In this episode of Conversations with Kate, I sit down with Catherine Way — a wife, a mother, a competitive weightlifter and kettlebell athlete, a homeschool educator, the heart behind an annual Medieval Fest, and coffee enthusiast.

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Conversations with Kate is like a conversation with your friend, hairstylist or therapist, where we will talk about music, life stories and everything in between with interviews and guests sprinkled in. As an LCC student, it's an honor and I love bringing a fresh perspective to the podcast menu on LCC Connect. I am your host, Kate. Let's get into this episode.

I have a special guest in studio with me today, Catherine Way. Thank you so much for sitting down to talk to me today.

I'm so excited.

Me too. So kind of going over just kind of things that we're going to touch on. You homeschooling, your son, your fitness. And I forgot the other subject.

The medieval party.

The medieval party, that's right. Goodness gracious. Wow. I think I really do need to finish this last cup of coffee. Oh, that's another thing.

We'll talk about coffee too, since we both love coffee. Absolute. So let's start with the medieval party. Sure. Where did that start?

Okay, so Covid happens and everyone was bored in their house and just like, what do I do for fun and for us, I've always been kind of a history nerd and I've also been just like, I'm really connected with my heritage in terms of just being Irish. And there's so much cool stuff when it comes to that period of time. And then a large part of it ironically came off of YouTube and.

And there was a trend at the time that people called bardcore.

Bardcore.

Bardcore.

And it was basically that they would take modern day pop songs and they would play it with like a lute or a whistle, like a flute or whatever he makes of it.

And one time we were, me and my sister in law and we were all hanging out by bonfire and we're playing this and it would be like, this would be so fun to do for a party, to have this kind of music and just kind of like hang out and just do that. And then shortly after we had purchased our house and it was like the year anniversary of us having our house coming up.

We never had a housewarming party. We had just moved across the country. Back to Michigan.

Yeah. Where were you guys living before?

San Antonio, Texas. And so we had moved away for like six or seven years. Came back, got this house and we're like, let's throw a party in the woods.

And we really wanted it to be an event that people like wanted to come to.

We really wanted it to be like fun and really encourage people to like dress up, have a good time and people have like, we started handing out goblets after the first. Like the first year was just kind of like a trial run. Like, let's see what happens.

Yes.

And then we're like, let's kind of go all in for this. And we've done like, we've built giant like pavilion in our backyard for it. And this is just like a friends and family sort of thing.

But I think the most people we've had come out one year was like almost 50 or 60 people. Yeah. And granted I'm from a big family, so getting the numbers, getting half, like, half of that's just like my brothers and sisters.

But it was really cool because like I had. I have family all over the country now.

Yeah.

And it's fun to be able to host something that is like, it's kind of like a mini family reunion every year where it's just like, it's an event to come to. Like, it's not right.

It is. It's so much fun. I've gone twice now.

Yes.

I enjoy it. I enjoyed it thoroughly. I. I enjoyed myself so much the last time that I only took two pictures. Literally.

Like my selfie before I left the house and then a picture of the goblet that I was drinking out of. And that was it.

Yeah.

And like last year we kind of pivoted a little bit just because obviously I'm friends with lots of people that have parents like, that are also parents. And so like made it more, like much more like more things for kids to do.

That was really cool to see them doing like the kids stuff. The kids stuff. It was fun.

And I think it's good for kids to be able to run around in the woods and be a little bit feral from time to time.

And dirty. Oh my God, it was great.

I, like, there was one kid there that I made it a point to go up to their parents and be like, I love seeing your child, like all of the children, but like specifically your child, like just cause it's dirty. Just all the dirty, laying in the hay, running around, enjoying themselves. It's just wonderful.

Yeah.

And I do have to say, like my sister in law, Emily Way, all of my family, like my father in law, Matt Way, all of them are a big part of why like, this isn't just something that like me and my husband crank out. Like, I. Like, without their help over the past years, like we have nothing. It would not be to the scale it is.

