Full Episode Transcript

Ashley Blackington (00:04)

All right, I am here with the lovely and amazing Dr. Dara Storch from Seacoast Mobile PT. And she is joining us today to talk about the and/both of motherhood life and all of the things in between. Welcome Dara.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (00:19)

Yes, all of the things. Thank you so much. I'm so excited.

Ashley Blackington (00:24)

Why don't you start off by telling everybody, because everybody needs to know who you are, what you do, and all of the magical things.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (00:34)

Oh my gosh, well I started my career in magic and no, just kidding. I have two kids that are both in grade school and sports and all of the things and they love the outdoors and they love the dog and they love everything but bedtime. So that's good.

Ashley Blackington (00:57)

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (00:58)

And I own a PC practice and in my practice I go see people in their houses and I get them better and most of my people are like our age and they're too busy to do anything about the fact that they hurt. And so I thought I can help that. And so I do. And that's me in a nutshell. Like we work, we try and get enough sleep, we try and hydrate, but most of the time it's coffee, not water.

Ashley Blackington (01:16)

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (01:28)

Although the water is here. I have my supportive water bottle nearby. It's like a hydration emotional support water bottle. Like a hydration seeing eye dog. It's nearby. They're home together. Yeah so that's me in a nutshell. Just busy. And some days are good and some days are bad and some days I love working for myself and other days I don't. And sometimes in the same day, I both love working for myself and not working for myself. Cause it's busy.

Ashley Blackington (02:05)

Yeah, I hear that. It is, and the thing about working for yourself is that if you don't do it, it will just sit there and wait for you. Like the wet laundry.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (02:15)

it just sits there or it costs, it costs somebody, it costs you so much more money to have somebody else do it, which is irritating. And I think necessary in some aspects of my business and wildly unnecessary in others and like finding the balance of what those things are like is, you know, that's part of the trick and that is also a moving target. Yay.

Ashley Blackington (02:40)

Yeah. And I love the idea that the world is so busy now, and there's so many things jammed in there that the practice that you created fits a market of people that essentially wouldn't be able to do that. They wouldn't be able to go to therapy. They wouldn't be able to do these things. So then you talk about, I mean, we can therapy reminisce in our time together, all the live long day. But how many people, when we worked together in acute rehab, were decades of injuries that they just never got around to and it's always because of, yeah.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (03:24)

Yeah, absolutely just overlooked. Good life, cause life is busy. I mean, you know, the people I get to see are you and me. They have jobs, they have kids, they have dogs, they have hobbies, and they have injuries. And like most of their injuries are middle-aged people injuries, which means you sneezed wrong, you stepped off the step wrong, you rolled over in bed. Just with your neck facing to the left instead of the right. And then that ski injury from 20 years ago flares up or that shovel injury from the winter of 2015 and all of a sudden your shoulder hurts. And so what do you do? Like you stop moving your shoulder. Okay, now your shoulder doesn't hurt. But then like your kid is like, catch me ma'am. And they come flying at you. And all of a sudden you have a bigger injury. And so I get to help people before they get the bigger injury.

Ashley Blackington (04:24)

I like that. It's helpful, you know, and the whole function thing, because we also live in a world where there is no time off, there is no downtime, there is no like, let's just revisit this tomorrow, especially if you're self employed.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (04:39)

Oh my gosh, well, I mean, you can always put it on tomorrow's list. Tomorrow's list just gets bigger.

Ashley Blackington (04:42)

Yeah. that whiteboard you just keep kicking down the road. Well, mine is hanging out here. All of the things, it's the big picture and then I can plan from there. 

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (04:49)

I love my whiteboard.

Ashley Blackington (04:51)

So I want to ask you about your and/both and what that means is what is your and/both.

Ashley Blackington (05:15)

What is the, I hate the word balance, but the word balance I have no other alternative for in my pre-caffeinated level of function. What is the thing for you that you want to do, you wanna focus on, you want to, whatever it is, at the same time as all of these roles and responsibilities that you take on? What is it for you specifically?

