Amy Resch
Episode 69

Narrator: Welcome friends to another episode of The Story & Experience Podcast. Join your host, Japhet De Oliveira with his guest today and discover the moments that shape us, our families and communities.

Japhet De Oliveira: Welcome friends to another brand-new Story & Experience Podcast. I'm very excited about the guest that I have sitting across me. It's always a privilege when you're in one of these situations to actually sit across the table with somebody as opposed to being in an online meeting. So this is fantastic. For anybody who's brand new to this experience, let me explain how it works. We have 100 questions. First 10 I ask, and then the guest gets to choose between 11 and 100 where they want to go, and they obviously become a little bit more vulnerable and more open as we get to listen to 100. So these are all about stories and experiences, and I'll begin with the first one. Could you share your name and does anybody need any help with pronunciation or anything like that?

Amy Resch: My name is Amy Resch, and yes, people do need help with pronunciation of that name. In addition to my job here at Adventist Health, I also am a college professor, and so I have 75 students in a class, and many of them mispronounce my name when they say Professor Resch. So I usually say they can just call me Professor Amy. It's a little bit easier.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's fantastic. That's fantastic. I didn't know you were professor as well. What are you teaching?

Amy Resch: Psychology.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh. Oh, I should be careful now. Right, that's great, Amy. Thank you so much. So you mentioned Adventist Health. What do you do at Adventist Health in addition to your professing?

Amy Resch: I am the Vice President of Operations for the Foundation at Adventist Health, Glendale.

Japhet De Oliveira: So the foundation is?

Amy Resch: We raise money for the hospital. So we look for the priorities for what the hospital needs, and we find people who have a passion to help.

Japhet De Oliveira: And this is your passion, obviously.

Amy Resch: Absolutely.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Have you been doing this long?

Amy Resch: I've been in the non-profit sector for about 12 years, and I've been, as I said, teaching for about 27 years.

Japhet De Oliveira: 27.

Amy Resch: Yes. Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. Hey, that's fantastic. I was just going to ask you how long you've been in this current role, but you've jumped ahead. That's great.

Amy Resch: This current role. I've only been here just under a year.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Amy Resch: So we're a fairly new team and we love it.

Japhet De Oliveira: Now, do you know the Glendale community extremely well?

Amy Resch: I did grow up very close. I grew up in Arcadia, which is just about 15 minutes east of Glendale. So yes, I do know. You know what? I'm learning more and more every day.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great. That's great. All right. So when you get up in the morning, what's your drink of choice to start the day? Do you start off with coffee, tea, water, or liquid green smoothie?

Amy Resch: So that's interesting. So my entire life, I've started off with hot coffee, and I did break down and buy an Nespresso, because I had tasted it and I just said, I'm going to get one. And I actually did, and I love it. But recently, and maybe it's because of the heat wave down here in Southern California, I've been having iced coffee. So iced coffee is now my drink of choice in the morning. A little oat milk, and I'm good to go.

Japhet De Oliveira: I prefer oat milk as well. It is much better. Yeah. No, I agree. I agree. That's great. So tell us, where were you born?

Amy Resch: I was born in Pasadena, California. Right, very close to here. I haven't really ventured out of southern California. And why would I? I do like it a lot.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, that's great.

Amy Resch: Went to school just right over on the west side of town at UCLA, and when I went to buy a house, it came back to Arcadia to be near my family, and that's where we are. That's where I raised my kids, and it's been great.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's fantastic, Amy. When you were a little child in Pasadena, what did you imagine you would grow up to be?

Amy Resch: Ooh. I think when I was very young, I thought I would be an artist. Loved to draw and do anything that involved glue and paper and scissors and crayons and pens and all of that. I think as I got a little bit older, I really had a strong interest in healthcare, wanted to do something in the medical field. I thought for a moment, maybe going into being a physician until I hit organic chemistry. And that changed the course a little bit. Then I did major in psychology and went on to graduate school in that field. So I've always had an interest in health and helping people. And nonprofit foundation really melds the two together.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's beautiful. That's beautiful. Fantastic. All right. So now, if people were to describe your personality, would they describe you as an extrovert or an introvert? Would you agree? I have my own opinion, by the way.

