Purpose, Passion, and Pajamas with Genevieve Piturro

Tanya Gill: 00:00:01

All right, my friends. Welcome to the trifecta of joy. Today I bring a very special friend to you, Genevieve Piturro is with us and she's inspiring. What makes Genevieve so inspiring is that she took a big shift in her life to pursue, oh, pajama project, actually a pajama project. And it just absolutely warms my heart. Because, as you know, for me legacy, and that legacy of self love is really the piece of it all. So Genevieve, welcome. Thank you for joining us.

Genevieve Piturro: 00:00:41

Thank you, Tanya.

Tanya Gill: 00:00:43

Girl, your story is fascinating. Please tell us a little bit about your story.

Genevieve Piturro: 00:00:49

Sure, thank you. Well, I wanted to be maritime, or for as long as I can remember when I was a kid, and I'd sneak down and watch her late at night, past my bedtime. And to me, she had a dream life, the dream job, the dream apartment, the dream best friend. And being the first of four kids in a very Italian traditional household, my dad off the boat from Italy. The real dream for my parents was for me to get an education, but then get married and have kids and you know, give them grandchildren. So they didn't know about this little secret, tiptoeing down the stairs, because I had another dream that I wanted. And it didn't include the traditions it included, you know, this bold move. And I pursued that. And I pursued it in my heart. And I pursued it during my college years. And I finally had the nerve, you know, to tell my parents that I wanted to work in New York City and climb the corporate ladder and leave the house and get my own place. And they went bonkers. And they came around, you know, in a couple of years. But it started out that way. And I had you know, I was I had a bit of a different drum. And 12 years in, I really loved my exciting job. It was in TV, it was in the city. And I was you know, workaholic, and I was traveling and all of that on the business account. But one day in my pretty little apartment, I heard a voice from from here from inside me that, you know, I knew the difference. It wasn't a head voice. It was coming from somewhere else. And now I know it's a hard voice. And it asked me a question and asked me if this is the next 30 years of your life. Is this enough? And Tanya, that stopped me cold. First because I heard a voice. And second, because it was a real poignant question. And it was phrased in such a way that it really it really just paralyzed me. But at the same time I knew the answer. And it came from somewhere I could never have imagined and the answer was no, you missed something. And I knew that was I knew that was children. And I knew there had to be a way other than money out getting married have kids at that point for me to care for children to bring them into my life because there was a hole in me. And I remembered a recent TV news story about children who were hurt terribly by people who are taking care of them. And we all know those stories and a call the police who barged in and took those kids out and asked them what happens to those kids. And the the officer told me there were some emergency shelters there in every city and he gave me the name of a couple in my area in New York City I called them and I asked if I could come and visit at night maybe read stories to them and I was welcomed in you know, it was it was that simple pre 911 You know, we're talking a while ago and you know, looking back, it's all it's all fake. It's all how how your path direction how you follow it because that couldn't happen as easily today, but I was welcomed in and I went in with children's stories in my business dude. I sat on the floor, they brought me into this very bear room. And within you know, a minute there were little faces at the door and they brought in these little faces. And there was an emergency shelter so I could see as the children came in so slowly that they'd been through some horrific trauma as I could tell by the looks on their faces. Some of them were crying. Some of them were dirty, some of the clothes were soiled and didn't fit properly. You know, in a moment, you can sum sum up the situation. And I didn't know details, but I knew the pain. I felt the pain and the other a handful of them. They sat on the floor like they were told. And in my business suit cross legged, I read story after story and it was it was a quiet a quiet hour. And they looked around and you know, I tried my best to to concentrate on the stories but of course I was wondering what happened what's next. And week after week I did this different kids all the time in and out of those shelters. And once one night I, I was leaving and I said, Wait, and I turned instinctively I followed, where they were taking the kids to go to bed at night. And I was equally saddened to see a bear room with futons and couches and kids coming up holding each other and huddling on on those surfaces. And they didn't have anything to change into. And it was quiet. And I heard sniffling and I just had this vision flashbacks of my mom at our, at our beds at home. And we were little and the love and the laughing in the snacks and stories and stories. And of course pajamas and here on looking. And that's what stuck out. So as they staff were taking me to the door to leave, I turned and I said can I bring some pajamas next time? And I was even I remember that moment thinking, wow, that's a funny thing. Had that come out of my mouth. And they said, Sure, you know, nobody thinks that pajamas. That would be great. And I brought them the next time I was so excited. You know, we're crazy shopping and bought all kinds of sizes and everything because you didn't know who was gonna be there. And when I got there that night, after I read the stories, I started to hand out the pajamas one by one. And one little girl was so afraid to take the pink ones i i had picked like a jacket that I had for her and I knew that would fit or I could tell she came up to my hips. And our her ponytails were lopsided and our shirt was dirty. And our pants are so shortage a big huge sneakers. And she was just quiet silent all night and, and she was so afraid of me. She She just backed up every time I got near her. She said no, no, no, that's all she said, shook her head. And I kept trying. And I noticed that she wasn't going to the room to go to sleep. She was watching me with her with a staff person. So I finished with the other kids, I went back over with those that I had saved for her. I tried one more time and I knelt down and I said, I mean don't you want your pajamas are so soft, just feel them. And I tried to put them closer her hands so she could feel how soft I seemed to go wear them all night cream or wear them all day. They're just for you, you never have to give them back to me. And she just leaned in. And she quietly said, what are pajamas. And I, I it took everything I had to not show her that she threw me or that she did anything wrong. And I had to explain pajamas to this little girl. And that's when everything up to that point sort of went out of out the window as far as my, my duties the next day. And all we wanted to do was find these kids and give them pajamas and you know, wanted to hug them and take them home. But all I could do was was show them and give them love in that way that for some reason came to me. And here we are 23 years later and pajama program is thriving nationally with 40 Some chapters around the US 7 million plus pajamas, books to these kids and now teaching some of the older kids bedtime ritual so that they can fall asleep under any circumstance and wake up knowing that, you know, they they are seen. And it's just been an incredible journey. And 20 years ago after being the executive director as well as the founder, I knew I wanted to write a book and continue to teach the power of purpose and human connection because that's what was about for 20 some years. And so that's what I'm doing now I'm speaking and my second book is coming out and I am I am proud I am touched by the you know, the contagious purpose that little girl gave me you know, it's it's tough speaking through me to speak to other people. Generally,