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (05:43)

Um, it's the quality time with my kids and the weekends. Like, um, they're in school all day and then they do after school because I work and my husband works and the hours that we get them, I mean, the summer is, is looser. They're in camp, but we do more vacations and camping trips and, you know, the quality time is, is there. Um, but for me, it's just, um, It's just teaching them that it's not all checklists. Because we have such, my husband and I both have such a tendency to live in the checklist. What are the things that have to be done so that we can function and when can we squeeze them in? And I think that's where I have trouble finding balance, is the checklist is done or the quality time is done. But I feel like that it can be smoother.

Ashley Blackington (06:44)

Mm-hmm. Yeah, it's hard. My husband suggested that since I design planners that I just start designing one that has eight days. He's like, just put an eighth day in there. And I'm like, but I'm not sure how that would work. He's like, no, you should just do that because then people will just put everything on that eighth day. I'm like...

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (06:45)

You know?

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (06:57)

Perfect. I'm in.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (07:07)

Yeah. And then, you know, listen, if it doesn't get done, it doesn't get done. So whatevs.

Ashley Blackington (07:12)

Right? Right. And so how tell me about your experience, I guess, in the coming out of, or your kids just started, your youngest just went into kindergarten. So you're, you're ultimately fresh out of the daycare, all of that bubble and how that all influences your day, your life, your routines.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (07:27)

My youngest just started kindergarten, yeah. Yep. So pre-k was farther away. Um, their school now is like, we walk, we're walkers. It's so close. And, um, so we walk to drop off, we walk to pick up, like, they start their day with a walk, they end their day with a walk, which I love, only because I love yelling at my oldest to slow down and then turning around and yelling at my youngest to speed up.

Ashley Blackington (07:52)

That's awesome.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (08:09)

That's... that's quality time that I'm looking for. But it is just like, we took the, so we have a puppy and we took him for a walk the other day and he's like, he loves his boys so much, but he's like bouncing one end of the leash to the other. Gotta catch up with that one, gotta go back with that one, gotta, and I was like, this is not a fruitful training walk at all. but a fun time was had by my children.

Ashley Blackington (08:37)

And I also need to… Well, and you also need to do some of your own shoulder exercises when you get home for yourself. You're like, hey, I guess I know these strategies.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (08:48)

Yeah, exactly. Like, where's my posture? But yeah, so I think the transition from daycare to school for us, like the big one, is one drop off, one pickup, one time. Like in the summer, my husband was doing morning and I was doing afternoon, which when it's 20 minutes away and it takes them 30 minutes to get their backpacks and walk back to the car, your day is cut an hour shorter than it should be. Not than it should be, but then it is in the school year. So now, I think we're gonna see, I mean, we're like, what, a week and a half into school? I think we're gonna see a little opening up of that, of our time back, which is really nice. I mean, I have a lovely husband. He's around here somewhere. We high-five each other on the way to bath and books.

Ashley Blackington (09:47)

Right?

And so that creates that space for the quality time that you're talking about.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (09:56)

I think so. I think that should create some of the space for like both quality time for us. Like we got breakfast this morning, we got breakfast out. Well, I put the order in, he picked it up. But like, we have like chunks of time in the morning and chunks of time in the afternoon. It's, you know, it's how much easier is it to start a load of laundry when nobody's in the house? Exponentially easier.

Ashley Blackington (10:06)

Hahaha

Ashley Blackington (10:20)

Right. When you're not worried someone's gonna like follow you and fall down the stairs behind you.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (10:26)

I mean, not so you're still there. I'm not even there. It's just like, oh, can I help? Yeah, I definitely wanted this to take 45 minutes longer. I would love that you help. It's like, it's like training the dog. Like the investment needs to go into it. I get that. I fully respect that you wanna help cook, you wanna help do laundry. I love all those things. But if you're not helping, I can do it quickly and then we can do Legos. And if you are helping. It's gonna end in tears in 45 minutes when we can't do Legos. You know, again, that balance. Yeah, and also the laundry is not done.

