00:00:00:12 - 00:00:04:01
Andy Richardson
All right. Well, that was fine. So what do you think about the episode?

00:00:04:08 - 00:00:09:18
Madeline Richardson
I thought that was, really entertaining episode. Learned some interesting facts about you.

00:00:09:20 - 00:00:12:02
Esther Richardson
Yeah.

00:00:12:04 - 00:00:15:14
Madeline Richardson
I feel like this is probably one of the more entertaining episodes of the show.

00:00:15:14 - 00:00:25:27
Andy Richardson
Yeah, yeah, I agree. I thought it was fun. And, even though. What did you think, Esther? I mean, you seem like you're loose now, but took a little bit to loosen up. Well, you.

00:00:25:27 - 00:00:58:19
Esther Richardson
Know, I was a little stressed when I got here. I this a little bit. Yeah. I mean, I think it was fine. It was fun. I like to talk so it was fun to chat and answer some questions. It is kind of interesting to do that with you, because there's an assumption that we know each other and our, you know, all the answers to a lot of the questions and things that you already asked me seems like.

00:00:58:22 - 00:01:16:11
Esther Richardson
But it was fun to talk about it. And actually, it was fun to listen to Madeline's. It was like an moment for you because you know, well, because you heard some stories for the first time. I thought you knew those things, but. So that's fun.

00:01:16:14 - 00:01:55:07
Andy Richardson
I think it brought in a lot of, things that people can learn from, hopefully. Obviously Valentine's Day, Valentine's day is coming up. So I think, you know, some people can get those last minute gifts, ideas, but I think other aspects of it just some nuggets that about education, career, parenthood, I mean, all these things maybe outside of the AEC industry, but it's still helpful to people that you're an architect, your engineer, a contractor, but you have kids, so maybe they don't want to be an architect or engineer, right?

00:01:55:07 - 00:02:18:15
Andy Richardson
Maybe they want to go into the trades or so we talked about that. Or maybe they do want to go into construction and, and so, yeah, we hit on a lot of different aspects about the career, about your background and education. So maybe somebody is interested in homeschooling. You learn about that today. So that's not easy. But it's it's helpful.

00:02:18:20 - 00:02:39:06
Andy Richardson
And we also did talk about marriage, being married to an engineer and being married to somebody in the in this field of AEC and some tips about that, how to be supportive of that. And I just thought it was an interesting episode. It was a lot of fun. So thank you for being on. And, I hope that the listener is going to I think you're going to definitely enjoy this show.

00:02:39:08 - 00:02:41:26
Andy Richardson
So anything else you want to say? Line.

00:02:41:28 - 00:02:45:20
Madeline Richardson
I think that's about it. More surprises await.

00:02:45:23 - 00:02:54:13
Andy Richardson
Hey everybody. My name is Andy Richardson. This is my producer, Madeleine, and this is my wife, Esther. We're going to be doing this show today for you. And

00:02:54:13 - 00:02:58:19
Andy Richardson
this is the enhanced podcast. Take care. All right. Let's jump to the intro.

00:03:03:08 - 00:03:10:17
Madeline Richardson
Welcome to enhance, an AEC podcast, where we learn the why behind AEC professionals so that you can learn your why.

00:03:10:17 - 00:03:37:00
Andy Richardson
Well, welcome to the Enhanced podcast. We've got two great guests in here today. And one of those guests is really our producer, Madeleine. And so the other guest is also my beautiful wife, Esther, who I wanted to have on here today. And also, Jessica, who is, I guess, our co-producer of the show, our producer of the show, and she recommended that we have Esther in here because of a few reasons.

00:03:37:00 - 00:04:00:15
Andy Richardson
Number one, you're my wife and supporter. You're the seventh of 20 on E6. Also, we're going to release this right around Valentine's Day. So and it's also a special day as well, right around Valentine's Day, which is our anniversary. So those are just a few reasons why we wanted to have this episode recorded at this time. So we thought it would be a good time to do that.

00:04:00:18 - 00:04:02:04
Andy Richardson
Have you ever been on a podcast before?

00:04:02:11 - 00:04:03:08
Esther Richardson
I have not.

00:04:03:10 - 00:04:05:14
Andy Richardson
Okay. Well do you ever listen to podcast?

00:04:05:19 - 00:04:06:02
Esther Richardson
I do.

00:04:06:10 - 00:04:30:04
Andy Richardson
Okay. Well, so yeah, we're just going to ask you a few questions. We've got a few written up there on the whiteboard too. You can see those. Just talking about the of course, the enhanced podcast is all about the AEC industry, architecture, engineering and construction. And, you know, there's a few reasons why we thought it would be a good idea to have you on number one.

00:04:30:04 - 00:05:04:05
Andy Richardson
You're my wife, you're my supporter. And so it's interesting, I think, to have a perspective of somebody who's the wife of an engineer, because there might be other people in the industry that, you know, have a spouse and, you know, just sharing that insight. Right. So that's really what we're going to be talking about today. So the first of all, first question is you have a few kids or a few family members in the AEC industry, of course, myself, Charlie is in the construction industry.

00:05:04:07 - 00:05:21:21
Andy Richardson
And then Madeleine is helping out with the enhance podcast. So you have a few people either directly or indirectly involved in the AEC industry. So what is that like for you in general to have that? That's your first curveball question. Okay. You can take a minute or yeah, to to think about that.

00:05:21:27 - 00:05:24:16
Esther Richardson
What's it like having family in the AEC? Well.

00:05:24:26 - 00:05:29:29
Andy Richardson
I guess there's multiple aspects that you've got, Charlie, and you've got myself. So.

00:05:29:29 - 00:05:46:18
Esther Richardson
Well, I am proud of my daughter for stepping in and helping you. I think that, I think she's having fun with this junior podcast. She brings a lot of life to everything she does.

00:05:46:21 - 00:06:10:14
Esther Richardson
You being an engineering, I guess that's all I know, so I don't. I'm trying to think the best way to even answer that question. I have spent more time in the engineering world as a spouse, in my life, than I did, you know, for the first part of my life. So it's all that I know, really.

00:06:10:16 - 00:06:22:00
Esther Richardson
Charlie, being in the construction industry with Hvac work, I'm super proud of him. I think he is,

00:06:22:03 - 00:06:52:29
Esther Richardson
I think he's good at his craft. And it's neat to see his skills developing and how, he took his skills from being in the Marine Corps and our editors are translating out into his work in the Hvac world. Yeah. So I think engineering is pretty interesting career. It's very I view it as a very cerebral.

00:06:54:06 - 00:07:09:09
Esther Richardson
I guess career. It's it's a life, really. It is. It's life because you're not just an engineer when you're at work. You're an engineer when you're at home, you're analytical all the time.

00:07:09:11 - 00:07:10:15
Andy Richardson
You know, you don't turn it off.

00:07:10:19 - 00:07:19:19
Esther Richardson
You don't turn that off. So I don't know. I don't know the really best answers your question, but that's yeah.

