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Discovering Your Culture – a conversation with Wendy Jensen
10 Plays1 day ago
Children of immigrants can be caught between cultures, or they can embrace both and build a business that is inspired by their heritage.
Wendy Jensen was a corporate executive who became an author, artist, and the founder of Scandinavian Hearts.
What started as a passion for sharing her family’s Scandinavian traditions has grown into a business built on meaningful stories, handmade gifts, and cultural connection. I’ve written four Amazon best-selling children’s books and created a line of home décor that celebrate Nordic heritage.
In this episode of Rest and Recreation, the work life balance podcast from Abeceder Wendy describes host Michael Millward how she built Scandinavian Hearts.
They explore Scandinavian culture and the values that underpin it, and the elements that have influenced the world.
You can find more information about both Wendy and Michael at ABECEDER.co.uk
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Transcript
00:00:05
Speaker
Made on Zencastr.
Introduction to Podcast and Guest
00:00:07
Speaker
Hello. And welcome to Rest and Recreation, the work-life balance podcast from Abysida. I am your host, Michael Millward, the Managing Director of Abysida.
00:00:20
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Today, I am talking to Wendy Jangard Jensen, the founder of Scandinavian Hearts, about researching your ancestry and discovering your culture.
00:00:31
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As the jingle at the start of this podcast says, Rest and Recreation is made on Zencastr. Because Zencaster is the all-in-one podcasting platform that really does make every stage of the podcast production process so easy.
00:00:48
Speaker
If you are, or if you want to be a podcaster, give Zencaster a try. Use the link to zencaster.com in the description. It has a built-in discount. Now that I have told you how wonderful Zencaster is for making podcasts, we should make one.
Podcast Ethos and Guest Business Insights
00:01:04
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One that will be well worth listening to, liking, downloading and subscribing to. Probably so good that you'll want to share with your friends, family and work colleagues as well.
00:01:15
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As with every episode of Rest and Recreation, we will not be telling you what to think, but we are hoping to make you think. Today's Rest and Recreation guest, is Wendy Jangard Jensen.
00:01:29
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Wendy is a successful author and the founder of Scandinavian Hearts, which is more than a shop. It's a heartfelt movement inspired by tradition, rooted in family and fueled by the magic of storytelling. And if you're wondering who wrote something so eloquent, it was not me. I copied that from the Scandinavian Hearts website and you'll find a link to that website in the description.
00:01:55
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Wendy is based in Seattle, USA. Seattle is not a city that I've had the opportunity to visit, but if that opportunity does come up, I will be sure to use my membership of the Ultimate Travel Club to book all of my flights, hotels, trains, package holidays, so many other travel-related purchases as well, because as a member of the Ultimate Travel Club, I get to travel at trade prices.
00:02:20
Speaker
Because I'm one of the good guys, I have included a link in the description to the Ultimate Travel Club, which has a built-in discount on membership fees. So you can become a member of the Ultimate Travel Club and travel at trade prices as well.
00:02:34
Speaker
Now that I have paid some bills, it is time to make an episode of Rest and Recreation and say, hello, Wendy. Hi,
Wendy's Ancestral Roots and Cultural Entrepreneurship
00:02:41
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I'm so grateful to be here. I am really looking forward to finding out all about your discovery of Scandinavian history and how you've built a business based around it because I live not too far from Jorvik which is now we call it York but it was the Viking capital of England and so there's lots of culture around here from Scandinavia and I'm interested to find out more about what you discovered but Please can we start by you explaining a little bit about your history before you set up Scandinavian Hearts?
00:03:15
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Yes, so my grandparents immigrated from Norway and Sweden to our community called Ballard. And it's a very big Scandinavian community. Somehow life brought me back to Ballard. So Ballard is where I'm currently living and raising my kids. i was constantly reminded of my heritage being in my in this community with where my dad grew up. My kids go to the same school school as my dad. So it it really... reconnected me to my roots. Before living in Ballard, I traveled, I worked over in London a travel company, and then I worked at Expedia in Seattle. And i had a lot of retail experience. And i kind of found myself wanting to connect with my passion, my hobbies, and my my work experience together.