Ashley Blackington (11:00)

And then they're like, how come, how come there's no Legos? You're like, time marches on. Yeah. And also the wet load of laundry that was down from seven o'clock this morning is now still wet. And, and it...

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (11:10)

Mm-hmm. Yeah. Good news. Good to run that again. Would you like to pour the soap? Good.

Ashley Blackington (11:16)

Yeah, and everyone needs a snack now. It's been 45 minutes, we all need a snack.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (11:21)

Mm-hmm. Yep. Everyone have a snack and we'll just move on. Yep. Thank you for helping.

Ashley Blackington (11:26)

Yeah, no, I hear you. It's that like that constant like, I know this is important. I want you to go to school like, I want you to go to college and know how to do laundry. However, today is not the day that I need to teach you how to do laundry.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (11:40)

Yes. Yep. But also, this seems like a skill for tomorrow. Day eight. So that's a day eight skill. Maybe I'm just gonna start referring to everything that I don't want to teach them today as a day eight skill.

Ashley Blackington (11:49)

Mm-hmm. Day eight.

Ashley Blackington (12:00)

I'm kind of thinking this might work. Maybe instead of a to-do list, we'll just make the eighth day. That'll just be your to-do list. Just kick it down the road. Schedule that in. Do you think I can get ahold of Google and be like, hey, could you actually just rework your calendar? I need an eighth day.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (12:09)

There you go. Just to put that, can you put that on day eight for me? Yeah, I'm in, I'm in.

Okay. Hey Google, if you could just put an aid in for me, that'd be great.

Ashley Blackington (12:23)

Ha ha

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (12:26)

Listen, the year is still gonna go the same amount of time. We're just gonna have fewer months. It's fine. February's already short. Just take, listen, don't hate on pumpkin spice. There's no need for that. It's just cinnamon flavored sugar, okay? That's all it is.

Ashley Blackington (12:31)

That's fine. That's less pumpkin spice time that I have to hear about. Pumpkin Spice is black or white, man. It's either. Mm-hmm. And it's all squash anyways. Did you, I read this, read this, saw this somewhere that pumpkin, the pumpkin filling is actually mostly squash.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (12:52)

It is.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (12:59)

Just squash, there you go. Listen, well, if it's growing like my garden, I got all the squashes this year and one pumpkin. One pumpkin, which I'm really looking forward to carving mostly so my kids can fight over who gets to do it.

Ashley Blackington (13:00)

I love it.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (13:16)

Yep, I think that maybe it'll just be a decoration pumpkin. I think that's what it'll be. Oh, there you go. Mm hmm. Yeah. I like that. Yeah.

Ashley Blackington (13:20)

I like that. I get the painted ones from the you can where you can paint them or stick the things in them from Target. Like it's $5 saves an argument. Yeah. 

So when you launched a business in the middle of the pandemic with kids home and you were home and all of that so tell the whole wide world about, yes, in kindergarten, tell the whole wide world about that process, because I know you and I have had many, many a phone call of a WTF variety as we were both launching businesses in pandemics with children, but that whole experience.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (13:37)

Mm-hmm. 2020. In the middle of the pandemic, yeah? Yeah, it felt like a good choice. And kindergarten. 

Many many phone calls.

Yeah, I mean, I feel like, yeah, I didn't know my one part from my other part when it came to running a business. And when I first started, I was like fully focused on getting my logo set. That's all I really thought I needed. Once you had a logo, everyone would know who you are and then you'd be fine. And a lot of people in my life that knew better were like, Dara.

Ashley Blackington (14:32)

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (14:43)

you're not focusing on the right thing. And I was like, what do you know? Business, they knew business, but I didn't know business. So I thought this is a small thing that I can, yeah. Yeah. So the logo was something small that I could manage and I could spend five minutes on here, there, and everywhere where people were constantly pulling my attention. And then I read some books.

