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Erin and Cinnamon are taking a beat to catch their breath after a wild ride through 2024. Five weeks of non-stop travel, trainings, and conferences? Yeah, they’re officially ready to park their suitcases, hang out with their families, and enjoy the holidays without living out of a suitcase.
But don’t panic—they’re not disappearing completely! While there won’t be new episodes until the first Wednesday of 2025, they’ll still be working behind the scenes, recording fresh content, and connecting with clients. Pumpkin pie might also make a guest appearance because, well, multitasking.
This episode is a big love letter to you—our amazing listeners. Erin and Cinnamon reflect on all the incredible people they’ve met this year, the ripple effects of their work, and the trust you’ve placed in them to share your stories. They even get real about the tough stuff, like the ongoing fight against suicide in the first responder world. Spoiler alert: the work everyone is doing is making a difference, even if it doesn’t always feel like it.
Oh, and did you know this podcast has gone global? Erin and Cinnamon share how After the Tones Drop has grown beyond the U.S., with listeners tuning in from Canada, Australia, Singapore, and the UK. And for 2025, they’ve got some exciting guests lined up from all over the world. The year ahead is already shaping up to be incredible!
As they sign off for the holidays, Erin and Cinnamon remind us to slow down, appreciate the small moments, and remember that gratitude and connection matter now more than ever. If you’re looking for a last-minute holiday gift, maybe grab an After the Tones Drop hoodie or sticker—because who doesn’t love a little podcast swag?
Thank you for being here, for laughing and crying with us, and for making this journey so special. Have the happiest of holidays, and we’ll see you in 2025 with more stories, more laughs, and a whole lot of heart. Love you all! 🎄🎉
DISCLAIMER:
After the Tones Drop has been presented and sponsored by Whole House Counseling. After the Tones Drop is for informational purposes only and does not constitute for medical or psychological advice. It is not a substitute for professional health care advice diagnosis or treatment. Please contact a local mental health professional in your area if you are in need of assistance. You can also visit our shows resources page for an abundance of helpful information.
ATTD Music Credits (Music from #Uppbeat):
EP86: Holiday Pause
Erin: Well, we have just officially wrapped up five consecutive weeks of trainings and travel and conferences, and it has been a Abundant and crazy whirlwind of activity.
are the first world luxury problems, right? Where there's so much going on and so many opportunities that we get to talk to folks about, mental health and the first responder world and. It's going to be real nice to stay at home for a little while and not have to pack a suitcase or trick Ben into thinking that I'm not actually leaving. Right. He can't handle it. Poor dog.
Cinnamon: I know, his separation anxiety is so bad.he just needs some meds and some meditation,Right?
Erin: but yeah, just thinking about. our Thanksgiving episode that we released [00:01:00] last year, which was called Fowl Play and Gratitude Grit, pun, totally intended.
Cinnamon: you got your jokes. You got your jokes. it was a good one. It was a good one.
Erin: I don't know, if anybody appreciated it as much as us, but things have changed rapidly in the past year and it's wild.
Cinnamon: Yeah, I don't know how many times one of us has said to the other, it's happening. It's happening. And, I think this year is what it looks like to have happened, but you're just hanging on to that safety bar at the front of the ride. Trying to figure out how to get through that whirlwind.
I don't know. That wasn't very articulate, but we had a lot of, gifts in the form of opportunities that, I don't even think, we would We could have come up with as far as what would it look like. And we've met so many incredible people.
I know who are just like in our, quick contacts and our phones who we talk [00:02:00] to almost daily. It's been very special. But as a result of all of the whirlwind and everything else we have backed ourselves into a corner of exhaustion Shocker, shocker,
Erin: and it happens. Never. So, rather than plowing through, like we typically do so often, we are taking the opportunity to give ourselves a holiday break this year, several things are taking place. Number one, we will not be traveling for work. We will just be hunkering down close to home, enjoying the holidays spending time with family and the kiddos and all that stuff. And number two, we are going to take a Episode release break for the holidays. So from Thanksgiving, so basically that's tomorrow until the new year.
So that first Wednesday of the new year, we will hit the ground running with a bunch of [00:03:00] new content that will be one thing we will be doing though is continuing to record. We won't be just sitting there eating pumpkin pie, although pumpkin pie might be included.
Cinnamon: I mean, I was going to say that's where multitasking comes in. So yes, record and. Pumpkin pie ing. Well, and we're also going to have, our regular sessions. for those of you that are listening, that work with us, don't panic, like we're not canceling our entire schedule. we just get to focus on that because when all is said and done that one on one individual work, watching people transform their lives, like, that's That's the money shot right there. And we get to do that. Um, oh my god. I just said money shot, didn't I? Laughter I was Yeah, I was thinking like photography, like ah boom that's the one. Okay. Maybe [00:04:00] just cut
Erin: I don't know,
Cinnamon: Oh, okay. So yeah, it's just when it comes down to it, like all of this that we're doing. has been about impacting people's lives.