00:04:06
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So tell me a little bit more about Scandinavian Hearts. What what is it? Yeah, so Scandinavian Hearts is a brand that I started. As I mentioned, I have a corporate background and i left the corporate world to consult small business owners. And as I was working with these small business owners, i was so inspired by their passion and their drive and their commitment and dedication and really, really humbled too by their work ethic. It made me want to roll up my sleeves and dive in. And i was like, where where should I start? And the idea of sharing my heritage just kept coming back to me. And so I started designing Scandinavian symbols
00:04:50
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and using Scandinavian design elements in the heart. I started with stickers at the very minimum, which was so much fun So you don't need to start with a full catalog of resources in a shop like this. You can start with one product and build it up from there. Test the waters, I suppose, is the way to look at it. A hundred percent. Yeah. I didn't really have a playbook. I found myself kind of the older I get, the more nostalgic I have become. Tell me about it. I know. I'm like, who is this? Like what's happening? yeah
00:05:24
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I don't have any grandparents that are alive anymore.
Scandinavian Culture and Tradition
00:05:28
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i have such fond memories and I want to keep that, feet those feelings alive. And I want to translate those values and those emotions and those feelings and sense of belonging to my kids. When you say values, can you connect through the research that you've done, the values that your grandparents displayed and lived by directly back to the Scandinavian culture?
00:05:52
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Yeah, I mean, it's so interesting because your perception, a lot of my fondest memories are when I was a young kid. And so I it wasn't like a direct correlation for me. I keep saying feeling because it was really more of a feeling, this feeling of being at home and like coziness and welcome and belonging. And my grandpa had 14 siblings, so we would go to holiday parties. at their home and they would open the door and it was like it was like the love would like explode out the front door. There was music and singing and like the food, everything was handmade with like so much love and intention and singing songs and like the crafts and like the traditions were all around us, but they weren't like taught or talked down to us. It was just part of
00:06:50
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part of the life and part of the culture. And like, I really took it for granted because I guess I just assumed that that's how lifeful life was. But then I realized, you know, some of that onus was on me to really uphold those traditions and really share those stories and continue it with my own So you're born in in the United States, you get together with your huge extended family for holidays and you experience, you've opened the door and it's like Scandinavia coming out at you, packed full with love. Was part of it the difference between that culture and the more widespread general American culture that made Norwegian Scandinavian environments so different and but different to North American culture?
00:07:35
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I'm so grateful that in America it really is like a melting pot and there's so many different traditions and stories and things that are happening every day. and in Scandinavia, it's, they have very specific, like during the holidays, there's very specific crafts that you make and very specific food that you have. And it does feel very, it feels very unique. So like I said, you know, opening the door and hearing the norwegian language which isn't something that i would hear every day and smelling the cardamom which again is not something that you smell over days so it's like all of your senses are just like on fire because you're just getting all of these very unique very meaningful things all together in one place um where, you know, on a day to day basis, you kind of go through life and you're not, you're not seeing things that clearly with all your senses, I guess. I think i understand what you mean. It's things that you don't see every day become very special. But also then now you are
00:08:39
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running a business where you do see these things every day and perhaps creating those special moments for other people as well. Are your customers mainly other people with the Scandinavian heritage or expats or is it a wider spread than that?
00:08:57
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I mean, I believe that you don't have to be Scandinavian to like feel and experience that love and that culture. And, you know, my the name of my business is Scandinavian Hearts, which is just so simple and so basic. But I remember, um like I said, being in my grandparents home growing up and a lot of it was just subconscious. And then as an adult, I had the opportunity to live in Copenhagen.
00:09:24
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And when I was in Copenhagen, you know, I would have moments of being homesick. And one thing that I vividly noticed and remember was there were hearts everywhere. They were just everywhere. They were just woven into their culture and their society. And there I saw them like on the manhole covers in the streets. They're woven into the sweaters. They're carved into the spoons. Seeing all these hearts around Denmark and then tying it back to like my grandparents' home and my Scandinavian heritage just made me feel so connected and so grounded. and it was just such a special feeling that I i want to share to everyone, regardless of their heritage. It sounds great. You had grandparents who were Norwegian and grandparents who were Swedish.
Scandinavian Crafts and Design Philosophy
00:10:11
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Is that right? he yeah that's right so is Norwegian Scandinavian and Swedish Scandinavian the same or are there areas where they're different how much synergy is there between the two yeah and also my husband's Danish there is a lot of specific traditions and specific things of the three Scandinavian countries I like I said I don't like love the like specificness of it. I love the general like, for example, dollar horses are traditionally Swedish. What is that when you said dollar horse? What is one of those?
