7: Willie Geist & Boyd McDonnell - Fatherhood Reflections: Balancing Career, Family, and Friendship

Paige Nolan [0:01 - 0:01]: North node.

Willie Geist [0:01 - 0:23]: But I remember, I don't know when you're first watching them, like, school or be excited about a new friend. They're just so, you know, it's such a cliche, but there are all these moments along the way they feel like are going to the best moment. Oh, I love this time. I love that they're eight years old and they're a little more capable. But now I've got a almost 17, almost 15 year old. You're like, this is amazing. They're real people.

Boyd McDonnell [0:23 - 0:25]: It does get better with each.

Willie Geist [0:25 - 0:26]: I feel like it gets better.

Boyd McDonnell [0:26 - 0:26]: Yeah.

Paige Nolan [0:26 - 0:27]: Yeah.

Boyd McDonnell [0:27 - 0:35]: I've enjoyed every phase. Dare I say more? I don't know. Maybe it's just because it's the phase that we're in, but I've really loved each evolution.

Paige Nolan [0:43 - 2:56]: Hi, I'm Paige Nolan. Welcome to I'll meet you there. A place where heart centered conversations are everything. Living what matters is the truest thing, and sharing the journey is the best. Hi, everyone, and welcome back. I have a fun episode for y'all today. Inspired by father's day, I recently sat down with two of my favorite dads on the planet. My husband, Boyd McDonnell, father to our twin girls, Ryan and Mimi, and our son, miles, and our dear friend, Willie Geist, who is husband to Christina Geist, also a dear friend and father to their daughter, Lucy, and their son, George. This conversation is all about celebrating fatherhood, and you're going to hear how it's a role and experience Boyd and Willie relish. Our conversation is also about honoring our fathers and delighting in the ways the dads who have come before have influenced and shaped our lives. These guys have big love for their dads, the late, great Richard McDonnell and the beloved Bill Geist. And while we're talking about family life, you're also going to hear the years of friendship between us. Boyd, Willey, Christina and I have been friends for three decades. We met in college, and we've grown up together. We've supported each other through the twists and turns of our career paths, through our creative endeavors, and, of course, through the journey of parenthood. When Willie and Boyd are together, there's always laughter. When they talk about their families, there's always love. And when they talk about their kids, it is pure joy. The gift of fatherhood is definitely not lost on either one of them. And that's exactly why I wanted to meet them here this month. Enjoy this Father's day celebration with Boyd and Willie. I would love to start with any memory that you have of the moment you knew you were going to become a dad. And I actually don't remember that exact moment in my life with Boyd. But do you remember the first moment that you were told you were going to be a dad? Or the early, you know, the response that you had, the early responses to that news?

Willie Geist [2:57 - 3:41]: We're off and running. Because I wasn't prepared for this and I hadn't thought about it. And the minute you've said that, something popped in my head, and I already got, like, a little choked up right here, which was. I was in the back of a cab going somewhere. It would have been the fall of 2006, because Lucy was born in June of 2007, and it was on an old. You know, it was on a flip phone, pre iPhone, and just one of those texts that took you an hour and a half to write to make it capital and define the pe on the thing, and it just said positive with an exclamation mark. And I actually haven't thought about that very much since then. But for whatever reason, when you said that, I just thought of it. So that was the moment. Yeah, that was. Yeah, that was when I figured, when I found out.

Boyd McDonnell [3:42 - 3:42]: Wow.

Paige Nolan [3:42 - 3:48]: What about you, Boyd? I have a memory for us, Boyd, but it's not the moment I told you. I actually don't remember the moment I told you.

Boyd McDonnell [3:49 - 3:59]: I remember when you told me. I got home from work, and we were in that, like, little kitchen, kitchen, breakfast room table area.

Paige Nolan [3:59 - 3:59]: Yeah.

Boyd McDonnell [4:00 - 4:11]: Of our condo. And you told me, and I kind of, like, semi blacked out. And then after that, you told me that you had already told Carter.

Paige Nolan [4:11 - 4:13]: I did what? That was the.

Boyd McDonnell [4:13 - 4:15]: Carter was living with us, my brother.

Willie Geist [4:15 - 4:18]: You were the second McDonald brother to hear about your own child?

Paige Nolan [4:18 - 4:39]: Yes, I took the test, but Carter was living with us. So I walk out of the bathroom through the primary bedroom, and I see Carter in the hall, and I'm like, I'm pregnant. What do I do? You know? Like, wow, I have to tell Boyd this afternoon, you know, and it was like, verbal overload, and Carter was great. Carter's amazing. But, yes, that I do remember that.

Willie Geist [4:39 - 4:43]: That's a great. First person to tell is, you know.

Paige Nolan [4:43 - 4:43]: Yeah.

Willie Geist [4:43 - 5:04]: I should have pointed out the text I got that said positive was not from Christina. Were we talking about our wives or the other kids? I kid. I kid, I kid. No, that was. That was amazing that you asked that, because I truly. I had a vision suddenly of that flip phone open with the word, oh, that's so awesome.

Paige Nolan [5:04 - 5:36]: It is a pretty powerful feeling. The other memory that I have is Willie, when we found out we were having twins. We went, you know, you go to a special doctor once you know you're having twins. And we went to see this doctor to find out the sex of the children. Cause I wanted to be prepared. And we were holding hands. And when it turned out that it was two girls, Boyd's entire face was like. It was literally like a sheet of white covering his face and his. Because I was holding his hands, his hands immediately got clammy.

Willie Geist [5:36 - 5:37]: Sure.

Paige Nolan [5:37 - 6:43]: And I am one of two girls. So on the way out, we were at Cedars Hospital in west Hollywood. So you can imagine that area. We were walking by a big shopping mall, and we called my dad, which was so cool of Boyd to think of my dad, a father of two girls, and he was so excited. And then we hang up the phone, and I say to Boyd, you know, you're the first man that they're ever going to meet. You better not fuck it up. And he was just like, what? And I think it was my. I just was so like, oh, my gosh. Two girls. And Boyd is from a family of all boys, all male energy, right? I mean, and my mom is a retired therapist. And I told my mom I said that, and I was like, maybe I shouldn't have said that. And she's like, you probably shouldn't have said that. But then fast forward. And when our children were born, Boyd actually was the first parent. You know, usually you think of the mom being the one. But both of our children went to the NICU. They were born six weeks early, and I was out of it for a full 24 hours after they were born. And Boyd was superdad and got to know all the nurses way better than I knew them.

Boyd McDonnell [6:44 - 7:15]: Willie actually knows all of this because we were supposed to go, or you were in town for something, and the other guys came in town. There was a bachelor party, and we were six weeks early. So it was like a Thursday night, and you and I were supposed to hang out the next day. And Paige came in. She was already sleeping in the guest room because she just didn't want to be around me in the bed. And she came in and she said, my water broke. And I was like, let's take a look. Let's take a look.

Paige Nolan [7:15 - 7:18]: And sure enough, you said it's probably pee.

Boyd McDonnell [7:19 - 7:22]: Probably pee. Cause, like, I have a big. I have a lot of plans.

Willie Geist [7:23 - 7:24]: Doctor Boyd.

Paige Nolan [7:24 - 7:26]: Yeah, doctor Boyd. Willie. Doctor Boyd.

Willie Geist [7:26 - 7:28]: You're fine. You're fine. You're fine.

Boyd McDonnell [7:28 - 7:42]: Hold on. Let me leverage my b minus C plus from bio in high school. And then she's like, no, I think it's okay. Let's sleep a little bit longer. Let's just see. And then she came back, and she's like, it's definitely. It's definitely broken.

Paige Nolan [7:42 - 7:43]: It's not pee.

Willie Geist [7:43 - 7:44]: Not pee.

Boyd McDonnell [7:45 - 7:56]: So we went to the hospital, and you and Carter and five other guys show up. We were in labor from, like, 03:00 a.m. to whenever.

Paige Nolan [7:56 - 7:58]: Oh, I thought it was the best.

Boyd McDonnell [7:58 - 8:24]: Into the next evening. And then all you guys came right at the exact moment that Bob and Susie Nolan arrived in Los Angeles at the hospital, at the. At the little window where you check in to come back to the rooms. And I was coming out to get you guys, and then they walk up also, and I had to pretend like I was, you know, bringing the big fireworks show to them. And, yeah, I thought it was so.