And on episodes like this, we get to do, on a bigger scale. And then, in those hours in session, we get to do it in a more intimate way with one individual at a time. And each of those individuals has such a ripple effect. So it's not really just one individual at a time.
Erin: Yeah, so I think today really what we want to do is take a couple minutes and just tell you how much we appreciate you. How beautiful it has been to see, Folks reach out the difference that the show has been making, the way that they're using it as a, point of contribution to help others, because, you know, at the end of the day, that's really what Thanksgiving is all about [00:05:00] is gratitude and being thankful.
And we 100 percent would not be where we are today without all of you listening and supporting and laughing with us and crying with us and,the connections that some of you have made with some of our guests and, making those different impacts in your life. It's pretty spectacular.
Cinnamon: I was thinking about what the last five weeks has looked like in terms of, our travel and, going to Beaver Creek and meeting people that were coming from all over the country that we hadn't met yet. And hopefully in 2025, some of those stories we'll bring here on ATTD.
but then, we traveled to, private departments and typically get to spend three days, getting to know. Those folks and sharing something with them the idea that we get to meet all these [00:06:00] really cool people. that, I think, to be grateful for people allowing us to come into their lives and To be grateful for their trust and their respect that they want to hear, what we have to say and believe that we have something to share.
No, that, that comes down to our listeners, like people talking about us. Cause we could be, up in our little corner talking all day about who knows what, but if you all weren't out there going, Hey, have you, heard of Cinnamon and Erin. Hey, have you listened to this podcast? we wouldn't have these opportunities.
And I think it goes back to, I, man, we've said this a few times in a few episodes, but when people ask, how did you start working with first responders? The answer is yeah, we didn't choose them. we don't get to choose. We have to be chosen. And for you all to, let us into your, very private circle there's never a year that [00:07:00] isn't probably our biggest point of gratitude is that you allow us. To come in, into your world.
Erin: Absolutely. into your world and quite literally all over the world. since we started this process May of 23, which feels like it's been longer, but May of 23, when we kicked off our first episode.
Cinnamon: 1923. May 1923. That's how long it feels like it's been going. It's only been going.
Erin: Ha ha ha! Right,
Cinnamon: I look, I'm like looking at you, I'm like, she's not getting what I'm saying. You're like, oh, Cinnamon's messing up the math. And I'm like, no honey, I'm
Erin: You mean nineteen hundred and twenty three, right? But obviously our listeners in the United States have been incredible but Canada, Australia, Singapore, and the UK, are up there with our top listening areas in the world. we are [00:08:00] expanding out, To every continent and it's just pretty wild that it doesn't matter where you are in the world the Importance of this education and this understanding and having your story be told through somebody else's voice and experience How that can quite literally translate across the globe.
So please keep supporting each other and loving each other and being kind and understand that there is a whole new year right around the corner and all that means is that we only have today. We can choose to, create goals and change our perspective and be giving and thoughtful and generous at any day, not just when the new year turns and we have resolutions to complete.
And I do know that the 18th and the 19th of January, we will be speaking at the Jackson Fire Expo. Is it Jackson County?
Cinnamon: We will be in Massillon, Ohio, at the [00:09:00] Jackson Township Fire Expo, that is being hosted by the Jackson Township Fire Department.
Erin: Thank you.
Cinnamon: And we are speaking on the 18th and we will be hanging out on the 19th.
Erin: Yep. So if you have an opportunity to come to that event, will be great to see you. This is the first year from what I understand that they're also bringing mental health, professionals to the table to share their wealth of knowledge, Including Dr. Griffin, who is part of the Charleston Nine, to come and share his story and really be in support.
Cinnamon: I think when we look at things from an operational standpoint, of course we see the benefit of talking about the Charleston 9 event in that it was, a structure fire. It was fast moving.
Lives were lost and there was a re examination of the approach, but at the same time, you've got. 9 firefighters that lost [00:10:00] their lives, 9 best friends, 9 spouses and kids or families or moms or dads or cousins or coworkers beyond that fire department, I mean, the reach of that is just profound and.
I think it would be fair to say that ripple effect is still happening today in the Charleston area for sure. So, I've read the report, I've listened to podcasts about the Charleston Nine, I've heard Travis Howes speak briefly on it in his larger talk, and so this is actually the first time that we're going to have the opportunity to hear somebody on the mental health side talk about.
What they saw and what they learned from that, which I think is so important because Ideally, that will never happen again, there will never be an, a fire in which nine firefighters [00:11:00] lose their lives, but there's something to learn in all of that for even the loss of one, which unfortunately is not as rare as we would like it to be.
Yeah. Absolutely. so in the meantime, while we are taking this time off, you can still reach out. The hotline is still going to be on and rockin If you have questions or want to share anything with us before the end of the year, we would love to hear what you have to say, call and leave a message,I'd love to hear from the folks, either Australia, the UK, Singapore, or Canada, not that, we have not at all heard from those places, but I'm definitely curious. I'm like, who's the person in Singapore downloading? Who is that one person?
And maybe it is more than one. And if it's you or your buddies, please reach out. We'd love to, to hear, what you're taking away from all of [00:12:00] this.
