Holiday Parties & High School Reunions (ft. Laren)
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November 27, 2024
TLDR: Alex and Laren discuss their Thanksgiving plans, family traditions, and emotional impact of holidays after a loss (Lauren's father). They also reminisce about high school, dramatic moments, and arch nemeses.

In the latest episode of Call Her Daddy, host Alex Cooper invites her best friend Lauren McMullen for a warm and entertaining discussion about Thanksgiving traditions and reminiscing about high school antics. The podcast highlights their personal experiences while offering relatable insights and engaging storytelling that fans have come to expect.
Holiday Reflections and Family Dynamics
Thanksgiving Plans
The episode kicks off with the friends sharing their Thanksgiving plans. Lauren reveals that she’ll be celebrating with two families: one in Louisiana earlier in November and another in Pennsylvania on the actual day. This change of plans comes after a recent breakup that has forced her to navigate new familial dynamics.
- Key Takeaway: The holidays can be a time of joy but also a reminder of recent changes in one’s personal life, highlighting the importance of self-care during family gatherings.
Hosting vs. Attending
Alex discusses her role as a host for Thanksgiving this year, a task she was initially resistant to but ultimately embraced given the smaller gathering. The two friends discuss the pressures of hosting, the joy of selecting the right menu, and being present with family.
- Key Points:
- Being the host means prioritizing others' needs over personal comfort.
- The joy of good food and cherished company can outweigh the stresses of hosting.
Food Favorites and Traditions
The podcast shifts its focus to food, a central theme of Thanksgiving celebrations. Alex and Lauren excitedly share their favorite Thanksgiving foods and typical family dishes.
Favorite Dishes Breakdown:
Lauren:
- Sweet potato casserole with marshmallows
- Creamed corn
- Classic stuffing
Alex:
- A strong sides person, Alex enjoys mashed potatoes and ensuring all her food stays in its designated section on her plate.
These discussions not only highlight their food preferences but also showcase how tightly woven food is into their family traditions, eliciting nostalgia and comfort.
Navigating the Emotional Terrain
Dealing with Loss
Lauren opens up about her experience of losing her father and how the holidays intensify feelings of grief. Both friends reflect on how they’ve developed new traditions to honor lost loved ones while embracing change.
- Important Insight: Creating new traditions can be a healing way to navigate loss, allowing families to honor the past without being bound by it.
Navigating Tough Conversations
Another relatable topic is managing conversations that arise during family gatherings, especially regarding sensitive subjects like relationship milestones and family planning. Lauren emphasizes how these questions, although often posed out of love, can feel invasive.
- Expert Tip: Redirecting conversations towards positive topics can help ease uncomfortable interactions during holiday gatherings.
High School Reunions and Nostalgia
Upcoming Reunion
A significant theme of the episode revolves around Lauren’s upcoming high school reunion. They delve into their personal high school experiences, the drama, and how their friendship developed in such different environments.
- Key Anecdote: The juxtaposition of their high school paths—Lauren’s dedicated sports timeline versus Alex’s more social scene—offers insights into how friendships evolve over time.
Arch Nemesis Stories
One of the more humorous segments of the podcast highlights their discussions about high school rivalries and relationships. Lauren recounts classic high school drama intertwining her experiences of relationship challenges and competitive friendships.
- Funny Reflection: High school rivalries serve as a cringeworthy yet entertaining reminder of youth experiences that many can relate to.
Valuable Takeaways
- Relatability in Experiences: Both hosts share experiences that evoke empathy and connection among listeners, reflecting on the universal themes of family, food, loss, and the bittersweet nature of reminiscing about high school.
- Embracing Change: The episode makes a compelling case for embracing life’s transitions, whether it’s through redefined family roles or personal growth beyond high school drama.
Conclusion
Overall, this episode of Call Her Daddy not only provides laughter and nostalgia but also invites reflection on how we navigate the complexities of family and relationships during the holiday season. Whether listeners are celebrating with loved ones or finding solace in memories, the episode’s warmth and humor shine through, making it a perfect pre-Thanksgiving listen.
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What is up, Daddy Gang? It is your founding father, Alex Cooper, with Call Her Daddy. Daddy Gang, welcome back to another episode of Call Her Daddy. I am joined today by my lovely best friend, fan favorite, Lauren McMullen, or as I call her, Lauren. Hello, Daddy Gang. We were just laughing because we rarely do this when we podcast together.
We've never podcasted with notes or a laptop. Something came over us and maybe it's because it's like the holiday season. We really wanted to come prepared and give the gift of a little bit of an organized episode. It's still going to be a little unhinged, but Lauren and I wanted to talk
about Thanksgiving this year together because what better way to celebrate Thanksgiving than you guys popping on an episode of color dotty and hanging out with Lauren and I. I'm so aware that some of you could be alone today. Maybe you fucking hate your family. Maybe you love your family and you're listening to this with your family. Regardless, we are here for you. So let's just get into it. We haven't even talked about this. What are you going to be doing for Thanksgiving this year?
