The 4th of July is probably one of the greatest holidays of the year. I love the 4th and Thanksgiving because it is all about time with family and friends and food and fun. This past 4th of July was no exception. I made it a stay-cation style of a celebration. I spend the entire weekend with my family at my parent’s house out on Runyan Lake. 
The great thing about their house is it is just 3 miles from my house. And though it is only 3 miles, I actually stayed out there one of the nights, didn’t even come home. It made me laugh, and then it made me think I should have just packed a bag and stayed all three nights. I love that little lake. It is all-sports and private so you can have as much fun as you want and be confident it is never going to be too over-crowded. There were a lot of people out because going to the lake was the best option for keeping cool over the scorcher of a weekend. I also sat out front of the Cafe of LIFE and watched the parade go by. I just love Fenton for the holiday celebrations. They do a wonderful parade and freedom festival and there are thousands of people that come to the events. As we were preparing for the festivities in the area, I went out and bought a few small American Flags to decorate the Cafe. My assistant Angie put them in a vase and some are still on the front desk. Having those flags here in our space this past week has reminded me of how beautiful that representation of our country is. The red, white, and blue that create those stars and stripes are so amazingly beautiful I want to leave them out there for a while…and I probably will…we only live once…and I am glad to live this life as an American!!!
Author: Dr. Erica Peabody
Fenton, MI is a great place to be from and to move back to. Serving this community the "Exceptional Chiropractic Experience" at Cafe of LIFE Chiropractic is my favorite way to spend my days. Cafe of LIFE (www.cafeoflifefenton.com) is a Family Wellness Chiropractic Center located in the heart of this great little town. When I am not at my chiropractic practice, you will find me at the yoga studio, the gym, in my running shoes, with my family, on my snowboard, on my mountain bike, surfing, on the lake or some local restaurant or hiking trail. My ultimate goal and life purpose is to make a small difference in this crazy world...and have some fun while I am doing it.
HAVE I SHARED THIS YET?
This is the cutest little girl you will ever meet. She is just beginning to show her personality however Charlei is an absolute doll. I have to share this picture because she is so adorable, though I may be a little partial due to the fact that she is my niece…I don’t know….see, I knew you would like it 🙂 This picture was taken at about 6 weeks old, she is 9 now, but how about that Hollywood?!?!?!
NEW BUILDING
As most of you know, I didn’t realize I was in the market to buy a building until this one particular building became available. It is located at 521 North Leroy St, across from Dewey’s Auto Center, just north of the Fenton Hotel. It has a sign on it now calle
d “Family Optical” and it is recently painted a fresh chocolate brown. There is a lot of work to do on it at this point and it is looking like we will be heading that direction around the middle of July though I will make sure you are all kept up to date when the move is going to happen. Right now we are in the process of hanging drywall and building rooms. As soon as that is finished the drywall mudding can be done, then ceiling and floors and in we go. It is going to be a wonderful place and I am looking forward to sharing it with all of you. We will still have two adjusting rooms and a kids room to serve you from. We are adding a second massage room to the mix so the scheduling is a bit easier having two massage therapists instead of just one. Eventually we will be putting a deck out the back entrance to be able to have some space outside to adjust people when the weather cooperates. It is going to be awesome! Just thought I would fill you in on the progress. Things are looking good!