Erin: Yeah. And in 2025, we will have our first guest from Canada and our first guest from the UK. yay. So we're working on that. you know, everybody is rowing in the same direction and, and I, I want to say one thing because I feel like this is important to say, and I was talking to Kenny Mitchell about this yesterday. Something I'm noticing. What I've been seeing is that a lot of people are sharing that people are still choosing to take their lives and then they follow that with, we have to do more.
We have to do more. There's got, we got to do more. And I gotta be honest. I caught myself saying, what the fuck? Like what? else could we possibly be doing at this point? Because there is a shit ton of people moving mountains,maxing their schedules out, bringing the resources, talking about it, advocating, putting it in front of it, getting vulnerable, sharing their story.
And so here's what I want to [00:13:00] say. give yourself credit where credit's due because in my experience, outside of what we're doing, there is not a whole lot more we can be doing, from like babysitting people. And people are going to make that choice for themselves, but that doesn't mean that we're not doing it.
That doesn't mean that this isn't working. That doesn't mean that this isn't creating massive impacts and a huge ripple. So I really felt like that was something that needed to be said today, was do not get down on yourself. Just do the thing. I don't know. It's just kind of troubling to me
Cinnamon: I, I hear what you're saying. And I think, I think in that the we is tricky, right? because the, we includes the person reading it and the person saying it. And usually those two groups of people are the ones who are so [00:14:00] personally inspired to push themselves to the limit. Like the idea that we do more like, I'm sorry, I don't, I don't, I don't I don't have any more, availability in my schedule to do anything else, and I do think that what we're doing has a profound impact.
We hear that all the time, whether we want to accept the credit for that. It's people say, You know, you saved my life. And do I think that's an accurate statement? No, that's a whole nother conversation. But what I think is so shitty about all of this is that there will always be more to do. That doesn't mean the same people are doing more.
It just means that we stay consistent and we get more people on the bandwagon. And, here's the really unfortunate part about this is that nobody seems to care until they care [00:15:00] because it's affected them personally. And that's when people get on board. So that's why I always say, if you've got a story to tell by God, tell it, because if you're waiting on the guy who has, the perfect life and the perfect career, which we know that's not true, but that's not. ever had a hard time for him to all of a sudden become the biggest advocate for mental health. Like that's just not going to happen because that's how we are as humans. It's got to be the people who have been affected. And so maybe it's we need to make sure we aren't doing less. Right. Like,
Erin: I love that.
Cinnamon: make sure that what you're putting out there, you're doing it with your whole heart and you're doing it with the love and empathy and compassion that each person needs.
Erin and I got to sit down, to dinner with our friend Jake the other day, and we were talking about, our personal experience with suicide and that whole blame game. and Jake just looked at me and he was like, because you're [00:16:00] not God
Erin: Mm hmm.
Cinnamon: you know, it seems like such a simple statement, but that's the balance here, Is that we can do every single thing and we can say suicide is preventable. And we also have to recognize that it is preventable by the person who's choosing or not choosing to take their own life.
Erin: Right.
Cinnamon: And that was the biggest lesson for me in the last 12 months. And let me tell you as a shitty fucking lesson, and I wish it wasn't true.
It's a hard reality when you're doing. All the things that you can think of to do, going that extra mile constantly only to find out that, all those people that say, thank you, you saved my life are not accurately creating that statement. It may be, I listened to your words and I chose to save my own life, but it's [00:17:00] that humble pie of you can't take credit for If you're not willing to take credit and I can personally say I've not saved one damn person I hope that I've inspired people to stick around and have hope and tell their story but yeah, unfortunately suicidal people are gonna die by suicide and It's not about what we do, per se, it's how we do it and maybe making sure that we're creating an environment where people are willing to listen and know where to go when it gets that bad that they're even having to contemplate, But yeah,I've yet to save anybody's life, but I sure have enjoyed watching the people that I've worked with choose to save their own.
Erin: was really beautiful. And also, thank you for bringing back around. Oh. I know. [00:18:00] Yeah. And I think that that was kind of what I wanted to say was thank you for staying another day. we look forward to kicking off a brand new year in 2025. With so much new opportunity and hope and strength and love.
And we truly want to just wish every single one of you the happiest, happiest of holidays. please do not hesitate to reach out, to check our resources page. If you need anything, that will be something I'm working on is getting that updated. in addition, we have 85 episodes for you listen to.
Cinnamon: And if you know someone or are someone who believes that you have a story to share, a story to tell, a story that will impact those in the first responder world and their families, please reach out to us. We'd love to hear from you. we can't take everybody, but [00:19:00] we sure are open, to hearingwhat folks have to offer.
Erin: Yeah, we definitely are. But happy holidays, everybody. We love you so much. if you feel called to purchase a After the Tones drop, hoodie for your friend for Christmas, that might be, an option, a stocking stuffer sticker, whatever. it's all there. We joke, but anyway, we do wish you all the happiest of holidays.
Cinnamon: And we will see you in 2025.
Erin: See you next year!
Cinnamon: Bye.