So I'm doing two thanksgivings this year. I'm doing one in Louisiana in the middle of November, and then I'm doing one in Pennsylvania on actual thanksgiving. Oh, wow. Wasn't entirely planned to do two thanksgivings. I've never done two thanksgivings before, but I guess we'll just rip the band-aid off in the first minute of the episode. I recently went through a breakup, and the plan was to spend thanksgiving with my
ex-boyfriend's family. So I was gonna do with my own family in the middle of November and then go celebrate with his family on actual things. On actual Thanksgiving. Okay. So now I'm just celebrating Thanksgiving twice with both sides of my family. Okay, well, I'm gonna be honest. I don't think there is a better holiday to have two of than Thanksgiving because it's just meaning that you're getting to eat really good food. So I feel like that's kind of a blessing. I'm not like really complaining. What are you doing? What you're hosting and... Okay. That wasn't supposed to be the plan. Thank you. Thank you.
I was not supposed to be hosting this year. I was very, very adamant about not hosting. I think I talked about this on an episode before, but I'm a good host, but I really have to be in the mood. And I think there's no escape for you. Oh.
there is no escape. And you're like an escape artist at like a party. Yes, like I like to relax and I like to get out when I want to get out. And I feel like Matt and I've been so busy that holidays are so important to me. Like I really, really want to spend time with him and I want to be present. And I know that when you're hosting,
you can't really be present with each other like I'm not gonna be sitting on Matt's lap like making out with him and like shoving cornbread in my face like I'm gonna be making sure everyone is like situated and their plates are filled and like we're eating last and like so yeah how did you how did you get like cornered in this situation like what the fuck am I hosting yeah
So I think we were first initially saying don't host because we thought like my family was coming to and we thought it was going to be like a couple of years ago. It was literally like 40 something people. It was fucking insane. And we had people inside and outside and it was just overwhelming. Now this year, Matt's mom called us and was like, you guys, it's literally just our internal side of the family on Matt's side. Like my family staying on the east coast this year. So it's going to be smaller.
So first she was going to be hosting, and then all of a sudden, Matt and I were like, should we just offer? Like, I felt bad because our house is a very good hosting house. Your house is very conducive to hosting. Yes. You got the inside, you got the outside, you got the outdoor heaters, you got the outdoor bar. Ooh, yeah, we definitely set ourselves up to host. So I think we just had a moment where we're like, why are we making your mom do this? Like, let's just fucking take it. Once you get over the mental hump of hosting, not that I host many things, I feel like once you get over the mental hump,
Then you can kind of start to get cozy and be like, well, now I get to pick exactly the foods I want. I get to pick exactly the vibe and the people. And now you can just own it and make it exactly what you want. No, you're right. And there was also something about like mentally for a minute thinking that Matt's mom was doing it now that it's like.
I don't know why, but it's something like knowing someone else was going to do it. And now it's back on me. I am less stressed than the whole time it had been like, Matt and Alex are hosting this entire year. Now it's kind of like, who gives a fuck where it is? Let's just like eat. Oh, it's last minute. Yes. I don't have matching and things. It's a matter of course. Low stakes. I'm taking one for the team. I'm doing this for you. So like no judgment. OK, so what's your menu?
Oh, what's my menu? Yeah. I thought that far ahead. Oh, no. Matt's mom is going to be cooking everything. Matt's mom and Matt's sister will be doing all the cooking. And Matt and I always to every single family event, we bring the alcohol. We are not the chefs in the family, but I have the menu in terms of like what I want to eat. Yeah, what do you want to eat?
Are we going over like our favorite Thanksgiving foods right now? We've never talked about this as friends, and I feel like we kind of have different food palettes, like things we like. If we go to a restaurant, we're good because we'll do a group order and we're always aligned, but for some reason, I feel like we're not about to be aligned on this. Okay, so my favorite, should I just do top favorite Thanksgiving foods? Okay, first, are you
a sides person or you a main course person? I'm a sides person. I think that's an obvious answer. Like you're a main course person. Like what the fuck are you doing? It's like you're like, you're looking forward to the appetizers when you're at a dinner, but then you're looking to the main event. Okay. So I would say I'm the sides person. I would say I couldn't number one on my list. And I know this is controversial. Maybe is stuffing. I am a stuffing girl through and through. Are you a stuffing girl?
It's low. That's pretty low on my list. I feel like stuffings can go wrong really quick and they can be dry. No, I am. I was like, I don't want to be come off as high maintenance, but my mother-in-law loves to cook for me. Like you were here. Yeah, she was like, she brought us a pumpkin pie. I was like, girls.
texting you later, like, how's the pie? How's the pie? Did you try the pie? She loves to cook for me. And I remember it was like the first Thanksgiving I was doing with Matt and I'm such a fucking freak about stuffing. And I remember I was like whispering to Matt before we went to his mom's. I'm like, I just feel like you've been kind of telling me your family doesn't like emphasize carbs as much and like stuffing. And I'm really getting anxious because like I'm a carb family. Like I love my mashed potatoes. They're like, Matt's family's healthy. So I would be anxious going in and be like,
Are you going to be doing like a gluten free stuffing? I was like just to cut the carbs. Lauren, I was absolutely on the edge of my seeping. Like I don't want to fucking miss out on a good Thanksgiving. If you guys are doing healthy, like let me know. And I'll go to Boston Market, pick up a couple. Exactly.