Tanya Gill: 00:08:43

it's, it's fascinating to me how I'll just say the universe works. I call it a previous life, but I've always been in a helping profession and first as a teacher, and then as a social worker, and I worked in child protection. So the children that you speak of, I know well, yeah, I understand that trauma, I understand that. That lens of fear the unknown. And and what is so powerful about your story is that it really is about showing up and being seen and having someone feel seen in a time that is so turbulent in a time that is so scary in a time that has so much uncertainty. And when you describe possessions you describe this little girl and the dirty T shirts and the two short pants and the shoes that are too big. And the lopsided ponytails and and what our pajamas it's so powerful because Many of us have privileged to the degree that we don't understand that that is the reality for a lot of kiddos. And I also have an incredible passion when it comes to taking care of kiddos. And in fact, a percentage of the sales of my book, The trifecta of joy, go toward a youth shelter. Because for me, it really is about that legacy. And it's about supporting those kiddos, when there's nowhere else that feel safe. Right, and you take it that step further bye, bye give giving them that sacred space, and an even a slice of that feeling of safety and connection and ownership at a time of the day that can feel so incredibly vulnerable. Because that's when the vulnerability hits, whether we're adults or children, bedtime can be a scary and unsettling time. So Miss Mary Tyler Moore does the corporate life decides not to have children. And then you said that it was this voice within so I talk about mind, body and spirit, right? We can talk about spirit from the perspective of, you know, God told me or the universe told me or you had this deep knowing. And I can hear that deep knowing within you. And that is so unbelievably powerful. The question becomes, like, you made a massive change in your paths. How do you overcome a fear in your path? To pursue what you just knew in your soul? Was your purpose?