And they've added such really cool things along the way. Like Emery's dad built Us. It looks like a veggie cart. And it does. That's what has the speakers for the event.

I know.

So you don't even see the speaker or the playlist or anything? Like, you hear the music?

Yes.

And my husband has like a generator, but it's far enough away where it's not like something you hear. So it's like literally its own little special little bubble. Like, it really like a void in time sort of thing.

It really is. Honestly, I tell people all the time when I do talk to people about it. That.

That first year that I went, I was like, it was dark outside because I was a little late. I was taking photos of my daughter for a dance that she was going to, and I was like, is this the right place?

And I pulled up and I parked and I was like, this is the right address. And I'm like, I'm just gonna start walking. And I walked out past your barn and I was like, oh, look, there's lights. And I just saw.

And you guys literally have done curated it. Especially coming there at dark 30 hour. There's this cute little path that's lit, and then all of a sudden it just opens up and you can.

It's like you step back in time, back into that medieval time. And the food is so good.

Yes.

I don't know what that roll thing was that was made this last.

Oh, yeah, yeah. Our neighbors brought that too. And that's what was really fun too, is that like, you know, it's.

I'm very blessed in a lot of different ways, but, like, one of them is that, like, so many people help us with so many things and they just want to help. Yeah. And it's. It's amazing because, like, we always have too much food, which is an amazing problem to have for a party.

Absolutely.

And, like, we always have people that are always trying to find. Like, people have just been like, hey, I found this really cool thing and I wanted to give it to you.

And like, it's like, oh, this perfect thing for like outdoor tables and stuff like that. Or like, really cool. Just like one off decorations that. It's just like. It's all of the little touches that really make a big deal. And like, we've.

This will be, I think, our sixth or seventh year having it. And it's every year we kind of change. Like, we change things.

Are you planning things yet?

Not yet, but we will be picking a date pretty soon. Okay. So. But we always try to do it in the fall because then it's not too Hot.

Yes.

It's not going to be fun if it's 90 degrees, but absolutely not. It is fun too because like if you have all the fun fall decorations, pumpkins and all the hay bale.

Yes.

The hay bale is the kids favorite.

Oh yeah, it was last year.

They just like to wrap like, they love to just like tear that thing apart.

Oh yeah. That was great to watch too.

And then like. Yeah. And one of the things is like we did the goblet games.

Part of it was that we wanted to make sure people actually dressed up because like we've all been to Halloween parties where there's that guy that's like my costume is that I'm not wearing a costume.

Yes.

Don't bring that energy to a party,.

Especially a themed party. I feel like that's just kind of. You can even do something simple. Yes.

Okay. Simple is fine. But like, don't be a hater if, you know, don't be a hater on someone having a good time.

But like we had Best Dressed Couple and Lady and Knight.

And one of my favorite stories is that in one of our first years that we started doing the games, my sister in law wanted to be Joan of Arc and I was like, all right, go for it. And she got actual plate mail and chain mail and stuff. And it was a very actual armor that she wore to be Joan of Arc.

And she won best dressed Knight specifically.

Yes. I love that.

I was like, I love that for her. And yeah, so that's. It was super awesome. We've done. So it's been really cool.

Like we play like my family, we play like Dungeons and Dragons over the years and we have that at the party. So we've hosted that. We do all sorts of games and it's just been really, really amazing to see, like it's become its own thing at this point in time.

So that's been really cool.

I look forward to it this year. So let's talk about your fitness.

Okay, so first question is, is it important to you to work out every single day or just a couple of times a week and. Or is it like a regimented thing or just a, like, what is your purpose behind it?

Sure. So I come from a dance background.

Okay.

So like growing up I did Irish dance and we went to dance practice two times a week. It was like, I don't know, I was a little kid, so it felt like, it felt like five years, but it was probably like an hour max.

And we did that twice a week. And then you'd have to practice for at least like an hour every day. So, like, that was already kind of drilled into me.

And you know, as I like, when my parents got divorced, we stopped doing dance. So it kind of. For me, that's like, I ended up breaking my ankle actually in eighth grade.