And so his mom for my first Thanksgiving made two different stuffings. Two completely. That's when you know. That's when you know. She was so nice and I remember trying. What was the difference between the two? One was way more like fat fat kid and it was just like.
doused in everything. Greasing butter and all the things. And then the one that was somewhat healthier that other people were eating was actually pretty phenomenal, but she's a great cook. But overall, stuffing number one, I would say creamed corn, the sweet potatoes with the marshmallows on top. Oh, that's my number one. I have to have the good corn, but the thing is with Thanksgiving food, you guys, I'm someone that
dips it all together. Like, I'm gonna get my turkey or my ham. Oh, you hate that. They can't touch. I'm not the weird person who's like, oh my God, my food can't touch. But like, I do not mix it all around. I'll go back three times because I'll do like little ventures so that they stay in their sections. You're not gonna get a little turkey with gravy and put a little like mashed potatoes on it. Gravy and turkey, that's normal. And then like a little stuffing on like with it? No, no, no, no.
Please fucking comment down below. Are you an Alex or a Lauren? I need a sandwich, essentially, of my food all together in my mouth. Ideally, I have one of those child's plates that has the dividers, and they keep them in their sections, so nothing's bleeding over and touching. Wow. OK, what is your top go to?
So my family is from like Louisiana and like the Deep South. So like our Thanksgiving foods are like so like southern and rich and like I love them. Number one is definitely the sweet potato casserole with the brown sugar and the mushrooms on top. Number two would be green bean mushrooms.
Marshmallows. Oh my god, cuz I'm already thinking ahead to the green bean casserole with the mushrooms and that but God forbid those touch that would be disgusting. Green bean casserole? Green bean casserole, it's like literally canned green beans with canned cream of mushroom soup and the canned or the little French onion things that you put on top and you bake them. Oh wait that sounds amazing. So good. Wait, I don't think I've ever had that.
You know something I saw on social media? What? About Thanksgiving food? What? Someone was like, do you think it's like telling why we only eat Thanksgiving foods once a year? Because they're not good. I'm the other creep on social media that like posted being like, why can't we eat stuffing for every meal? Oh, when you and Matt were like legit like getting in a fight the other night, you're like, yeah, so the other Thanksgiving I woke up and like Matt threw away all the leftovers. This was a literal point of contention in my home. And it was what, okay, so it was the first time we hosted.
And when you are not hosting, you're not taking fucking leftovers from people's house. So this was the first in our relationship, I remember. Oh, so you, if you're a guest, do you leave all the leftovers for the host? Usually, unless they offer it to you. Okay, I also want to hear comments on that. Like, if you're the host, don't you agree you get to keep the leftovers and unless you offer it.
Yeah, unless you're offloading so fast forward we host for the first time and I remember I had like I I promise I really I love how I say I promise in my brain I really thought I told Matt to keep the leftovers now in hindsight I don't think I told him I think it was in my brain like obviously no brain or Matt
like what are you fucking doing if you give all the leftovers away? So I remember I came down the next morning and like something I used to do as a tradition in my family, we would make like Thanksgiving sandwiches the next day for lunch. Yeah, like with bread and some cranberry sauce and the turkey and the gravy and the whole thing. I like saunter downstairs ready to eat a pumpkin pie slice. And I opened my refrigerator and it's spotless. And I was like,
Knowing that you probably like wiped it down to it was like freshly cleaned like not even the smell of Thanksgiving was left behind No, not literally Clorox to the fucking brim and I remember I look in the refrigerator I'm like look in our other I'm like looking all over and I look to Matt I'm like where's the food and he's like oh like everyone took leftovers like there's nothing left
So probably so proud. Like, honey, I got it all out of the house for us. Don't worry. And I'm mortified. And I remember being like, Matt, like, I'm genuinely upset to the point where I made him go to the grocery store with me that day and buy the stuffing mix so that I could remake stuffing for myself so I could have it with dinner. And yes, I brought that up to Matt because I was like, if we're hosting this year, you better believe, motherfucker. We are not giving away our fucking food. And he was like, OK, babe, like, it makes you wonder how I'm married to this man.
What is the vibe of your Thanksgiving? So like, is it like stuffy formal? Are you getting dressed up or like, are you wearing like this? So here's a problem that I feel like I deal with not even just in Thanksgiving, but like my every single day life is like, I want to be the girl that dresses up. I want to put together a cute outfit that like someone puts on their Pinterest board. Like, I want to be that. But
I love being comfortable more than anything in my life. Like, I don't know. I don't. I pop a button at dinner. Oh, like, I like don't like having at my birthday dinner. I literally got up to go to the bathroom. I was like, Oh, fuck. My pants are on. Let me sit back down and put them back together. It was.
Matt and I were at a business dinner the other night, he's going for saying this, but my family, like the Cooper's like, we unbuttoned at the table, okay? I'm an unbuttoned, right? Like it is a said thing. And Matt, you know Matt, like he just like would never do that. Matt's proper. He's, Matt's worth proper. And so Matt would just like never do that. And he...