Genevieve Piturro: 00:12:00

Well, you know, because I, you expressed it perfectly, eloquently perfectly. And you know, about this purpose, because of your work. Yeah. All I can say to that is it drove me day and night. It was just, I didn't know purpose. I didn't know the word. You know, when I was going to school growing up, nobody said, before you get a job, you must think about your purpose, and you must find a way to channel your purpose into yours. No, it was get a good job. And I thought if you had asked me when I was working by purpose, I would have said, you know, Einstein had a purpose. And you know, later, Oprah and Deepak Chopra, those people, the rest of us who were lucky to get a good job. But I thought purpose was big word, you know, reserved for a very special people. But I learned, you know, and I learned so much. And I didn't know anything in the first week, I just had this weird obsession. But I learned how powerful purpose is. And in my book I talk about, it was very scary. For me, it was very difficult financially, I racked up credit cards, I met a great guy almost ruined his financial status. I mean, it was, it was it was just this force that was bigger than me. I mean, it's our heart, you know, and it's my, it was my heart that was leading my head for it for a while then at some point, my head said, Well, I'm not going to win. So let me just do what I can to help this poor girl with this big heart. And it sort of fell in line and gave me some direction when I was floundering. But all I can say is, you know, you have a purpose. It just doesn't quit. And there's something about it doesn't let

Tanya Gill: 00:13:49

us quit. Yeah, yeah. It's just that it's like, I don't know, my experience has been one of I don't know what the hell I'm doing, really. But I know that this is what I'm here to do. Right? And so when someone asks me what my purpose is, I say that my purpose is to spread love and light and to inspire hope. And, and it's like this, it is it's like this calling and then and I have to ask you this because there was a point in my life where many times actually I've been like, Why the hell would the universe do this to me? Why this why this why this and what I've learned is that we have to stop letting go of the why. And you know, it's like I say we we find ourselves in these WHAT THE FUCK moments but we have the WTF is really what's this for? And so, I hear this accumulation of experience and knowledge and, and putting it's almost like putting all the puzzle pieces together to discover and Step into your purpose. Like, I really hear that your corporate life wasn't a waste. It was part of your journey. It was part of what's this for.

Genevieve Piturro: 00:15:10

Right? Right. And they say, you know, you can't connect the dots moving forward, only looking back. And that's what you're saying. And it's true. You know, I spent, I spent a long time kicking myself, why did I stay in the corporate world, but I didn't know any better at that point. Until that until that moment, so I stopped kicking myself for it. And I said, Okay, you know, it was for a reason. And a lot of that was because I was in marketing. So I knew short and sweet, I knew pictures, photos, stories. And looking back, I see how that story that that I started to tell people was so powerful, how she channeled right through me. And then we named her hope, actually. Yeah. And I don't know her name, that. So when I told that story, 15 years into pajama program, I had not a photo of her because I never saw her again, I had a drawing that my niece, I asked her to draw it for me. So I could show people what my memory looks like. She did a great job. And when I showed it to the audience, somebody yelled up, let's call her hope. So that's how she got her and her name. But, you know, it's just, it is all that for something, even to this day, even my new projects, you know, things happen. And I say, why, you know, I was working so hard. Why didn't that work? Or why did they get the response? You have to stop saying like you said, you have to stop saying why just let it go.

Tanya Gill: 00:16:41

Let it go. One step forward, right. It's so better. Yeah. And we have these revelations, we have these insights along the way, that steer us, if you will, into what that next step is. I'm sure you had revelations along the way. What were some of your revelations if you're if you're comfortable sharing, you're sure

Genevieve Piturro: 00:17:05

i Yes, I put some of them in my book, but they still happen. I didn't know what I was newly married, I got newly married the beginning of all this, and I had to break the news to my boyfriend, I'm probably not going to have a salary because either I'm gonna get fired, or I'm gonna jump. And as I met this little girl, and I told him the story. And he had the right answer. He said, Go for it. Because other people beforehand thought I was crazy and didn't have that generous spirit. But he did. So he, he teaches meditation. So I didn't know how handy that would come because I was not meditating. I'm an a personality. I mean, he, he watches the sunsets. And I say, Well, I don't have time. It'll be up tomorrow, maybe I'll have time tomorrow. So I said to him, I don't know what to do with this thing, giving kids pajamas and books. And he said, meditate, ask the universe for a sign. And long story short, I even meditated on the subway in New York City go to work, and like, plop a raindrop in my head, plop that I heard the words pajama program. And I knew instantly, that was the name of this thing. And when I had the name of this entity, it felt even more real. And I was able to take steps a little quicker, because it was a real living thing. So there are things still to this day. And you know, I can tell, you know, that plop into your brain that that you have a place where you either meditate or you're doing an activity that brings you joy, and you get these amazing ideas. You want to stop swimming or running and go find paper and pen. But those are the inspired acts we have to act on. Thank you.