00:10:46
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I guess i I just take it for granted that everybody knows. So a dollar horse is a wooden horse. It started in Dalarna, which is an area of Sweden. And then they started selling them at their market markets and You know, it gets dark in Sweden very early, dark and cold. And so they look for a lot of things to do indoors. And so wood carving is a very popular tradition just amongst all Scandinavian and Nordic regions. And in Dalarna, they started carving these very specific horses and then they would hand paint them. They would sell them at the markets and give them away to the children as toys. um It was a very popular gift. And then at the World's Fair in New York in the 1930s, at the Swedish booth, they used a giant dollar horse as a symbol of their booth, which was outside of their booth. And um so from then on, the dollar horse became a sweden ah became a traditional symbol of Sweden because it was so popularized.
00:11:46
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popularized But it starts because they have a different time, well they're further north, so they have longer days during the summer and shorter days during the winter, longer nights. And this activity, this craft, developed so that people had something to do during the cold, long winter nights.
00:12:09
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How much of of what it is that is Scandinavian culture is driven by the environment and the conditions then? Oh my gosh. I mean, I would say like almost a hundred percent.
00:12:20
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It's so fun and interesting, like diving into a culture and learning more about it and then feeling so connected and at home with it. But there, there's so much about nature and outdoors and the environment and this whole idea of like taking a walk and being outside and being in nature. And so, like you said, in the summers, you can be out all the time it doesn't really ever get dark and then in the winters it's dark and cold and you know obviously like it's still a big part of the culture being out and skiing and hiking and doing all the things but trying to find ways to bring the environment into their home was is a really big thing so like
00:13:03
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using a lot of wood and decor, and then being creative. Like I said, wood carving is really popular in all of the Nordic regions. One thing that the Norwegians did specifically is a type of art called rosemaling.
00:13:18
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And they would paint. It's this beautiful type of art with bright colors. And they would paint it on furniture. Like they would do rosemaling on chairs and tables and dressers. And um the whole idea is to bring color and life and elements of the nature into the home when it is so dark outside and cold.
00:13:40
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Whenever Scandinavian culture comes up and it doesn't come up very much, really, to be honest with you, but when you talk about Scandinavia and furniture, the word IKEA comes to mind.
00:13:56
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Right? And Scandinavia is the home of, well, Volvo, Saab and The Volvo invented the inertia seatbelt, which now is in every car. They made It was something about safety and they made the patent publicly available. Anyone could have these inertia seatbelts. They weren't, but they saved lives.
00:14:19
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There's a very specific almost design profile of Scandinavia. The Volvo is is quite a boxy car and functional, utility, safe, secure. IKEA furniture, furniture from Scandinavia is very craft orientated. It does what it says on the tin. You don't get a lot of...
00:14:41
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fancy work it's not rococo or not what you would see in versailles for example am i correct to think that it's a very scandinavian approach to design to keep that connection with the environment to keep things very craft-based rather than art-based which is what you might get in in france or italy it's more about the function and the form or form follows function type of thing A hundred percent. Yeah. I mean, i wouldn't say craft versus art because I do think it's very, very artistic and creative in its own way, but it's absolutely the form versus function. So the whole culture in and of itself is not excessive. Like they're like,
00:15:27
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The people themselves don't want to be excessive. They don't like they it's all about being very, you know, there's a lot of like minimalistic um aspects to it. And like you said, building these homes and having this furniture and like it really is important to fit in and feel like it's part of the nature and part of the home. And you wouldn't have excessive,
00:15:52
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pieces of furniture, excessive elements of design or excessive, you know, which which is another reason that I started my business is it really, really, really is about the simplicity.
00:16:02
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So after I designed my stickers, which I would put on like flower vases and just really simple things. But I started um I got a laser cutter and started making wood hearts and I would just hang them in the windowsill and just that little Woodheart would catch the corner of my eye and just make me smile. And it's just a little element. It's just simple. It's like having, yeah having your design aesthetic be really simple. So the important things stand out and the important things provide more joy and meaning versus filling up on have needing to have everything.
00:16:41
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Craft is very important. I agree with you about the craft, but i also agree that the craft is presented in an artistic way. It's just that it's simple in an artistic way. A hundred percent. Yeah. i feel like sometimes simple is harder. It's really easy to be excessive. think about it a lot with my business, Scandinavian Hearts. Like I could just put hearts on everything, lots of color, lots of hearts and call it a day. But the intent is to have a beautiful crafted sweater with like a little tiny heart in the corner.