Paige Nolan [8:24 - 9:07]: Cool because my father wasn't even in the room, you know, at that. Their generation and the way men were included in labor and delivery was so different. And not only were you guys so engaged in the whole process from the beginning, but also these amazing guy friends of mine. And what a testament to the friendships that you have, Boyd and everybody, including you, Willie. Everyone was so curious and supportive. And I think Christina was pregnant, too, right? Because you guys welcomed Lucy two weeks later, June 14. I just remember you having a lot of questions and being very present with me, and, like, how are you feeling? How are you doing? And I thought that was so sweet.

Willie Geist [9:07 - 9:33]: Yeah, it's funny because we. Now that I look back on it, you guys were in our group anyway, early, right? You had. You were among the first that we knew that to have kids. And so I think we probably didn't respect process enough, and we thought, like, well, why don't we tailgate in the parking garage at Cedars? It's totally fine. So we're, like, in between suv's, like, shotgunning beer.

Boyd McDonnell [9:33 - 9:34]: Let's go, twins.

Willie Geist [9:35 - 10:08]: They were, like, high five. And each other running in with Boyd. Let's get in there. Poor Paige just gets, like, this onslaught of goons. Just, you know, a couple of drinks, lubed up a little bit. Very excited. So good I did for this next moment. But then I do remember kind of, like, the reality of it, Paige, of seeing you and be like, wow, you just, like, you know, you just delivered twins, and everything is different now. And I knew that was coming for me. You know, I knew that was, like, not far over the horizon. It was right there.

Paige Nolan [10:08 - 10:08]: Yeah.

Willie Geist [10:08 - 10:57]: And I would say, yeah, that's probably why I was asking you too many questions, and. Because in a good way. Yeah, I remember you also being so. I just thought of maybe from the movies, like, delivery and labor is so chaotic, and you kind of, like, looked beautiful, and you were lying there, and you were your calm self, and I think you probably have pass that on to your kids. Christina is that way, too, which you see it in your kids forever, hopefully. Like, they get the peace that you exude. I think they absorb that, maybe even right beginning from that hospital, and they're those kind of kids. But I remember you being, like, pretty calm and pretty open to conversation in a way that I wasn't expecting. I thought we were just gonna have to be like, I paid. Oh, come in. Sit. Do you want something to eat? And we talked about your new babies.

Paige Nolan [10:57 - 11:45]: Yeah, well, conversation definitely calms me down. You know, like, to be in connection with all of you is what mitigates my anxiety. I was definitely anxious, but with all those people around and so much support, I felt very grateful. And also, I thought it was so interesting that here I am saying, du Boyd, you know, you're the first man they're going to meet, like all Mama Bear. And I'm delivering, you know, or I'm welcoming two identical twin girls with this, with a group of men. You know, it just. It's so beautiful. It's such a great representation of how I feel like fatherhood has evolved in such a great way for our kids and just for your own enjoyment compared to what was available to men before.

Willie Geist [11:45 - 11:52]: Yeah. I feel like in the past, Boyd, with our dad's generation, it was all like. Like you said, paige, the dad's not in the delivery room.

Paige Nolan [11:52 - 11:53]: Yeah.

Willie Geist [11:53 - 12:12]: Getting the cigars, passing him out, and then he's going out and, like, celebrating with his boys. Yeah. Which is always like, think about it now. It's a weird place to be that you're not actually a part of the celebration with the. With your wife or your partner and the baby. And I think that was. I wanted to be there. People like, were you in the delivery room? I was like, yes, of course I was.

Boyd McDonnell [12:12 - 12:15]: What kind of question? Of course I was. Yeah, right. Exactly.

Willie Geist [12:15 - 12:28]: Yeah. No, I had to be pulled away from. I had a turkey and Swiss and the Yankee game going from the deli up at 165th street. And the dad was like, hey, the doctor, like, hey, dad, it's that we're doing this.

Paige Nolan [12:28 - 12:29]: Yeah.

Willie Geist [12:29 - 12:40]: Like, hold on. Tino's up. Let me just see what happens here, and then I'll be right over. And Christina was like, so I had to be snapped out of it. But. But there was no question that we were going to be there.

Paige Nolan [12:41 - 13:57]: Yeah. Oh, Boyd was in the NICU, and our babies were, I don't know, four and five pounds, you know, with little bottles and doing all the things that the skin to skin and, you know, just right there in it. There's. When you have twins, there's no. For dads of twins. There is no, oh, sweetie, the baby's crying. It's like, pick up a baby, there's another baby. So I think you were in it with babies. Yeah. What did you guys think of having babies? I mean, how you said earlier, Willie, this. You mentioned feeling like it's like you think the world is going to change because you're in this situation, you know, and none of us know what's coming. There's no way to know until it's there. And I remember being in the hospital before we took the girls home, but just having nurses come in and out. Boyd brought his guitar. You know, Boyd's kind of checking in with work and observing everybody thinking, how can everybody just go on like it's a normal day? They were born on a Saturday, and, like, as of Sunday, everything is different. My worldview is different. Everything. Is that how y'all felt as fathers? Do you have that moment of, like is for sure. How. How is the world the same? Yeah. Tell me more about that.

Willie Geist [13:58 - 14:49]: I think for me, it was like a period of, we're not prepared for this, not that we don't deserve this, but they're like, shouldn't there be more? We did all the little classes, and I had to try to put the onesie on the baby and snap the arms off and did all the things that dads do. But I was like. I remember saying, like, they just give you a baby. Shouldn't this be way harder than the driver's license or voting or whatever else it is? But they just give you a baby, but then you go to, okay, they've done this for millennia. Christina always said cavemen had babies. Yeah, we can figure this out. And I also distinctly remember going back to Christina's calm. You know, she grew up with two, a younger brother and sister who were ten and eleven years younger than her. Same family, same parents. Her parents just took a break and had a second crew.

Paige Nolan [14:49 - 14:50]: Yeah.

Willie Geist [14:50 - 15:54]: And she very much. Her mom was working. Her dad was very much was a caregiver. She was starting in middle school. She was the babysitter after school, and she drove them around to their stuff when she got her driver's license. She really had such good instincts. And I'll never forget, it was one of the first times. Lucy, baby, Lucy. Days old, hours old, maybe was going to the. She went to the bathroom and she pooped. And I was like, literally, like, what do we do? And I remember, like, okay, okay, okay. Like, trying to remember the stuff from the class. And I'll never forget this. She looked at her with a smile, and she was like, paul, your little body is working. I was like, oh, that's a different way to look at this. But things are going well. This means things are going well. Instead of sheer hammer, her calm brought me to a place of calm. I was like, even if I'm not going to be great at this, which hopefully I got better over time, she's so good at this instinctively, that together we got this because it was a little bit of like a. It's exciting. Of course, it's the greatest day of your life, but it's also like, it's all.

Paige Nolan [15:54 - 15:55]: It's overwhelming.

Willie Geist [15:56 - 16:07]: Yeah, this is it. This is the only thing. This is home base right now. It's not all the other things you thought were important, like, in a, in a matter of minutes, kind of like all background, you know, I think we.

Boyd McDonnell [16:07 - 17:04]: Talked about it before, but it is that phenomenon where you, in that exact moment, life has been about you and maybe about you and your spouse, but a lot of it's just been about you. Everything has been, what am I doing? How am I moving forward through the world and what's important to me? And in that moment, nothing is about you anymore. It's only about this little being or these little beings. And then as the family grows, and that's sort of what the biggest shift is in that instant, just, it changes your entire worldview to where the joy of it all is that everything is about them. You know, like, I get so much joy out of that all the time that I get to prioritize the kids or, you know, enjoy what they're doing versus what I might, on another, in another dimension, be doing on my, on my own time.

Willie Geist [17:04 - 17:32]: We had, there was another moment at the hospital that comes to mind, where the end of this day, we're walking out. We had a green car seat and walking out, and I'm holding Lucy in the car seat, and I never get the nurse saying, okay, guys, good luck. Remember thinking like, that's the heaviest. Good luck. Good luck. This person alive every minute of every day for at least the next 18 years. And by the way, you're going to be worried about her for the next years, you know?

Boyd McDonnell [17:32 - 17:33]: Good luck.

Willie Geist [17:33 - 17:49]: And I just remember, like, that's it, huh? You're not gonna, like, toss me the keys or a handbook or. Good luck, guys. You're gonna be great. What do you mean? How are we gonna be great? We don't know what to do. And then that's the stage. You have that sort of honeymoon period in the hospital where, like you said, paige the nurse is coming in and get up in the night with her.

Paige Nolan [17:49 - 17:50]: Oh, yeah.