Amy Resch: Well, okay. So of course I've done the Myers Briggs and all of that, and just, I know 100%, and you may not agree with me, that I am a 100% introvert. I am a practiced extrovert. I think for a couple of reasons. One, I think being in this world, it really helps to be able to talk to people. And really, secondly, I think even more importantly, I really value connection. And so I've had to really work on putting myself out there and really fostering relationships. So yes, I am truly an introvert, though I recharge by being by myself. I love to be alone. I know that may sound funny, but I love to read. I love to sew, craft, play with my dogs, and that's really how I recharge. So being in groups, so one on one, I probably feel more like an extrovert in some ways, and that's easy for me. Being in groups is where the introvert really comes out. And I like to be on the outside until I feel more comfortable to step in.

Japhet De Oliveira: So you're great. You love being one on one with people.

Amy Resch: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yes. Oh my God, I could tell that when you arrived here. We're actually inside Adventist Health, Glendale right now filming and recording this. And so, yeah, I could tell that, but yeah.

Amy Resch: Yeah. But true, deep down introvert.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Hey, I totally understand. That was great. Fantastic. All right. So habits. Are you an early riser or late night owl?

Amy Resch: Well, I pretty much have to be an early riser because we are working, our entire team is in the office every day. So basically we want to be here early enough by eight or so. By nature, I'm definitely more of a night owl. Now, I did read a book recently called Why We Sleep, and it really put into perspective how important sleep is. And I've taken a lot of sleep seminars to really talk about what's happening during sleep and understand that. And so I push myself to try and get to bed by 10, 10:30, which is really difficult.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good.

Amy Resch: So when I wasn't working a job that had very strict hours, I would definitely do my best work late, late at night.

Japhet De Oliveira: The creative juices would flow.

Amy Resch: Exactly. Yeah. So I've had to really kind of switch into being an early bird. What is that? Like a hesitant early bird, or a reluctant early bird.

Japhet De Oliveira: I like that. A reluctant early bird. That's fantastic. So this morning when you woke up, what was the very first thing that went through your mind?

Amy Resch: Oh, well, for years I've tried to train myself to remember what I dreamed.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, that's really cool.

Amy Resch: I probably learned something along the way, or read something about the, you tell yourself before you go to bed, I'm going to remember everything I dreamed. And then the very first thing you do when you wake up is you have a notepad next to your bed and you jot down what you dreamed about. I like to do a little dream analysis to try and figure out what's happening in the subconscious.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yes.

Amy Resch: So that's probably my first thought, is trying to get something down on paper. It does give me a little stress sometimes, because I usually, most of the time, unless I wake up right in the middle of a REM cycle, I'm probably not remembering a lot of what I dreamed. But I do work on that. And then the second thought, I don't even... Probably that I was doing a podcast today.

Japhet De Oliveira: Well, it is early. It is early. That's fair enough. Hey, that is really interesting. I do agree that some of our most creative thinking can happen.

Amy Resch: I 100% agree with that. I sometimes like to set my first alarm a little bit earlier just so I can know that I can lay in bed and I do believe you can problem solve really well in that twilight period. Absolutely. Right before you fall asleep, right before you wake up. And I think it's been proved in some ways that is true. So all of that is great.

Japhet De Oliveira: It's the writing down that wakes you up that you kind of think to yourself.

Amy Resch: Yeah, exactly. Try it. It's like a dream journal. It is interesting though, to look back on it and remember when you're going through things and what was coming up that you could remember and why. What was that trying to tell you? Because I do believe that we are able to really solve a lot of problems through our dreaming, and we just don't really remember. It's a great thing that happens. It works out relationships and inspiration and advice and all of that. So we just don't know very much about all of that.

Japhet De Oliveira: We don't. We don't. I'm glad you're doing that. That's great. Fantastic leadership question here. Are you a backseat driver?

