Making Connections

No one ever said life is easy, but I believe by giving yourself permission, you will find you have more control over your life than you realize. I'm Julie. I hope you will join me by taking responsibility for yourself, by only controlling the things you can and letting go of the things that you can't. By doing this, you will have discovered the secret to having happy, healthy and more fulfilling relationships. This is Nearest and Dearest Podcast. I'm Julie Rogers and you are listening to Season 3, episode 2, making Connections.

When I decided to put this podcast together three years ago, I felt the need to share my personal story. I really didn't know how that was going to look. I had navigated through so much in my life up to that point, but I was in a very good headspace. I had clarity. I felt a compelling urge to put my voice out there and share what I have experienced. My family and friends know a lot of the details, the good and the bad. This podcast was my hope that maybe, just maybe, my stories will resonate with you. I still believe today that if any of my content connects with you personally, it's priceless. I'm humbled when I receive text messages, emails, reviews or even chats from you. I received my first written five-star review from jrcomins1 through PodChaser. For those of you who don't know what PodChaser is, it's just another platform for people to check out podcasts like Apple Podcasts, spotify or Amazon Music any of these platforms you can listen to Nearest and Dearest Podcast. This is what she said. Quote "love your podcast. Owning my truth. Check out your podcast from Facebook. And it is the first time I have ever listened to any podcast.

I can relate that I had a similar experience with Ancestry. com when I received an email from my daughter asking if an email she received was true. A young man had sent her an email saying he was a DNA match to her family. The email made me recall past family details I had not recalled in years. Indeed, my daughter, Jaimie, was related to the young man and, in fact, he was my nephew and my sister's son, whom she had given up for adoption many years ago. Short story my sister and her son finally connected and we now have another branch to the family we had never thought existed. Very happy we took a DNA test and established a connection my sister and her son had secretly hoped to find for many years. Very happy, you were able to connect to your birth father. May God bless us all."

This next connection came from a co-worker who worked with my brother, Steve. I have never met Mary Ellen before, but we had corresponded in the past about her husband's delicious honey, he raises honeybees that I was introduced to her. My brother Steve brought me home a jar when I was looking for honey to help me with my allergies and anyways, she sent me this wonderful email. Hi, Julie, Steve and I were chatting last night and somehow got on the topic of podcasts and he mentioned you had one. I listened a bit last night and again this morning and I just loved it. Honestly, you had me in tears talking about your mom's illness. Of course, I know a lot of the story from Steve and the heartbreak you all endured. You are such a good storyteller and I look forward to hearing more. Mary Ellen.

Linda R, another listener who reached out to me this past fall, asked me if I would share some more information about my trip to Italy that I shared last June and July. Remember Discovering My Italian Roots, part one through four. Linda sent me this email Hello Julie, my husband and I will be traveling to visit Italy next year. My dad's family came from Guardia, Piemontese in 1921 and I'm having difficulty finding places to stay while we are visiting this area/ village. Sadly, my dad and grandparents are deceased. It would be wonderful if you could provide any insight to places we can stay. Our time in Guardia Piemontese is October 8th through the 10th 2024. Sincerely Linda R. I was delighted to assist her by sharing the details where we stayed in Guardia. I gave her some more insights that might help her as well. She followed up with me with another thoughtful email. Hello, Julie. Thanks so much for sharing your Italy, Guardia Piemontese information with me. It truly helps as we make the arrangements of our final day in Italy.

Knowing that this area in Italy is not as popular as other northern and coastal areas, I have enrolled in Babbel to learn Italian thinking. That way, within a year time frame, I should be able to communicate somewhat effectively with the locals. Fingers crossed, I will also go to AAA, as you suggested, for maps etc. As we are also AAA members too. Being a second generation American, I am excited to walk the streets and see the area where my paternal grandparents and all my previous Italian ancestors lived. Again, thanks for your invaluable information. Sincerely, L inda R. Making connections shouldn't be limited.

Another purpose for Nearest And Dearest Podcast is finding connections that transcends cultures. Very recently I found a website, alcoholfree. com, that is listing my own episodes on their website platform. Not sure how they found my little podcast, but they have found value in my show. I was not expecting another website, especially one that I didn't even know existed wanted to share my content with their customers. Some info I learned when I wanted to know more. It was co-founded by John Risby, who stopped drinking alcohol in 2004. He was searching for more choices in what to drink. He came up with the idea of an online shop dedicated to all things alcohol-free. By 2006, after a year of research and planning, the alcohol-free shop was launched in England.

The more I delved into this organized website, the more I realized that they aren" just selling non-alcohol beverages to their customers. They understand the dynamics their customers are experiencing in their lives. So I go to their search browsers. It's quite a list. I go to listen and I click on it. The headline is Podcasts to Help you Smash your Goals and it goes on to say choosing to reduce or stop drinking alcohol can feel like entering unknown territory. It's common to feel isolated and even afraid. Podcasts let us learn, connect and feel inspired by people with similar experiences.

I kept scrolling down and the next headline read Not Only Alcohol Free. So I wondered what does that mean? So I kept reading. Here's what it said. We know alcohol isn't the only issue and it rarely exists in isolation. It goes on to say you'll also find podcasts on related subjects such as mental health, diet, finance and more. So at this point I saw the search engine and I decided to put in Nearest And Dearest Podcast. And guess what? There it was. I believe the magic comes from making human connections through sharing life experiences all across the world, and I'm grateful and blessed to have you experience yours with me. The views and opinions expressed by Nearest And Dearest Podcast are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Nearest And Dearest Podcast. Any content provided by Julie Rogers or any other authors are of their opinion. They are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual or anyone or anything. Thank you.