Willie Geist [17:50 - 18:28]: And then you get home, and you get some visitors, and my parents are there. Then all of a sudden, those people are gone, and we're in a very tight apartment in New York City, the three of us, and you're like, oh, it really is just us now, you know? Yeah. At the end of the day, this is it. Us doing okay. How do we do this? Okay, I'm gonna get up this time. You gotta. You know, it's just like. And you sort of see the. The road feels long from that point. Now it goes way too short, because where our daughters currently are. But that first week, you're like, man, this is. This is a long road to making this a good, kind, decent, functioning human being.

Boyd McDonnell [18:28 - 18:31]: I do remember they strap the. They help you strap the car seat.

Paige Nolan [18:31 - 18:33]: In the car, and they're like, okay.

Boyd McDonnell [18:33 - 18:42]: And they close the door, and you're like, wait, what? Like, I don't even know what. I don't even know how to operate that car seat. I don't even know what the thing in the car seat is.

Willie Geist [18:42 - 18:42]: Right.

Boyd McDonnell [18:42 - 18:43]: You know?

Paige Nolan [18:43 - 18:58]: And the baby is so little and fragile, and I remember. I mean, I'm always kind of backseat driving with Boyd, but I was, like, holding on to the thing atop of the door because I'd had a c section, and I was like, go slower. So, you know, your whole body is like, totally.

Boyd McDonnell [18:58 - 19:01]: You know, he bumps at 25 miles an hour.

Paige Nolan [19:01 - 19:01]: Totally.

Willie Geist [19:02 - 19:10]: Right? Nice. Yeah. Yeah, because you forget it's new, right? They face backwards, so you can't even see what's going on with the right. Is she okay? Is she okay? I can't do she. Okay.

Boyd McDonnell [19:10 - 19:12]: You guys gotta communicate with me. Communicate?

Willie Geist [19:12 - 19:13]: Yeah. Oh, my God.

Paige Nolan [19:13 - 19:22]: Did you guys feel differently when you welcomed Willie, your second child, as a boy? Our third child is a boy. Did you feel differently? Do you remember feeling different, a little.

Willie Geist [19:22 - 19:55]: More confident as a parent? Sure, because we knew the things that worked and didn't work, but as you know, the babies are different. Like, oh, he doesn't sleep through the night at this point or he is. He's better at some things than she was, or he's, you know, he's more challenging at others. But the fact of it being a boy, I think we felt, you know, we were not wishing for a boy because we were so happy that we had a healthy child. But the fact that boy, I think we did feel, we've said later, like, we got one of each gender, both healthy, like, walk away from the table.

Paige Nolan [19:55 - 19:59]: Yes. Yeah. Oh, boy. Boyd felt that, too.

Willie Geist [19:59 - 20:17]: I mean, we're so lucky to have. And I don't even know that we would have more if he wasn't a boy. But the point was, like, we get to have both of those different experiences, and they're both healthy. Knock on wood. Like, just go over to the window, hand them your chips, and get out of the casino. Oh, yeah, we have one. For sure. Yeah, for sure, indeed.

Paige Nolan [20:18 - 20:34]: I remember Boyd like a Monday. Like, what's up with you, Boyd? And, you know, this week, what's the plan? He's like, I'm gonna get a vasectomy on Friday. And Miles was like, I don't know, three or four weeks. And I was like, awesome. That's great. But do you remember that? Like, we didn't talk about it. You were just done.

Boyd McDonnell [20:34 - 20:43]: I was just short of, like, miles came out. Get him swaddled, wheel me in. Like, this is way too, way too dangerous.

Willie Geist [20:43 - 20:45]: As long as I'm here, can we just.

Paige Nolan [20:45 - 20:46]: Let's get this done. Oh, totally.

Boyd McDonnell [20:46 - 20:54]: There's some combustibility happening with me and Paige here. That's way too risky. So we're gonna just. We're gonna call it.

Willie Geist [20:54 - 20:59]: Just shut it down. I think I got pictures of you sitting on a bag of ice. Those for those couple.

Paige Nolan [20:59 - 21:00]: Oh, yeah, the frozen peas.

Willie Geist [21:00 - 21:02]: Yeah, the frozen peasant.

Paige Nolan [21:02 - 21:08]: And he's like, Paige, I need water. I need more frozen peas. And I have two children. Our twins were two years old when Miles was born.

Boyd McDonnell [21:08 - 21:11]: I mean, look, I needed more peace. I need more.

Willie Geist [21:11 - 21:12]: And water.

Boyd McDonnell [21:12 - 21:13]: I was thirsty.

Paige Nolan [21:13 - 21:21]: Do you feel like there's a part of early fatherhood that was your favorite? And was there a part of early fatherhood that stressed you out? That was difficult?

Willie Geist [21:21 - 22:48]: I think the stressy part is the obvious stuff, which is like, you're up all night and just keep, like, the basic functioning of keeping a living, being alive. You know, this. Don't choke. Don't you know all those things that you're like, so where are they eating the right stuff? Are they allergic to all those things that you sort out over time? And then, you know, your kid. And you know what they can and can't do. I think those concerns, which, again, were more probably for the first, for Lucy, my daughter, than for George, because I knew now, oh, I actually don't have to worry about that. She's fine just crying the night she's going to cry herself out and go back to bed where the first one, you're just like, oh, my God, what's wrong? What's wrong? You can't do all that stuff. So I think that and the other challenge we had when Lucy was born was I had just started doing morning Joe, which on the, I had been a producer forever, working nights for the most part. And now I'm waking up. She was born in June, and morning Joe kind of came together that summer. So within a month, I suddenly was waking up at three or four in the morning and we had a newborn trying to figure all that out. So that was, yeah, that was a very challenging time. In many ways, it was an exciting time because both of those things, professional and personal, were so new. But I'd say the chaos of those nights and early mornings, yeah. You don't miss. And people say, well, you have these peaceful moments when you're feeding in the middle of the night and all that. And Christina would be like, yeah, I'd rather not have them.

Paige Nolan [22:48 - 22:51]: I mean, I could find peace in the afternoon.

Willie Geist [22:51 - 22:51]: Sure.

Boyd McDonnell [22:51 - 22:53]: That's right.

Willie Geist [22:53 - 22:55]: Peace at 02:00 p.m. is also great.

Boyd McDonnell [22:55 - 22:57]: Yeah. That, that worked by a pool.

Willie Geist [22:57 - 23:04]: So I don't know. Yeah. I mean, it's, it's hard to say, like, what you miss because every, for me, every stage is so exciting.

Paige Nolan [23:04 - 23:04]: Yeah.

Willie Geist [23:04 - 23:29]: Like, right now feels so exciting. But I remember, I don't know when you're first watching them, like school or be excited about a new friend. They're just so, you know, it's such a cliche, but there are all these moments along the way they feel like are going to the best moment. Oh, I love this time. I love that they're eight years old and they're a little more capable, but now I've got a almost 17, almost 15 year old. You're like, this is amazing. They're real people.

Boyd McDonnell [23:29 - 23:31]: It does get better with each genius.

Willie Geist [23:31 - 23:32]: I feel like it gets better.

Boyd McDonnell [23:32 - 23:32]: Yeah.

Willie Geist [23:32 - 23:33]: Yeah.

Boyd McDonnell [23:33 - 24:05]: I've enjoyed every phase, dare I say more? I don't know. Maybe it's just because it's the phase that we're in, but I've really loved each evolution. I'd say, like, early on, you said the word chaos. That's exactly what it is. For those first several years. It's like everything is chaos walking in the front door of our house, and there's, like, a kitchenette set with the ikea kitchen. The little kitchenette with, like, 800 little plastic spatulas and, like, little plastic fried eggs everywhere. And tea sets.

Willie Geist [24:05 - 24:05]: Yeah.

Boyd McDonnell [24:05 - 24:13]: That Paige has had them finger painting in the middle of the tv room, on the table, and, like. Like, what is happening, Willie?

Paige Nolan [24:13 - 24:16]: I worked as a preschool teacher, so at the time.

Willie Geist [24:16 - 24:16]: I know.

Paige Nolan [24:16 - 24:22]: Yeah. So just. So, in your mind, just envision, like, I was so immersed. Tactile play.

Boyd McDonnell [24:22 - 24:35]: I'm like, they do not need tactile play. Right. You know, come on, man. You know how I'm wired. I need. I need things to be. I need to be able to walk in, like, I. I want to walk into, like, the american psycho apartment. It needs to be spotless, right?

Willie Geist [24:35 - 24:36]: Clean.

Boyd McDonnell [24:36 - 24:39]: Clean. Yes. Is there a dead body in the closet? There could be, but that's.

Willie Geist [24:39 - 24:41]: You're not everywhere on the floor.

Boyd McDonnell [24:41 - 24:43]: Plastic. Everything is tight.