00:07:19:19 - 00:07:41:06
Andy Richardson
That's great insight. And you know, taking the a little further with the mother of somebody in the trades basically. So what is your thought about the trades. You know if you are would you recommend it for one of your other kids or another parent if they were going down that road?

00:07:41:12 - 00:08:12:13
Esther Richardson
Absolutely. I think that the trades are essential. And I do see a push now. Just being familiar with that with our kids growing up, you know, three of them are adults now. And looking at what their paths were going to be after they finished high school and realizing that going to four year college to work on a bachelor's was not something that the first three children of ours wanted to do.

00:08:12:15 - 00:08:41:07
Esther Richardson
So, of course, looking at the next or another option which was which is the trades. Yeah. So I think that our society is we're finding more students, more high school graduates going into the trades after high school. Yeah. Then maybe jumping in to going to a four year college.

00:08:41:09 - 00:08:49:02
Andy Richardson
Yeah. And when we were in school, it seems like my recollection was the strong push for college.

00:08:49:05 - 00:08:51:00
Esther Richardson
Yes.

00:08:51:02 - 00:09:20:00
Andy Richardson
Go to college, go to college, get a degree. I think it resonated with me and my career being an engineer, but. And then you being a teacher resonated with you. That was something you wanted to do. So why don't we jump into that a bit? We'll come back to questions about us in our meeting, but let's jump into your career a little bit in terms of how you decided to go and what is your I gave a highlight of it.

00:09:20:03 - 00:09:23:22
Andy Richardson
What is your field and like why did you go into that field?

00:09:23:24 - 00:09:28:28
Esther Richardson
So.

00:09:29:00 - 00:10:13:05
Esther Richardson
Without giving a long, boring story about my life, I would just say I feel like I have two major parts of my life. The first being before we got married and had children, which is teaching. Doing special education. That is my background. My bachelor's is in special ed, and then my master's is in education. So the neat thing about being a public school teacher, which I got to do for eight years before coming home, is that I worked with students who were on all different paths in life.

00:10:13:07 - 00:10:42:22
Esther Richardson
I had students who went to four year college, and I had students who actually were working on their trade skills while they were in high school. So the years I taught at Buford High, I had students who were working on welding or mechanics or whatever, plumbing, whatever was at the vocational high school here in Beaufort County. Right. So that's actually my first exposure to the trades.

00:10:42:25 - 00:11:07:15
Esther Richardson
Believe it or not, wasn't with our son. It was helping my students who were trying to make a transition from public high school into what they were going to do after high school. And the cool thing was, they were able to do it while they were in school. So similar to like dual enrollment for like our children have done with high school credit or college credits.

00:11:07:17 - 00:11:10:20
Esther Richardson
So what was your original question?

00:11:10:24 - 00:11:25:04
Andy Richardson
Well, just understanding your career. But I mean, it definitely gives insight into more about the trades because your career dovetails in terms of, you know, teaching students with special needs how trades helps that.

00:11:25:06 - 00:11:25:29
Esther Richardson
E.

00:11:26:02 - 00:11:47:13
Andy Richardson
Group of people, I guess. And you know that not to say, you know, just because you have special needs. You may you had some that went to four year college, which has some of these, people. They just they need a little extra attention sometimes. Right. Well, it's different for different levels or different.

00:11:47:15 - 00:11:52:00
Esther Richardson
When I taught in the high school, it was mild. They were mild.

00:11:52:04 - 00:11:54:27
Andy Richardson
That was resource. Yes. So you were a resource.

00:11:54:27 - 00:11:55:26
Esther Richardson
Resource? Yeah.

00:11:56:02 - 00:11:56:27
Andy Richardson
For Steve, I.

00:11:57:03 - 00:11:58:29
Esther Richardson
Was almost like I was a professional tutor.

00:11:59:02 - 00:11:59:26
Andy Richardson
Right.

00:11:59:29 - 00:12:21:02
Esther Richardson
That's how I've often described that particular job. So yeah, working in the going to the vocational school was not. There was no, major significance whether or not you were considered to be a student who needed special help or not. Yeah. So.

00:12:21:04 - 00:12:26:25
Andy Richardson
And you, where you got your master's degree? Yes. In special education.

00:12:26:28 - 00:12:37:03
Esther Richardson
That is my master's is in actually integrating the creative arts into the curriculum. Okay. So it's education.

00:12:37:06 - 00:12:45:19
Andy Richardson
So a master's in education, but with the emphasis on the creative side. And, and you taught at all three levels of, of.

00:12:45:21 - 00:12:47:05
Esther Richardson
Elementary, middle and high.

00:12:47:05 - 00:12:55:19
Andy Richardson
School. Yeah. So that's interesting. And you taught at. So the resource the I forgot what the other two are called.

00:12:55:22 - 00:12:56:29
Esther Richardson
But it's self-contained. I had.

00:12:56:29 - 00:12:57:07
Andy Richardson
Self.

00:12:57:13 - 00:13:01:04
Esther Richardson
Learning disabilities and emotional disabilities and.

00:13:01:04 - 00:13:04:23
Andy Richardson
The other. So at the middle and the elementary school level, you did the self-contained.

00:13:05:00 - 00:13:05:13
Esther Richardson
I did.

00:13:05:15 - 00:13:06:14
Andy Richardson
Yeah. Okay, so.

00:13:06:14 - 00:13:15:29
Esther Richardson
Those were a little more those those need a little more attention. And they were with me all day long versus when I was at the high school. Those students were with me just one class period a day.

00:13:16:01 - 00:13:43:05
Andy Richardson
Yeah. So I mean, I think that's interesting obviously gives us some insight into you. But also just shows how how diversified your education or your abilities are with education. And then you also worked at home school, like you taught our own kids. Right? So we have some that are, you know, graduated and now it in their own career.

00:13:43:05 - 00:13:52:02
Andy Richardson
And then you have some that are still working through that. Right. So talk to you talk a little bit about home schooling and you know how you got started with that.

00:13:52:26 - 00:13:56:02
Andy Richardson
And how that's going.

00:13:56:05 - 00:13:57:26
Esther Richardson
Okay.

00:13:57:29 - 00:13:59:13
Andy Richardson
That might be a whole nother podcast.

00:13:59:20 - 00:14:30:14
Esther Richardson
Madeline might want to talk talk about that. So. Well we've been married almost 26 years and. I was teaching when we got married. I was teaching in the public school and I came home, I guess after. I guess we'd been married. I'm thinking it was eight years when I came home to stay with the kids. So that was when I started homeschooling.

00:14:30:14 - 00:15:04:00
Esther Richardson
Charlie was going into first grade, and I would say homeschooling is wonderful and so hard at the same time, because it's not just like it was when I was teaching school. In the public schools, you are home or wherever you do your schooling, whether it's home or with a, you know, a co-op group or whatever. But. I feel like you're always as a mom, I'm always on duty.

00:15:04:00 - 00:15:26:17
Esther Richardson
I'm always working. When I taught school, it was different. In some ways, you know, when I would leave my school in the evening, I might take homework home with me or things to grade or to work on my lesson plans. But at least I was kind of able to take a break from my work environment. And I just can't do that.