Tanya Gill: 00:18:42

Thank you. And that's I think there's a tendency if there is a moment where we recognize that there's an inspired action that we have to act upon. And in order to be able to act upon it. More My belief is that we have to arrive at that really true place of trust. So how did you trust all of this?

Genevieve Piturro: 00:19:09

You know, it's hard to let go right? It's hard to let go of the workaholic mentality it was for me that you have to keep pushing, pushing, pushing, if it doesn't work and push down another door, you keep it and it's very hard then to let that go and replace it with just relax. Right. So So I think, you know, a lot of things happen when you are so tired and worn out that you just die. And because you have no you can't you just can't take another you're just done. And you don't want to stop and you beat yourself up for stopping. But a lot of times that's when the clarity comes and the idea comes. It's just learning how not to not to have to get to that point by exhausting, but to get to that point voluntarily, and I haven't yet mastered that I still grapple with that. Well, and wow, Genevieve, I'm

Tanya Gill: 00:20:08

so glad that you're a human, and our listeners are going to appreciate that you're human too, because what you just described is exactly it. I think that many of us and my experience was that I actually had to hit a wall and burn out in order to be able to connect with my purpose on that larger scale. However, I think we can foster and others how to get beyond that, or to actually never hit a wall, because of the awareness that we've created for ourselves, because we're befriending our inner critic, because we're trusting in a different way in those 1% Steps through life. Right? And, and you talk about stopping. And for a go getter, a Mary Tyler Moore type go getter? What was stopping like for you?

Genevieve Piturro: 00:21:04

It's, well, back then. Yeah, I stopped because I had to, because I was either making things worse. And I got to a point where I saw that, and I just couldn't keep my eyes open. Or I couldn't say no to visiting my family one more time. So I went. So it was sort of a forced stop until I say, oh, there's some pattern here. When I alleviate this pressure, I feel better and an idea comes. But you know, as I said, I still grapple with it yesterday, just yesterday, I was working, working. And I was, I guess pushing, you know, act taking action, and nothing was working out. And I stopped voluntarily I hated to. But I said I have to, because I'm not getting anywhere. And I'm not. I'm frustrated. And I'm hating this feeling. So I just stopped, I had a whole list of things to do. And I stopped and I went home and I put on the TV. And I don't know what I ate something watermelon. And I watch TV eating watermelon and my brain like just sort of collapsed, which was a freeing feeling, even though the guilt still hanging over me. But I recognized that what I was doing was more damage. Because nothing good was gonna come out from any of the emails or anything I was asking for. And it was it was strange, you know, it was really strange and I but I also knew it was a good thing. I also knew I had to recognize that those days happen those days, we all get those days. And we have a choice. And we can start fresh the next day. And you know, I started fresh this morning. So you know, we still look for the signs that that was the right thing to do you know that humaneness is is overshadows sometimes our trust and our higher self. But I just trusted my hairs off yesterday and it felt it felt good. But I don't do it enough. And then we have to do it more.

Tanya Gill: 00:23:16

It and that's exactly it. Right. It is a practice. It's recognizing that that resistance that you described was dragging you into a darkness that wasn't going to serve you or anyone else. Right, right. Yeah. So stepping away as hard as it is like your inner critics losing their mind saying, like, come on, Genevieve, we gotta get this shit done. What is wrong, take

Genevieve Piturro: 00:23:35

it off, shake it off.

Tanya Gill: 00:23:37

Just you know, like, shake it off and get your in, you know, it's that nose to the grindstone. I gotta get things and it's that that's such a thing. Right. Forcing and, and then of course, when we're forcing, we're actually in a space of resistance. Yes, yes. Right. And so, yes. And so it's not really serving us in the big picture anyway, a step back and nurturing your mind body spirit, taking a break and saying, Okay, I can do tomorrow and like, look through look, here we are. Here we are. Right. This kind of awesome. is existing? Because you stepped away yesterday?