Paige Nolan [24:43 - 25:00]: And anytime we would, um. We would get a box, I'd be like, save the box. And he's like, already, you know, collapsing the box to recycle, because all a child needs is a box to paint, you know, or get inside of. Save all the boxes. And he's like, oh, my God, Paige, we've got to recycle these boxes.

Boyd McDonnell [25:00 - 25:01]: God bless you, though.

Willie Geist [25:01 - 25:02]: You.

Boyd McDonnell [25:02 - 25:58]: You definitely one those discussions. And thankfully. Cause you gave the kids such a fun, tactile, um, and immersive childhood of creativity. There was so much creativity in our house because of you and what you're doing that I would have squashed with my own tendencies and my. My need for cleanliness. And you're like, this is. No, stop, stop. And it. Yeah. Definitely forced me to, again, sort of. It's not about me. It's not about what I want. It's about creating this fun space. And who gives a shit if there's red paint on the carpet? That carpet's terrible anyway, so just go with it. And. And there's going to be incredible amounts of chaos everywhere. And learning how to. Especially for somebody that's wired like I am, learning how to embrace that and get the joy and fun out of it changed me a lot. That process changed me a lot.

Paige Nolan [25:58 - 26:10]: Well, I think what happened to both of y'all career wise, like, Willie, over time, your schedule got better, or you got used to the morning you did. I think at one point, you had the early, early wake up. Right? And then that was.

Willie Geist [26:11 - 26:46]: That was another one where we. So George was born 2009. He's born July 8 and way too early. Started like, July 15 or something. So then at that. Now I'm waking up even earlier. That comes on before morning Joe. Yeah. So I'm walking out of the house at, let's say, 330 in the morning. There's a just new two year old Lucy and a two week old George. And, like, I gotta go. It's a live tv show, and it is chaos in the house. And. But Christina, you guys know her, was never like, no resentment. She's like, go do your thing.

Paige Nolan [26:46 - 26:47]: Go do your thing.

Willie Geist [26:47 - 27:21]: So she's got. She's got Lucy crawling on her leg at 330 in the morning. She's got George up here. There's diapers, there's food everywhere. And you feel guilty, but she's like, nope. She's like, this is where we are right now. Yeah, I got this. You go do that. I have to credit her for that. There was never any, like, I can't do this. Like, you need. Yeah, Julie, you needed. You need to change. She saw that we were, like, in the early stages of exciting things in our life with the kids and also with career. So she's like, let's. Let's pull both of those off. Let's figure out how to do that.

Paige Nolan [27:21 - 27:21]: Yeah.

Willie Geist [27:21 - 27:47]: And then she went back to work, too, and continued her career. But she was always amazing, and. But there definitely were those moments where you look back through the door and you're like, I gotta go. She's like, I'm sorry. Oh, but that doesn't feel great. That doesn't feel great. You know, just. They're, like, screaming and it's three in the morning, but. But now you look back on them and it's like, it's part of the ride. There's a little whitewashing of history. Like, Christina's like, yeah, not great, but.

Boyd McDonnell [27:47 - 27:48]: And it's all part of the journey.

Willie Geist [27:49 - 27:57]: Yeah. I called part of the journey. She's like, it was a walking nightmare, but, yeah, a lot going on in a small New York apartment.

Boyd McDonnell [27:57 - 27:58]: Oh, yeah.

Willie Geist [27:58 - 27:58]: Oh, yeah.

Paige Nolan [27:58 - 28:10]: Do you all feel like you have become similar to your own fathers through the journey? How do you feel similar to your dad's? How do you feel very different from the environment that you grew up in with your dads?

Willie Geist [28:11 - 29:36]: I would say premium on sense of humor. Definitely from, like, my kids. And your kids clearly are funny, and we want our house to be fun. There are rules, and they're, like, really well behaved, and they're respectful, and they do the dishes and they do their own laundry. It's not like it's like this chaotic, fun house. There's always been a reward in our house and in yours, I think, for, like, having the line, having the joke, having the. And it's both of them, Lucy and George, both so funny. And that's for my dad. And, like, let's make. We're in a bad situation. Our flight got canceled, and we have to drive. Like, it's just. Let's make that into comedy. Let's not be like, let's not be precious and let's not be angry and let's, like, just find the humor and things. That's definitely for my dad. And I think the how I'm not like is probably both of us is just generational, which is like, yeah, you know, we work hard, but I think my dad definitely was good at being around as much as he could, and he coached my little league team, so I don't want to, like, give the impression that my dad was never there, which isn't true. But I think just as a generational thing, we are more apt to be involved, to know what's going on in the house. And we don't just swoop in and we're like, what's going on this week? Like, I know when their games are, and we're. It's a shared thing with Christina, just like you two share responsibility. So I think sharing responsibility, in a way, they're not just my dad, but a generation of dad, for sure, probably didn't.

Paige Nolan [29:36 - 29:39]: Yeah. What about you, Boyd?

Boyd McDonnell [29:39 - 30:13]: Yeah, for me, a couple things stand out. Creative house, I think that was from my dad. Music, creativity, having fun was definitely where I feel like Bill and you, Willie, like, it's you guys. There really is a premium in the Geist household for hitting the line and, like, and your kids, it's been so fun for me, particularly during the time when you were launching the Sunday show and I was upset helping you do that for the better part of a year or a year and a half, by the way.

Willie Geist [30:13 - 30:15]: Yeah, yeah, right there for.

Boyd McDonnell [30:15 - 31:33]: And I would essentially live with you guys for two weeks at a time, eat dinner with the family, stay at, you know, over the weekends and have so much walk the kids to school and do all this stuff. And seeing at the time, I guess, Lucy, maybe nine George, seven George is already just ripping, like, SNL punchlines, and Lucy is like, equal parts. I'm talking to an old friend, and then she's like, has these just incredibly witty, you know, curves in conversation. At nine years old, where, you know, it's so cool to see that when you have such a great and dear friend and brother over the years, over decades, and then you see these little versions of that person in some way start to take shape. So coming from our dads through us to the kids, I think those are the two for my dad. And then doing what you love, I think that's where I feel like I'm most like him now. And that was kind of the greatest, I think, message and lesson that I. That he didn't overtly say to us ever. Yeah. But he just. He just exemplified, and then that's what I want my kids to see me. That's how I want them to see.

Paige Nolan [31:33 - 31:35]: Me, is the legacy. Yeah.

Boyd McDonnell [31:35 - 31:44]: Do what you love, and if it takes you. If you jump into that at 20, great. And if it takes you until 50, that's fine. Just find your way there and then. Yeah.

Willie Geist [31:44 - 31:56]: And then you can speed at it. Like, you've. You have. Like, you've stuck to that and stayed with it, and you're incredibly successful doing what you love. Cause sometimes that sounds like, just do what you love, and they're like, well, that's easy to say, but.

Boyd McDonnell [31:56 - 31:56]: Right.

Willie Geist [31:56 - 32:14]: I also have to pay the mortgage and, you know, all those things. And I think both of us have been lucky enough to just stay on that track and be able to pay the mortgage with it. So that's. I think we're hopefully good. Good examples of doing that, that it can be a life. You know, it's not just a hobby, but a life.

Boyd McDonnell [32:14 - 33:12]: It's cool, too, that with us, that it's such a sort of direct lineage from. In their own ways, from our dads down to us and, you know, winding roads to get there. But, like, your dad imparted these things and you saw him, you know, thriving and enjoying his. His journey professionally. And it just, like. It just instilled skills and a desire in you that maybe you weren't even aware of that just became unearthed as you went. And same for me, in. In the path that really was most true for my dad. And, yeah, it's so cool that I don't have a lot of friends. I mean, any. Anyone who's a doctor, one of their parents was probably a doctor that. That, you know, but our careers are sort of a little unconventional, I would say. And so. And there. There is such a direct tie to both of our dads in that way. That's cool.

Willie Geist [33:12 - 33:25]: You know, what else I wanted to say is the wild boys. Sorry. I'm thinking about we can cross the streams here, which is because of the way your family is and your dad is. Which is open and huggy and emotional.

Paige Nolan [33:25 - 33:25]: Yeah.

Willie Geist [33:25 - 33:34]: I feel like it's so a part of me now. But when I think about it, for me, it goes back to you guys in Atlanta, which is like, there's no handshake. It's a hug, you know?

Paige Nolan [33:34 - 33:34]: Yeah.