Ashley Blackington (14:51)

It's kind of like new baby.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (15:12)

and what books they were. I couldn't tell you to save my life right now, but they were like, how to start a business books and what to do with your money books. And then things started to fall in line. And then I got some support from a business coach. And for whatever reason, my friends and family who were well versed in running a business were not capable of getting through to me the same exact message that the woman I paid to do it was.

Ashley Blackington (15:17)

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (15:40)

And my brain hurt and I did what she said and then I got a website. My husband built that because that's what he does for work, but he begrudgingly built it, but he lovingly built it. And it was just like, I mean, it was, it was fits and spurts. Like it was not a smooth transition. I did not have intimate time and mental space.

Ashley Blackington (15:54)

and/both right there.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (16:09)

It was massive productivity for like an hour and a half and then two weeks of minimal productivity. It was ups and downs and bumps and spending money on stuff that I definitely should not have spent money on. And then it was second guessing stuff that I absolutely should have spent money on. I mean it was definitely a learning process and it was not smooth and it was not always pleasant, although sometimes really exciting. And I mean, I think that still goes on today. Like I think I'm running a pretty successful business and when it's great, it's great. And when it's not, it's frustrating. And it's overwhelming and it's...

Ashley Blackington (17:02)

Yeah, it's a lot to take it on. But I think too, like a lot of times what people, and I definitely fell into that trap where it was like, I have no option, no viable option for a career and raising my kids in a way that allows us to do anything outside of like, I mean, like my salary in inpatient would have covered two, maybe two of my kids going to daycare. And it was that balance there where it's like, I'm gonna go to work and basically give it all away. And then, you know, seeing people that, you know, doing the elephant walk of parenting, right? It's like seeing people before you that are doing that. And then they have no vacation time because they have to take their vacation when their kids are sick. And it's just, it's all that constant. Yeah. And then we, you know, we get looped into that. It's, it's good to not know what you don't know when you're starting a business is the, is what I keep telling myself, because if you knew, you'd never start for sure.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (18:02)

April and February vacation and yeah. Yeah.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (18:19)

Yeah, I think in some cases, ignorance is definitely bliss. I think learning slowly for me was the way that I needed to learn it. I think at the beginning when everyone was trying to throw the information at me, it was too much. It was, you know, I mean, on top of the stress of like all of the other things that were happening in our lives, it was too much information of a nature that I didn’t want to know. I just want to be a physical therapist. I do not want to be a marketing guru. I do not want to bill. I do not want to manage my website and all of those things. I love being a physical therapist.

Ashley Blackington (18:52)

Right.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (19:10)

I find it infinitely soul-soothing. It meets all of my emotional needs. I get to do what I'm good at. I get to help people that really need it. All of those things. And I think for me, I really like balked at the business part because that's, it's not my, it's not where my strength lies. And so like getting help to do that was worth its weight in gold because there can be somebody who's like, you're fine.

Ashley Blackington (19:12)

Yep.

Ashley Blackington (19:37)

Yeah. Well, and two, like, yeah, you've got to find like, you've got to find a resource that you can say, do I need to focus on this? And they say no. And you're like, okay, no, versus like even, you know, somebody that you know, it's like, well, are they you always have that, like, are they looking out for me? Or are they looking out for every, you know, your assumption is, is that everyone's being helpful, because I think people are really trying to help if that's that, that's where they're coming at it from like a business background.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (19:38)

you're gonna be okay.

Ashley Blackington (20:07)

But it's like, are you trying to protect me from spending all this money? Are you trying to show me the quick way? All of that stuff. And there's a certain amount of like crawling and stumbling before you can run with it. I think you still have to know all of those pieces in the background too. You still have to know how to run the website, even if you hate it. Hands up in the air for that one. You still have to like create the things.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (20:22)

100 percent.

Ashley Blackington (20:36)

even if you're sitting there like yelling at Canva at 1130 at night. I've heard.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (20:41)

So I've heard that you can yell at Canva and she doesn't get upset. Um, yeah, yes. Ah, Canva. What a helpful, helpful piece of material. Mm. Yep.

