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.

BEAUTIFUL BELIZE

I am just getting home from one of the greatest vacations I have ever taken…to beautiful Belize. I want to share a little bit about the week with you so you can have an idea about the experience. There are a few specific blog posts that I will add after this one with more details.

The week started out with a 2:30AM wake-up at my home in order to make a 6:00AM flight in Detroit. Travel from Michigan to Belize is quite simple with just 2 short flights and I was there just after noon Central Time.

It is always dramatic to leave the snow here in Michigan and just 6 short hours later be somewhere tropical. I am amazed at air travel every time I do it. It is absolutely astounding how far you can get in such a short amount of time.

The first night was spent at a hotel in Belize City. Since I have been home, many people have asked me if I would recommend Belize for a vacation. I cannot honestly say whether I would or not. If you are going to the country of Belize, and if Belize City is a true representation of what the country is like (and I do not know if it is or not), I would maybe choose a different destination. If you are going to do something like the trip I was on (and I also have no idea if the trip really represents Belize), then ABSOLUTELY!!!

On Saturday morning we ate an early breakfast and we all piled onto the “Batfish” which is Slickrock’s vessel for transporting us to the island we will spend the week on. It was a relatively easy (you will see why I say “relative” later in this post) 3.5 hour boat trip.

80 degree weather, sun shining, head sticking out through one of the hatches in the roof of the boat, wind blowing, great people, teal water, completely unplugged, and a week long vacation still ahead of me – this is the final 30 minutes of the ride before we pulled up to Long Caye, the small island we would spend our week on. I will forever have that image and moment etched into my mind. It was one of those “tears of gratitude” moments in my life…which I seem to experience more and more of all the time.

I cannot do the week any justice by describing the details of it all but the days went something like this…wake up, teach a yoga class, swim, breakfast, rest, take a sea kayak to a snorkel site, snorkel, kayak back to the island, lunch, kite board lesson, kayak surf session, rum punch and appetizers, jump on handlebars of a bike and ride to other side of island to watch the sunset, change out of bathing suit to dry clothes for dinner, eat fabulous food with lots of green habanero hot sauce, have great conversation, adjust the staff members or other people on the trip, listen to an informative and entertaining lecture given by our tour director, a warm breeze on the walk back to the cabana, and falling asleep to the surf just down from the cabana which is more like a lean-to and doesn’t even necessitate 4 full walls. Wake up the next day and repeat.

The staff was absolutely amazing and little did we know, they were tracking an intense storm heading our direction all week. Even though the storm was getting pretty crazy, they didn’t relay that information to us until it was absolutely necessary, allowing us to stay unplugged from society.

A few of us ended up leaving the island a day early due to the impending storm and what it may do to our travel plans and the necessity to be home for work on Monday. The initial report was “a storm is going to hit tomorrow around 11. Please have your luggage ready and at the boat dock by 9.” At breakfast the next morning it changed to “eat quick, go get your bags packed, have them ready at 8, wear your foul weather gear, grab a life jacket, put it on and zip it up.” Ummm…ok.

The next hour and a half was spent bracing myself against the side of the boat and the

hull, with my back to the seas so that my hood would keep me dry, however mostly just so that I didn’t have the visual as the boat was rolling up and over swells bigger than it (this picture is taken as things eased up a lot). To say it was intense, is more than an understatement. Good news is that I lived to tell the tale and laughed though most of it because I just couldn’t believe it was happening in real life!

The crew of the boat, the staff and all that were involved really made the situation the best it
could have possibly been. In fact, when I look at all areas of my life, I realize that the experience itself is largely impacted more by who I am with, rather than where I am at.

I wasn’t ready to kiss the ground when we finally docked the boat…but I can see why people use that phrase.

Slickrock Adventures runs a top notch production down there in Belize. Not only did they give us the option to get off the island early if we needed to, they also provided us a tour of Lamanai Mayan Ruins the next day as part of our week and an amazing tour guide to share the story of the Ruins.

The flight home was a breeze on Sunday, I have recently learned to actually sleep on the plane and so I felt rested, rejuvenated and ready to take on my week back at Cafe of LIFE, my chiropractic office.

I live an amazingly blessed life and I feel fortunate to be able to take trips to places like beautiful Belize. I love my reality and am usually looking forward to returning to it, however, leaving Long Caye to come home, I have to say I thought about how amazing it would be to be able to call that everyday life. We only get one chance in this lifetime. Make sure you are where you want to be, doing what you want to do, or at least take breaks from your reality to have some awesome experiences. Life is really, really, really good.

“HELLO! HELLO! HELLO!”

“HELLO! HELLO! HELLO!” is such a familiar greeting in my childhood. “Mom, why does grandma say ‘Hello’ three times when we walk in?” my 7 year old self would ask as we walked into my grandmother’s home who lived just one mile down the street from where I grew up.

I just heard that familiar greeting as I am sitting in the living room at my grandmother’s home in her golf oasis in Florida as a few of her friends arrive for a visit. I have been here all weekend with some other family members as my grandmother moves nearer and nearer to THE final destination. Yes, she is dying. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not this week. Probably not next week or the week after. Within a month or two she will leave this earthly plane but in the meantime she is alive and living the best that she can and we are here to experience some of that.

I feel fortunate to be privy to some of the stories that are shared in such an intimate setting. I always knew my grandmother was strong, powerful, full of life and opinionated. However, as I sit and listen the stories this weekend (and of course stories I have heard over the years) she is also a real person with real life experiences, has had many ups and downs, has shed a lot of tears, has found love and happiness and has the most contagious, roaring laugh on the planet.