Ever since he's known me, he started to slowly do it. And so he would find himself a moment. I know. So he starts on button dinners. Even if he's having a fucking straight vodka martini, he's like, boom, open it up. We are at a fucking work dinner and he gets up and I look at his pants.
full three buttons down. And I'm like, Maddie. And he didn't catch it. I don't think anyone saw it, but I was laughing because it's like, we unbuttoned in our home. So back to your question. Yeah, what are you wearing? I want to dress up in some capacity, especially if I'm a host. Like in my heart, I want to lean into that Nancy Myers, like be a host, be cozy. But the reality is I at least am going to have to wear some form of elasticity. But this is what I'm realizing with being a host. This is going to be my situation.
People are going to show up and I'm probably going to do a sweater and jeans in a boot situation or a little skirt and tights in a boot. I'll show up and look cute. Halfway through the night, I'm going to come back down the stairs and I will be in a full sweatsuit. Benefit of hosting. You can do an outfit change. Every single time I host a party or anything at my house, that is the one thing and everyone mentions it.
And everyone also, like whenever you host, everyone ends up in your clothes. You end up dressing everyone, like the end of the night, every girl at the party that you're hosting is fully in one of your sweatsuits. Because I am like the peer pressure, I hope in a good way where I'm like, it's getting late, let's change the vibe, let's change the vibe. Come on guys, you don't wanna actually be in those fucking...
I'll look at Chris and be like, you don't want to be in those jeans. She's like, I'm completely fine. I'm like, no, come on. You don't want to be in those jeans. And I like bully everyone to go upstairs and change into my pants. Wait, what is your vibe going to be? Are you formal or you're not formal? No, not formal at all. With my dad's side of the family, I'm the oldest cousin and I'm the only girl cousin. So like it's not like I have like other cousins when like, let's go get ready. You're like, what are you wearing? Do you want to make up? I'm with just like my brother and all my guy cousins. Okay.
I take a nap and I wake up. I'm like, oh, it's time to eat. And I haven't showered today. I haven't done my hair. I haven't done my makeup. And in theory, I agree. I want to look back at the family photos and be like, oh, that was a good year for me. But I look back. I always look like shit.
Oh my God, I look like I haven't showered in days that family thinks giving. That's what I will say that my sister is good at doing. Catherine is always down to dress up, and I know for Christmas this year, she's always going to go out loud, and it makes me want to dress up with her. I wish I had a little someone putting a little peer pressure on me. I know. And I feel like Matt's family is, no one is going to show up in sweats, but they're very casual. They'll do jeans and sweaters. They're elevated basics. Yeah. Quiet luxury.
That's mom is watching this being like, keep going, what else? No, but you're right. It's like, it's chill, but it's still elevated. Okay, next question. Ooh, okay, something I wrote down was, are your holidays the type where you have to navigate difficult conversations?
Oh, that's such a good question. Well, I think the first, like, obvious answer is every single year of my life has changed, right? Like when I was starting to call her daddy and all of my, like, extended family was like, you fucking whore. And I was like, oh my God. Now with my internal family and like Matt's internal family, no, I think if I'm going to have to
I wouldn't even say navigate difficult conversations, but if I had to be, if someone had to be like, what are you not as looking forward to? I think it's now where we're at the point where maybe it's more about like people socially and I so understand where they're coming from, but like just socially asking like, when are you guys gonna have kids? I think people don't realize like how personal of a question that is. Yes, because
I have had so many different people in LA that I'm close with. I've had people that it took them a year to get pregnant. I've had people that got pregnant after literally the first time they tried. I have people that have fertility issues. I have people that are freezing their eggs. Like I know so many different women and literally I would say I don't know any woman that's had at like a similar almost experience in my life right now. And so of course, Matt and I want kids, but I feel like
I'm, I don't know, whenever I'm in those positions, I'm kind of like, this isn't really the time to talk about it. And I know that if anyone asks us, it's genuinely coming from a place of like, they love us and they're just like, good intentions, excitement. Yeah. And like, it's really coming from like, Oh my gosh, we're so excited for you too. And like, we want that next chapter and that next generation. But I do think that, um, if anyone is listening to the set Thanksgiving this year and your sibling or your
Oh, I thought you were saying, if anyone in my family is listening to this right now, you're complaining to ask me when I'm having kids knock it off. But I also, well, you know what it also is. And I think this is a part of it too that Matt and I have discussed is like not knowing what my personal experience will be with trying to get pregnant when it comes time that I want to do that. It's like,
I could literally say to someone like, yeah, like we're going to try this next month. And then what if I can't get, you know what I mean? Yeah, I don't want to talk about things of timelines because I am so aware that there is no fucking timeline. There is no right time to get pregnant. There is no exact.
like they're none of it. So I think I'm more just like adverse to the entire conversation, but I'm not like, please don't ask me about that. I'm more just, I always just kind of avoid it. I'm like, oh, I don't know. Like we're still like, we're taught, we'll talk. There's just so many layers to it and things you need to figure out yourself before like you share it with other people.
You miss McMullen. Oh, I know. I'm going to be asked like, Oh my gosh. So like what happened? What happened? And then to like, I think just like, Oh, like you're, we're 30 now and we're single. And like, not that I've had much. I don't know how much I can speak on this because I haven't been single that long. I haven't been 30 that long. And I haven't really.
had to navigate many of these conversations yet. And maybe I'm just feeling empowered because I'm not feeling beaten down, fucking stop asking me. So I'm in my empowered stage. And I feel like, I don't know, at least the approach I'm going to take is I'm going to lead the conversation where I want it to be and be excited about it and be happy about it and be empowered by it and be like, yeah, I'm 30.