So that kind of ended a lot of like activity, competitive stuff in that physical realm for a long time.

Okay.

With those low rise jeans.

Oh, lord flashbacks.

I just, I remember if they ever come back in style, I will, I will definitely revolt against that. Because the low rise jeans to where like there's nothing above the zipper almost.

It's not built for these hips, that's for sure.

Yes.

But when it comes to like now. So I started getting into fitness after I started working from home, basically.

So I had my son and was kind of working like, was maybe like 15 hours a week on the side. And I was like, well, he's a baby. So after a certain, like when they're real small, like, they just lay there.

Yeah.

And for me, I was like, well, I can at least find something like some sort of physical thing just to like get me moving and kind of like get out of the house a little bit.

So I started doing like, like these like dance fitness videos online just to kind of like do that for like 20 minutes a day just to kind of like move around or do something. And then started doing like hip hop fitness class once a week. So I get to like, see other people like that aren't my kid.

Yes.

That was great.

And then because that is needed, the big push is like, when I came back to Michigan, my brother Patrick, he was a personal trainer out at Snap Fitness at the time.

Okay.

And I was like, I just want to. I don't even know how to use weights. I don't know what, like, I don't know what to do with any of this.

And I was like, all I know is if I go to the gym is I walk. Like, I'll use the elliptical for like 20 minutes and I'll leave. And I was like. So I was like, but help me. I was like, please help.

I am so afraid of these weights. And I am not. I was super cringe. And I remember telling him, I was like, I just don't want to get too bulky.

And my brother Patrick for reference, is a bodybuilder now. And so it was.

I cannot believe, just since I've met you, how much he's changed.

He's insane.

He's beefy. Like, he's definitely achieved some muscle definition, for sure.

And last year, he had his first competition, and he was second in the heavyweight category. I'm not quite sure how it worked, but he got second in his very first showing, which is crazy.

He's gonna be competing again this year, and I'm sure he's gonna kill it. Right. But. Yeah. So he came and he showed me a couple things, and for me, it was like, I have real bad anxiety.

And so I was like, if I move a little bit every day, it kind of just helps with that.

It does.

Since in the past.

When did. And when did. When did you start having him, like, help you? When did you start going to the gym?

Okay.

A lot of different things happened. Yes, yes. And that was at Snap Fitness in Mason.

I know Howell, actually.

And Howell.

Okay. And then we moved out. Then we moved to where we roughly are now. So I started going to Mason. Still had the Snap there. So, yes.

Worked out perfect for me. And at the time, I started working with, like, a personal trainer online, and he would write me programs.

So it was like, basically like three days a week of just like, actual, like, strength trainings, general conditioning stuff.

Yes.

And it, like, I was like, you know, I had this. I ended up having, like, an injury after I. It was just like something from, like, when I had my son and everything like that.

Lots of, you know, you get older, things flare up, and you're just like, whoa. And you gotta kind of like, rethink your whole approach to things.

And, like, I went to, like, physical therapist, but at the time, I was like, you know, the Olympics was playing a lot, and I was like, watching the Olympic powerlifting, and I was like, that's kind of fun. I was like, how hard can it be to try? I know. And that's how I started with my current trainer and coach, Ross Bell. He's amazing. Shout out.

Ross Bell.

Ross Bell. Yes. Armor Fitness Kettlebell Club. Yay. And he, like, he. His. His training facility is right next door to the Snap Fitness.

So he actually saw me once at the gym with my son. I was pushing him on the sled. I had his little eagle attached in there. He opened the door he was like, that's amazing. I think that's so hilarious.

And we chatted a bit then. And then I was like. Basically had this like diagnostic surgery scheduled.

I was like, I want to like, obviously I've got to get some stuff fixed right now.

Right.

But if I'm going to learn how to do proper form and I'm going to do this sort of stuff, I want to do it with a person that knows. That knows what they're doing. There's something with like in person training that you just have to do with like you have to. Yes.

And I was like, I've never. I was like, I would like to try and compete in this. If it's something where it's like not gonna work out, that's totally cool.

