.

Speaker 1:

And Mr Floyd Y'all know Mr Floyd Smooth, mr Floyd, mr Palmer Williams Jr that man is so freaking funny off the cuff, it's hilarious. He is the person that you don't want to sit next to at the opera, in church, at the DMV, anywhere where you're going to get in trouble Because he is going to not, if he, he is going to say something witty, quick and inappropriate about every 37 seconds. Shout out to my line sisters, and what you're going to do? Nothing, you're going to laugh and he has a poker face looking like I don't know why they laugh and what just happened. It was a pleasure to meet him too. He was so affable. This dude has been in so much stuff on TV and movies, but he was so willing also to mentor and engage me. As it turns out, he's been a caregiver.

Speaker 1:

I'm going to need y'all to go ahead and if you're driving or you're walking or you're in the shower, just pause for a second and add up how the green room went for me in the first three minutes. Oh, no, no, let's add how I walked in and the executive producer came down the steps to personally greet me before I went to the green room and then four people three of them phenomenally successful comedians show love and say they want to do business. So I look back over the last 36 hours and I say, okay, how did this all happen? Why did it happen? Shit, I don't know. I don't know.

Speaker 1:

But what I do know is this I am a master of showing up. I show up, I might be sleepy, I might be late, I might not have any cash on me. I have been to Europe twice people with no wallet and no cash. How you get all the way to Europe, jade, that's another whole thing. But you know, delta got the flyer ready and digital, whatever. I showed my passport and they showed my face and got on the thing and I didn't have I mean no money, not one single US dollar bill, not even a debit card, and they don't have cash up in Europe. Did y'all know that? So nobody couldn't send me nothing. So, anyway, I'm gonna show up. I might not have any money, I might be late, I might be a little sleepy, but but I'm going to be there. And what the universe continuously shows me is, jay, show up and be open, be ready for the opportunity.

Speaker 1:

I came here to fulfill the request to be a comedian. I turned my professional schedule inside out for another talent's professional schedule. Of course it's a great opportunity for me to be on television. But let me tell you this If I didn't believe in the Portia show Portia Bruna's brand and her team's brand I don't give a damn about being on TV at all I would have said no. I said yes because of what the team stands for, what they've done and what they're building. She's done two seasons. It's in syndication, I think it's in four or five major cities and I think come season three is going to expand even more.

Speaker 1:

The universe patted me on the back and gave me a big warm hug back and gave me a big warm hug. I feel like I was seen and I was rewarded for moving on faith. Without sight, I ain't have breakfast. I did shower because I didn't know how close people were going to be to me and thank God I did because people, we were really tight in that green room.

Speaker 1:

So my, I don't even know if I personally have a takeaway, but I wanted to share in real time kind of what a day in the life can feel like and how fast on a dime shit can change for me and it's not even over like and how fast on a dime shit can change for me, and it's not even over.

Speaker 1:

My podcast team and I are about to go to our studio and shoot some episodes that you all will see and hear in the next month or so. But the caregiving and career balance is real for me. Caregiving is the way I honor my mother and I have to always figure out how to make it work. But even in honoring her I have to acknowledge myself, my dreams and my hopes, because To not do that it almost would be like slapping my mom in the face. She went through too much. She did too much for me to not put effort into pursuing what I believe my purpose is here on earth, so every 36 hours doesn't look and feel like this but it's a whole lot more of them than I actually put on video.

Speaker 1:

Peace, the snuggle ups. Number one don't worry about what you don't know right now. When you need to know it, when you have to have it some kind of way, the universe will make sure that it gets done. It's amazing. The last 36 hours were nuts-ola. It was the epitome of my favorite roller coaster ride. You get to the top. You're like uh-oh, ch-ka-ch-ka, ch-ka-ch-ka, ch-ka-ch-ka. That almost sounds like a tutu train. But that's me trying to get to the top. I'm trying to simulate getting to the top of the roller coaster. Then you're up there in anticipation of, oh, my God. Then you're on your way down. You're like, ah, scared and happy. Then you get to the bottom. You're like whew, that's over. And now you're on your way back up to the top of the next hill With only 50 minutes of sleep.

Speaker 1:

The day before me was daunting. Would I perform well on the TV show? Who all would I meet? How would it go down? What was going on with Zeddy? Would she be okay? Would I be able to record all I need to record later in the day for the podcast, for the podcast production? Ah Well, it worked. It worked out. Every five minutes there was a new level of stress or some kind of concern. But but that sixth minute, that sixth minute, an answer came in a person, or just in me, letting go of the stress of the need to know yeah, try it.

Speaker 1:

Number two nothing replaces having a good team, cannot and will not do life alone, and that goes doubly so as a caregiver. My production team came through, so huge. They showed up and assisted me on site at the television studio, all the footage we were able to get, and then helping me mentally and emotionally manage. But whatever they had to move around in their personal and professional lives with their other clients, I didn't even know about it. You know what I mean. I didn't get one teeth sucked, one slam of a telephone. Hell, you can't even slam a telephone, no more. I guess that would have been a mental frustration. There was no pushback, everybody just got it done. Zeddy's caregiver stepped up, did extra, her trainer did extra. Oh, my God, Needing and having a team. Oh, you need a team and you need to have a good one. So if you got people on your team that are not really helping, you replace them as soon as you can. I was even texting my closest friends throughout the day without all this stuff going on and said, oh my God, this happened. Oh my God, this happened. And they're sending emojis. Jay, you got this. You can do this. You got this. Let me tell you about a good team Number three you never know who's watching.

Speaker 1:

Mean what you say, say what you mean. Keep your brand authentic, true and honest to who you are. So when I got the call to be on the television show, it was a phenomenal opportunity. But I was able to get a call like that because the producers and executive producers of the show followed me and trusted my brand. They trusted what I would do and how I would perform and also what I would not do. You know what I mean. It's also good that people know what you will not do, what your social media will not have on it and what you will not say or do that could harm their reputation. That meant a lot to me. It meant a lot to me that they would know that they could trust me to stand in the gap and make it happen.

Speaker 2:

That's a big deal.

Speaker 1:

When you're good to people and good is relative you know what could be good to me you might think oh damn, Jade, is your bar that low? I need people to do way more for me before I would consider that being good. My overall perspective on it is everything matters. Nothing is so small that it's insignificant. So, whatever you're posting, if you text people back, if you see them in the mall, all of those interactions make a difference. Yep, and it led to me having a spectacularly impactful and energy-filled day impactful and energy-filled day.

Speaker 1:

I could sleep for a week. What's up y'all? I'm over here just mixing and scratching up stuff and reminding y'all Patreon is open. It is open and ready for you, you, you, you and your mama too. We are loading up things, all things Zetty, all things podcasts, all things caregiving behind the scenes, extra stuff. J Smile's comedy is dropping with her own little collection within the J Smile Studio Patreon Very, very soon. It'll be less than a month, but you want to go on and get in there because there's exclusives. That's kind of time sensitive to whoever is in there first. We've already had live broadcasts for people who are already in and I'm going to be honest Because of, you know, branding matters. So there's some stuff that I just can't say and do on the World Wide Web that I can do in the Patreon pantry pantry. So if you want to see and know and hear and experience more of what's happening between my ears, come to the J Smile studio, my Patreon pantry.