On the finale episode of Finger Painting the Future Season One, our esteemed hosts thought it was only fitting to do an episode about empty nesting. We wanted to round out Season One with a big & fun celebration — and thanks to this week's guest, we realized that it makes sense for all empty nesters to do the same! 

Join Florence Ann & Joe as they chat with Chicago Tribune writer, and father of 4 young adults, Jerry Davich, about his personal experience going through two rounds of children flying the coup and why he decided to celebrate it the second time.

About our guest: Jerry Davich’s writing career began in 1995 as a freelance journalist and political cartoonist for The Times Newspaper of Northwest Indiana. One story led to hundreds, then thousands. In 2006, he was offered a position he couldn’t refuse – full-time metro columnist for The Post-Tribune, the same newspaper he delivered as a boy.

As a columnist, Jerry has always shined a light on society’s darkest corners while offering a voice to the voiceless. He has written about every imaginable issue and situation – including the last days of a woman with terminal cancer in a hospice; flying upside down in a U.S. Thunderbirds fighter jet at 9.2 G’s; visiting New York City’s Ground Zero just days after the terrorist attacks in 2001; witnessing a coroner perform an autopsy; and jumping out of a perfectly fine plane with a recorder in hand.

Along the way, Jerry has won more than 50 state or national awards from various journalism organizations while now writing for Chicago Tribune Media. He also writes freelance stories for various magazines while completing four books: “Connections: Everyone Happens for a Reason,” “Lost Gary, Indiana: Rusted Landmarks of the Steel City,” “Crooked Politics of Northwest Indiana” and the history of Andrean High School.

Jerry is in the business of connecting people, asking unpopular questions, and provoking a needed dialogue. He is the father of two children, ages 36 and 35, and also the dad to two stepchildren, ages 21 and 19. Jerry cruises the Chicago area on a daily basis, never leaving home without his notebook, his iPhone and his curiosity.

Get in touch with us:

@fingerpaintingthefuture on Facebook & Instagram

@FPTFpodcast on Twitter

or visit our website at fingerpaintingthefuture.com!

Did you know that out of the 35 million mothers in the US, 9.8 million of them are suffering from burnout due to the pandemic? With everything that moms are being forced to juggle nowadays, how can they overcome and work through this exhaustion? On this episode of Finger Painting the Future, Florence Ann and Joe speak with the host of Morning Beats TV and auntie to three wonderful daughters, Ashley Larsen, about mom exhaustion, mommy guilt, and more.

Listen as Florence Ann and Ashley bond over being aunties to their friends' and sisters' children. They chat about how common it is for mommies to feel guilty for asking for help — and how they've been able to make their loved ones feel more comfortable doing so. Joe also shares why he believes husbands and fathers have a duty to help their spouse out and how men should go about doing that.

About our guest: A Louisiana native, Ashley is an MFA-trained actor, screenwriter, and producer. Since childhood, Ashley has been on stage and backstage with experiences ranging from plays, short films, movies and commercials. She is currently the host, producer, and writer of Morning Beats TV, a positive and inspiring morning show that airs on national television and digital streaming. It airs on The Heartland Network, The Family Channel and Retro TV Network. When Ashley isn’t in front of the camera, she loves to sing, read poetry and write music.

Get in touch with us:

@fingerpaintingthefuture on Facebook & Instagram

@FPTFpodcast on Twitter

or visit our website at fingerpaintingthefuture.com!

In the age of the pandemic, it's inevitable that screen time has gone up for all of us — including children. But how has all of this extra exposure to technology and media affected kids? Has it had a positive or negative impact? Is it altering the way they view relationships and has it affected the nature of their relationships with family and friends?

Listen as Florence Ann and Joe discuss this topic with Julia Dennison, Digital Content Director of Parents.com. Julia opens up with our hosts about how she is navigating her daughter's exposure to media as a single mom and what patterns she and her colleagues are seeing at Parents.

About our guest: Julia Dennison is Digital Content Director for the Parents brand, which includes heading up the content for Parents.com and its social platforms. A single co-parenting mama to 4-year-old Esme, she’s been writing and editing in the parenting space for over 13 years (an editor in general for more than 16 years), with a passion for covering all the wonderfully unique ways people parent and form families. She’s been a co-host of the podcast Pregnancy Confidential, and now of the new podcast We Are Family with ShaunT, all about the diversity of family life in America today. She has also appeared as a panel moderator and expert on the parenting beat for various events and TV segments, including those for Good Morning America, CNN/HLN, Yahoo and local news networks.

Get in touch with us:

@fingerpaintingthefuture on Facebook & Instagram

@FPTFpodcast on Twitter

or visit our website at fingerpaintingthefuture.com!