Amy Resch: Okay. In leadership? Okay. I definitely think in a car or in leadership, the answer is no. This is my thought on that. I think that if you hire the right team or you have the right team in place, you don't need to be a backseat driver. What I want to be as a leader is someone who can help remove roadblocks. If my team, and I have a fantastic team, if they are working on a issue, on a problem, on a project, I try not to get involved. I try not to micromanage because I know I don't like to be micromanaged. So I would say no to that. I hope my team feels the same way.

Japhet De Oliveira: No, that's fantastic. Well, we'll interview them later on.

Amy Resch: Okay. Get the real answer.

Japhet De Oliveira: It's great. All right. So that was the first 10, really easy. And now it's your turn to pick between 11 and 100. And where would you like to go first? Up or down?

Amy Resch: I'm going to start slow.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Amy Resch: 16.

Japhet De Oliveira: 16. All right. Tell us about one of the places you've traveled to and why you want to go back.

Amy Resch: Wow. There's a lot of places that I have not traveled to that I want to go. I have a lot of traveling I feel that I need to do to see all the places. But probably about six or seven years ago, my husband and kids and my sister and her family, we took a trip to Whistler, British Columbia. And we actually went up there for a music festival, which was a three day music festival. It was wonderful. And the backdrop was amazing. It was the mountains, and it was the perfect time of year. I would love to go back there and really explore that whole area without having the music festival. But it was something that I think about a lot in terms of even maybe spending more time there, having half the year there at some point in my life. That's how it really inspired me. It was a beautiful area, and I really felt something about being there that I want to go back to.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's fantastic. Beautiful. All right. So where'd you want to go next after 16? Do you want to go up or down?

Amy Resch: I'm going to go up one, and go 17.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great. That's great.

Amy Resch: Here's my cautious nature coming through. You can really tell a lot about me.

Japhet De Oliveira: It's all good. It's all good. This is fantastic. All right. Share what day is the most special to you on the calendar and why?

Amy Resch: The first thing that came to mind is February 14th.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Amy Resch: So Valentine's Day. Why am I getting emotional? Okay. Growing up, my mom always made that day really special for me because my birthday is the day after.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right.

Amy Resch: So my birthday is February 15th. That's a really special day for me. And also my kids' birthdays are both in February, so we have a lot of aquarians here. My sister-in-law, my mother-in-law, my brother-in-law, we have a lot of February birthdays in my family. So I would say the whole month of February...

Japhet De Oliveira: It's spectacular.

Amy Resch: Is very special. Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, that's beautiful. All sorts of memories. Yeah. That's great. Wonderful. All right. So after 17?

Amy Resch: I'm going to 18.

Japhet De Oliveira: 18. It's all good. It's all good.

Amy Resch: I will venture out. I promise.

Japhet De Oliveira: It's all good. This is great. All right. If you had to eat just one meal for a month, what would you choose?

Amy Resch: I'm going to go to a childhood favorite, because you can't go wrong with that. And his is going to be...

Japhet De Oliveira: That's fair.

Amy Resch: It's very, okay. It's going to be a simple tuna sandwich.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good. Anything inside it, or?

Amy Resch: Well, it would be white albacore tuna with a little mayo, dill pickle relish, some capers, maybe on toasted sourdough. I mean, right?

Japhet De Oliveira: I feel like we should stop right now.

Amy Resch: Okay. Let's make one. So that was my favorite lunch to have, probably dinner, breakfast, anything when I was growing up. I remember after I had my daughter, they came in and said, what can we get you to eat? And that's exactly what I said. I was like a tuna fish sandwich. So I think I would be happy with that for a month. Now, probably not if that was all you could eat for a whole month I think maybe.

Japhet De Oliveira: You'd start off in a good space.

Amy Resch: Yes. The first week I would be happy.

Japhet De Oliveira: That'd be fantastic.

Amy Resch: Okay.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. That was 18. What next?

Amy Resch: Let's go to 21.