d “Family Optical” and it is recently painted a fresh chocolate brown. There is a lot of work to do on it at this point and it is looking like we will be heading that direction around the middle of July though I will make sure you are all kept up to date when the move is going to happen. Right now we are in the process of hanging drywall and building rooms. As soon as that is finished the drywall mudding can be done, then ceiling and floors and in we go. It is going to be a wonderful place and I am looking forward to sharing it with all of you. We will still have two adjusting rooms and a kids room to serve you from. We are adding a second massage room to the mix so the scheduling is a bit easier having two massage therapists instead of just one. Eventually we will be putting a deck out the back entrance to be able to have some space outside to adjust people when the weather cooperates. It is going to be awesome! Just thought I would fill you in on the progress. Things are looking good! I am grateful for my life. I am grateful for my immediate family. I am grateful for my health. I am grateful for my extended family. I am grateful for my friends. I am grateful for my dog. I am grateful for my practice. I am grateful for my practice memb
ers. I am grateful for my Cafe of LIFE team. I am grateful for my colleagues. I am grateful live in and serve this wonderful community. I am grateful to have a roof over my head. I am grateful to have food that nourishes me. I am grateful for fresh drinking water. I am grateful to have a peaceful place to rest my head at night. I am grateful for Ethos Yoga Studio. I am grateful for all the wonderful people that cross my path everyday. I am grateful for the Cafe of LIFE Book Club. I am grateful to have a vehicle that gets me around. I am grateful to have clothes to wear. I am grateful for music. I am grateful for dance. I am grateful to live in Michigan. I am grateful to have been born in the United States. I am grateful for running shoes. I am grateful to live close to Kensington Metro Park. I am grateful to have the ability to travel. I am grateful to have visited so many wonderful places. I am grateful for sunshine. I am grateful for green grass. I am grateful for rain. I am grateful for snow. I am grateful for technology. I am grateful for email. I am grateful for Facebook and all the ways it connects us. I am grateful for those health care practitioners that educate about health and make a difference. I am grateful for colleges. I am grateful for Life University. I am grateful for Sherman College. I am grateful for hot peppers. I am grateful for lavender oil. I am grateful for books. I am grateful for flip flops. I am grateful for children. I am grateful for heat. I am grateful for light. I am grateful for fresh air. I am grateful for trees. I am grateful for blow dryers. I am grateful for curling and flat irons. I am grateful for hair products. I am grateful for undergarments and socks. I am grateful for towels. I am grateful for time off. I am grateful to be able to serve people and help them more forward. I am grateful for sweat lodges…and finally…I am grateful for ALL of life’s lessons. (…I’m sure I missed a few 🙂
ers. I am grateful for my Cafe of LIFE team. I am grateful for my colleagues. I am grateful live in and serve this wonderful community. I am grateful to have a roof over my head. I am grateful to have food that nourishes me. I am grateful for fresh drinking water. I am grateful to have a peaceful place to rest my head at night. I am grateful for Ethos Yoga Studio. I am grateful for all the wonderful people that cross my path everyday. I am grateful for the Cafe of LIFE Book Club. I am grateful to have a vehicle that gets me around. I am grateful to have clothes to wear. I am grateful for music. I am grateful for dance. I am grateful to live in Michigan. I am grateful to have been born in the United States. I am grateful for running shoes. I am grateful to live close to Kensington Metro Park. I am grateful to have the ability to travel. I am grateful to have visited so many wonderful places. I am grateful for sunshine. I am grateful for green grass. I am grateful for rain. I am grateful for snow. I am grateful for technology. I am grateful for email. I am grateful for Facebook and all the ways it connects us. I am grateful for those health care practitioners that educate about health and make a difference. I am grateful for colleges. I am grateful for Life University. I am grateful for Sherman College. I am grateful for hot peppers. I am grateful for lavender oil. I am grateful for books. I am grateful for flip flops. I am grateful for children. I am grateful for heat. I am grateful for light. I am grateful for fresh air. I am grateful for trees. I am grateful for blow dryers. I am grateful for curling and flat irons. I am grateful for hair products. I am grateful for undergarments and socks. I am grateful for towels. I am grateful for time off. I am grateful to be able to serve people and help them more forward. I am grateful for sweat lodges…and finally…I am grateful for ALL of life’s lessons. (…I’m sure I missed a few 🙂 A LESSON IN TRUST
This past weekend I spent down in the Carolina’s, both North and South. I graduated with my doctorate from a school that is in Spartanburg (aka. Sparkle City), SC and decided to go back and meet some friends for a seminar. While I was there, a few friends and I decided we would take a hike. The North Carolina border is just 45 minutes from the school and we spent l