But I think it would be just really cool to like work with someone on the strength training side. Cause this is like. I love deadlifts. They're so much fun.

Do you really?

I.

And she, ladies and gentlemen that are listening, if you can hear this. She competed and. And placed first. First. I mean, deadlift. And then. Okay, wait, we gotta talk about. Let me see if I can say it correctly this time.

Kettlebells. Kettlebells.

Yes.

Kettlebells.

Yes, I will talk. I'll ugu. Hold on. So I started doing training for powerlifting literally two weeks after I had a diagnostic surgery.

Yep.

The good news was diagnostically that I was. I thought I had endometriosis. I did not. That was very, very exciting.

Just basically I had like a pelvic tear and was able to work with physical thera. And that was over training on my side. I messed that up. That was not result. Yeah. If you don't know what you're doing, that's what happens.

And that's why you should work with professionals. And so started working with him on that. And so powerlifting is three movements. It's your squat. It's deadlift and bench press. Yes.

And ironically, the one that I didn't enjoy the most, which was bench press, was probably one of my better events. It's just funny how it works. I love deadlifts.

It's really cool, I think, and especially for women to like feel like kind of like your own like power in a field.

Yeah.

I'm never someone that's felt like strong or powerful. So like be able to be like, holy crap, I can deadlift myself. Like I could pick myself up.

Which is wild to me. I think it's great. I like was in awe of you as you were going through the process. And then placing, I was like, heck, yeah.

Yeah. And at the competition, I competed in January, so start October. January. So it was like four months.

Yeah.

Literally recovering from surgery in the meanwhile and like, just to be able, like, obviously when you compete, there's, like, you. There's ideal days. There's days where everything just clicks. The day we competed was not a click day for me. And.

But it's still something where it was like, you know, it dead. Powerlifting is crazy. Just the mentality of it where you just have to be able to grind and, like, you have to be able to, like, tap into that inner.

Like, a lot of people talk about having that, like, inner rage and stuff. I'm not a rage person. I'm just not.

No.

Like, no, it makes sense in the long scheme of what I'm doing now. But, like, I don't ever feel like the I'm woman, hear me roar sort of thing.

Gotcha.

It's just not.

It's not who you are.

It's just not who I am.

It's not your DNA.

And like, I say I love that, like, women that can do it are super amazing. And I think it's really cool. And I love fitness for. For anyone realistically, because you get to, like, push your own self and potential.

Yes. And it's a mentality thing.

It is. And it's like, I can tap into the competitive side just being like, I'm just a competitive person by nature. It's mostly because I have.

I am hair flip. Very insecure with myself, and it's great. So I love proving myself wrong all the time. And was. Once I did the first powerlifting meet, I was.

I had some lists that went like. I hit all my openers, which was great. I had some lifts that went really well, and then I had other lifts that were not great. And like, it is. It's.

It's a mixed bag. It's always your first competition.

Right. Talk to me about the kettlebell competition.

Yes. So I started getting into kettlebells because we just finished this meet. I was kind of burned out a little bit from it.

I wouldn't admit it at the time, but it's. My next powerlifting meet wouldn't be until like, October, and it was just February.

And I was like, that's a long time to just only be doing squat, bench and deadlift.

Yeah.

And my coach, who's awesome, he was prepping.

He's.

He's a kettlebell guy, obviously, with the name that, like. And I joke that he must have gotten into it because his last name is Bell. And I was like, you know, the. All of these are here.

I wouldn't mind doing, like, just like, what if we mess around with these couple times? Give it a try. And he's like, oh, absolutely. He's like, I'd love to show you a kettle wheel day. And I was like, sure, let's do it.

And just out of fun, on a random, like, Thursday afternoon, he's like, here is a 8 kilogram, which is roughly 16 pounds. And he was like, I'm gonna show you all the basic movements, and we're just gonna kind of see what you like and, like, if it's fun or whatever.

And I was like, sure, why not?

Yes.

And I do this. He showed me this thing called long cycle.