Genevieve Piturro: 00:24:17

Yeah, I believe that.

Tanya Gill: 00:24:18

I believe that. Yeah, I believe that wholeheartedly. Because it was a it was one of those and I just call them micro lessons. It was a micro lesson in life about just being aware of what was working and what wasn't. And taking that opportunity to choose differently.

Genevieve Piturro: 00:24:32

Yes, yes. I mean, I I subscribed my whole life to my father's work ethic. And I've come to not really like that phrase. ethic. Because to me, that means, you know, you just like you said you just push and push and push and you do it and you nose to the grindstone and you get it done. And you know, there are two ways to do it, force it or be trust.

Tanya Gill: 00:24:56

That's flow. I just call that low right low. You Could you trust it is you're in flow. And then have you ever noticed and this is kind of a funny thing, and a bit of a tangent. But have you ever noticed that when you're in flow, it's almost like you can bend time. Get more done, and it feels good. Isn't there and you like feel like a rock star, like in the zone, right? With the athletes. Right? Exactly in the zone, right in the sweet spot in the zone. And want to stop, right? You don't want to stop. And the really cool thing is, is you're 100% Present.

Genevieve Piturro: 00:25:33

Yes. That's that's the key. That's, that is the key to being present. 100% Present. Yes.

Tanya Gill: 00:25:39

Being present is so, so important. We can feel

Genevieve Piturro: 00:25:43

it right, we can feel the difference. But yet, we still, we still do the work ethic, forcing thing. I don't get it. But oh, and

Tanya Gill: 00:25:52

you know what I do, though? I do? And I think Okay, so in my work, I talk about our cultural stew, right? So we start when we're born, we're of pure water. And and from the moment we're born, people start adding to our stew, they add their values, they add their beliefs, they add their biases, they add all of those things, fears. Exactly. And, and trauma and stories around trust and all of those things. And one of the things that was clearly added by your dad was this work ethic concept. And

Genevieve Piturro: 00:26:24

and don't be lazy.

Tanya Gill: 00:26:25

OH oh my you know what? Oh, I'm so glad you said that. Because because when I was a kid, I was called lazy so frequently by my dad, that it's a swear word in my life. Wow. Yeah. Like, like we don't eat that is a sweet DROP THE FUCK anywhere you want. But don't use lazy or you're lazy. Right? And then the other part of it is that I think we have to own. And I'm sure that you recognize it too, because you even had it in the resistance zone yesterday, right? Where you're like, Well, if I go sit and watch TV, then I'm being lazy, and I'm not getting my work done. Right. And that resistance is still there after how many years? Right, right of working with it. So it's that practice. It's the practice of awareness and choosing differently when you arrive there. And letting go of that inner critic who's telling you the old bullshit stories? Yeah, yeah, right. Those bullshit stories don't serve us. Yeah. Now you are living your passion. What would you say? Genevieve have been your top three lessons. And

Genevieve Piturro: 00:27:38

living you that? I'm sorry. It's never too late. Never too late ever to a teach that a coach that I speak about that never too late too many people, especially pre COVID Put everything that they wanted their dreams on a back burner until the kids leave the house until I retire until I save the money. And we see, you know, we could have lost everything. And now people are bringing, you know, meaning to the forefront and their purpose. So definitely, it's never too late. I say another one is find your cheerleaders, because your naysayers are going to pop up. And you got to get those cheerleaders lined up. I didn't a naysayer popped up sent me back six months, just just emotionally, emotionally, with, you know, doubts and questions and, you know, just acting like I was ridiculous. And I just shut my mouth for six months didn't tell anybody. And until I said, I am good. I'm juggling and all these balls are gonna fall if I don't tell somebody and then it was, you know, it was I found my cheerleaders and everything changed. You need support. So I talked about, I talked about the cheerleaders thing in my book, too. And then I think the lesson I learned and it's the it's something that that I always use in my presentations is I've I've found that even when I was starting this and I thought it before I started pajama program, I thought and people told me Look, look what one person can do. Oh my goodness, one idea, one person. And it's not. It's not the power of one that changes things. It's the power of one another that moves mountains and moves people. And I say that and I write that. And I put that out there. Because that is the truth. That's the power.