Japhet De Oliveira: 21. Share the very best compliment you've ever received.

Amy Resch: Oh, geez.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Amy Resch: I think... So, going back to being an instructor, a teacher, an educator, I've had students at the end of the semester come up and say, I'm going to change my major after having your class.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, that's great.

Amy Resch: And I think that was really a huge compliment to me, is that I had that kind of impression on someone that would make them want to really change their path of learning.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Hey, that's beautiful. That is beautiful. Well, well done for that.

Amy Resch: Oh, thank you.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good. That's good. I'll add to that compliment. All right. So after 21?

Amy Resch: Let's go, 26.

Japhet De Oliveira: 26. All right. Tell us about one thing that you love that most people do not. It wouldn't be the tuna fish sandwich.

Amy Resch: I was going to say the tuna fish sandwich, but I think people do like that. I'm only thinking of this because we do have a gala coming up, and I have a black tie wedding that I'm going to. So I've been shopping for fancy dresses, and I went with my daughter and she lives in San Francisco. We were up in San Francisco. And I always have been drawn to the sparkle, the glitter, the sequence. She's exactly the opposite of that. And I think that, I don't think a lot of people are drawn to that like I am. So I would say that. Sparkle, anything sparkly.

Japhet De Oliveira: Beautiful.

Amy Resch: Glittery. When I do any kind of crafting, I want a million different kinds of glitter. So that is something that I think people think it's a little bit tacky sometimes.

Japhet De Oliveira: It's not that, you're not talking about the same as bedazzling like the AT&T advert.

Amy Resch: I do like bedazzling.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. All right.

Amy Resch: I do like all of that. So yes, you hit it right on the head. I'm glad you remembered that.

Japhet De Oliveira: I did it left an impression.

Amy Resch: Bedazzled. Yeah, exactly. I love that kind of stuff.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. All right.

Amy Resch: I don't really have a chance to wear it. When you go to Vegas, you can always pull out a sequin jacket.

Japhet De Oliveira: One place I haven't been yet.

Amy Resch: Oh, yes. Well, that is the place you need to go. Just to experience. Exactly. We'll get you a sequin jacket.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, sure. All right. Where next?

Amy Resch: What was that?

Japhet De Oliveira: That was 26.

Amy Resch: I'll go 27.

Japhet De Oliveira: 27. All right. Bring us into your kitchen for a special meal. What would you be making?

Amy Resch: You know what I'd be doing? I would be baking.

Japhet De Oliveira: Really?

Amy Resch: Yeah. I can make lasagna. That would not be what I would want to be making.

Japhet De Oliveira: But baking is your thing.

Amy Resch: I would want to be baking butterscotch oatmeal cookies.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, okay.

Amy Resch: I'd be wanting to bake brownies, cupcakes, buttercream frosting. I'm drawn to all of that. When I was throughout high school, I was really into cake decorating, so I would make really elaborate, fancy roses and all the flowers and all of that. So it would be that. If someone was coming over, I would order out the meal and I would bake a fabulous dessert.

Japhet De Oliveira: And then we would all be waiting for the dessert.

Amy Resch: I hope so.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, that's great. That's great. All right. After 27?

Amy Resch: Let's go to 30.

Japhet De Oliveira: 30. All right. Tell us about something that you're really looking forward to.

Amy Resch: Okay. So I mentioned it a moment ago, I'm going to a wedding in Nashville. It's a black tie wedding. And the reason it's really special is because I've been friends with the same group of women since kindergarten. So there's a group of seven of us. We live all over the country. We get together twice a year, which is really, even through young kids, toddlers, teenagers, all of that. We've always made time to get together. We have a group text that we share everything on, and we're all going to be there. So it's one of my friend's daughters who's getting married, and it's going to be a really fabulous, fun, extravagant time. And I'm really looking forward to that, to really connect.

Japhet De Oliveira: The real community.

Amy Resch: One of my girlfriends says, we're all from the same stock. And I think that is so true. We've known each other since we were six years old.