And so essentially, you do, like, a swing under, and then when you are in, like, you put it up to your chest, and then you do, like a leg press up, and that's what. And then that's like the lockout. And that's the whole movement. And you. For long cycle, you compete for. You can minimum compete competitions.

You can do 5 minutes, 10, and then you can add more incremental time from there. And so I was like, you know, this is kind of fun.

Yeah.

And the mentality shift of it, too, is a lot different. Where it was like, it's very much.

Just like more of endurance, right?

Yeah.

Getting instead of just like, this one, like. Like, you got to get over your head. You have to endure for longer. Especially this last competition, it was 30.

Minutes, 30 whole minutes. So I was like, all right, you know what I don't like, I like having that training goal of just being like, I'm gonna compete, so I'm gonna push it.

And, like, that, I think, shows a lot in terms of how I handle myself in competition and just, like, training, because it's like, it's not just, you know, it's different. It adds a little bit of pressure to it. But I like pressure despite how I am. And it was like, I apply a ton of pressure to myself.

And it was just like, ok, try this for fun. That means we're taking a little break from kettlebell, like, from the powerlifting to try this kettlebell thing out.

And he was like, all right, cool. There's this, like, thing called the team meet where it's just like, you know, we just. It's.

Yeah.

You know, it's just like we all show up at a different gym and we all do our things, and then we all go home. Right. And I was like, all right, cool. And I was so stressed, so I started this, like, on and off in May.

I was still doing some stuff for powerlifting.

Okay.

And I did my very first, like, sort of team meet showing for 10 minutes with a 10 kilogram bell. And I was like, okay. And like, when you do it for 10 minutes, you.

That's a long time.

You only get one arm switch. So you literally are grinding out on one arm for as close to five minutes as you can. And then you switch it over and.

You hope you don't die.

And you hope you don't die. And it was more so where it was just like, it really kind of clicked, like, brain wise, where it was just like, it's just 10 minutes. It's not even.

It's not even 1% of your day.

Like, exactly.

It's not even 1%. And.

And then you translated that to the. The 30 minutes.

Oh, yeah. Well, then you start doing like the math you do in math class.

Like when you're staring at a clock and you're just like, all right, well, if this is 30 minutes, that's only six. Five.

Like, yes, yes.

It's only five minutes six times. So I like. And that can do five minutes.

And now with your last competition, you're going to be on Team usa.

Yes. Yes. So I did that very first team meet showing, and it was like one of those things where it's like, I really like this.

Why?

Yes, I really did. And it felt a lot. It, like, physically just felt like something I could do a lot easier.

And maybe easy is not the right word, but it just felt more natural for me. And it's like that grind in that mindset too, where it's just like, I can do this mentality wise, where I can push it.

Like, I can force myself to go through this. And for some reason, that clicked a lot better than with the powerlifting mindset where it's just like, I'm super strong.

But it was much more of just like, instead of, all right, I gotta tap into the inner rage was much more like, you just have to push it and not stop. And I love being an anxious girly, because anxious girlies never stop.

Right?

It just keeps on going. And so I did that. And then I was like, how do I compete in this for real? I really, really like this. I wanna pursue this more.

Don't get me wrong, I still love deadlifts, but I really wan where I can go with this? And he was like, okay, cool. Our first competition we'll do in September that was with Twin cities. I got 72 with a 12.

I bumped up 2 kilograms of weight, and I was like, I got 87. And I was like, okay, all right, when's the next one? And he was, okay, well, we've got this other week we can do, and that will be on November 1st.

And I was like, okay, let's go for it. I'm doing the same thing. I just want to do even better this time. And you get rank.

There's rank based on, like, the amount of reps you do and the time and the bell and stuff like that. So my very first competition, I was rank three. And then in the second one, I got rank two, and that was 92 reps. And I was like, okay.

And after that meet, they were all talking about how, like, oh, there's this Worlds event coming up in Syracuse. And I was like, what's. What's Worlds? Like, yes, again, I'm a complete newbie. Like, I haven't even been in the sport for a year.