00:15:26:17 - 00:16:02:07
Esther Richardson
I know Madeline's laughing. I can't do that now. Difference. Well, it's not that. It's just it's working all the time. But I enjoy homeschooling a lot of aspects of it. Believe it or not, because, because and I learned this with Charlie, our oldest, when he when he graduated, all the doubts that I had about how we had invested those years when he was growing up, I knew that I didn't have any regrets.

00:16:02:08 - 00:16:19:26
Esther Richardson
I did not regret being at home with him or any of the kids, because I knew that once he graduated high school, he was going to move on and get on with his life and and I would never get those days back. So does that answer your.

00:16:19:29 - 00:16:27:13
Andy Richardson
Yeah. I mean, that's that's that's helpful and interesting. Insightful I think for the audience. I mean, I know most of that, you.

00:16:27:13 - 00:16:29:01
Esther Richardson
Know, but yeah, like, I'm.

00:16:29:03 - 00:16:37:09
Andy Richardson
I think our careers are similar because I feel that way about my work, too, that it's never ending. Some days. So,

00:16:37:09 - 00:16:56:27
Andy Richardson
let's jump to what your background, and upbringing. How did that impact your decision to go to school? And you're currently, as far as home schooling and just how did that impact you? Can you talk a little bit about your upbringing? Where are you from, that kind of thing?

00:16:56:29 - 00:17:08:25
Esther Richardson
Okay. You well, okay. So I'm from the town we live in. Yeah. Born and raised here. I'm allowed to say we're like.

00:17:08:25 - 00:17:12:14
Andy Richardson
You're able to say, this is you. This is talking about you okay? Yeah, sure.

00:17:12:14 - 00:17:45:26
Esther Richardson
You sure? Yeah. I am from Beaufort, South Carolina, where we live now. Spent most of my life here. True. South Carolinian. I grew up in the public schools here. I come from a family, a small family. I'm the oldest of two siblings, 2 or 2, two girls and when I was growing up in the public schools, the assumption was that you go to college.

00:17:45:28 - 00:18:12:06
Esther Richardson
I don't know that there was really any other, you know, going to I don't know if that came from home or if that was a school thing, or maybe our society was just different then. But that was, you know, the question was, where are you going to school when you graduate? So I, when I first went away to college, really was unsure 100% of what I wanted to do.

00:18:12:06 - 00:18:45:09
Esther Richardson
I definitely felt led into teaching. I did not realize my love for special needs until I got to Clemson. Okay, I, I did have a situation when I was in high school where I babysat for a boy who has down syndrome, and that was my first exposure to special needs. And I would say I definitely fell in love with special needs then.

00:18:45:11 - 00:19:13:12
Esther Richardson
But did not realize that that was my calling. And as far as my college degree goes, until I got to Clemson, because the first college I attended actually did not offer a special ed degree, so I needed I. When I transferred to Clemson my third year of school, I realized that was the degree that was was God's plan for my life right at that time.

00:19:13:18 - 00:19:15:07
Esther Richardson
Yeah.

00:19:15:09 - 00:19:27:18
Andy Richardson
And, so you went to Clemson. Did you meet anybody there that would be significant.

00:19:27:20 - 00:19:37:15
Esther Richardson
I had these amazing roommates. I, I did, I did, okay.

00:19:37:17 - 00:19:40:19
Andy Richardson
Your roommates.

00:19:40:21 - 00:20:17:01
Esther Richardson
Well, there was this cute guy that worked at Outback. Yeah, who did a little goofy. Who acted a little goofy back in the kitchen. Yeah. But I've. You and I had. We had mutual friends. Your roommates were. I was friends with your roommates when we work together. So I do. You and I met. I guess it was spring of 1997.

00:20:17:01 - 00:20:18:00
Esther Richardson
What then?

00:20:18:02 - 00:20:20:02
Andy Richardson
Yes. Okay.

00:20:20:04 - 00:20:43:28
Esther Richardson
Yeah. So we met in spring of 1997. So. And I'm, I'm glad that that's, that we met towards the end of college. I don't know that we would have spent as much time together if it had been earlier on, because even after we met and became good friends, you were busy. Yeah. You were always in the engineering building.

00:20:44:00 - 00:20:50:08
Esther Richardson
I would say you spent most of your time in the engineering building, studying or at work.

00:20:50:10 - 00:21:14:00
Andy Richardson
Right, right. Which I worked at out back. Yeah, that's where we met. And yeah, I was either in Lowry Hall or in out back. It seems like. So, now, you said something interesting once that. You you wanted to marry an engineer? Yeah. Talk about that. Like, what was your thinking there? I mean.

00:21:14:07 - 00:21:51:17
Esther Richardson
Well, the crazy thing about that is, and I, I shared this with you. I did not know what an engineer really did. And I don't know if it's because Clemson is such a huge engineering school. And I just knew that in order to be an engineer, you. I'm I'm you have to be extremely smart. And I'm trying to think there may be, maybe there are engineers who fall through the cracks of that, I don't know, I haven't met any, but, I, I knew that it was a field where it be somebody, a man who was super smart.

00:21:51:20 - 00:21:55:00
Esther Richardson
Yeah. So I don't know if that was the draw to it or.

00:21:55:02 - 00:22:03:10
Andy Richardson
Right. Okay. And truth be told, I don't know that I know exactly what an engineer did, even.

00:22:04:27 - 00:22:30:10
Andy Richardson
Until starting out my career. So I had a sense of it. But, there was a lot of nuances that that I didn't clearly understand. So now let's move on to being the wife of an engineer. I mean, that's really a big part of what we want to talk about today. Okay. So, what are some of the joys, some of the challenges, some of the interesting things, of being in the wife of an engineer.

00:22:30:10 - 00:22:32:19
Andy Richardson
Like what? What's it like being the wife of an engineer?

00:22:32:21 - 00:22:38:01
Esther Richardson
Okay, so we talked about this before, okay. About being brutally honest about that, right? Yeah.

00:22:38:01 - 00:22:41:19
Andy Richardson
You can really. So, you know, we can edit it out if.

00:22:41:20 - 00:23:12:01
Esther Richardson
You look at it later. Yeah. So I would say being the wife of an engineer, it's, it's I think it's pretty neat. And I know that's probably not the best adjective to describe it, but I am so thankful because in a lot of ways, we're opposites. They're things that you're very detailed and analyze. You analyze things you're very analytical.

00:23:12:01 - 00:23:45:02
Esther Richardson
And I would say that you were like that all of the time. Maybe not when it comes to organizing your closet at home or keeping up with your stuff, but by and large, for the decisions that have been made for our lives together. You have analyzed. You've thought through things in a detail that at a level that I don't know that I do, I'm a very I'm very much a big picture person, and I think you're a lot more detailed and analytical than I am.

00:23:45:04 - 00:24:22:15
Esther Richardson
So I appreciate that about you. It's taken me a long time to. If I'm being honest, it's taken me a long time to really appreciate our differences in that way. And I admire your your knowledge, like how smart you are. I mean, you're the only person I know who reads manuals in your spare time, but you do it.