ast Friday afternoon in the woods of Soluda, NC on a beautiful trek to a waterfall…and Choco was with me. During that hike, there is an overlook to the waterfall that is a 300 foot cliff, and when I say cliff, I mean straight down. Being a good mom, I decided to tie Choco up the path a little ways just so that he didn’t make an off-step and get into trouble, which actually worked perfectly. While we were enjoying the views he was tied up, watching and waiting for us. So one of my friends that is with us, has a chihuahua at home and doesn’t really understand the retriever instincts of my big chocolate lab. As we go to untie the dog, my friend decides this is the perfect time to throw a rock (the size of a tennis ball) back down to the edge of the cliff. Guess what Choco does? Yup, he chases that thing full blast, which in turn makes me lose hold of the leash, right up to the edge of the cliff and…then the rock stops…thank you, thank you Choco’s Guardian Angels… Many of you have met Choco… and if it was inside, you realize that he is pretty mellow. However if you met him and it was outside and he had a ball in or around his vicinity, you realize he is a nut-case. So the next day we were throwing the ball for him over yet another rock ledge, this one only 4 feet high or so. Without testing or looking over the ed
ge, he runs and chases the ball no matter what and basically has the attitude of “I trust where my mom is throwing this ball is going to be fine for me to go to”. Basically he runs his life on blind trust and to watch how his mind works fascinates me and scares the b’geezers out of me!!! I know at my core that if that rock that was thrown was a ball and made it off the cliff, my dog would have gone with it and lost his life. In fact, after seeing that action the very next day off a 4 foot rock, I have not gone to sleep one night without the thought of it. It is really frightening. There is a lot of blind trust and faith happening in the world today and many are reaping the consequences of it and some are even losing their lives. Check in with yourself…is there anything that you have blindly trusted? Is there something that maybe you should look over the edge at before chasing that ball? I am a very proud dog owner, I love my dog and now realize I need to look after him and think ahead a little bit more than I do already. Look ahead, what’s in front of you? Ya know, we only get one chance in this life…
(the top picture is a picture from the cliff, the second is at the beautiful waterfall destination we were after)
WE CAN NEVER…
…plan for everything. In fact there are times in life when we need to throw all plans aside and become 100% present to face or assist in a situation that you are not even sure how you got there in the first place. I have found through my life that the univers
e works in strange, miraculous ways and we are really just along for the ride…and the sooner we recognize that fact, the better and easier life becomes. People plan to be in a certain place, at a certain time, doing a certain thing, being a certain way, and planning and controlling the entire situation. It is great when it happens so simply however sometimes when we are pushed way outside our comfort zone, that is where growth happens. Though it is also the most uncomfortable place to be, it is super beneficial to make it happen anyways. I have been in a number of those spots during my life so far and seem to deliberatly seek them out on purpose on a regular basis. I believe in living a life full of rich, rewarding experiences and that doesn’t happen when you sit on the sidelines. Come join me in seeking out some of these experiences…we only live once, ya know…we only get one chance…
ZOO-DE-MACK
Have you guys ever heard of Zoo-De-Mack? It is a 51 mile bike ride from Harbor Springs to Mackinac City along that northern coast of Michigan…so beautiful!!! This will be my 6th year in a row and it is an event I look forward to every year. Somewhere around 4,000 people participate and this is the 21st year. Each year I have made the trek with different 
people and this year is no exception. There are 6 girls going up this year which should make it a super fun time. We will travel up to Boyne Highlands tomorrow to stay there for the night. Then Saturday we get up and start the ride. There is a great restaurant called “Leggs Inn” that is half way (26 miles to be exact) and we all stop for lunch which is part of the package. After lunch we finish with 25 miles and ride right into the middle or Mackinac City. We usually regroup a little and hop the ferries over to Mackinac Island…and everyone loves the Island!!! We stay that night on the island and celebrate the completion of the bike ride. What a great time. The best part is that the group of people that attend this ride are not just party-ers, they are athletes as well and really dig doing the actual riding portion of it. Its super great fun…come join us sometime:)
people and this year is no exception. There are 6 girls going up this year which should make it a super fun time. We will travel up to Boyne Highlands tomorrow to stay there for the night. Then Saturday we get up and start the ride. There is a great restaurant called “Leggs Inn” that is half way (26 miles to be exact) and we all stop for lunch which is part of the package. After lunch we finish with 25 miles and ride right into the middle or Mackinac City. We usually regroup a little and hop the ferries over to Mackinac Island…and everyone loves the Island!!! We stay that night on the island and celebrate the completion of the bike ride. What a great time. The best part is that the group of people that attend this ride are not just party-ers, they are athletes as well and really dig doing the actual riding portion of it. Its super great fun…come join us sometime:)OPTIMUM
This weekend I traveled to Atlanta for a wonderful seminar. I used to attend chiropractic college there and many seminars happen at the college so I end up there frequently. Actually in the past, it was very frequent…not so much as of late. In fact, the last time was 6 months ago. It is a city that is so super familiar to me. Many of my friends still live there and many traveled back there for the seminar. The weekend seminar was called “Optimum Life Experience” and the lecture topics were Optimum Health, Optimum Energy, Optimum Service, Optimum Joy, Optimum Abundance, etc and as you can see there was a theme. We ha