Willie Geist [33:34 - 34:36]: And that wasn't like, my dad's pretty midwestern. It was more. He was affectionate, but it was a, you know, a little handshake. And that I. And I actually can trace it back to whenever, you know, we started hanging out in Atlanta 25 years ago. Which is like, if you see somebody you love, you hug them. And by the way, you tell them you love them. And, like, that was a little bit foreign. Maybe for our. Not with my mom, but with our family, probably with guys. And now it's like, it's you guys. The McDonnell ethos is in our family in a way that I take for granted now. But you guys probably put that in there. So shout out to big Rick, pushing it down to you guys, over into the geist. And still my dad, like, I'll see my dad and he'll be like, how are you doing? And put his hand. I just smack his hand away and, like, get in for that. I'm like, come on. How long we've been doing this? You know, a reflex. He and his dad probably were not affectionate. So you're like, I love showing that now to George and Lucy. That's their instinct. They don't like hugs. You love. And you tell them you love them. If you love them, tell them you love them.

Boyd McDonnell [34:36 - 34:47]: It just means we're doing our jobs. Oh, man. Thank you for saying that. It's. You were an easy target. I think that the. You know, we broke you very.

Willie Geist [34:47 - 34:48]: I need the hug.

Boyd McDonnell [34:48 - 34:52]: Yeah. And the first time you're like, oh, God, this is. And then you never looked back.

Paige Nolan [34:53 - 35:29]: Was there a moment with your fathers? We were talking about your shared professional past, where you lean into advice, you know, did you ask Bill Geist about broadcasting Willie? Did you seek him out? And was there a moment in your music career, Boyd, where you leaned into Richard or, you know, both of your jobs are not exactly like your father's, but there's that overlap. So I'm just curious if you sought guidance and wisdom in a conscious way or if it was just more of a, I'm going along this path. I get that my dad did something like this as well, but. Yeah, tell us about that. I'm curious about that.

Willie Geist [35:29 - 37:07]: I never had an explicit conversation about it, which is amazing when you think about it. But I watched, like Boyd said, I watched my dad enjoy his job. He traveled, he met interesting people. He always came home with a story about where he'd been. He got to go to the Olympics. He did all this cool stuff up. And even I would notice when the adults would come over, like at the cocktail party, like the crowd was kind of around him. Cause he was telling a story. And we lived in a town where it was a lot of finance and bankers and stuff like that. And they, you know, he always had the most colorful tale at the, at the party. So I just. I saw that he loved his work in a way I don't think other dads did or did. They didn't show that they did. And then I got. I think it wasn't until the summer before my senior year at Vanderbilt that I did an internship, the political unit at CB's news, just to see what it was like. I wrote for the school paper in high school and all that. So I was clearly kind of into it that I was like, this is it. But that wasn't him telling me, this is it. In fact, when I graduated from college, he was like, I think what he was saying without saying it was like, this can be a hard business if you're an order or it doesn't always lead to where you want it to lead. And it's a lot of work and kind of grunt work sometimes, which was true, but it's rewarding in the end. But he wanted me to make sure about it first. I remember he set me up with a lunch with one of our family friends who worked on Wall street. And then they sent me up to Hartford, Connecticut to meet our insurance agent. They're like, northwestern Mutual.

Boyd McDonnell [37:07 - 37:08]: Will they get insurance?

Willie Geist [37:08 - 37:35]: They're forgetting super nice guy. I remember sitting in there and he's talking about, like, actuarial tables, and I was like, this ain't it. I'm going to be very polite and listen and shake hands and thank you for the meeting, but, whoa. I think my dad was saying, like, there are faster ways to comfortable living. You know what I mean? If, like, if the goal is to, like, have a big house and have security, everything's okay, that's a lot easier way to do it.

Boyd McDonnell [37:35 - 37:35]: Yeah.

Willie Geist [37:35 - 37:54]: But it just didn't interest me. And those people were nice to show me their careers, but this just felt more interesting. So then I graduated, moved to Atlanta and worked for CNN and started the climb from a production assistant and did every job you can do in tv. So I think just long way of saying just by his example.

Paige Nolan [37:54 - 37:55]: Yes.

Willie Geist [37:55 - 38:02]: Not by any. Like, here's what it's like in here. He was basically telling me that by offering me other alternatives.

Paige Nolan [38:02 - 38:04]: Sure. What about your dad, Boyd?

Boyd McDonnell [38:05 - 39:17]: Well, my dad was a banker for, like, 25, 30 years, and so I sort of saw both sides of it, where he had this traditional job. He traveled all the time while he was on the road. He was spending every night at jazz clubs and meeting all these people. And that was his passion from day one. And it never. It just kept growing and growing. And he sort of used his day job as a vehicle to kind of do that and build that in the sense that he was just out every night. He traveled probably four days a week, so he was gone a lot. So, yeah, when I certainly seeing him once he started the label, I was an adult by that point, so it was a later lesson in really seeing his joy in that space and how much that defined everything for him. But I think that, like, when I got to the point where I was graduating college, I remember even in college, I interned at fidelity for this stockbroker because I was like. And over the summer. One summer, I interned at my dad at Ag Edwards, where my dad worked. And by that point, he was already. Didn't like the job anymore. He didn't really express that to us.

Willie Geist [39:18 - 39:18]: Yeah.

Boyd McDonnell [39:18 - 41:00]: But I remember these internships that I did. I was like, well, that's probably what I should do, right? Because my dad doing it, and it was very clear to me. It was like the insurance sales, uh, meeting. I was like, oh, God, this is not. This. This is awful. I have to wear these same khakis every day. Well, you can actually get multiple pairs of khakis, but, um, I never had an overt conversation with my dad either. But one moment stuck in my mind in terms of when you asked that question page, was, when I. I graduated college, I moved to L. A. I got a job at Sony in their research department for the tv side, which sort of later led to a big chunk of my career. But at the time, I was 23, living out here, and my buddies that were still playing music that were a grade below me were in Nashville, and they were sending me tapes. And they say my best buddy Ed was like, move back. You got to come back and play with us. And so I remember calling my dad. I had a good job. I was, like, in the place where that job could go, and there was a clear path ahead of me. At Sony, I said, dad, what do you know? Do you. This is what my choice is. And without hesitation, he said, move back and play. He said, if you want to play music, move back and play music. In fact, he wasn't telling me to do it. He was saying, if that's what you listen to your gut and listen to your. And don't worry about whatever you think you should do, don't worry about the convention of, you have this job, you should keep the job. And I think that defined a lot for me. I mean, it set off the next until now.

Paige Nolan [41:00 - 42:21]: Well, and also, one of the things that makes me think of is that was an explicit conversation, and he verbalized that, reflected that back to you. But what you guys are both saying is just the power of the role modeling. You know, it's just the power of them. So. And I have to remind myself about that, because y'all know I like to talk, and I like a good lecture, and I like to teach. And so I find myself launching into some idea that I think they should know, and you can see them zoning out, and I have to lean back into it. Doesn't matter what we say. I mean, it does, you know, I want to be explicit about boundaries and expectations and all that, but really, what the kids get at the end, you know, all of us could share this. We could all say this as adults. It's who your parents are that's. That's influencing you. It's absorbing them. It's watching them that kids watch us so much. And I don't know if you guys have this response as fathers, but when I see one of my kids do something like me, it's like, oh, my gosh, there's that habit, you know, or, like, there's that mannerism. Or when Mimi will, like, grunt. Cause she's frustrated. That's exactly how I am. Like, I have no fine motor skills, so I can't get the plug in. And I'm like, no, I can't get the plug in. That's exactly how she is. If she's trying to.

Boyd McDonnell [42:21 - 42:24]: Like, we're talking about just a basic three pronged plug.

Willie Geist [42:24 - 42:26]: Also, it can be tricky.

Paige Nolan [42:26 - 42:32]: Well, not everyone plays guitar and, like, practices fine motor, you know, skills.

Willie Geist [42:32 - 43:10]: By the way, I'm exactly this. Christina always says I'm just. Just blunt force on everything. So, like, if there's, like, a cord that's tangled and I just pull it and make the knot tighter and much worse, and then I'll see same thing. Like Lucy, otherwise, like, very. She'll just be like, the thing doesn't work. And Christina's like, there's no dad. There he is. She's like, that was 100% you. Yeah. Just came from Lucy. And she's like, lucy, pull it out of here and look it open. Is not going to make it better. I see sometimes. Does that help? No, it doesn't help. Yeah, I see that stuff, too. For sure.

Paige Nolan [43:10 - 43:48]: Well, now that you guys have made it through, you both had some kind of gnarly starts to your professional careers, where you were digging deep and Boyd was working on Saturdays and working all the time. Really. Now that you are through that and you can look back and you have a better perspective about family life, about work life balance, and how that's really a conversation, it's not a fixed point. If you could go back in time and be the man you are now and know what you know and have the emotional insight that you have, how would it change your earlier fatherhood days? What would be different?