00:24:22:18 - 00:24:30:27
Esther Richardson
He reads codes, he reads. I'm. You know, the things that you know are. I mean, it's pretty inspiring to me.

00:24:31:00 - 00:24:35:08
Andy Richardson
To me. You can share. So there was a time sure that.

00:24:35:12 - 00:24:36:07
Esther Richardson
Yeah, I can.

00:24:36:13 - 00:24:40:04
Andy Richardson
Yeah, yeah. No, there's a specific things to thinking about right now.

00:24:40:05 - 00:24:42:24
Esther Richardson
There is. So I'm. You want me to say that?

00:24:42:24 - 00:24:44:22
Andy Richardson
Yeah. Go for it. Let's let's make it fun.

00:24:44:24 - 00:25:13:14
Esther Richardson
Okay, so in our last house, dad was taking a bath. Yeah. He's in our deep bathtub in Battery Shores. And I go in there to tell him dinner's ready or something, and he's reading a manual in the tub. Wait, what kind of manual? The engineering manual. Manual of sorts. I mean, it could be that thing right there, you know, construction manual on, I don't know, standard handbook of structural building construction.

00:25:13:14 - 00:25:16:13
Esther Richardson
I mean, any of them. I don't remember what it was.

00:25:16:13 - 00:25:16:28
Andy Richardson
They all they.

00:25:16:28 - 00:25:20:16
Esther Richardson
All look the same. Right. They do you know, do.

00:25:20:18 - 00:25:24:21
Andy Richardson
I don't know what the book was. That's been at least ten years ago, but maybe.

00:25:24:24 - 00:25:50:02
Esther Richardson
Maybe a million. So dad was reading a manual in the tub, which is not my preference for if I'm going to relax, then it's not going to be a manual. And what's funny about that is you read engineering manuals and things for work, but when it comes to putting together something like we get a new appliance or we get a new, I'll say, hey, did you read the manual on that?

00:25:50:03 - 00:26:01:27
Esther Richardson
This thing right here, this new thing, we're going to work it up. I think I just asked you that recently about, putting something together. And he said, now that's I don't need to do that. That's just the manufacturer's recommendations.

00:26:01:27 - 00:26:04:21
Andy Richardson
Yeah, well, that's,

00:26:04:24 - 00:26:07:25
Esther Richardson
Tim. Tim, the tall man has home improvement.

00:26:07:25 - 00:26:21:12
Andy Richardson
No home improvement. So good. Good show. But he he talked about that. But yeah, I mean, I definitely relate to that. Like, you just take the manual and you just tasks. That's just recommendations. You know if it doesn't work then you try out the main.

00:26:21:12 - 00:26:22:28
Esther Richardson
Then read with the manufacturer.

00:26:22:28 - 00:26:37:11
Andy Richardson
So but I don't remember the exact scenario or why I did that, but yeah. I guess you want to engineer that is so technical and so knowledgeable that they read code books in the in the bathtub.

00:26:37:15 - 00:26:38:18
Esther Richardson
Yeah, that's.

00:26:38:20 - 00:26:40:24
Andy Richardson
That's 2096. So, you know.

00:26:40:28 - 00:26:45:16
Esther Richardson
Get a little plug in there. Machine.

00:26:45:19 - 00:26:55:26
Andy Richardson
So that's the life of an engineer right there is, you know, read, read books in the in the tub about about code, about steel. Now talk about.

00:26:55:28 - 00:26:57:02
Esther Richardson
Did I answer what you.

00:26:57:02 - 00:27:12:17
Andy Richardson
Asked? I think so, I mean, this the life of an engineer and, you know, some challenges, some joys and, but we can keep going. I guess the next one is the entrepreneur side. So that's engineer side. That's. Yeah. You know, but then I also.

00:27:12:17 - 00:27:17:00
Esther Richardson
Well, just say one thing about that and, and I know I rabbit trail a little bit.

00:27:17:00 - 00:27:17:06
Andy Richardson
Yeah.

00:27:17:06 - 00:27:47:17
Esther Richardson
Of course more than you do. But on the side with the engineering thing I will say and the entrepreneur thing will tag in with this. But the, the challenging part for me is that you never you're never. At a place where you're not being an engineer, you're always analyzing something. Even on our vacation in Canada, you were taking pictures of structures.

00:27:47:19 - 00:28:10:24
Esther Richardson
I mean, we're looking at this really cool thing in the gondola or whatever, and you're snapping a shot of the ceiling and the the truss or whatever it was that you were that you thought was neat. So I would say that. And then I know you want to talk about entrepreneurship, but they go together. I in my world, I see it going together is that you are never it never ends.

00:28:10:24 - 00:28:14:24
Esther Richardson
It's never. You're never off. Even on our even on vacation.

00:28:14:26 - 00:28:36:03
Andy Richardson
Well, and this is not just about. So there's a couple of things I want to talk to. One is we're not we're not just e we're a, we're a eek, meaning I and I'm not an architect or contractor, but I think there's probably some parallels with architects like, that and I've read about that. Like architects probably do the same thing.

00:28:36:03 - 00:28:59:03
Andy Richardson
They're taking pictures of structures and and buildings when they go to vacation. And contractors, I think, probably do the same exact thing because there's a sense of you're building things and how do they build it here. And so but what I, what I want to really go into is what you were talking about for somebody. I really appreciate what you said.

00:28:59:03 - 00:29:25:09
Andy Richardson
Like we have to learn how to work, I guess, work together and live together, which is great because that's talking about marriage. And it's Valentine's Day. It's right around Valentine's Day. So getting into the romantic side a little bit, but also just relationships side, right. What recommendations do you have for a spouse of an AEC professional? You know about an engineer?

00:29:25:09 - 00:29:44:13
Andy Richardson
So the spouse of an engineer, particularly early on, you just got married, maybe. Or or maybe you've been married 26 years and and like you want some advice. Is there any advice specifically to the spouse of, a professional engineer or an engineer?

00:29:44:15 - 00:30:24:01
Esther Richardson
Well, I think. I'm thinking the advice I might would give would be applicable to other career fields, not just engineering, I guess. Well, let me back up. I guess I could say with your job, with the weight of the seriousness of what you do with your design work, making sure it meets code, I would say it's important as the spouse to as much as possible be an encouragement, because I know what you do is very serious.

00:30:24:03 - 00:30:54:27
Esther Richardson
And I mean, we joke a lot about your being analytical all the time, but I know that it's because you take your work seriously, your design, where we want structures to succeed. We don't want to get a phone call with, you know, hey, we've had a failed whatever. And so in order for you to achieve the correct design or whatever it is you're working on, if it's a design for building or whatever it may be that you have to have that support from home.

00:30:54:29 - 00:31:15:24
Esther Richardson
So and I'm not, I don't know. I can't say that I'm 100% of the time always great at that. But I really I try to be intentional about it, at least with with my actions, with whatever, you know, trying to meet your needs from day to day and however you need me to come alongside you and do that and then I try to verbalize it.