I have a whole decade and it's so exciting, like, who knows who I'll end up with, who knows where I'll be, who knows what I'll be doing, who knows what my life will be like, like, how exciting, like, all the opportunities ahead. That's such a good point, like, steering the conversation in a direction that, like, most of the time when someone asks you, like, wow, like, how do you feel about that? Like, you, understandably, like, we know it is them.
Checking in and carrying. Yes, checking in and carrying and understandably like also on the other side It is just like base a little bit in like you wouldn't be saying that to a man You wouldn't be saying to a 30 year old man who's single like oh god, and I get it It's usually not coming from a bad place But instead of allowing it to be this like sad set thing you're you can just be like I am so happy. I know how incredible
Even if you want to do that to shut the conversation down, even if I'm being ignorantly happy, like, oh my god, I'm so fucking happy. They're going to be like, OK. What drugs this morning? No, that's my approach. You're like, Uncle Jerry, I'm so fucking happy. I want to be single for the rest of my fucking life. It's true, though. It's funny. The overlot. I'm like, Lord, this law is so fucking happy.
But I can see you. I also feel like you're so not that type of person. So for you to like be sarcastic. I feel like people would be like, oh my God. Okay. I'm not going to walk away. But I do. I love that approach. How do you feel, obviously, like?
you mentioned early obviously in this episode like you just went through a breakup and regardless of the fact that like I think you're in such an incredible place right now like breakups are hard and holidays I feel like specifically are really really tough because
Even when you're feeling good, there's this odd thing that holidays do that really just shed light on love and family and the perfect holiday notebook-esque environment and family and relationship. Are you at all anxious that you're just going to feel that dark cloud in a moment? I think I'm prepared to feel it. And I think I know I'm going to feel it. It's so new that
We were supposed to be doing this Thanksgiving together, and we were supposed to be doing Christmas together, so I'm still going through phases of life where I had tangible plans with my ex to be doing this together, so no doubt I'm going to be sitting there being like, well, I'm supposed to be doing this right now, and now I'm doing this instead.
So I think I'm just expecting to feel that. You're understandably going to lightly play out like what it would have been like had they been there versus now there's like this empty chair that would have had their name on it. And it's like a weird fucking feeling. It's sad, but it's not said, but it's just like
I don't even how to describe it. It's literally what grieving is like that's I went through something like very similar when I For those of you don't know my dad passed away and I was in college. Yes, like it's almost like the missing person. Yes, like the unsaid thing Yeah, it's something I had felt before with in regards to holidays like that missing presence like the empty chair Yeah, that's a good point. Like I feel like we've talked about a lot before kind of like when
Now this is like kind of getting over like your ex-boyfriend. Now it's more like you talking about your dad. I feel like there's probably like a lot of daddy gang that have lost a family member. And the traditions that you kind of have to start to like create with your family without someone is like a really challenging thing because you want to honor them and remember them, but you also don't want to like move on from them.
Oh, I have a lot to say about this. Oh, give it to us. Give it to us. So I think...
the weird feeling of feeling like you're like moving on and like forgetting them. Something that really made me think of that was my mom is now engaged and we love him. Shout out, Kara. Yeah. Shout out, Kara baby. Live your life. She's like, she's going to clip this inside. And I was like, Larry, you guys gave me a shout out on the pod. Yeah, we did. Yeah, we did. Kara. She was her and her fiance were
Indescribably thoughtful about the way they introduced him into me and my brother's lives. And they were very, very seriously dating for a while, for years before he came to one of my family holidays. And I was talking about it in therapy. And I was like, I love this person. I love him as an individual. I love him for my mom. I love them together. I feel more at peace knowing they have each other. But why does him coming to a holiday?
feels so unsettling to me. And she was like, I think there's this unspoken thing that when he sits down at the fourth table setting, it means your dad's replaced. It means your dad's forgotten. And like, that's not the case. That's not true, right? Because it was so confusing to me. I'm like, I love this person. I love their relationship. I love the whole thing. But like, it's just making me
not anxious. It just I couldn't put a finger on this unsettling feeling of like and it was the feeling that I thought that meant that my dad was being replaced and that wasn't the case at all. Yeah. No, that is like so beautiful. I remember that time in your life and you handled it so gracefully and I think like again, you were so fortunate to have your mom handled that way and I know that there are so
appreciate it. I know there are so many people that probably have horror stories of step parents and all of that but I do think it's such a true statement and I think we've talked about this a lot about how like there are so many ways to like continue to remember someone and a new addition doesn't mean that someone else now like can't be a part of things and I feel like it's hard when the person isn't there but there's so many ways that you can celebrate that person without feeling like you're just like overriding them when we're done with you.