Willie Geist [43:49 - 44:57]: You know, I've had this conversation not too long ago with Christina that I feel. Not that I did everything right back then, but I feel lucky to have figured out early on that the most important thing was being there, because some men I know who I've talked to, even about it, it's too late. And they've told me in conversations, I wish I'd been there. I wish I'd been there now. That's a hard thing to do when you're rising in your career and you feel like, oh, I should go to that event that night. I should go to that party, I should go to that meeting. I should do. I need to do all the things or someone's going to pass me. So I guess if there was anything I'd do differently, it would just be to tell myself that you can say no once in a while. And on the scale, it should always weigh toward the kids and the family, which I really do feel like I figured out early on. I feel so lucky to have done that that I don't think my kids will ever think, gosh, dad wasn't around for that. Yeah, to some extent, it's like the opposite. Maybe part of this was Covid when we were so on top of each other. Sometimes Christina are like, are we. Do we, like, know too much about our kids, or.

Paige Nolan [44:57 - 44:58]: Yes.

Willie Geist [45:00 - 45:11]: I feel that way. Like, my dad didn't ride every up and down of my day. Like, George will come home, and I'll be like. He's like, it was fine. I'm like, what happened to school?

Paige Nolan [45:11 - 45:12]: Yes, exactly.

Willie Geist [45:13 - 46:29]: I just didn't want to tell you the story my whole day, you know what I mean? Every little thing that should just go into the ether when you're around as much as we are becomes something. And Christina is really good at, like, dude, that's nothing. Let it go. But I think, I guess that's a nice problem to have that we're around so much that we really are. Like, I really know what's going on in their lives, but I guess I would just say I could even probably have said no to things a little more. But that's hard, too, because in the moment you're going, I don't know, feels like I kind of need to do that. I need to work that holiday, and I need to go there. Hey, they're having me fill on the Today show on Christmas. Like, that's a big deal to fill in the Today show. Hey, so whatever our Christmas plan was, I'm going to do this instead. So I don't think I would trade that stuff in because I don't think. I don't think any, either of my kids will ever say that I wasn't there. And that is. Right. That's the deathbed moment they tell you about. No one ever says, I wish I'd spent more time at the office. They say, I wish I'd spent more time with my family. And I rest easy knowing that I really have been present, especially in the last several years. But I think really from the beginning. So I guess what I'm saying is I would change nothing. And I was perfect. Yeah.

Boyd McDonnell [46:29 - 46:31]: And that's my answer, too.

Willie Geist [46:31 - 46:32]: Yeah.

Paige Nolan [46:32 - 46:36]: Your kids are going to listen to this when they're 40 year old, you know? 40 year olds.

Boyd McDonnell [46:37 - 46:55]: How delusional were these guys? Yeah. No, I think it's very much the same for me. If I were to go back, I think in those early years, I just. And I don't think my kids felt it. I think my kids have definitely, like, yours, willy were around a lot.

Willie Geist [46:55 - 46:56]: I.

Boyd McDonnell [46:56 - 47:21]: My dad was not around a lot. And I know my dad loved us a lot, and he made that very clear all the time, but he was really not around a lot. He would catch, you know, our, my wrestling matches and try to horribly video. You'd hear him yelling and he would, like, be on the mat and then he would go try to get the scoreboard and by, but he couldn't find it through the viewfinder. And then he's just yelling, go, buddy.

Willie Geist [47:21 - 47:21]: Yeah. All right, buddy.

Boyd McDonnell [47:22 - 47:25]: And then he would come back to the mat as, like, the match is over.

Willie Geist [47:25 - 47:28]: Right? Yeah. Thanks.

Boyd McDonnell [47:29 - 47:35]: Whereas I, like, you know, have. I'm like, Miles, do you need me to stay at practice and watch you guys or.

Willie Geist [47:35 - 47:37]: Right, right, exactly.

Boyd McDonnell [47:37 - 47:39]: No, I don't. I don't.

Willie Geist [47:39 - 47:39]: Right.

Boyd McDonnell [47:39 - 48:49]: So, yeah, but I think it would just be for me, really. It's just being more present at the beginning, like, I felt like. And it was career stuff, and it was stress that you do need to sort of build the house and feel good about the fact you're sort of creating the Runway for your family. So there's that. But I think that my advice to myself would be leave the phone in a drawer and then go and do bedtime and don't worry about whatever else is happening at the office. It's not important. So, yeah, that's kind of. That's kind of it. I do feel like I've been around a lot from the beginning, thankfully, and now much more, thanks to my job and working for myself and having that flexibility. Like, I will. I won't miss a game. I won't miss whatever. You know, I want to be at these. Certainly in the last five, six years, when it all starts becoming much more real and finite, it really starts to. But I do feel like you. I caught that early. I don't feel like I'm late to the game. I feel like my kids have had more of me than they need.

Paige Nolan [48:50 - 48:57]: Your best friends. Your best friends, Willie. This is Boyd's latest narrative that he's the girl's best friend.

Willie Geist [48:57 - 48:57]: Oh, I like that.

Paige Nolan [48:57 - 49:06]: So, like, the Billie Eilish album just dropped. So Boyd's, like, listening to all the tracks and, like, which is your favorite track? Best friend, you know, and three best friends.

Willie Geist [49:06 - 49:09]: Their friends, how are they responding?

Boyd McDonnell [49:09 - 49:13]: They love it, actually. They kind of let me in. They teach me the lingo. Their friends come over, they.

Paige Nolan [49:13 - 49:15]: They teach the whole thing.

Willie Geist [49:16 - 49:18]: Getting, like, Riz and all that stuff.

Boyd McDonnell [49:19 - 49:21]: Not sussing, you know, all this. All the.

Willie Geist [49:21 - 49:34]: I got one this weekend called type. You guys got type? No, you're saying, like, that's some, you know, that's some gangster type shit or whatever. Instead of going through all that, you say, that's type.

Boyd McDonnell [49:34 - 49:36]: Oh, I like that.

Willie Geist [49:37 - 49:37]: Yeah.

Paige Nolan [49:37 - 49:38]: Oh, gosh.

Willie Geist [49:38 - 49:44]: I don't quite have a handle on it yet, as you can tell, but I'm just like, understand it.

Boyd McDonnell [49:44 - 49:45]: That's really valid.

Paige Nolan [49:45 - 49:54]: If your fathers were here on this call with us, what do you think they would say they are most proud of? What aspect of your life are they most proud of?

Willie Geist [49:54 - 49:58]: First of all, he'd never be able to figure out this software so he would not call.

Boyd McDonnell [49:59 - 50:04]: My dad would be on a yellow legal pad writing down, like, when does this thing start?

Willie Geist [50:04 - 50:17]: My dad would butt dial me on speakerphone, yelling at my mom that I can't figure out the goddamn thing. He sent me this goddamn thing. Dad, call me. No, no. A 37 minutes message on my voicemail from his.

Paige Nolan [50:18 - 50:27]: Whenever stuff like that happens, Willie, I always say to Boyd, we're going to be the same way. We're going to be the same way. I mean, it's so. It's just all coming down the pipe.

Boyd McDonnell [50:27 - 50:32]: Why isn't my ocular implant working for this all with Miles? God damn it.

Willie Geist [50:32 - 50:33]: Not Paige.

Boyd McDonnell [50:33 - 50:34]: It's not working.

Willie Geist [50:35 - 50:41]: Won't connect to the Bluetooth. Wait, what was it? Who would they be most proud of?

Paige Nolan [50:41 - 50:46]: What would he be proud of? What aspect of your life, I think, or just any.

Willie Geist [50:46 - 52:26]: The way our children to this point have turned out, I think, like, the career stuff is just gravy, and he is proud in his way. He's, you know, because, like you said, it is totally different than what he has done, so. And it's in a different place and a different network and all that, and he. So I think he respects and appreciates that side of it. But what really he's proud of and brings some joy is our kids, because we were so lucky that my parents in New York lived three blocks away from us when they were born. So my mom was our three days a week was our babysitter. So my kids grew up in their apartment, and they were so close, and they're so lucky still to have four living grandparents. And Christina's parents are in new Jersey, so they're, you know, 45 minutes away. And so he has seen it from, literally from day one. I mean, I have a picture of them leaving their apartment with a bottle of Veuve clique on June 2007 to come to the hospital. They took a selfie, or someone took their picture that we had in our house. And so is his genuine enthusiasm and joy for them. And he feels about them the way we do, which is you watch them grow, and you just marvel at every step along the way. And George plays the drums so well, and that's been a whole fascinating thing. In fact, George, in a couple of days, is giving a talk about it at his school, about nice, how this music thing that he has, how it has connected him with people in his life. And one of them is, my dad will come to his. He has these shows at bars. They play at irish pubs.