Tanya Gill: 00:29:26

Oh, my goodness. That final truth is so powerful, because, like I truly believe this is, you know, I wholeheartedly believe that some of us have been put on the planet to be light bearers to be torchbearers. And if we just stand there and hold our light, there'll be people who come to the light, there'll be people who are interested in the light, but the real magic comes when we get the opportunity to share it. And then other people have their own light and they are sharing it too. That's where impact comes from. And I think that a lot of people think, Well, I'm just one little human being doing my thing, how can I make an impact? But it's moment to moment. It's making the decisions aligned with your purpose. It's understanding your purpose, discovering it, letting your purpose I want to use the word morph. But it's more like letting it transform over time without resisting that transformation. Right? Yes. And then, you know, like you it is you just Oh, you just nailed it so beautifully. Ah, Genevieve, you are

Genevieve Piturro: 00:30:41

23 years.

Tanya Gill: 00:30:44

23 years and a lifetime, right. That's the thing, right? I mean, from birth, this has been part of your process. We may you may not realize it. But from birth, this has been part of your process, and you're at this juicy adventurous space in your life right now. And who knows what other magic is to come. Now, I I don't want our listeners to miss out on hearing Lamarr story. So pleased to share a little bit of Lamar story with us. And tell us what your greatest lesson from Lamar story is.

Genevieve Piturro: 00:31:22

Early on, I got a call from a man in Georgia. And he introduced himself as Lamar. And he worked for a retailer. And he said he heard about what we were doing. We were going to be building a reading center, our second one in Atlanta. And he said, I want to hear more something about it really resonates with me. And he said when he called me back, and I went and I met with him. And he said he wanted to be involved. And I didn't it didn't say why He just said he really took to it. So he started volunteering and everything was was wonderful. And then he took on more and more responsibility as a volunteer. And he was he was great. And we became friends. And a couple of years in, he took me to dinner. And he said, I want to tell you why a cold. He said, I was very close to my mom. And she was very sick. And I took care of her. And just before she died about 24 hours earlier, I was sitting with her. And she looked at me and she said, Lamar, what is your legacy? And he said, What do you mean? She said, You need a legacy son? What is your legacy? And he said he thought long and hard after she passed and he had never thought of that word. He had never thought of having a right to have a legacy to want a legacy. And he he realized that she was telling him to find his purpose. And he stayed with us. And we were very good friends until he passed and he stayed with us about more than 10 years, we were very close. And that's what brought me now, these many years later to say your purpose is your legacy. And to teach that and to be thankful for the people who helped make the work we're doing last forever. Because it's not about us. It's about the greater good. But you have to understand that that's why we're here. And that's what we're contributing to, you know, we're not here to make a lot of money and give our kids nice things. We're here to make a difference to strangers. And it took them a little while to understand. But that's that brought him to us. And when he shared that with me and all these years later, as he's passed away a couple years ago. I've thought about that. And you're never everyone. Everyone needs to think about how they're leaving this earth what they're contributing to it whether you're 15 years old, or 105

Tanya Gill: 00:33:58

enemy that's so powerful. And Lamar, Mother, I think she really touched on something I mean, it touched my soul. I'm like I'm fighting back tears right now. I really am because I I personally feel so strongly about the the importance of legacy. And at first I thought that my importance of legacy was because my first husband passed away when my boys were four years old and eight months old. And and I had a conversation. I'm not a religious person, but I had a conversation with God, the universe, whatever you want to call it, and I begged and I was swearing because I was angry, but I begged for a way to move forward. Enjoy grace and gratitude. I didn't have a clue how the hell it was. I was going to do it but that's what I was begging Have I was begging for that, because I knew that I needed to. I knew it was that knowing not in my brain in my soul that said, this is this is part of the legacy that I was meant to move forward in, even though I was in like the depths of tragedy and immobilized and compartmentalizing my life into two hour bites, and all of the gross SNESs. And now 16 years later, I feel like I'm stepping more and more into my purpose as time has gone on. And I actually say that it's about the legacy of self love, it's about that. And the Self Love is not look at me, I'm hot shit, I'm amazing. But it is owning your awesome, and being able to share that light with others. That's the legacy, the light in me sees the light in you. The light in me is the light in you, the light in you is the light in me. And that is that, that space of that universal love, if you will. And that's the power of universal love.