Japhet De Oliveira: Everybody needs that.

Amy Resch: And you know what? When I tell people that, it's really amazing to see how many people don't have that. They may have one friend that they've... But it's really unusual I think that we've been able to all different colleges and like I said, different parts of the country, and we've really just kept in touch. And I really have to give credit to the few in the group that are just really great at maintaining that kind of contact. I think you really need people who make the dates and who get the time, and everybody then makes the time to commit to doing this.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. I was going to ask you question 30 A, which was exactly how do you maintain that? Because I'm sure that everybody has friends at some point, but do they have friends that have gone on for their life like this?

Amy Resch: I think that obviously right out of high school, we were very kept in contact. We visited each other at college and things like that. And then there was a period of time, I think, when we had small children, getting careers together and things that it was a lot more difficult. We stayed in contact with phone calls, and we didn't have the Zoom and all of that. Now it's a little bit easier sometimes.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's true.

Amy Resch: And then when the kids started getting a little bit older, then we started doing trips. So we would choose a place to go. We'd all get there for two or three nights, and we'd try to do that twice a year.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great.

Amy Resch: So that's really been the maintenance. And now it's so much easier now with texting and the group text, we can really put a lot of information in there quickly, and there's just a ton of support. And I think it's an easy place for all of us to really maintain that connection.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's beautiful. Love it. Thank you. Thanks for sharing that. That's an inspiration for all to aspire towards. Right. After 30 A, then where would you like to go next?

Amy Resch: 30. Let's go to 47.

Japhet De Oliveira: 47. All right. Here we go. You've just met someone. What would you want them to know about you and why?

Amy Resch: Well, I think that if I've met somebody one on one, I think you would be able to know that I'm genuine, and I think if I meet somebody, like I said before in a group setting, it worries me sometimes I may come off as standoffish or uninterested when it's really just shyness. So I would want somebody to know that. I'd also want someone to know that if they got to know me, I'm really funny, but not to toot my own horn.

Japhet De Oliveira: No, no, no. But it's good. Felt like it was a very large horn, but it was good.

Amy Resch: But I feel like I oftentimes don't share that with people when I first meet them. It takes a little while before I can really be my true self. And...

Japhet De Oliveira: And then you'll roll with it.

Amy Resch: And then I will have you on the floor laughing. No, I'm kidding. I'm not that funny. But I do think that, I feel that sometimes people do feel that I'm a little bit standoffish when it's really just that's the introverted me not engaging immediately.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. No, that's okay. Hey, this is all of us in some shape or form, so love that. All right.

Amy Resch: Let's go to 55.

Japhet De Oliveira: 55. All right. Oh, share about something that frightens you. I wish you could see Amy's face right now. Yeah.

Amy Resch: The first thing that came to my mind are bridges.

Japhet De Oliveira: Really?

Amy Resch: Well...

Japhet De Oliveira: Like going across them?

Amy Resch: Yeah. Going across them. So if I'm driving, I'm fine. If I'm a passenger, I'm a little bit frightened of that. And that seems like a small fright. I mean, of course, the big scares in life, losing people and things like that. But the other thing that frightens me is, this is going to sound different, large abandoned ships that are just floating.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Okay.

Amy Resch: Do you understand that?

Japhet De Oliveira: I do. I do.

Amy Resch: I could see from your face that you got it.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. It's like, I wouldn't be there.

Amy Resch: I wouldn't want to be there. I don't even want to see them. So in San Francisco, there's this one bridge that you go over, and there's a lot of these cargo ships that are just abandoned, and they're floating out there, and it really makes me uneasy for some reason. The other thing is I did see once in person, and then I had to look it up online, an abandon amusement park, which also was frightening.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yes, yes, yes.

Amy Resch: That's so interesting you get that.

Japhet De Oliveira: No, that's very true. I would avoid both those places as well.

Amy Resch: It is scary.

Japhet De Oliveira: In life and in a movie.