Ashley Blackington (20:50)

Yeah. Very helpful. Yeah. So now that school is in session, now that you are crazy busy, what is what are you looking forward to?

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (21:07)

Mm-hmm.

Ashley Blackington (21:15)

Now that you're already busy, what are you going to plan ahead for?

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (21:16)

Um, the fall. Now that I'm very busy. Um, the falI, love the fall. The fall's my favorite. Um, I like the weather. It's my birthday's in November, so that's always nice. Um, I think I'm just looking forward to like, um, setting the new schedule and finding the new rhythm. Like, we had so much change at the end of the summer. We got a new puppy. Both kids are in the same school. My husband returned to the office a couple days a week. Like our, so the last three weeks have been very like spaghetti at the wall. We're just gonna, you know, we're gonna find out what works best. And yelling is not it, in case anyone was wondering. Getting super frustrated at the not listening and the fact that like, everyone in our house is getting used to a new schedule. That yelling doesn't help. But yeah, I think setting some personal goals for this fall, I've been reading more, which is fantastic. So I usually get up early and I do some reading and then a girlfriend of mine and I do a couple miles, which the dog, I took him this morning and he's zonked out.

Ashley Blackington (22:28)

That's awesome.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (22:42)

So double barrel, double win there. But yeah, I think just like settling into the new schedule in the fall is really what I'm looking forward to. And working for myself, the benefit of like looking forward to those days off, like I don't have to approve days off. You know, if my kids are sick, my husband and I sort of figure out who fits best in the days off schedule, but.

Ashley Blackington (23:02)

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (23:12)

If they have Columbus Day off, if they have a week off here or a week off there, I can make sure that those are times that I'm off. I'm just off and I can look ahead and forecast my visits with clients so that I know that I'm meeting their needs and I'm meeting my family's needs. I love having that control of it, really the long view of knowing what's coming down the plan for it so that the quality time is more quality and less like tire fire.

Ashley Blackington (23:50)

Yeah. And I think that's the thing, right? Like, that's what we're all chasing is we're all chasing that option that opportunity to say, okay, I get to call the shots. I don't, I don't have to request I don't have to hope that someone signs it. I don't.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (23:55)

Mm-hmm.

Yes, nobody like nobody rubber stamps my what I'm doing. Which can go both ways. I mean, that's a double edged sword. That means that nobody's holding my feet to the fire to do marketing and paperwork that needs to be done and maintain my business, which at times I could use a swift kick in the ass for. But also, right.

Ashley Blackington (24:10)

Mm-hmm.

I mean, I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not sure.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (24:41)

But like again, those days are like, do you have like the ups and the downs? Do you have the days where you're like the kids go to school and you're like, sweet Mary, I just need to like sit in a puddle and just like, I don't know, TikTok for the next two hours and then beat myself up about that time wasted.

Ashley Blackington (24:58)

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (24:59)

And then you have the other days like today I got up the dog and I did a half an hour I've got a jambalaya and the instant pot. I'm doing this with you I've got clients all afternoon and I feel good about it. Like I think working for yourself allows you a little more forgiveness for those days But again also allows like if I worked for somebody else and I had a blah day I'd probably be fine because I'd have to go work for somebody else and I'd be like you don't get to self-indulge quite as much when you work for somebody else. But also you don't get to do like the full accomplishments. You don't get to feel the full ownership of all of your outcomes if you work for somebody else.

Ashley Blackington (25:38)

Right. Yeah, your alignment with what you have the energy for and what you need to get done and all of that. I just feel like that's always off. Like if you're in an office and you're waiting for someone to come in and tell you what your day looks like, it's like, okay, I'm a grown up. And as much as I understand the system has to flow, I'm also...

not, you know, when you don't see all of the working parts, you know, so, so when you own your own business, you see all your own working pieces, you, you know, like A plus B equals C or A plus B equals F or whatever it is, but not being able to see all those calculations, it's easy to be like, I don't know why this is happening this way. So being able to have that overhead view. That's what I like.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (26:09)

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (26:30)

Yeah, I mean, also, you know, in healthcare, when you work for a healthcare system, sometimes it's really dumb, even if you know how it's working, and it's not always serving the people who need to be served. And that includes the therapists and includes the patients. And most of the time it includes management, but somebody's getting served, and they usually get like $11 million bonuses.