00:17:11
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it's a subtle It's a subtle nod. It's a subtle like specialty. it's it's The meaning is really in the details. It's not in the like big, fancy, flashy thing.
00:17:23
Speaker
The heart has become the symbol of Scandinavian hearts, which makes sense. Logo, I suppose, would be one way that we could describe it. But the you're putting the logo in a but on the product in a very discreet way. Correct. So it's not about it's not about shouting, I'm a Scandinavian heart type of thing. It's just there, very subtle, which is part of the Scandinavian type attitude as well. I'm conscious of the fact that in Seattle, you're close to one of the big sporting... wear brands in that part of the world where everything has their logo on and you see people like, it's almost like, oh, they've attached a t-shirt to a logo.
00:18:05
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That's awesome. Yeah. It's it's the whole sort of, um I was reminded once as an early teenager, being in a shop with my parents and finding two sweaters that I liked. And I liked one more than the other. But I also wanted to have i wanted people to know that I'd got a sweater from this shop. yeah and the what those So there was one sweater which I liked that had the logo on the front and one sweater that didn't have the logo on the front. And I said to the the lady around the shop, have you got this one?
00:18:40
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with the logo on why do you want the logo on oh and she said listen young man if people have to see the label to be impressed by the quality the product you're wearing they're not worth impressing oh my gosh sort of thought like oh right okay and then i thought yes you're right and i got that i got the sweater without the logo on that's such an interesting learning as a child and that's fun Yes. yeah Yeah. But it's very much that, like, I think I was, ah i was a child a along a lot of years ago. But it is something that i I remember an awful lot when I see people who are fully branded. Yeah. i've got All of the labels. I've been to Sweden. I've been to Denmark. And...
00:19:23
Speaker
they're not as quite as ostentatious in their displays of well wealth really it's not part of the culture to flash the cash in what you wear what you drive or anything really a hundred percent but it's it goes beyond wealth it's it's all of it so it's kind of what I noticed about these traditions like I will use the dollar horse again and as an example they're not running around screaming like this is the dollar horse and this is what it means to our people. And this is the tradition of the dollar horse. And I really wanted these symbols and this meaning and these values to be presented in my home, but I didn't want to sit the kids down and be like, I'm going to teach you about the dollar horse. Like you're going to learn about the dollar horse. So instead I used the beautiful design and the beautiful elements and put it in a sticker or put it in a wooden heart.
00:20:14
Speaker
And you wouldn't believe the conversations that it sparks. And it just it's just fills my heart because people that come into the home, they ask, oh, what is this? And then I get to share the meaning of the dollar horse. And the kids now they know what the dollar horse means because they've seen it in the home so much. And it's it's not something that like I had to hammer into them and you're going to get this feeling every time you see a dollar horse. It's something that that they live by. And it's it's really special.
00:20:44
Speaker
I don't know all the stories of the dollar horse, but I know you are a writer and an author. Have you included that story in any of the books that you've written? A hundred percent.
From E-commerce to Children's Books
00:20:54
Speaker
So my journey has been really interesting because it really started out as, you know, an e-commerce expert with a corporate background, wanting to get connected to my heritage and do something that I knew in like a e-commerce retail way. So I started with the stickers,
00:21:10
Speaker
um And then I started designing these beautiful wood hearts, which were so gorgeous. And each one had a symbol on them. So like the doll horse and rose mollum, which I referred to. and i was selling all of these hearts and it was fun and amazing. And I was getting amazing compliments and feedback.
00:21:28
Speaker
But I had the realization that people weren't understanding the meaning behind the heart. For me, that was a really special, important piece of the story was that that's great that you're hanging this heart in your home. But like, do you know what it is? Do you know what it means? And So I came home from a speaking engagement. I was told my husband, I'm like, I have to write children's books.
00:21:53
Speaker
And he looked at me like I was crazy. Like, what are you talking about? And I'm like, i I have to share these stories. Like there's more to the symbol than just the symbol. And so it's sparked this children's book author journey that I went on. And I now have four books. What are the titles of the four books? So the first book is Scandinavian Hearts, and it really ties the hearts into the heritage and connecting that like value of symbols.
00:22:21
Speaker
The next book is Woven Hearts, which is a very traditional Danish symbol. Then i have Rosemaling Heart, which is a type of art in Norway. And then i have a Dalla Horse book.
00:22:33
Speaker
You've got a great brand story there because my understanding is that a brand is that you have to create the story of the brand and the story of your brand goes back thousands of years.