Sitting at a table, the four of us, I couldn't go over the fact. It just felt like delete and like insert. So we just like set fuck it. And now for Christmas, we don't sit in Pennsylvania every year for Christmas. Now we go to a different national park and we hike and we just do something entirely different and like start over fresh and it just feels so nice and new and we hike and we like reminisce and we talk about them. But for some reason, just like sitting in Pennsylvania, sitting the four of us are on the table just felt like,
And it's so illogical, but it just felt like we were trying to write my dad out of the story. And it just feels so much better and more exciting and fun to just completely start over with a new tradition. I love that you said that, though, that you're like, it feels completely illogical. And I'm pretty sure, and so many people that experience that type of grief, it's like,
it should be a logical because it's this like you can't explain it and you don't have to explain it like you felt the way you felt and now I love that like daddy gang like you can make your own new traditions and especially when things are wrapped in like trauma and loss like you can shake shit up and when you step out of line or when you change it up it can feel a little disorientated
Even thinking about like breaking the tradition like you're like Oh, I feel like I'm like fucking up and like being like a bad family member And it's like I bet all of you sitting at that fucking table like I bet your mom's fiance was like probably would have been the first one to be like guys I'm so down to do something different He probably was ecstatic that how he's getting to hang out with a version of me. That's like Relaxed and like open and not me sitting around the table being like
Oh my God, talk right say words, say words. Right, right. I think that's like a great way to like wrap that conversation up in terms of tradition is a motherfucker and it's beautiful, but it can be really, really intoxicating where you just feel like you have to follow it. And sometimes I do think like anything in this world, maybe sometimes we need to check ourselves of like.
Is it tradition because it's fun or is it tradition because you actually kind of don't know why it's tradition and like maybe it's time to shake shit up. Yeah. Okay, you're going back to Pennsylvania. I am. And you told me that when you go back to Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving, you will be attending your high school reunion. Now, I am fascinated
And I need every fucking detail when you go because I haven't gone to a high school reunion. Let's just talk first of all, high school reunions.
So let's discuss. How do you feel about it? I'm excited. What are you gonna wear? I was literally thinking of that. Do you like pop the fuck off and go? Like maybe like a little bit. Right. Like, because also I don't have social media. So like no one knows what I look like or like what I do or what I'm up to. You gotta kind of like pop up a little bit. Like we need you to look hot but not like try hard. That's like.
While we're talking about high school though, we have been friends for so long, but I don't know if people know this. We did not go to the same high school. We went to the same elementary school for one year, you guys. My parents fucked me up. I moved to Pennsylvania from Texas in first grade. I went to public school and they were like, you need to find God.
They sent me to Catholic school in second grade, and they were like, mmm, you're not Catholic, and this is expensive. Back to public school. So literally, first, second, third grade. I switched schools every year. Imagine what that could do to a child. But thank God, right in between that second grade, where you were supposed to find God, you found me. Yup.
We became best friends in second grade. I remember Lauren with her giant bows because your mom had every color bow ready to go for you at school. I was so fucking jealous. Oh my god, I remember in first grade, and even in second grade still, when we'd have dress down days, I would cry because I'm like, Mom, the kids in the North don't wear this. No, I thought you were.
Epic. Uh-huh. Anyway, so Lauren and I went to school for one year, we. One year. One year together. Yeah. Oh my, that's it. Yeah. So all of middle school, all of elementary school, we didn't go and then high school, we went to different schools. But we stayed connected, like really connected all through elementary school and middle school because we were on the same soccer team. Yes. Like soccer teams. We were on like three teams together.
And then we went to high school and naturally in high school, like we literally stayed close, but it wasn't as close because you're like, you have your own friend group. Yeah, you went to private school. I went to public school. Yes. So let's talk about how we were different in high school. What do you think? You were like,
head down grinding soccer was like your mission and like your career like you only hung out with like the soccer girls like every weekend like you were going all around the country like doing like your college showcases and I said goodbye to soccer and I was parting it up and living my life.
I think that I slowly, slowly ramped into my more social mode, but my, for sure, my freshman year, I was like head down, like soccer, soccer, soccer, because I had gotten like a scholarship. I couldn't afford to go to that school. Oh, that's why you were going to that high school. I forgot. I got a scholarship that they like faked was like academic. Meanwhile, like no one was giving me that scholarship.
That would have gone to you. No one in the right mind was giving me an academic scholarship. It was just disguised so that I could play on the soccer team. Okay, it's obviously the Thanksgiving episodes who are partying. Maybe you're drinking, maybe you're fucked up, maybe you're laying in bed and you're alone. Do we have any overlapping high school stories of us? Because we, Lauren and I did not party together. And let me really explain why. Our friendship was so wholesome.
And growing up, it was based in like we would make movies together and we would like film and we would make- Like I like viewed your parents as like family. Yeah. So the idea of going to your home and like cracking open a mic's heart, like I couldn't disrespect Lori like that. I was disrespecting a lot of other situations, but not Lori Cooper. I was getting after it everywhere across New Tom, Pennsylvania, but not in-
Not at my house. I'm fucking obsessed. I am obsessed. I'm gonna bleep that, you guys, because she just said my street name, but I'm obsessed. You're right. I think we had this weird thing where our relationships to our families were so pure and youthful, and we'd been through so fucking much, that it was just like, I would come over and we'd catch up and order dumplings. Dumplings. Dumplings, yeah. We'd get duck sauce, we'd order dumplings, and we would just chill, and we wouldn't drink. But do we have any?