Paige Nolan [52:26 - 52:27]: Nice.

Willie Geist [52:27 - 54:00]: In some of the guys. And they'll do, like, a Led Zeppelin unit. Like, their last couple ago was a Led Zeppelin unit. And my dad will come to the show, and as I said, he's very midwestern, not a hugger, not a crier, all that stuff. And they're playing, God, I wish I could remember which song it was. Might have been like, whole lotta love or some huge Zeppelin song. And at first, my dad is singing along enthusiastically, and then I look over and he's got, like, a tear coming on his face, and you're like, oh, wow. This is, like, hitting him in some way that I thought he'd just be like, that was awesome. Zeppelin kicks ass. And then you talk to him afterward, and he gets George and he says, you know, when I was in Vietnam, we had no connection to home except, like, these four records. And, like, that was one of the records. And so, wow, he's feeling that, first of all, he survived Vietnam, had me, I had George. And George is now playing the music that helped him survive. It's like this whole thing, and that's the power. So that's beyond proud. That's like, God. Like, my family legacy is continuing up there. My grandson's playing this music, and Lucy playing in a game or doing something amazing at school. He is so. It's so fun to watch how truly, genuinely proud he is of his grandkids, you know, not just as, like, on the sideline of the game, but in some really profound way. Like, I've known you since the day you were born and look at you now kind of thing.

Paige Nolan [54:00 - 54:07]: Yeah. I think what a beautiful experience for your dad. I'm sorry that in his life.

Willie Geist [54:07 - 54:07]: Yeah.

Paige Nolan [54:07 - 54:08]: Really meaningful.

Willie Geist [54:08 - 54:10]: Can do, as Boyd knows.

Paige Nolan [54:10 - 54:17]: Yeah. Everybody's life is so unique and different, and he's getting that. It's a. That's a beautiful thing for him and.

Willie Geist [54:17 - 54:26]: A good reward for George. Like, feedback. Oh, yeah. Music isn't just, like, fun. It's something else entirely that can reach people in a deep place.

Boyd McDonnell [54:26 - 54:26]: Change your life.

Paige Nolan [54:26 - 54:32]: Yeah. What about pops? What would Richard say about your life, Boyd? What would he be excited about?

Boyd McDonnell [54:32 - 54:41]: First thing that comes to mind for me, I think, is that he would just be proud of my relationships. Like, my relationship with you.

Paige Nolan [54:41 - 54:42]: Yeah.

Boyd McDonnell [54:42 - 56:41]: My relationship with you, Willie and my boys and my relationship with my brothers, which gave. Nothing, gave him more joy than being around, that is Marter and Clayton and me and you and the other guys. Like, that was when he was at his most liberated. Like, just like, he was so joyful and so loud and so boisterous. When he got to be around us and Carter and Clayton and the guys and see how much. I mean, it just, that's what he loved. He loved having fun. So I think that seeing how much fun I'm having in my life, my kids with my day to day with you, with my friends, I think is kind of where he would feel most, most proud. And I think as a dad, you, you know, like you said before, Willie, we're going to worry about the kids for 60 years, God willing. And so you want them to, you want everything to work out and you want everything to be great. You want them to have all the opportunities and get and everything, you know, make sure that it's all level playing field and fair. They're getting their fair shot. You know, it's like protective. Yeah. All of that comes into play, but really, you just, you want to see them happy and enjoying their life in whatever shape that takes. And I think relationships are such a big part of that, but it's at the root of it all, it's just, and you get better perspective on this as we get older of, like, for ourselves. Well, what is happiness? What is it really? It's. Well, happiness is being with my kids, and happiness is. I don't. Happiness is being at home on a Friday night and maybe the kids come in and out. Maybe I'm just with Paige. Maybe, you know, Miles is eating like, twelve chicken breasts. That gives me a lot of happiness.

Paige Nolan [56:42 - 56:52]: And, um, that, by the way, that stresses me out. And Boyd is like, oh, my God, this is amazing. He just made four eggs. And I'm like, how is he eating this much? And Boyd's like, it's amazing.

Willie Geist [56:53 - 57:18]: How about right after the huge family dinner? You're like, all right, dishes are done. George is pouring a bowl of, like, honey nut Cheerios, that egg, like the gallon of milk going in it, and you're like, we just ate immediately, immediately. Like, you had unlimited food just now and then, like, just hopping in here. Freezer goes open. This looks good. Yeah, it's just 14 year old bottomless pit.

Boyd McDonnell [57:18 - 57:49]: So joyful in watching that. Ryan came in the other day and Miles had like, you know, a mass, like a, like a bowl, like a salad bowl for a family. Like taking from his uncle, he fills that with rice. Like three, four chicken breasts, cracked eggs, you know, fried eggs all over it. And Ryan says, miles, that's a lot of food. And his response, he goes, it's bulk season because he's started lifting now. So he's. I was in the other room just like, yes, yes.

Willie Geist [57:49 - 58:05]: Yeah, we start. George started getting the powder. Whatever. I don't even look at that. I think, is that okay? Is that made by a certified company? So he's just scooping chocolate. I hear the blender's always going, what are we putting in there? Throwing? Don't worry, dad. Bulking up.

Paige Nolan [58:05 - 59:51]: This is a difference in Boyd's fatherhood. He mentioned the little kitchen tea set thing that we had when the kids were younger, and that would definitely stress him out. His whole, you know, you could see, like, the steam coming out of his ears when there's, like, all these little parts around. And it was right through the front door, right in our tv room. And now when you open our front door, right in the piano room is bench press. And, boy, it's, like, the most amazing right there, because we gave it to miles for Christmas, and we're like, oh, we're going to move it out in the backyard. It's LA. It's great weather, but it's been raining a lot in January, February, March, and then, you know, April and may kind of flew by. You and I, you know, we're all talking. This will be released in June. The bench press is still in our main room. But what I love about it is just the. The evolution of the family. Like, you know, one day it's an Ikea kitchen set, you know, then it's. Then it's something else. You know, toys are around, and then ingredients are around. All three of our kids love cooking, you know, and as they've gotten older, they've gotten to be better cooks. It used to be Mac and cheese was on the stove. Now it's like these elaborate salmon dishes. Or miles can cook himself a steak. And the bench press, being in the piano room, it's also fleeting. You know, I think to what you said earlier, Boyd, like, you're so much better at just allowing the moment to be the moment. And even if it is a chaotic moment, and there are pressures with teenagers, just like there's pressures with babies and there's pressure, pressures with early childhood. But to be in the moment means to, you know, flow and move through it and know that nothing lasts forever. And so I've been enjoying the bench press. Boyd and miles have really been enjoying the bench press.

Willie Geist [59:52 - 59:55]: Like, make prison yard vibes outside. No.

Paige Nolan [59:55 - 59:57]: Yeah, we will get it.

Boyd McDonnell [59:58 - 1:00:10]: That's what it was supposed to be. And then, yeah, because of the weather, it was like, well, let's just keep it in here for a month. And now it's like you walk in our front door, it's bench with, like, bunch of plates. Dumbbells.

Willie Geist [1:00:10 - 1:00:10]: Yeah.

Boyd McDonnell [1:00:11 - 1:00:18]: It's like, yeah. Statement piece. That and a piano. I'm like, what? What more do I want? You walk in, you see a bunch of cool room.

Paige Nolan [1:00:19 - 1:00:19]: Yeah, yeah.

Boyd McDonnell [1:00:19 - 1:00:23]: It's a dude room. Uh, do a ballad. I do some bench.

Willie Geist [1:00:23 - 1:00:25]: Right? Get, get, get.

Paige Nolan [1:00:25 - 1:00:25]: I love it so much.

Willie Geist [1:00:25 - 1:00:36]: Get, roll and do a ballad. I did notice we have a little workout area. And I went up to George's room the other day, and most of the dumbbells have been moved up to his room now. So I think he's up there. Just.

Paige Nolan [1:00:36 - 1:00:37]: Oh, yeah.

Willie Geist [1:00:37 - 1:00:38]: Deal in his room.

Boyd McDonnell [1:00:38 - 1:00:40]: Oh, yeah. He knows summer is coming.

Willie Geist [1:00:42 - 1:00:46]: It's season. As a great man once said, bulk season.