Amy Resch: In both. There's just something about that that is frightening. I'm not frightened of scary movies. I'm not frightened of a lot like haunted houses. I know some of them can be frightening, but I like that in a weird way, but I don't like abandoned ships.

Japhet De Oliveira: Fair enough. Fair enough. That's good. That's good. All right. Where next?

Amy Resch: Let's go to 70.

Japhet De Oliveira: 70. All right. Here it is. Tell us about one thing that you are determined to accomplish. Yeah.

Amy Resch: On a small scale, I would love to be able to make the perfect croissant.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. Oh, yeah, that would be…

Amy Resch: I think that might take the rest of my life.

Japhet De Oliveira: A good croissant is something.

Amy Resch: I don't even know where to begin. I've looked into it, but I haven't actually tried it yet. I will put this out there, even though... Because it is. Okay. So my daughter and I talk about this a lot. She's a psychiatric nurse, and my background obviously is in psychology as well. I would love to start and to really think about a way to make mental health help more accessible to everyone. I feel that there are barriers for people to get the help they need. Being in the field, having a lot of resources. I've been held up in ways of trying to help people because it's not...

We all know where to go if you break your arm. You break your arm, you go to the emergency room. You get it taken care of. If someone is experiencing a mental health crisis, if they're anxious or depressed, where do they go? Where can they turn? Well, the emergency room is one place the people usually end up, but there has to be a better way. So we've been thinking and brainstorming about there's urgent care for medical issues. I'd love to try and work a way, and it's going to be talking to a lot of networking for sure. We're seeing about is there a way to begin an urgent care for mental health?

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Amy Resch: My worry is that, I know funding is an issue, like federal funding. There's a lot of issues. My worry is that the line would be wrapped around the block four times.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, I agree. Actually, I'm with you. I actually think that you are hitting on something very serious, especially today, more so than ever.

Amy Resch: Yes. And I love the fact that Adventist Health, Glendale does have a behavioral health unit. We need more access. There obviously has great access, but we need more of those, and we need that to be affordable for people who really need the care. And I've seen this in my early profession when I was working as a therapist. I've seen it through friends. I've seen it through my own family. It is, there is a lot. In some ways, it's prohibitive to really get the help you need. Treatment centers, everything is extremely expensive. Insurance doesn't cover enough. I don't know if this is getting too political. But I do. I would love to have that as a mission after I retire, to really work on accessibility.

Japhet De Oliveira: There's a lot of stigma, right?

Amy Resch: Oh, yeah. You hit on another point. That's really the first step is asking for the help. And then once someone has come to that place where they say, I need help, then I don't want them to face that next roadblock. Because it's so hard to get to that point, to say either out loud or to yourself, I need help. And I love the fact that we have a lot of online resources now where people can go on. And I know for adolescents, they can even text. And there's something through the Glendale Unified School District where they're doing texting and things like that.

And I think for the youth, that's what they're used to. And that is what I'm talking about, giving people access to things that can help them without having to come up with an exorbitant amount of money. Because again, making that choice to get help is so tandem out. I want someone who makes that choice to then have the access to get help. And I think the first barrier, like you said, is getting to that place. The second barrier is now how do I find a therapist? How do I connect with them? How do I pay for it? How do I get there? And telehealth and Zoom, video appointments and therapist appointments are great. That is helping. All of this is helping. It's moving in the right direction. I just think we need more of it.

Japhet De Oliveira: I think so, too. I think so too. I think we've gone through the last few years a lot. A lot could be done.

Amy Resch: Obviously, we were going through a pandemic. Then the isolation that came on top of that with remote working. And I think that for a lot of people, it does allow flexibility, and it's a great way to work. For others, I think it just puts them in a state of isolation.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's true.

Amy Resch: And it's very difficult for the people in their twenties. This is when they need to, we watch shows like The Office, Mary Tyler Moore, this was life. You made relationships with people you worked with. And we're taking all of that away in a lot of ways. And I'm not anti-work from home, believe me. I think there is a lot of benefit to it and a lot of flexibility. But I think there needs to be a hybrid where people are still getting into the office, getting up, getting dressed.