Like high school. Oh, you came to your New Year's. I was going to say I threw a New Year's party. No, my senior year. Let me just say this. Warren threw this banger of a New Year's party. Banger. And when you just referenced not wanting to disrespect my mother like that, I remember I showed up late to your party and we had a lot of memories in that house. It was my childhood home. Yeah.
And I think it was also a hard time for us because not to get too deep. So much had been going on with your dad that like, understandably, I think in your life in high school, like no one kind of knew about fully. Yeah, most people did not. Did not. And you and I, like, we knew every detail. And I think I hadn't been back to that physical house in so long. So many years. And I learned, I don't think I, did I ever tell you this? Yeah, you did. Okay.
I was so emotional at that party because I show up to this house that had incredible pure memories and then pretty really fucking traumatic memories for us. And I remember walking in late and I'm with Moonin, our friend Nicole.
And I walk in and it is like people are swinging from the fucking chandeliers. And I'm thinking like, Oh, Lauren's having a, you're thinking probably like 20 kids hanging out in my basement. Her entire school plus another school in this fucking house jam back to like Lauren, I will never forget. What happened on the ceiling? Oh my gosh, someone sprayed a champagne bottle like all over this. And the cork went up through the ceiling and I remember I was like,
I'm coming up. And then I have to fix that in the morning. And your poor mother comes home and everyone's like trying to like be like, no, no, it's not what it looks like. And Kara is really looking up and feeling crying. So I talked about that in therapy. I was like, I feel a little guilty for that one. But it was like a sending away your house party. But I do remember like that extent of our friendship was like us feeling like so nostalgia childhood that it was like we never really drank together in high school. You didn't need to drink to have fun.
High school arch nemesis. We're like, how did we get here? How did this just slide in? Because we want to talk about it. So Lauren and I were laughing about her going to this reunion. And I was talking to her about, like, who are you most looking forward to seeing? Like, who are you nervous to see? Like, who do you want to impress? Who do you want to avoid? And Lauren. Impressed no one. Avoid no one. Nervous no one. But my arch nemesis.
I also have to be careful because this is gonna air three days before the reunion. So I'm not to like blow up how much I have an arch nemesis and a walk in the chair and be like, oh, that's the girl who like can't get over high school. Do you think that your nemesis would know that they are your enemy?
I don't think she thinks I think about her one bit. I think she would listen to this and be like, oh my God. Okay, let's talk about why is she your nemesis? Okay, so I don't want to accidentally paint myself as a saint here. The issue is, I truly cannot remember who cheated first, me or my high school boyfriend, but junior year,
We hit Rocky territory. We hit rock bottom. We hit rock bottom. We did hit rock bottom. Okay. And it kind of became this open situation, but like we still were in love. We were still talking all the time, but like I ventured off a little bit to this older guy and he ventured off to my Arctonemesis.
But then we had a reconciliation and we came back together. And I kicked the older guy to the curb. Or did he just graduate? I don't know. Details. But my archanemesis could not get ticked to the curb. She literally was like the bug that would not die. And now we're getting riled up.
I just have such vivid memories, being in my childhood bedroom, after school, 4.30 p.m., prime time, everyone's on aim, everyone's on form spring, everyone's on Snapchat, and I'm snapping him, and I'm watching my snap streak with him go up and up and up and up, but I'm watching his snap streak with her go up and up and up and up, and they were just, oh, that's just like a good core memory.
We hold on. So did he cheat on you with her? Oh, all the time. We did you can did you how did you find out other than? Okay. Well, there's two instances where where he was caught red-handed. Okay. Okay. Incident number one senior prom.
We I don't even know this story. So it was the morning of senior prom and we met up in a parking lot and had sex in a car classic and We go to pictures. We do pictures together. It's like that's kind of official Oh, I like check Facebook this morning. We had pictures. We took prom pictures together
Not her making sure the receipts are dotted and the, oh my God Lauren, I'm obsessed with you, okay. And so we're at prom, we're grinding, I'm slapping the ground, I'm turning around, I'm making out, get low, get low. Oh my God, the grind chains, I can't, I can't. And I go get a beverage and I come back into the auditorium and I'm like, oh, where's my boyfriend?
grind-chaining with my arch nemesis. What? Making out with my arch nemesis. In front of you? In front of the whole auditorium. Wait, so what the fuck did you do? So I had known that they were consistently talking. I would talk to him about it and be like, you have to stop. I'm not doing anything else. I'm not hoping with anyone else. I want to be together. Right. And he was like, eh. But they were still always operating. So I did the craziest thing I've ever done in my entire life. Oh my god.
I've never, let me just give context to my character. I've never had a falling out with another girlfriend before. I've never gotten to a physical confrontation. I've really never gotten to like a heated exchange words to this day except this one moment. I walk up to them and I say, I pull them apart and I say, we had sex this morning. I hope you're enjoying the taste of me right now.
She starts hysterically crying. In high school, I don't know how I feel about it, but I just snapped. This is high school. People are cheating and people are being whatever. It's not actually nefarious. It's actually just like, but it's so funny to think about the drama in fucking high school. What's the most bold thing you ever did to confront someone? Oh, well.