And it's really cool that you've done that. We're running out of time, so I'm gonna be quick.

I'm getting. So basically, it's the ikmf. It is the world's kettlebell event.

There's going to be over 400 athletes there, 40 countries, and the big star flag is that you have to do long sets. So basically, I did what's called a half marathon, so for 30 minutes and got 260 reps. Yay. So I'm very much newcomer, very much a newbie. I will.

I'm at, like. Like, in the harems of the scale thing. Yes, definitely, like. And she's here.

Okay, so really quickly, I want to touch base on homeschooling. Just a super duper condensed. If there's anybody that's listening, just give, like, website information that you do with Xavier. It's called Sun.

Yes. So I homeschool through a program called Sunlight.

And one of the great things I love about the homeschool community is there are so many people in your area that are doing stuff for it. You just have to, like. I literally find all of these cool activities just through Facebook groups.

Okay, that was. My next question is.

So you have the stuff, and I like that you told me that, that it's like structured like here's this week and this day and da da, da da. But then also the outside of that is that you're always telling me that Xavier's got all this cool stuff going on.

Yeah, you know, I think it really just depends on how involved you want. And I wanted to make something fun for like I have an only child.

So for him I was like, I don't want him to ever feel like he didn't have friends growing up or he didn't get to do stuff. And so I've done all sorts of different things. And I actually found Chelsea Theed through it was called Lansing Area Track Club.

It's like a free community track program. And I was like, let's see if he likes track. Track wasn't a great thing for us.

But I met Chelsea through it and Chelsea is the director and co founder of Lansing Tech Studio. And they are a nonprofit. One of the branches of that is they run a community.

It's called like First Lego League, which is a robotics and like tech science program. Super amazing. And I help coach with that team.

And last year we had four teams, all homeschoolers and every team that we had placed in some category and we even had a team go to states and they ranked in the top 20 of the state of Michigan, which is one of the most competitive states.

That's so awesome. Okay, so really quickly we're gonna go back over first subject that I want you to make sure that you put out there. You're a trainer. What is his name?

How can people get a hold of him? Where do you train? Where can people get a hold of you?

Sure. So Ross Bell is my trainer. He is in Armor Fitness Kettlebell Club. He is also the owner of Viking Performance Chalk. So if you.

Even if you aren't doing kettlebell, he does. He sells. The company is amazing. They have all sorts of chalk products for like is sports.

So it's like CrossFit, powerlifting, rock climbing, kettlebell, whatever you need for your hands so your hands don't get sweaty and you drop stuff.

Right.

So. And then he also has some pretty cool shirts.

Awesome, awesome. And then the homeschooling again was sunlight.

I love it. I love it. I'm thoroughly entertained always.

You're never gonna see anything. Like, sometimes if you don't. If you haven't heard me, you might not get, like, my spin on stuff. But I have a good time there.

Right, Right. Okay. So I usually like to do this with every guest that I have on. And it's a random question generator.

Yes.

So that question for you is, if you had to change your name, what would you change it to? Ooh.

So I go by full name Catherine, and I think it's. But when I grew up Catholic and everything like that. So you get to choose, like, a confirmation name.

And the confirmation name I chose was Cecilia, and she is the patron saint of music.

Ooh, I like that. Yeah, I like that.

I didn't know that.

That's cool. Okay, so the other thing that I like to ask people is, what is the best advice you've ever received?

Oh, you know, it's one of those things. It sounds like. I joke. I literally posted it yesterday where I said it sounds like a cat poster, but it's true. And it's really. That anxiety is like.

When I've heard that anxiety is, like, a way that your body is, like, preparing itself. It's like an inner applause to get ready for something you're about to do. Something, like, epic. And the source of anxiety is capability.

Yes.

And so I literally have a necklace that says capable on it, because, like, every time I've ever felt anxious, it's because I'm afraid that something's not gonna work out. But everybody, everything's.

It always does. It always does.