00:31:15:24 - 00:31:37:17
Esther Richardson
I try to remember to verbalize and tell you, you know, like I said, I'm not I don't think I'm always great at that. But I do think that is super important for a spouse to remember. And then I do think that's applicable in other career fields as well. Yeah, but I think that's probably just the practice of being a good spouse is being supportive and loving well.

00:31:37:17 - 00:31:43:03
Andy Richardson
And and also.

00:31:43:06 - 00:31:44:06
Esther Richardson
Yes.

00:31:44:08 - 00:32:08:29
Andy Richardson
You're you're you've done that to I mean, I've said it once, I'll say it again at least once numerous times, but you're my seventh of 29e6. But more importantly, I mean, you're a rock in my life. So thank you for that for sure. And I don't say it enough. So I'll say it on the podcast and I'll say it off the podcast too.

00:32:08:29 - 00:32:36:05
Andy Richardson
But thank you. But also, I think being an encouragement and there's times when the wisdom of a spouse, a wife comes in and there's been times when maybe not on the technical side, but on the non-technical, the social side, because, you know, a lot of times as engineers and as professional and technical people, we don't always get the social side as much.

00:32:36:07 - 00:33:03:19
Andy Richardson
Right. And so I've had to really. Yeah, I've lean I've had to lean on you a lot into that. And sometimes you help me realize like, hey, this particular client or this particular decision isn't a good decision right now, you know? Yeah. So, that's something to think about. And then really, I guess my own advice is advice that I'm preaching to the choir because, I mean, it's it's hard.

00:33:03:19 - 00:33:26:10
Andy Richardson
And as engineer, entrepreneur, any field, we have to be smart about our time usage in life so that we can be balanced and not just work all the time. We want to because you're working so hard like you are. We want to get off work so we can spend time and help out at home too, right? Yeah, that's that's what's important.

00:33:26:14 - 00:33:48:08
Andy Richardson
And we want to serve our family. We work to live, you know, not just live to work. So. But again, preaching to the choir, I mean, I'm preaching to myself here. So was there anything, about entrepreneurship as far as challenges, joys to speak to?

00:33:48:10 - 00:34:15:04
Esther Richardson
So I'm sure you'll hit on this in future podcasts with your buddies, but I would say my first well, my first exposure to you in entrepreneurship. And we I did not know this about you when we got married, by the way. I did not know your creativity and your ideas that you wanted to expound on. Or, you know, which is this is what's made it fun.

00:34:15:04 - 00:34:40:03
Esther Richardson
It's made our marriage interesting. But, your buddies, your. Oh, I cob I, I I'm sure you'll get into that later if you ever have them on your podcast, your your ideas, your notebooks of ideas, just one thing after another. In a lot of ways, it's encouraged me to be creative and not be afraid to be creative and think outside of the box on some things.

00:34:40:05 - 00:34:47:29
Esther Richardson
So that's made it fun, right? It's fun. Yeah. Now, as far as being an entrepreneur in your.

00:34:48:06 - 00:34:50:02
Andy Richardson
Business, that's like the innovator side.

00:34:50:03 - 00:34:51:22
Esther Richardson
That's innovator.

00:34:51:24 - 00:35:07:07
Andy Richardson
And inventor. Yeah. So which we really haven't discussed much. I, by the way, stands for inventor Club of Inventor Club of Buford, which really just means we, we meet at the local chick fil A and and talk about, you know.

00:35:07:09 - 00:35:10:22
Esther Richardson
Sports, some football.

00:35:10:24 - 00:35:11:13
Andy Richardson
Things we probably.

00:35:11:13 - 00:35:33:29
Esther Richardson
Should ideas. Well, it's Andy and three other engineers. Yeah, it's you and 300 other engineers which mind blown when y'all get together. It's funny, y'all are funny. You got different personalities, right? But you do have some fun ideas, some that are ridiculous and and some that actually probably could be million dollar ideas if anybody would ever take them through the process of getting patents.

00:35:34:01 - 00:36:02:27
Esther Richardson
Right. But okay, so entrepreneurship, as far as being a business owner, would you like me to talk about that? Yeah. Yeah, sure. So please. That has been it's bittersweet. It's bittersweet because there are many rewards to it and many challenges you don't. Again, it goes alongside with the piece I said earlier about engineering. It doesn't ever shut off.

00:36:02:29 - 00:36:33:20
Esther Richardson
You always are working. There's always some fire to be put out, so to speak. There's always, you know, you're thinking about your the people who work for you. You're thinking about your clients, you're thinking about future projects. You're thinking about marketing, okay? Time, timelines, deadlines and dealing with that. I know, is all encompassing for you. It's it's what you do.

00:36:33:20 - 00:37:04:11
Esther Richardson
It's, it takes a lot of life and energy to to deal with all that. So as your wife, again, I try to come alongside and do whatever it is that needs to be done to meet those needs that you have. And as far as the business goes, I only add just a small piece to it, which is I deal with your mail and I deal with, depositing checks.

00:37:04:13 - 00:37:05:04
Esther Richardson
Right.

00:37:05:06 - 00:37:07:06
Andy Richardson
Which is an important.

00:37:07:08 - 00:37:11:01
Esther Richardson
Which is just a little bit important. Yeah. But,

00:37:11:03 - 00:37:14:13
Andy Richardson
Because I'm not good with those. Right, right. Like, I.

00:37:14:15 - 00:37:18:28
Esther Richardson
Know you are not good with those type of things.

00:37:19:01 - 00:37:46:22
Andy Richardson
So I need I really do need help with that. So we're in a remote environment with our with our office 26 and with our business. So, many of the employees and the team we have are offsite there. So the, the Buford is the main studio and really, Esther comes in, she helps with the deposit, she helps with the mail and she post that information for us.

00:37:46:22 - 00:38:04:04
Andy Richardson
But I've, been known to throw away important checks and mails and. But don't ask me why. I guess I was thinking about some other job or something, so, Yeah, I'm. I'm thankful that you help out with that and and keep a straight.

00:38:04:06 - 00:38:05:09
Esther Richardson
Yeah.

00:38:05:11 - 00:38:23:16
Andy Richardson
So you're, you're a part of the 26 team and a lot of people that don't know that, you know, even at our own team. So, just because we do have a remote company, some people don't realize just because it's behind the scenes that they don't know. Okay. Esther helps with that.

00:38:23:19 - 00:38:34:28
Esther Richardson
Well, being at home, I've been able to have that opportunity. If I was working outside of the home full time teaching school. Yeah, it would be difficult to do those things, right?

00:38:34:29 - 00:38:42:21
Andy Richardson
Right. So, thank you for keeping our checks deposited. And if you have checks, please send them to us and she'll get them deposited.

00:38:42:24 - 00:38:43:26
Esther Richardson
So.

00:38:43:29 - 00:38:56:05
Andy Richardson
All right. Well, let's take a second and just, So, Madeline, you're kind of listening in, but so far, was there anything you wanted to add to the conversation today? I mean.

00:38:56:08 - 00:39:04:17
Madeline Richardson
I mean, not really. This has been fun. Okay. This might have taken first.  Oh, wow. My favorite. Yes.

00:39:04:21 - 00:39:05:15
Andy Richardson
Okay. Awesome.