Ashley Blackington (26:56)

Right.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (27:00)

Um, so that is one other nice aspect is that I, like, I can give my clients what they need when they need it. I can help them advocate for themselves. Like I can do a lot of things working for me that I wouldn't be able to do working for a company that like was run by insurance. Um, which is, is really nice.

Ashley Blackington (27:18)

Right. And also you have a license. And I think that sometimes that like we get, when you go through the process of going to school and becoming a licensed practitioner of many different kinds is that there are a lot of responsibilities that you carry with that license and there's a lot of, there's a level that you're upheld to via state, via nationally, and that what happens is that people, that means something to us. However, when you go into work for an organization, that's a checkbox as a qualification for that job and that you really, you lose that ability to say, this is what's, yeah, you totally, it's just out the window.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (27:50)

Yeah. Autonomy.

Ashley Blackington (28:14)

Like we just punch the numbers on your, the letters on your name tag, but here's what you're gonna do with this person. And I think that was a big, that's why I started a private practice on the off end of leaving the hospital is because it was like same feeling, like these people need something that they're not able to get here. And not because they're doing anything wrong, but because we're not able to, as this large organization, meet this individual where they are individually, because it's a system, right? It's a big hospital system. But that doesn't mean that person doesn't have those needs. And that doesn't mean that I'm also not the most qualified person to meet those needs.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (28:57)

Yep, absolutely, absolutely.

Ashley Blackington (28:58)

Yeah, snaps all around.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (29:05)

Mm-hmm.

Ashley Blackington (29:07)

Well, I think that what you're doing is amazing. I think that being able to like to meet people where they're at, being able to make it all work and maybe yell at Canva at 1130 at night every once in a while, you know, run that 17th load of laundry, all of that and fitting it in. But I do like the, I do like the, I do like the conversation around like being able to live in alignment with what you need at that time and that having the ability to call your own shots while it's hard to get to that space, once you're there, it's like, well, how could I ever go back to knowing what I know now, could I do that again?

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (29:52)

Anything that's not this, yeah. Yep. Well, and I think what you're doing is amazing because you're actively giving people a way to organize for chaos. And that's all, we're just managing chaos out here. Like, that's all it is. And having a way to like, facts, absolute facts. But like, I guess.

Ashley Blackington (30:09)

Right? It's just trying to file in a hurricane.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (30:22)

As you know, an organizational system that makes sense is worth its freaking weight in gold. It can make it so that balance is more achievable because you can see it all. When you can see it all, you can beautiful mind your pieces where they need to go for whatever works for your schedule, your kids, or your business or whatever those things are. Yeah. It's just invaluable.

Ashley Blackington (30:53)

Trying inch by inch. We're both out here trying to like make it a little bit easier, put the pieces together, take care of the parents.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (31:01)

I think we're just dragging our past selves into a future that we once envisioned. I know that a pre-child Dara was just so much more optimistic about the things that she could achieve in her life. I mean, maybe she was well rested. There was a chance it's just the sleep.

Ashley Blackington (31:09)

Yes.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (31:31)

But I mean, like, I think like nuggets of this business, I know that like the beginning of this business idea was the result of a much younger me, a much more optimistic me, a much more motivated me. And I think that's part of what this is, is like looking to the future and knowing like, honestly, like you and I are we're in it right now we are swimming in it half of yours are out of it.

Ashley Blackington (31:31)

Yeah.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (32:00)

Self-sufficient to a level that I can only dream of right now. But like, I think that like part of, part of this part of our business and part of this part of our lives is just recognizing that like the slog will be worth it. Um, to bring like to bring it back to the dog and the kids. Like we don't want to teach our kids how to do the laundry. Um, but they have to know how to do the laundry, and it's worth the time investment in teaching them how to do the laundry. But while you're teaching them how to do the laundry, it is a fricking slog. And I think the same goes for starting a business. Like, you might wanna have a business someday. And in order to have a business someday, you have to teach yourself and have other people who know more than you teach you how to run a business. And while you're learning how to run a business, it is a slog. But you know, I think like I think that's probably a pretty good metaphor for like what this is all about.