Something that changed that for me is I had a client who, when I was nervous about doing my jury, which, for anybody listening that doesn't know that hasn't listened to any of the other episodes of the podcast. A Jury is where I had to sing in front of. And I was, like, really nervous. One of my clients at the salon, Joseph Merritt.

Thank you, Joseph, for this little tidbit that said that anxiety and nervousness and excite or anxiety and excitement are the exact same function in your body. He's like, don't be anxious about it. Just tell yourself you're excited.

I love that. And it's something, too, where it's like, so reframing because anxiety can really feel like.

I've joked that sometimes when it gets bad, it can feel like you got punched in the gut in our ass on a marathon. And you're just like, how.

How. Like, what is happening right now? What do you mean?

And, like, especially with me competing last weekend, like, I was.

Don't I was extremely nervous, but it was something where it's just, like, I just had this moment where it's like, I think I can actually pull this off. And I was like, no, I know I can pull this off.

Exactly. 30 Minutes. Exactly. Exactly. Okay. And what is the worst advice you've ever had?

Oh, my God.

Whatever received. You know what I mean? You know what I mean?

Oh, man. I hate it when people say, like, it was one of those things where it's like, I've. I've had so many terrible things happen.

Everybody has terrible things happen. And I dislike. Like, it's one of those things where it's, like, super frustrating when someone's just like, oh, well, like.

Like, it's all about the silver lining and stuff like that. And it's like, when you're really going through it, you don't. That's not.

There is no silver lining.

Exactly. It's just. It's just a bad storm. And it's just like, part of. It's just like, sometimes, like, you just.

Have to sit in that bad storm.

And one of those things is like, I feel like it's really frustrating to, like, rewrite the human. Like, some people, I think, are afraid to feel negative emotions. And I think it's like, the fear of having a negative emotion is much.

More like, that's such a detrimental than actually feeling it. A firm believer in feel it. Sit there, stay there as long as you need to, but just don't unpack and stay there.

Yeah.

And it's one of those things where it's like, I have gone through in terms of just like, some pretty bad stuff, but it's just like, I just, you know, I feel really deep. But I think that's a good thing because if you can't feel, you can't grow.

Absolutely, I agree.

And so it's really frustrating when I think sometimes when people are like, oh, well, the only. Like, you just gotta turn that frown upside down and be positive all the time was like, I will get through this. I just. Let me take a.

Let me take a breather here.

Yes.

Because if it's all. I feel like it really just flattens what the human experience is. If you're just like, I can only be up.

Oh, absolutely. You have to be able to experience all. That's what we're here for, is to experience all of it.

Yeah.

Where in your life do you feel the most grounded?

Ooh. Honestly, I was actually reflecting on this the other day where it's just like.

Like, I am in A place that I never thought I would be, where it's like, in terms of just like in my relationships, my work, my home life. And even now chasing this crazy goal with the fitness stuff where it's just like I never thought I would be where I am.

And so like for me, it's like if I feel like feeling grounded is just like literally just like doing the silly life stuff. Right. Sitting on the couch at the end of the day with your family before bed, like, you know, just like everyone kind of hanging out, like whatever.

Yes.

And just having that moment of just being like, like this is what it's all about, right? Being with these people.

Yes.

And yeah, it's, it's crazy.

That is true. That is true. I have to agree.

One of the things that I've done lately is, is sit back and, and remind myself that, you know, my 13 year old self would think I'm the coolest thing on the planet right now every day. Especially because I just moved recently and I now live in like an Upper east side, New York City flat apartment.

And every day I wake up and I'm just like, oh my God, my 10 year old Catherine would have been like, what? You live where you do what? But, yeah, so it's been wonderful having you on. Thank you so much for sitting down with me.

Yeah, no, this was awesome. I, you know, if as I prep for Team usa, who knows, maybe I'll come back.

Yes, I would love to have you back on after, after you compete and we'll chat about that and coffee because we didn't get to that.

Yes.

Thanks for listening to this episode of Conversations with Kate. You can find more information on LCC Connect's site as well as all social platforms, Facebook, Instagram, yes, TikTok as well. Big love.