00:39:05:15 - 00:39:07:04
Esther Richardson
Because you're hearing stories.

00:39:07:06 - 00:39:12:06
Madeline Richardson
This is hilarious. Yeah, yeah. Just reading manuals in the bathtub. Yeah.

00:39:12:08 - 00:39:14:10
Andy Richardson
That's a good one.

00:39:15:10 - 00:39:17:21
Madeline Richardson
I have not heard it.

00:39:17:23 - 00:39:45:00
Andy Richardson
So, let's jump over to speaking of. Well, speaking of your role in the company, I guess, and your knowledge of, like, clients and and engineers we work with because we're structural engineers, we work with mechanicals, we work with electricals, you know, etc., civils as well. But, you know, obviously architects and contractors. But what is your favorite client or person that we work with, or.

00:39:45:03 - 00:39:46:18
Esther Richardson
Am I naming a specific person.

00:39:46:18 - 00:39:47:18
Andy Richardson
Or how do you want to do it?

00:39:47:23 - 00:39:48:08
Esther Richardson
I, I.

00:39:48:08 - 00:39:48:22
Andy Richardson
Mean, this.

00:39:48:22 - 00:39:51:04
Esther Richardson
Is talking about why what makes somebody.

00:39:51:06 - 00:39:52:27
Andy Richardson
Yeah. What's your favorite client? I mean.

00:39:53:00 - 00:40:25:23
Esther Richardson
Well, so in my observation over the years and you've been on your own now since I think it was 2009. Right. Maddie was one one. Yeah. So the I've watched clients when you went on in your own, you know, you had people who wanted to work with you when you were on your own. They worked with you before when you were in another company, and then they chased you down to work with you when you were by yourself.

00:40:25:25 - 00:40:44:11
Esther Richardson
So to me, that says a lot about both you, but also, the clients, the architects who wanted to stay with your services. So I would say, we've been you've been working with Joel Newman for how many years now?

00:40:44:13 - 00:40:46:23
Andy Richardson
Probably 20, at least 20 years.

00:40:46:23 - 00:41:21:17
Esther Richardson
Okay. So the thing that I love about Joel is he has quality work is top notch in my book, but bills being paid, I know that's probably silly to even bring up, but it's a big deal. Yeah, we have people who don't pay on time or they sit on things and you're very attentive to your clients and their needs, and it's nice when we have clients who are also attentive to our requests, which is paying your bills.

00:41:21:20 - 00:41:26:22
Esther Richardson
Yeah. And making changes or whatever it is that you've requested that they do. Yeah.

00:41:26:25 - 00:41:39:14
Andy Richardson
So yeah, we I think that's a fair point. I mean, we work hard. We work very hard. And what we do. Yeah. And we provide excellence and we would like to earn a profit and we would like to get our paid.

00:41:39:21 - 00:41:40:15
Esther Richardson
Yeah.

00:41:40:18 - 00:41:43:29
Andy Richardson
Efficiently. Yeah. It just as efficiently as we design the building.

00:41:43:29 - 00:41:46:02
Esther Richardson
So and that's Thomas and Danziger.

00:41:46:02 - 00:42:08:02
Andy Richardson
Yeah. And so he was on and so yeah speaks very highly of him. And we have some other clients that pay very well as well also. And we're happy with a lot of our clients. So we want more of those. So please, if you pay your bills quickly okay. Give me a call. All right. So, what about interesting projects.

00:42:08:02 - 00:42:21:25
Andy Richardson
And was there any projects you're like, hey, that was kind of cool. It doesn't have to be a huge job. It could be a small job, or it could be a big job, or it could just be like, I thought that was a neat job, because you've probably been aware of some of the projects we worked on right over the.

00:42:21:25 - 00:42:27:11
Esther Richardson
Years, you know, so I have a few, actually. I don't know that I ever tell you these.

00:42:27:11 - 00:42:35:03
Andy Richardson
So yeah. Well, this is like what we're learning about today. Okay. So it could be a shocker.

00:42:35:06 - 00:42:49:09
Esther Richardson
Could be a shocker. Well I have a few actually. Okay. I have a couple. I'll say a couple. Well, I would say the one that I speak of probably the most or I have spoken of the most in years past is carbon.

00:42:49:11 - 00:42:50:03
Andy Richardson
Yeah.

00:42:50:06 - 00:43:13:29
Esther Richardson
And I think that's because for some, for a couple reasons. Number one, when you went out on your own and things were tight money wise and project wise, I felt like that, that project, I felt like God provided that project for you and that that maintained our family for I think it was a year and a half is that correct?

00:43:13:29 - 00:43:17:02
Andy Richardson
Yeah, it was a while, like we worked on that project. Yeah.

00:43:17:05 - 00:43:22:10
Esther Richardson
And that was one where that engineer followed you.

00:43:22:13 - 00:43:23:07
Andy Richardson
The architect.

00:43:23:12 - 00:43:42:20
Esther Richardson
Or. Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry. Architect. He sought you out. He was somebody that you knew from when you worked with other companies previously. And he he he sought you out so that he could get you to work on this project with him. And so that will always be very special to me. That meant a lot. Yeah.

00:43:42:22 - 00:43:53:26
Esther Richardson
But not not only because it provided work for that year or so. The house itself is beautiful. It's in a beautiful location. It was something that's noteworthy for sure.

00:43:54:02 - 00:43:54:26
Andy Richardson
Yeah.

00:43:54:29 - 00:43:59:20
Esther Richardson
And I was very proud of the work you did on that. It was neat when we got to go and do a walkthrough.

00:43:59:23 - 00:44:00:04
Andy Richardson
Right.

00:44:00:12 - 00:44:28:04
Esther Richardson
Of that house, and I say house, but it's like a small mansion. Yeah, I mean, it's ginormous. So there's all there's that one. And then some of the hotels you've done, I don't know, I just think because they're huge buildings, I, I'm just impressed by that. Yeah. Okay. So, I would say those are some of the big ones that stick out my mind.

00:44:28:07 - 00:44:55:14
Esther Richardson
Now from earlier in your career, when you work your first company. We don't talk about these very often. Okay. But I remember you saying, oh, yeah, I had to design wastewater treatment plants. I don't even know where that was. But those I always remember those. Right? Those are the formative years of our marriage. Yeah. To do that. And then we talk about the motel up and, the.

00:44:55:14 - 00:44:58:08
Esther Richardson
Nope. No, the no tell motel. Yeah, that's.

00:44:58:10 - 00:45:00:28
Andy Richardson
That was what they refer to it as when.

00:45:01:00 - 00:45:07:14
Esther Richardson
I don't know anything about that motel. But it was just funny. And I know that was one of your earlier projects. Yeah, it's. I'll never forget that.

00:45:07:17 - 00:45:26:24
Andy Richardson
So a lot of people don't. Maybe the listeners don't know this about me, or it's because it was so early in my career, but the first company I work for was called Nevins Engineering. It was here in Buford. I put a few resumes out, because I came to your hometown and I put a few resumes out here, like, just to see what would happen.