Genevieve Piturro: 00:36:12

That's powerful. That's very powerful and poignant at the same time. And you you're so eloquent about it. Yes. I have nothing to say yes.

Tanya Gill: 00:36:22

What I'm what I'm seeing though, Genevieve, is that, that that what is so incredible is that your, your purpose, your passion, and kind of came to be in such a magical way. And the amazing gift in it is that it created not just pajamas. For a bunch of kids. This is not about it's not about handing out clothes. Right? Like, anybody can go and pick up a bunch of clothes and drop them off at the shelter. It's about creating an experience and a connection and a seeing and someone understanding that they are worthy of love. In their own dark moments, and we're talking about children. Right? And, you know, are you familiar with aces scores, adverse childhood experience scores?

Genevieve Piturro: 00:37:23

No. Okay.

Tanya Gill: 00:37:24

So coming from my social work world, and also from my teaching world, we know that there's actually an ad out there there is anybody could Google it, there's an adverse childhood experiences scaling, where if you've experienced certain traumas in life, you get a scale out of 10. And it's an indicator of how much not just how much trauma you've experienced, but where you're at now, so that we can recognize the intensity, if you will, of where a child or a person is out in their life. However, however, research shows that the most powerful thing to the this the best antidote, if you will, the most powerful counter to adverse childhood experiences is if a child can have one caring adult in their life. Right. It's that experience of being seen and being heard, and being known. And, and just that trust that there's a caring adult in their life. pajamas and bedtime stories create a container. Yes, say that connection and safety's?

Genevieve Piturro: 00:38:49

Yes. Yes, and love. Of course, it's all about love. But it's

Tanya Gill: 00:38:53

that opening of having that trusting adult in your life, right and bonding,

Genevieve Piturro: 00:38:58

right how many bond? I've heard a million bonding stories from parents who come over to me who are starting to support pajama program and they say you don't know what my son says, you know, at night and my daughter said this at night and the darkness out of her bedside. Yeah. Because you created that safe space. The morning like to your point.

Tanya Gill: 00:39:17

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Genevieve, you are truly a spreader of love and light. I am so inspired by the way, you have lived your passion and your purpose and let it evolve and let it evolve. You said you're working on another book. What's your next book about?

Genevieve Piturro: 00:39:37

Yeah, you have to come back again. Say Yep. So media which I think you do, I think we're following each other. And you'll see and anybody who's listening or watching canon I will be able to talk about it very soon.

Tanya Gill: 00:39:50

Okay, so for for our friends who are listening. If they want to follow you on Instagram, it is at Genevieve Piturro. I will make sure that that is in the show notes as well as your website so people can find more about you. Is your book available on Amazon? It will be oh, this book. Yes, this one is everywhere. Yeah. Okay. So purpose, passion and pajamas is also available on Amazon. And my beautiful friend before we close, what one piece of advice would your soul give to a soul that is listening?

Genevieve Piturro: 00:40:23

Oh, boy, I want to be your cheerleader. If you need to brainstorm you want a sounding board, I always invite people contact me through my website. Let's have a conversation. You know, let's just talk I want to help. I want to support I want to give back that I know you know that person will to turn around the next person who asked me to help, that person will get help, too. So I'm here.

Tanya Gill: 00:40:44

Beautiful. That's beautiful. We all need cheerleaders. We all need cheerleaders. And I love that you are a cheerleader of others and a cheerleader of your passion. Because that's the other thing. We have to be our own cheerleader too. Thank you so much Genevieve for such an amazing conversation. I appreciate you so much.

Genevieve Piturro: 00:41:07

Oh, thank you. Thank you, Tanya, thank you for inviting me here. I appreciate you just just asking me to come and share. Thank you.

Tanya Gill: 00:41:14

Oh, it's so beautiful. It is truly so beautiful. My friends from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for joining Genevieve and I check out purpose, passion and pajamas and be sure to follow Genevieve Piturro on Instagram, you're gonna see that she really like shoes. And it is awesome. And she loves shoes. She loves shoes. So go check her out. And on that note from the bottom of my heart, keep on shining, my friends. You are so loved. Thank you for joining us and we'll talk to you next week.

Genevieve Piturro: 00:41:47

Thank you everyone.