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Liane & Dale Maddox | Episode 463
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You two recently made a big transition. How did you evaluate when it was time to make a transition and what needed to change for you?
Liane: Well, you reach a certain age and you think, am I going to spend the next ten, fifteen, twenty years doing the same thing and not being able to have the time to explore and pushing making pots a little further, developing relationships with people I love a little deeper and influencing them in a positive way. And yes, the finances also came into play. We thought a lot about that and we probably began the idea of looking into how to have income upon being semi-retired so we made plans for that. We always stayed out of debt for one thing, so that wasn’t a factor. All of our parents had passed by this point and that was also a factor. We felt responsible for them and that was no longer part of the deal anymore as we had fulfilled obligations there.
Dale, one of the things that happens in transitions is that you have to leave stuff behind. Besides the obvious things like friends, what sort of things did you have to leave behind in order to make this new change?
Dale: Well a lot of the junk that I enjoyed collecting over the years in a 5 thousand square foot building. That was painful. In some ways it was the unknown. Instead of being something that happened upon us it was actually a decision that we reached. I knew that we were going to have to leave some relationships behind, people that we saw everyday. We were part of community there and had been affected by it and hopefully we affected it as well in a positive way. So we knew we were leaving that behind. We had gotten involved in the local politics along with tourism promotion and we left with a sense that we had accomplished something that we had hoped to accomplish. So that was a good feeling.
Liane, when you are going through a transition you are kind of looking forward to a change, hopefully to grow. So how has this move grown you personally?
Liane: Well, I think I had to think differently. Instead of just being for all those many years, it was a to-do list and tasks that needed to be cared for. This may sound a little negative, but it was almost like being in one of those little squirrel cages. You just always knew what had to be done and do it and on to the next thing. It seemed as if it was never ending. So transitioning into something that is called more freedom was a little daunting at first. Getting through a production list of making pots was the same but there was also a lot of other things I could do. I am still kind of adjusting to that. I am still adjusting to a slower pace, a slower way of thinking, of not having certain responsibilities. It’s a new thing. It definitely is.
What kind of emotions did you go through when you had to change life circumstances?
Dale: I think the initial part when Liane came with the statement, I can’t do this anymore, we had been in conversation for quite awhile because we had a pretty hectic an varied life. I think the emotional part was probably making a decision which we did, I think it was in January when we said, yes we are going to do this. I think at that time the uncertainty was probably the emotional part. We put our property for sale and bought the place we were going to live before we even sold anything. I can’t explain that, but that is how it happened. That was a little bit emotional but we absolutely from day one have loved the place we have landed.
Liane: If I could interject here, I don’t think Dale had anything but happy emotions. He went out and bought a chain saw, a leaf blower, and he doesn’t even know where to begin. He loves getting out. The old farm boy has come out. Although we decided we might not be vegetable gardeners.
What have you loved the most about working together over the years?
Dale: A lot. Consistency. Wisdom comes after you have lived a few years and if you’ve paid attention you’ve got a little bit of it and I think one of the things I often tell people now that are younger, especially those starting college or thinking about getting married is see yourself finishing. Because I think what we have at this point when you ask what do we love most, is the whole experience. We have shared memories that include children and now grand children, shared struggles, times with no money, times with some money, travel experiences, so I’d say the whole ball of wax.
Liane: Just supporting each other. Where one is weak the other one is strong. It has never been a battle of the egos for us. Oh sure, I am sure we have butted heads on several things, that is the thing, in a marriage you are always going to have some differences. When you spend 24/7 with the same person you have to work it out.
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