00:45:27:01 - 00:45:48:15
Andy Richardson
And I got a couple offers, and I said it would be cool to work at a small company. You know, it was only two other engineers there. It was a design build company. So they they did construction and engineering. So that was interesting. And so they did some steel work. And we would do like actual design for the steel fabricators.

00:45:48:18 - 00:46:15:02
Andy Richardson
And also, you know, the contractors aspect. In fact, one weekend I worked on the fabrication team to get a job out like that was. So that gave me a lot of good experience. But in addition, this was an old school civil engineering company. And what I mean by that is back in that era, people worked. When you did civil engineering, you you did all the subdisciplines.

00:46:15:02 - 00:46:42:11
Andy Richardson
You were, you know, maybe not geotechnical as much, but you did structures, you did wastewater, you did sites. If it was engineering, you did it like that. That's the type of mentality a lot of the especially in the smaller towns, like we're in, that was the mentality. And so that's what I did. If we had somebody that needed, like wastewater, like treatment system or, you know, sewer system for a town, we did that.

00:46:42:11 - 00:47:06:27
Andy Richardson
If you needed a water water tower, we did that. And so it was a really good experience for me to do all of that. But what was interesting was one of the very first projects I did was actually, like a it was like an RV park. And they wanted to they, they wanted to build like septic systems for all these RV like people like the RVs to pull in.

00:47:06:27 - 00:47:31:27
Andy Richardson
And they could have a septic tank. So, you know, you go to school, you have these dreams to enhance the world around you, right? Building bridges and like, oh yeah, I'm is this answer really? I'm going to design some skyscrapers. And then the first job you get, I guess what you do is septic tank sewage. So that's but you know, as I got my experience, I learned like okay, I like the structural I like to do that.

00:47:31:27 - 00:47:52:15
Andy Richardson
And that's when the next job I got, I moved more into that and so forth and so on. But that being said, It's not really kind of a bunny trail. Obviously, I'm talking about my career, but, so those are some of the interesting projects.

00:47:52:17 - 00:48:13:18
Esther Richardson
And one we can't forget. The one thing that you do, which is pretty funny with the kids. Yeah, is, hey, kids, you see that big movie theater over there? You'll see. You see that big? Well, I didn't design that, but I did that sense right outside of it. Or the whale tale. We can't forget about the whale tail.

00:48:13:19 - 00:48:28:18
Esther Richardson
Yeah. So even though those are like, little small. Well, that's jobs. They're fun. And I think I'll, you know, I'll remember those on all my days because, well, we talk about it so much, but it's the big and the small.

00:48:28:19 - 00:48:33:23
Andy Richardson
Well, you know, they they needed a fence, right? Yeah. At that movie theater, they needed a retaining wall.

00:48:33:23 - 00:48:35:20
Esther Richardson
So you actually designed that fence?

00:48:35:26 - 00:48:40:17
Andy Richardson
Well, it was a. Yeah. We really did. So there's a movie theater. I thought that.

00:48:40:17 - 00:48:41:08
Esther Richardson
Was a joke.

00:48:41:08 - 00:49:00:24
Andy Richardson
No, it's it's real. Real? Yeah. So at this movie theater, it is nearby and they, we are always like, hey, kids, see the movie theater right there and then point to the retaining wall next to it. But the other one is the whale tail going out toward Lemon Island, and it's, the Lemon Island Marina. And it's actually a really cool it's on our website.

00:49:00:26 - 00:49:23:11
Andy Richardson
Check it out. But it's like a it's a whale tale. Now, we didn't design the whale tail. We designed the foundation for the whale tail. So it's not even the whale tail. It's just a foundation for the world too. But it was. And that was a pro bono job, though, actually. So we didn't charge for that to help support what I think is a great, you know, place for education.

00:49:23:11 - 00:49:48:18
Andy Richardson
Yeah. And we've been there with trail life to see like the. Yeah, the maritime center and do the walk the trail and the kids were able to learn about, you know, the nature aspects of things and turtles and such. So, all right, well, let's, let's kind of bring this in for a landing, but we do want to hit on Valentine's Day because it's right around Valentine's Day.

00:49:48:20 - 00:50:01:07
Andy Richardson
And so many things we got left to talk about. But we do need to bring this in for a landing. So let's just hit on the Bamf trip. 25 years, we've had 25 years together and almost 26.

00:50:01:07 - 00:50:01:27
Esther Richardson
You know.

00:50:01:29 - 00:50:16:26
Andy Richardson
By the time this is released, it'll be very close. The 13th of February, which is the day before Valentine's Day. But what what was good? The best part about going to Banff, Canada for our 25th anniversary?

00:50:16:28 - 00:50:27:19
Esther Richardson
There's so many that really, that was the trip of a lifetime. There's so many wonderful things. So we're getting off of the engineering track now. We're just talking about the trip.

00:50:27:23 - 00:50:31:01
Andy Richardson
This just fun. So fun. Valentine's Day, Banff, etc..

00:50:31:02 - 00:51:02:25
Esther Richardson
So I would say I was impressed by so many things about that trip, but I think the biggest thing was that you was a total surprise that you planned it. And you, the planning and the forethought that you had for our anniversary back in February was very impressive. You've not done anything like that before because we had two trips, basically the Saint Augustine trip you planned and I didn't know where we were going.

00:51:02:28 - 00:51:31:05
Esther Richardson
Then the gift you gave me the diamond and then the other gift, which was the trip to Banff, which we don't live large like that. Usually we're pretty frugal. And so I think that was probably the most impressive aspect. Was that you? It was everything was planned by you and it was this huge surprise. But I would say if you ever had the opportunity to go to bounce, I would recommend to anyone go see the Canadian Rockies.

00:51:31:05 - 00:52:02:04
Esther Richardson
It is probably absolutely the most beautiful place I've ever seen. Just how majestic the Canadian Rockies are. Snow capped mountains that are go for miles and miles. So I loved hiking in the snow. I loved hiking Johnston Canyon and Lake Louise and the dog sledding. All that was just amazing. We were in nature. And do you remember how quiet it was?

00:52:02:06 - 00:52:10:09
Esther Richardson
Yes, the snow it was. It was a kind of quiet. I we just, I don't experience very often.

00:52:10:09 - 00:52:11:25
Andy Richardson
A little quieter than our house.

00:52:11:25 - 00:52:36:28
Esther Richardson
Right. The luck house. Yeah. Well, I don't it was something about being out in nature, but it was different than what we experienced here in the low country. Yeah. Here you got, you know, the marsh and the water and everything. But there was very much I mean, it was cold. So cold to the bone. And then just the beauty around and the quiet from the snow.

00:52:37:00 - 00:52:39:19
Esther Richardson
So I would say that I don't know if that really.

00:52:39:21 - 00:52:40:01
Andy Richardson
Yeah.

00:52:40:06 - 00:52:43:03
Esther Richardson
It's not one thing, but multiple things.

00:52:43:06 - 00:52:48:02
Andy Richardson
And I did have a little help with the planning from. Yes. One of my team members helped out, so.

00:52:48:02 - 00:52:49:26
Esther Richardson
She did a great.