ve a plethora of wonderful, world renowned speakers in the chiropractic profession and they showed up at 100% this weekend. So in coming out of the seminar I would like to ask you…where do you find “Optimum Joy”? Is there a place in your life where you have a step-outside-of-yourself moment that you can say you were pulverized with the thoughts and feelings of joy? Is there an event that you can recall that brings you back to that place. If there is a specific event that you can see in your mind’s eye, do you call on it to get you back to that “happy place”? Take a couple moments and see if you can come up with one, one event or time in your life that you can anchor that feeling of “Optimum Joy” and visit it often. I bet if you begin to put some energy into that, you will find that you begin to encounter a few more of those moments on a more frequent basis. It is amazing and continually verified that whatever you are wanting to see begins to be brought your way. I find “Optimum Joy” when I am in my Cafe of LIFE, my chiropractic office where I get to serve so many people each and every day. I find myself 100% present with what I am doing as I am serving each and every person and when thoughts of past and future are absent, “Optimum Joy”can easily be attained. I find myself in that “Optimum Joy” place when I am doing my yoga practice 3 times per week and during meditation. I find myself seeking to be 100% present in more and more areas of my life. It is a wonderful way to live. Yes, I slip off the path, check myself back in, slip off again, check in again and the process continues. I think, and often share with others that “Life is just a game of slipping and checking”. Check in with yourself. Find what brings you “Optimum Joy” and look to spread that to other areas of your life…and see what kinds of wonderful things come from that…and share them with me:)
ve a plethora of wonderful, world renowned speakers in the chiropractic profession and they showed up at 100% this weekend. So in coming out of the seminar I would like to ask you…where do you find “Optimum Joy”? Is there a place in your life where you have a step-outside-of-yourself moment that you can say you were pulverized with the thoughts and feelings of joy? Is there an event that you can recall that brings you back to that place. If there is a specific event that you can see in your mind’s eye, do you call on it to get you back to that “happy place”? Take a couple moments and see if you can come up with one, one event or time in your life that you can anchor that feeling of “Optimum Joy” and visit it often. I bet if you begin to put some energy into that, you will find that you begin to encounter a few more of those moments on a more frequent basis. It is amazing and continually verified that whatever you are wanting to see begins to be brought your way. I find “Optimum Joy” when I am in my Cafe of LIFE, my chiropractic office where I get to serve so many people each and every day. I find myself 100% present with what I am doing as I am serving each and every person and when thoughts of past and future are absent, “Optimum Joy”can easily be attained. I find myself in that “Optimum Joy” place when I am doing my yoga practice 3 times per week and during meditation. I find myself seeking to be 100% present in more and more areas of my life. It is a wonderful way to live. Yes, I slip off the path, check myself back in, slip off again, check in again and the process continues. I think, and often share with others that “Life is just a game of slipping and checking”. Check in with yourself. Find what brings you “Optimum Joy” and look to spread that to other areas of your life…and see what kinds of wonderful things come from that…and share them with me:) ANGEL WINGS
Have you met our massage therapist Teri? She is one of the most wonderfully happy people you will ever come across. Find a spare moment with her and she will for sure have laughing about something. She is a shining star, a real light in this community and I am so lucky and blessed to have her on staff at the Cafe of LIFE.
This afternoon I walked in and Teri is frantically looking for an umbrella. She had just spotted an elderly couple walking down the road and the drizzle had just transitioned into a downpour. She ran out, got in her car with an umbrella and drove down to where they were. Instead of giving them the umbrella, she gave them a ride the rest of the way to their destination and though they were soking wet, they were less wet then they would have been, and appreciative of her assistance. She is a true angel.
Thanks Teri! …for being you, and for being an inspiration to the rest of the community. Keep shining your light!!!
MOTHERS
This is a special thank you to all the mothers out there. My mother is not only just my mother, she has become one of my best friends. Every year around Mother’s Day, my brothers and I love to get the family together and celebrate and this year we have added one more mother to the celebration…my sister-in-law to be, Rachel, who just gave birth to m
y neice, Charlei, 3 weeks ago. I have been fortunate to have a small glimpse into what new motherhood is all about from being a part of Rachel and Charlei’s lives. Rachel has been able to find a beautiful, yet delicate balance of caring time and rest with Charlei and it has only been 3 weeks. I see the amount of dedication that it takes for one child, and I have absolutely no idea how my mother did it with four kids, or my mother’s mother did it with ten kids. WOW!!! Being a mom is an endless and often thankless job and what I am finding out is that it doesn’t seem like anything can prepare you for that role besides just jumping into it. My other sister-in-law, Lauren, is pregnant as well and through all of this (while I let these two raise future babysitters for me) I get to stand by and watch and help. I look forward to the opportunity to be able to experience being a mother at some point in the future (and notice I didn’t say “near future”) but until then I will do my best to continue my wonderful relationship with these women so that I may learn and grow at the same time. One last special message to my own mother—life is better, fuller, more peaceful, easier, and fulfilling and I have found more success, happiness, and love because you are my mom. Thank you for everything!
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!!!!