Ep 89 Listeners’ 2020 Grief and Gratitude

Midlife Mixtape

“I grieve and thank Time for all of these reasons”: In this special year-end episode, a compendium of listeners’ stories of the losses they’re grieving and something they’re grateful for in 2020, and a tribute to the most wonderful mom in the world. * Midlife Mixtape End of Year Virtual Dance Party with DJ Damon – Dec 22 at 6 pm PT * Wendi Aarons’ humor writing on McSweeneys * Wendi Aarons’ humor writing on the New Yorker Thanks as always to M. The Heir Apparent, who provides the music behind the podcast – check him out here! ***This is a rough transcription of Episode 89 of the Midlife Mixtape Podcast. It originally aired on December 22, 2020. Transcripts are created using a combination of speech recognition software and human transcribers, and there may be errors in this transcription, but we hope that it provides helpful insight into the conversation. If you have any questions or need clarification, please email [e-mail] *** Nancy Davis Kho 00:00 I have more memories of this year than most. I understand how life can change in an instant and I will always be thankful for 2020, for it has truly made me stop and smell the roses. 00:12 Welcome to Midlife Mixtape, The Podcast. I’m Nancy Davis Kho and we’re here to talk about the years between being hip and breaking one. [THEME MUSIC – “Be Free” by M. The Heir Apparent] Nancy 00:37 If you’re hearing this episode on the day it publishes – that is, Tuesday, December 22, 2020 – I’d like to invite you to a celebration of the final Midlife Mixtape Podcast episode of the longest year in the history of print calendars. I’ve asked my friend DJ Damon, who in normal times spins ‘80s alternative dance music at the Cat Club in San Francisco, to host Midlife Mixtape listeners on his Twitch channel tonight for two hours, starting at 6 pm Pacific, 7 Mountain, 8 Central, and 9 pm Eastern. All you have to do at the appointed time is go to https://www.twitch.tv/dj_damon – that’s https://www.twitch.tv/dj_damon – don’t worry, I’ll leave a link in the show notes – and you’ll be at the party along with Prince, Bronski Beat, Depeche Mode and more. Obviously NOT like an in-person dance party but you can still turn your computer speakers all the way up to 11 and dance around your living room. There’s a chat function on Twitch and I’ll be hanging out there so I hope you’ll drop in and say hello. As you’re going to hear at the end of the episode, I’m haven’t been able to put together my normal OCD playlist for this one, so I’m relying on you guys to add your requests to the chat tonight and Damon will get them spinning. No matter how you’re feeling today -sad, angry, disappointed, grateful, optimistic, lucky – dancing is always the right answer. I mean, we’ve all seen the solo Kevin Bacon anger dance scene in Footloose, right? Dance out those feelings. I hope you’ll join in for a single song or for a couple of hours tonight, Dec 22 at 6 pm PT at https://www.twitch.tv/dj_damon. I’ll buy the first round! [MUSIC] Nancy Welcome to the final episode of the Midlife Mixtape Podcast of 2020. I’m the host and creator of the show, Nancy Davis Kho, and I’m so glad you’re joining us. I hope if this show has brought you laughter, good memories,