Boyd McDonnell [1:00:46 - 1:01:23]: Well, I was just going to say, based on what you had finished, it really is about just really letting go and enjoying every single minute because it's so fleeting. It's so. It's moving so fast. And, yeah, just. I feel very grateful that I have, I think, a very full perspective on the priority of things in my life. And there at the very top, there's nothing close, including you, Paige. You're not close. You're a distant fourth. It's the kids.

Willie Geist [1:01:24 - 1:01:26]: Bench, bench. Piano.

Paige Nolan [1:01:27 - 1:01:30]: Paige, it's so not what it seems.

Willie Geist [1:01:30 - 1:01:34]: That's tough. You wanted to be unvarnished. Truth on your podcast.

Paige Nolan [1:01:34 - 1:01:34]: That's right.

Willie Geist [1:01:36 - 1:01:38]: Oddly, Paige, you're number two on my list.

Paige Nolan [1:01:38 - 1:03:30]: Nice. It's my calm demeanor in labor and delivery. That's what did it. Well, I was going to give a shout out to both of your moms and say also that I think so much of celebrating your fatherhood and how, Willie, you said earlier, just being around, I think more than your dads were around, even though Bill was around. It's just around in a different way. I think it's more than being physically around. I think it's being so emotionally available and so open hearted. And I feel like there's a shout out to the generation before us, the women before us, who have opened the door for your dads to be who they were so that you could be who you are. Because one of the reasons I wanted to have you two on and celebrate fatherhood with you is because you are so open hearted to your children and to your families. I love being around both of you because you enjoy your kids so much. And you teach me about parenthood and just being in the moment, because, as Boyd knows, you know, we'll be having this amazing moment. We swim, we have this great pool in our backyard, and it gets really hot here in the summer, and it's so beautiful. It's like, so it's such a blessing to be in a family and to be in a family who likes each other and gets along. And I'm so grateful for our property and our pool and our house that I almost can't take it in. And I look over a Boyd, and he's just totally absorbed in the moment. Like he so lets all of the joy in and so that. And I think you're the same way, Willie. That is such a gift to your wives and to all the women around who have fathers who are that engaged and husbands who are willing to be that open hearted. So thanks for being that way.

Willie Geist [1:03:30 - 1:04:18]: Yeah, well, we're lucky to have you and Christina. I mean, this is, that all comes from you and from. You're right, from our mom. So my mom's a social worker. So that open hearted. Let's figure out what's really going on with this person, whether it's a child or an adult. Like, that's all in there somewhere. I also think the older you get, the more you gratitude comes into play, where when you're young, you're kind of your going 100 miles an hour and you take it all for granted that it's going to be there. And those early years of a child feel, the days feel so long that it feels like it's going to go on forever. Like we were saying before, for sure, then you're at a certain point, you go, whoa, pull back the reins and slow this down. And to your point, in any small moment, we could the four of us just be lying in our bed because our kids basically tuck us in now because we all talk.

Paige Nolan [1:04:18 - 1:04:20]: Boyden. I mean, Boyden done at night, literally.

Willie Geist [1:04:20 - 1:05:43]: Lucy, like, came in last night and laid between best chat, and we're like, can we just go to bed? But, like, even that moment, I like, like you. I just, like, sit there. I'm like, this is great. And part of that is because I feel. I feel the tick tock of, you know, another year before they go off to college. But also, I just. I feel like you guys feel we're so lucky to have this happy, healthy family that loves being around each other. And our kids, they give us crap, but in a funny way. And we don't have a lot of the strife that you hear about teenagers are so awful, and they don't talk to their parents and all that. And I get that, and that happens, but it's not our experience. And I think a lot of that is a credit to the way Christina especially, like, parented them at a young age. And there's mutual respect. They respect us and we respect them. We give them their space, they respect our rules, and above all, we just have fun together. So we're just. Like you said, Paige, it is such a gift. We're so lucky to have kids and these families. And the older you get, the more you appreciate it, the more feel like they're going to go on to exciting new things that don't rely on you all the time. And that's hard to accept, but that's what you built them for ten years, from the moment you brought them home in the hospital in that car seat. You built them so that they could do it on their own. And they're about to.

Paige Nolan [1:05:43 - 1:05:53]: And Boyd's going to show up in the college dorm and be like, guys, oh, best pals, orange flavored vodka, courant, and the new Billie Eilish album.

Willie Geist [1:05:53 - 1:06:00]: I think you meant absolute courant. Absolute favorite, top drawer under the socks if you're ever looking for it.

Paige Nolan [1:06:00 - 1:06:01]: Totally.

Willie Geist [1:06:02 - 1:06:11]: Yeah. We've been threatening Lucille. Mention a school she likes, and I'll just send her, like, trulia listings because we're going to get an apartment wherever she goes to college. Just for drawing.

Paige Nolan [1:06:12 - 1:06:12]: Yeah.

Willie Geist [1:06:12 - 1:06:18]: Hey, kiddo, you want to grab lunch? So she's not telling us where she wants to go to school, so we don't buy.

Paige Nolan [1:06:19 - 1:06:20]: Exactly.

Boyd McDonnell [1:06:20 - 1:06:24]: That's a little better than I just say. We're just going to get a three bedroom place.

Willie Geist [1:06:25 - 1:06:28]: Oh, well, yeah, just a three operation.

Boyd McDonnell [1:06:28 - 1:06:37]: We'Re going to get. Like, whether it's in the dorm, I don't know. I mean, I don't know the logistics there, but either a three bedroom suite in the dorms, or I'll get us a house for the three of us.

Willie Geist [1:06:37 - 1:06:44]: Yeah. Some of the more progressive norms, I think, are letting dads live in some of those schools. They're real open minded.

Boyd McDonnell [1:06:44 - 1:06:45]: Yeah, they really. They should.

Paige Nolan [1:06:45 - 1:06:48]: It's a whole new evolution.

Willie Geist [1:06:50 - 1:06:52]: Walking down the hallway. Hey, girls.

Paige Nolan [1:06:52 - 1:06:52]: Yeah?

Boyd McDonnell [1:06:55 - 1:06:56]: Don't go in there for a bit.

Paige Nolan [1:06:57 - 1:06:59]: Oh, that's terrifying.

Boyd McDonnell [1:06:59 - 1:07:04]: Your dad is here still? Uh, yeah, he's visiting again.

Willie Geist [1:07:04 - 1:07:05]: No, no, he lives here.

Boyd McDonnell [1:07:05 - 1:07:06]: He lives here. He thinks we're best friends.

Paige Nolan [1:07:07 - 1:07:11]: The first man you'll ever meet and the last man you'll ever see the.

Boyd McDonnell [1:07:11 - 1:07:14]: Last man to leave the last man.

Paige Nolan [1:07:14 - 1:07:18]: To leave last man standing. Girls. Hey, it's me. It's me. Hi, girls.

Willie Geist [1:07:19 - 1:07:19]: Hey.

Paige Nolan [1:07:20 - 1:07:21]: Remember me from day one?

Boyd McDonnell [1:07:22 - 1:07:28]: Yeah. Oh, it's like a bad movie. Like we start our own university where we get to live there, too.

Willie Geist [1:07:29 - 1:07:41]: Yeah, I think that might be a crime. Now that we're talking through it a little bit, I think what we're describing is a crime. Oh, God, you guys.

Paige Nolan [1:07:41 - 1:07:50]: Thank you all so much. I feel like I could talk to y'all for 3 hours. It's so, so fun and beautiful, and I just love you both so much.

Willie Geist [1:07:50 - 1:07:51]: We love you, Paige.

Boyd McDonnell [1:07:51 - 1:07:52]: Paige.

Willie Geist [1:07:52 - 1:07:53]: Love you, Boydo.

Paige Nolan [1:13:20 - 1:14:25]: Thanks to each of you for being here and for listening. I'm so grateful we get to share life in this way. As always, full show notes are are available@pagenolin.com podcast there you will find a full summary of the episode, timestamps and key takeaways and any resources mentioned in our conversation. If you enjoyed this episode, I'd love if you would leave me a rating and a review. You can do that by visiting paigenolan.com. love your reviews. Really do help people to discover the show. And if you know someone specifically who would enjoy this episode, I'm so grateful to have you all share. I'll meet you there with your friends. Lastly, if you have any questions or comments or if you would like to share any feedback with me, please email to meetmetheragenolan.com. i would love to hear from you. Thank you to the team that makes this show possible. Podcast production and marketing by North Node Podcast Network Music by Boyd McDonnell cover photography by innocent Casey okay, y'all, that's it for now. I'll meet you there again soon.