I know for me, prior to this job, we were fully remote. So over a couple of years we were fully remote. And I know for me, my mental health is better. Getting up, getting dressed, coming into the office.

Japhet De Oliveira: Community connection.

Amy Resch: Community with my team, collaboration, sitting in team huddles. Nobody wants to commute. The alarm goes off, and everybody's kind of like, but I know I feel better about a lot of things than sitting at home and doing the Zoom. For some reason, the Zoom was just not, I didn't feel as connected. It created more anxiety for me. I'm not sure exactly the correlation there, but I think it is, like you said, the community.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. I don't think anyone was really wired to be on a camera 12 hours a day.

Amy Resch: I agree with you.

Japhet De Oliveira: Just like, yeah.

Amy Resch: I think it really... And we'll see. It's going to change. Generations are going to change.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yes, they are.

Amy Resch: The pandemic obviously was the first part of that. The second part of that is how we're working, and we'll see that. Unfortunately, we won't see the results of that for some time. Social media, we can go into all the reasons that people are changing.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, it's true. It's true.

Amy Resch: I work with a lot of, they're still adolescents. They're 18, 19, 20, 21, and they all are, a lot of them say, I wish I grew up in a time without a cell phone.

Japhet De Oliveira: That is interesting. Yeah. Well, I hope that you are able to move in that direction.

Amy Resch: I hope so.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. That's a really good thing to be determined to do. So we have time for one final number.

Amy Resch: One more.

Japhet De Oliveira: I know. I can't believe it. All right.

Amy Resch: Where was I? Was I at 70?

Japhet De Oliveira: You were 70.

Amy Resch: Let's go to 85.

Japhet De Oliveira: 85. All right. Describe a role model you aspire to be like.

Amy Resch: Why am I getting emotional?

Japhet De Oliveira: No, no, no. Because you think of something good, something that just spoke to you.

Amy Resch: I would definitely say my mom.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Yeah. That's okay.

Amy Resch: Her attitude her whole life has been positive. I've never answered the phone without her smiling. You can hear somebody. Like we were talking about earlier, you can hear somebody smiling over the phone, just, hi, how are you now? She has very bad arthritis. She is in pain all the time. I've never heard her complain once.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh my.

Amy Resch: I feel like a huge complainer. I complain about everything. There we go. Including a hangnail. But she is, what a role model. And my kids notice it too. They say, Nana's always happy, and she makes holidays really fun. She really puts thought, thank goodness she has mastered the internet, because she can still do all her shopping and everything else. She makes holidays fantastic. She buys gifts that are just spot on, take a lot of thought. She wraps them beautifully. She worked over at Bullock's, which is in Pasadena, but now it's Macy's. But she sold fragrance for 50 years and she was a phenomenal salesperson. And so she learned how to wrap really amazing.

Japhet De Oliveira: For delivery. Yeah.

Amy Resch: And it's just been, she's still with us, 86 years old, still here. But I would say her positivity is what I aspire to.

Japhet De Oliveira: Well, Amy, I would say that you do echo that. Absolutely. You echo that.

Amy Resch: Thank you.

Japhet De Oliveira: I sensed that when you arrived here as well, and I thank you for your time as well in this podcast and the honesty. These stories and experiences all shape us. And I want to encourage everybody who's listening to try to have that kind of community that Amy has. To have group of friends. Yeah.

Amy Resch: I would wish that for everyone. And I feel very, very lucky and blessed to have that. Like I said, I don't think it's common. And my whole group of friends, we all know how lucky we are. Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: No, it's fantastic. Well, God bless all our listeners. Take care of yourselves, build community, look after each other. Be a positive person just like Amy's mom. All right. Thanks so much.

Amy Resch: Thank you.

Narrator: Thank you for joining us for the Story and Experience podcast. We invite you to read, watch, and submit your story and experience at adventisthealth.org/story. The Story and Experience podcast was brought to you by Adventist Health through the Office of Culture.