00:22:43
Speaker
Thank you. Because it's it's you're capturing the culture, explaining the culture in those books and having the items which reflect that culture. available as well so that you can come at it from all sorts of different ways. Read the book and want the product or like the product and then discover the meaning of the product as well. And the books took me on kind of a journey, like you mentioned before, of exploring my heritage I didn't realize that I was going to go on because i really wanted the books to be unique and special and they're deeply personal. So I have, you know, my grandparents' home in the books. I have my grandpa's fishing boat in the books. And I have the boat that they immigrated on in the book and doing all this research and meeting family. And it really has taken me on a journey. And it's something that I'm just really incredibly proud of. And it really is all the details that are it's also included.
00:23:42
Speaker
Yes. Yeah. Somehow, sometimes I feel as if people who have immigration in their recent family history have more of an opening into exploring that history.
00:23:57
Speaker
You the United Kingdom where I live is a country based on immigration. All of us are immigrants at some point in our history. But not many of us know actually when our families arrived in this country, in which wave of immigration did we arrive. Did we arrive with the Normans, the Vikings, the Saxons, or the Huguenots?
00:24:24
Speaker
Most of us don't actually know because we are so disconnected from that immigration stage. so I am envious of you for that, but I'm envious as well that you have turned culture exploration into a way of sharing that with the wider community as well.
Cultural Sharing and Community Storytelling
00:24:41
Speaker
And I'm wondering what does the future hold for Scandinavian hearts? Yeah, I mean, it's a really good question. And even just what you mentioned about your heritage, I did notice and specifically in Ballard, where I live, it's a very Scandinavian community. A lot of fishermen immigrated to this area. And in the last 10 years, it's really become very diverse, which is amazing. And I love it. And bringing my books into the schools is such a fun way to share with the kids what the culture and the heritage it was of this neighborhood before,
00:25:16
Speaker
it became more of like a melting pot. And I find when I share my stories, it really opens up for others to share their stories. And then we all get a better understanding of like what's important and what's of meaning. And it's it's really sharing those stories in and a special way because there's so much in a community that happens and understanding it deeper with everyone is really, really special. Yeah. So it is really the diversity comes from everybody identifying their culture and then sharing it and understanding other people's culture.
00:25:54
Speaker
Will you see more products being added as well? Yeah. So so the future of Scandinavian Hearts, I just continue to keep growing and building. And I have so many more books ideas. They just keep coming and flowing and, product ideas, the holidays are coming up. And so I really leaned into that. I have some like ribbon and wrapping paper. and um Yeah, so I'm my goal is just to keep on keep on going. Great. It sounds like you are having a lot of fun with it as well. Yeah, sparking so much joy, so many meaningful conversations and like a lot of fulfillment and fun. So I'm very grateful. Great.
00:26:34
Speaker
I have had a lot of fun as well today. Thank you very much. It's been very interesting and I really do appreciate you sharing your story with me. Thank you. Thank you.
Episode Conclusion and Listener Engagement
00:26:43
Speaker
I am Michael Millward, the Managing Director of Abbasida. In this episode of Rest and Recreation, I have been having a conversation with Wendy Jangard Jensen, the founder of Scandinavian Hearts.
00:26:56
Speaker
You can find out more about both of us by using the links in the description. At Rest and Recreation we believe in living healthy, happy lives. An important part of staying healthy is knowing the risks early. That is why we recommend the health tests available from York Test, especially the annual health test.
00:27:16
Speaker
The annual health test from York Test provides an assessment of 39 different health markers, including cholesterol levels, diabetes risk, various organ functions and vitamin levels.
00:27:29
Speaker
The annual health test is conducted by an experienced phlebotomist who will complete a full blood draw at your home or workplace. Hospital standard tests are carried out in UKAS accredited and CQC compliant laboratories.
00:27:44
Speaker
There is a link and as you would expect, a discount code in the description. I'm sure that you will have enjoyed listening to this episode of Rest and Recreation as much as Wendy and I have enjoyed making it.
00:27:57
Speaker
So please give it a like and download it so you can listen anytime, anywhere. To make sure you don't miss out on future episodes, please subscribe. And in the spirit of Scandinavian sharing, tell your friends, family and work colleagues about Rest and Recreation as well.
00:28:14
Speaker
Remember, the aim of all the podcasts produced by Abbasida is not to tell you what to think, but we do hope to have made you think. Until the next episode of Rest and Recreation, thank you for listening and goodbye.