00:52:49:28 - 00:53:02:15
Andy Richardson
So thanks, Jen. So Valentine's Day is coming up, so some spouses maybe need some support engineers, contractors, architects that are busy.

00:53:02:17 - 00:53:03:05
Esther Richardson
Correct.

00:53:03:05 - 00:53:31:02
Andy Richardson
And they need to get their their spouse, their wives a gift. So it's a it's a heavy, world. It's not all guys though, but what are some tips for guys in the AC industry to get their wives, but also maybe spouses if you're if you're a lady. So what are some tips? I mean, any last minute gifts idea for Valentine's Day or suggestions?

00:53:31:05 - 00:53:33:22
Esther Richardson
I'm not always the best one to ask because I'm kind of practical.

00:53:33:22 - 00:53:37:24
Andy Richardson
Or I might be I might be thinking about yourself.

00:53:37:26 - 00:53:48:26
Esther Richardson
Okay, well, I've already said, like, we're turning 50 this year. Well, I'm turning 50 this year. You're turning 50 next year. We need to start, you know, putting aside money again for more trips. That was that was. So you.

00:53:48:26 - 00:53:49:15
Andy Richardson
Like the trips.

00:53:49:15 - 00:53:54:11
Esther Richardson
I love that. So that was life altering to me. There you go.

00:53:54:14 - 00:53:55:27
Andy Richardson
Take take them on a trip.

00:53:55:28 - 00:53:59:28
Esther Richardson
And diamonds never hurt. Diamonds are,

00:54:00:00 - 00:54:01:23
Andy Richardson
All right. Awesome. So very.

00:54:01:23 - 00:54:02:22
Esther Richardson
Expensive items.

00:54:02:22 - 00:54:14:15
Andy Richardson
But, Madeline, do you have any any, thoughts? Questions, comments today? I mean, just general, like, we talk about a lot of different aspects, but what do you want to add to the show today?

00:54:14:18 - 00:54:22:20
Madeline Richardson
I mean, I don't really have very much to add. This is a good show, I think. Yeah, I'm entertained by our stories. I am very much so entertained.

00:54:22:23 - 00:54:32:13
Andy Richardson
All right. We're going to do, we're going to do some final thoughts here. And close this out. Did you have any other final thoughts? Esther?

00:54:32:15 - 00:54:34:06
Esther Richardson
Let's see, you wanted to share.

00:54:34:06 - 00:54:37:15
Andy Richardson
I mean, this is your time to, shine, but you can always come back.

00:54:37:15 - 00:54:38:21
Esther Richardson
No pressure, no pressure.

00:54:38:23 - 00:54:42:04
Andy Richardson
Do you want to ever come back and do this again?

00:54:42:07 - 00:54:58:23
Esther Richardson
I do, I'm okay with it. I think I've never done this before. Just very nervous thinking about it. I. Don't like I, I know there were a few times I said, which is a big deal. I'm speaking person so.

00:54:58:25 - 00:55:00:15
Andy Richardson
We can get a lot of,

00:55:00:17 - 00:55:13:00
Esther Richardson
Room to do that. I just, I like to think out things like, well, thought out answers and conversation. And so to me, this was intimidating.

00:55:13:03 - 00:55:14:25
Andy Richardson
Yeah, I in my job.

00:55:14:29 - 00:55:49:24
Esther Richardson
But I would I would do it again. Madeline adds a lot of fun because she's got some bouncy laughter going on, which makes life a lot of fun for us. Well, we think that all the time about you, so. I would just say, I guess in just just so that, you know, and it's on record and for my own peace of mind, it's important to me that you know how special I think that you are and your calling.

00:55:49:24 - 00:56:09:06
Esther Richardson
I know that God has designed you to be an engineer. Like there's never been a doubt in my mind, even on the years when it was hard and you hated what you did or it was. It was. I don't even know. I think that some days you just made yourself get up and go do the next thing, take the next step.

00:56:09:08 - 00:56:29:29
Esther Richardson
You know, you went for your run and then you know you're quiet. Time and then you got on it with your engineering. And I have, as a wife observed this. I know that's what you do from day to day, and you grind it out. You are the hardest working person I know in my life and it is so admire.

00:56:30:00 - 00:56:35:27
Esther Richardson
I admire so much. It is.

00:56:35:29 - 00:56:59:03
Esther Richardson
It's something that I don't know that I could ever attain. I mean just your level of intensity for what you do and it I don't know, I'm just I've always been super impressed with that. I don't verbalize that all the time, but it is. It means the world to me. It has given me a life that is better than anything I ever dreamed of.

00:56:59:03 - 00:57:28:21
Esther Richardson
I mean, we live in a beautiful place. We have a large family. You put bread on the table by the grace of God. And I know that it's because you're committed to the Lord and you're committed to our family, and you're committed to engineering, and you do enhance the world. Whether you feel it or not, you are an amazing husband and an amazing engineer and you should be very proud of yourself.

00:57:28:23 - 00:57:35:05
Esther Richardson
I don't know that you are, I don't you don't ever I don't know that you talk about that, but you are incredible.

00:57:35:08 - 00:57:36:13
Andy Richardson
Well thank you.

00:57:36:16 - 00:57:42:04
Esther Richardson
I do love you for that. I love you for a lot of reasons, but I'm just that.

00:57:42:07 - 00:58:00:04
Andy Richardson
Thank you. And, it's been a joy to live my life with you. And thank you for just being a great wife and support. And I would say you're one of the hardest working women I know, and people I know as well. So. So I guess we make a great team.

00:58:00:06 - 00:58:00:18
Esther Richardson
We do.

00:58:00:24 - 00:58:06:20
Andy Richardson
Yeah. So. You know, some days are, you know.

00:58:06:26 - 00:58:07:09
Esther Richardson
Easier.

00:58:07:09 - 00:58:13:01
Andy Richardson
Than ups and downs, right? Just like that mountain right there. And it's like ups and downs. So, but.

00:58:13:02 - 00:58:14:10
Esther Richardson
That's my Canadian Rockies.

00:58:14:10 - 00:58:29:02
Andy Richardson
Yeah. I mean, it's it wasn't even a plan that way. But like, I saw that mountain in Banff, which is I mean, I saw that mountain band and that wasn't even planned like I saw it. So I mean, figuratively.

00:58:29:06 - 00:58:30:16
Esther Richardson
Yes. Yes, there were a lot of.

00:58:30:16 - 00:58:35:19
Andy Richardson
Mountains, so. All right. Well, it's been a great episode. We're going to go and close this out.

00:58:35:19 - 00:58:40:16
Andy Richardson
All right well thanks for being on the show today. And Madeline thanks for producing.

00:58:40:18 - 00:58:43:11
Esther Richardson
Yeah I'll be producing I did this episode.

00:58:43:14 - 00:58:46:21
Andy Richardson
I so take care. Love you. See you at home.

00:58:46:21 - 00:58:50:26
Madeline Richardson
Hey everybody, thanks for listening to today's episode of enhance.

00:58:50:28 - 00:58:55:13
Madeline Richardson
And please me like a subscribe or follow and we'll see you next time.