You have like a laundry list. I'm like, this is the one time I've ever said something to anyone ever. Well, the thing is too, for like me, I would say, which I'm gonna have to tell the story one day, is- Oh, your arch nemesis story? Yeah. This is fucked. Because it was me really standing up for my other best friend, and I- Then she tried to ruin your life. Yes. I am someone that will always stand up for myself. Like, my mother taught me that. Like, use your fucking words. And so I would always say it to people's faces if they were upsetting me.
And when someone though fucks with one of my friends who I know has a harder time speaking up for themselves, I go to like a different level and I stood up for my one friend to another one of our friends and
One day I'm going to tell the story. It's a good story. It is the most insane thing because it followed me into my adult life and it still is going. It's just crazy. Whatever. But drama. Let's talk about drama because I can't talk about my arch nemesis because that deserves like a solo fucking episode. Yeah. I need to like literally call my mom for like notes and I need to like literally call my headmaster and get the notes also from OK, so.
Drama though, one of the most dramatic things and when I say dramatic like this is so fucking stupid, but I remember for me with boys My high school year boyfriend I was so obsessed with him and I remember he was a boarding student I was a day student and so he would always just like
It was really fun in high school because you were able to try to sneak into the dorm rooms and like what high school kids are afforded like a bed that you can just access at the dining hall. It was hard to sneak but we figured it out. Anyways, so I was like falling in love and I was having the time of my life my freshman year and I remember he was definitely a partier and he had transferred from another school and he had to redo his freshman year.
Oh, yeah. That's my first red flag. Anyways, I remember it is a Tuesday and Tuesdays were always chapel days where we had to like walk to this chapel in New Jersey and it was like a Presbyterian school and we would sit and we'd do chapel, whatever. And we always would walk together and we would always hold hands together. And he was nowhere to be found. And I'm texting him and it's all going to green. And I'm like, where is he? And the boarding students come up to me and they look like they saw a fucking ghost. And his friends come up to me and they're like, Alex, you didn't hear? And I'm like,
know like what happened and they're like he drank so much last night with everyone but like people were drinking but he drank to the point of absolute blackout to the point where it got so so bad that we had to blow our cover and call for help and they took him out on a stretcher in an ambulance and they had to bring him to the hospital and he had to get his stomach pumped
And I'm sitting in chapel as like DeAndre is like sitting next to me whispering this to me. And I'm like, what the fuck? And finally his phone turns on and he's like, I'm fine. Like I'm okay. And I'm freaking out. I'm like crying, whatever. He gets kicked out of school. Not from that, which is crazy. He did so many more things. And eventually they were like, you have to get the fuck off this campus. Like you are literally ruining like our culture here. And when he got kicked out,
I shit you not Lauren for three straight months and think about like three months of high school. That's long. That's long for three straight months. I wore black.
Every single fucking day to school because I was so mad at the headmaster to protest I would I was literally protesting. I was poor morning him I was I was morning, but I was more protesting because I was so livid that they kicked him out They should let me just be clear they should have kicked him out But I was just so dramatic because I was like I just lost the love of my life. He got kicked out your husband got
Exactly and I'm like walking around campus and every fucking week the dean of students would pull me in being like Alex like People are getting concerned like and meanwhile I'm like not a fuck like I'm not a sad fucking person usually so I'm they can tell I'm fucking fine Yeah, like it's your fucking fine in me while I'm like I don't know if I'll ever recover like I can't believe you got rid of him
and eventually I got over it, but it's like, why do we do those things when we're younger? The drama within us. Oh, high school? I have like memories just like laying on the floor like sobbing. Right? Just like heartbreak and like, oh my God, my chest hurts if the boy broke, like just so fucking stupid, but honestly like kind of amazing. It's fun to reminisce and we'll try to post pictures to you guys if we can find any of these like hidden gems. I think there's some crazy ways. Oh yeah, I'll post my prom pics. I look good. Yeah.
Y'all aren't coming out of the woodwork this episode. I kind of love it. I love the confidence. I think the fun thing also about being friends for your whole life is it's really beautiful. We have seen every single, almost like decade of each other so far in our lives. We have been together and we have seen it all. And I think it's also humbling to know where we both came from because we can both keep it real with each other.
Um, we've had some of our darkest moments together. We have had some of our best moments together. We have had both moments where I think we've been able to look at each other and say, you need to get your shit together or you need to get your shit together. And I'm here for you, but let's, let's pick, let's pick it up. And I feel like we've in a good way, like,
both done that for each other. It's a very, very equal-sided relationship, but I was talking about that in an episode the other month about how we're always on the opposite pages. I know. But I feel like it's kind of like the beauty of our relationship. It makes it more interesting. It does. Listen, I think Thanksgiving is so fun, and I hope, Daddy Gang, that you are surrounded by your loved ones, and I hope you enjoy this little
throwback reminiscent episode we have had we have so many random stories together and it's always fun to sit down and just like chat and talk and Yeah, I think I was like to end this episode by saying everyone who was in my grade I just I think they're all probably doing amazing things. I probably I think they're probably so successful I can't wait to see how good they all look I can't wait to see how they're all thriving and their own lives and they were just like such amazing people that I was blessed to go to school with and I just
I cannot wait to see you all. Bye, Daddy Gang. We love you. Happy Thanksgiving and have the best fucking time and go eat some food and drink good drinks. We love you. Pop a button. I have three. Many. I will see you fuckers next Wednesday. Goodbye.
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