Ashley Blackington (32:57)

Yep.

Ashley Blackington (33:04)

I think so too. I definitely feel like the idea for my own business came from this desire to have a space where everyone could actually do this together. This idea of, mom didn't pack my soccer bag or what are we having for dinner? All of that came about as like as I was marching into parenthood of like, I do not want that for myself. However, there are no tools. So let's make the tools so that there's a chance that there are people who will be able to go through this in a way where it doesn't. That's not the norm. Like if that's only if that's the only option, if there's only ever option A and there's no option B, everyone will choose option A, not because option A is right, but because, or that's what the best fit is. Exactly, exactly. And you're doing option B, parents that aren't waiting until they have arthritis and this, that, and the other thing, because they did not address issues in the moment because you pushed it off.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (34:03)

Option B doesn't exist. Yeah, absolutely.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (34:16)

Because yeah, well because option B wasn't available. Yep. Yep, so I put option B out there. Option B on day eight.

Ashley Blackington (34:20)

Mm-hmm. Yeah. Option B. That's what we should just call it. Option B. The option... Yes. Who's your marketing person? Let's conference call that one in. Oh, that's right. I'll have my marketing person call your marketing person. Hey.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (34:37)

You're looking at her.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (34:43)

I think this, isn’t this just a marketing podcast.

Ashley Blackington (34:46)

Yes, yes it is now. It's officially changed in this moment to a marketing podcast. Oh my gosh.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (34:53)

I feel like every, just a complete aside, every single time I go to put an ad together or like make a video or anything, like, there is something broken in my brain because every single time it starts off like an oops I crapped my pants infomercial from Saturday Night Live. I'm like, do you have back pain? Like every, come on down to bargain basement discount back pains are us.

Ashley Blackington (35:09)

Ha ha ha.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (35:19)

Like, I just, there's a switch in my head that's like, it should definitely be an SNL skit. Like, skit, skitch, skit, there's a word there. But like, every single time, I can't like not make a marketing anything. Canva, YouTube, you name it, without like 73 revisions. Because I'm like, Dara, this is real. You can't just stick around all day.

Ashley Blackington (35:25)

Yes. Close enough.

Ashley Blackington (35:41)

Right, like stop dragging the pom poms out of the closet. Put the pom poms down, walk away from the pom poms. Oh. Get, jazz hands, spirit fingers. All right, well you have to tell everybody where to find you because if you are a parent who has injured yourself, shoveling, raking leaves, blowing snow, picking up your children, sneezing, or getting out of the car wrong.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (36:09)

Chucking a kid over your shoulder. Sneezing, it's my favorite. Standing up from a low chair. Yeah.

Ashley Blackington (36:11)

Exactly. Because you've asked nicely. I feel that. Where can people find you?

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (36:23)

You can find me at seacoastmobilpt.com or I'm on Facebook at Seacoast Mobile Physical Therapy or Dara Storch. Yeah. And I'm like, I'm happy and willing to answer questions for anybody who has like a dumb pain question. Yeah.

I just, I want people to be able to move better. And I genuinely want our generation to not move like our parents' generation because they're not looking so good. So proactive, proactive approach to injuries. We have seen the future. It's not, it's not great. It does have a lot of pickleball in it, but it's not, you know.

Ashley Blackington (36:56)

Yes. We have seen the future.

Ashley Blackington (37:05)

Mm-hmm.

Not ideal. Well, thank you for, thank you. Yes. Get ahead of it. Preparation is key. Well, thank you for joining me today.

Dr. Dara Storch PT, DPT (37:13)

Thanks for having me, it's lovely to see you.

Ashley Blackington (37:25)

You as well. Yes, as always.