My Mom is here, a few aunts and uncles, with other neighborhood friends of my grandparent’s stopping by during the days. Grandma is spending most of the day relaxing, reminiscing and resting. We have done a lot of sitting and talking, literally hours of sitting and talking. We have all shed tears, shared stories, asked questions and done a ton of laughing. In fact, the first morning I woke up here, I thought to myself how great it is to be awakened from sleep by roaring family laughter, especially considering these circumstances.

During this time, we have drawn out the family tree. My grandmother birthed 10 children. My grandfather, who isn’t my grandfather by blood but has been “Grandpa” to me for close to 30 years, has 7 children of his own. There are layers of grandchildren and great grandchildren and the total count of immediate family comes to 96 people total. WOW!!! Isn’t that an absolute monstrosity of a family!!!

“It’s a myth that a big family is always happy. We have our share of tears, but there is a network support system that always goes into gear in time of need. My children were the reason I got up in the morning” a direct quote from my grandmother back in 1981 when she was voted “Mother of the Year” by the local Fenton newspaper at the time.

That “network support system” has always been a central idea to how our family was run and I see it in my generation, especially when it comes to my own siblings and nearest and dearest. That theme is a powerful part of what my life was built around especially considering my dad was one of his own natural support network of 9 children.

There is nothing like family, absolutely nothing that can replace these blood connections. When family gets to these numbers, there are good eggs and bad eggs, however we are all connected and always will be connected in a way that runs strong and deep behind the scenes…and largely due to the ideas of the amazing matriarch that started this show.

My grandmother is a legend and one of my heroes. I know she will never truly grasp in this lifetime the extent of her extraordinary life and contribution to this world. She will never realize what an amazing person she is, her beauty, her strength and how much good she contributed while she is here. But her faith is strong and I know she will figure that out as soon as she sheds her current failing body.

When she leaves this earthly plane, she will travel effortlessly to wherever she believes Heaven is and I know God will know when she arrives because he will hear her roaring laughter and her infamous “HELLO! HELLO! HELLO!”. May peace be with you in your process of transitioning, Grandma, and thanks in advance for watching over all 95 of us from the other side.

HAPPY

This past weekend I was up north and spent my days snowboarding at Crystal Mountain. There were many, many moments during the days that I thought to myself “I am happy”. I then asked the question “What makes me happy?” and “What about everyone else?”.

I live a blessed life and I have many things that add to my happiness. In those moments while I was out on my snowboard, my happiness was magnified by the fact that I had a warm bed to wake up in, I prepared and ate a great breakfast that fueled my body for my day, I had time to play in the snow, the sun was shining, I was enjoying great conversation with a friend, I was able to let loose and fly down the hill on my snowboard and I was up north which is a change of day to day scenery.

I thought to myself “I really wish everyone that I know could be out here having as much fun as I was having.” That thought was soon nixed by the fact that the slopes would be too crowded if EVERYONE I knew was out there, but it transformed to “I really wish everyone that I know could be doing something that would add to their happiness as much as snowboarding in the sunshine adds to mine.” Yes, that is a much more rational thought.

When I mention the thought of being happy, I am also reminded of a man that has been coming in to get adjusted at the Cafe of LIFE for years and never, ever gets excited about anything; Monday is not exciting, Tuesday is not exciting, Wednesday is not exciting, Thursday is not exciting, Friday is not exciting, the weekend is not exciting, literally nothing is ever exciting and I wonder about his internal happiness. My thought is…WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!?!?!

Last night I attended a prayer service for an icon of a man who lost his life way too young. This man was truly a happy man and he did his very best to show others a little bit about being happy ever chance he got in hopes he could help them smile a little more on the inside. As I listened to his children speak about him, I was reminded of my own mortality and that we are never guaranteed a tomorrow and that life is really short, often shorter than we anticipate…so figure out what makes you happy and go do that!

Be HAPPY! There is absolutely no time like the present. If not today, then WHEN?!?! There isn’t anyone who is going to make you happy, you have to go out and make that happen for yourself. Let’s not wait one more day. Get out there!!!

What makes you happy? How do you add happy stuff to your day? Share in the comments below, you may end up inspiring someone with your ideas or the things you do.

WHAT IF LIFE IS ABOUT SOMETHING DIFFERENT

I attended an amazing lecture with some really good friends this past weekend. The presenter/author touched on a really important topic…WHAT IF LIFE IS ABOUT SOMETHING DIFFERENT than we have always thought?
In this culture we have been taught that life goes something like this…
Grow up. Get the education, Get the job. Get the boy. Get the girl. Get the car. Get the house. Get the time off for vacation. Get the kids. Get more kids. Get the bigger house. Get the better car. Get the toys. Get the better toys. Get the good retirement. Get better stuff than the neighbors. Get the grandkids. Get retired and live happily ever after.

Is it possible that our understanding or life itself is totally askew? Maybe there is data missing and the whole human race is after the wrong stuff. How is it that 7 billion (+ or -) people declare they want the same thing and not be able to attain it after thousands of years of trying.

The lecturer presented the idea that maybe life is more about the following:

Be authentically you.

Figure out what it means to be you.

Then move about and express yourself in this world in a way that allows others to express themselves in a way that is more true to their own soul as well.

I think it is pretty safe to say that our job is to search and seek out ways for us to know ourselves better and to figure out our purpose and meaning in this life. We are not our physical appearance, the things we have, our education, our car, our job, our partner or our kids. We are simply us and stripping it all down to the very core of what that means is WE ARE LOVE. The rest of the stuff and things are just a very small piece of life. Our bodies are the vehicle that gets us around in this world so that we can have experiences. Beyond that, life is about relationships and how our words, thoughts and actions affect other people’s words, thoughts and actions.

The end of the lecture was a culmination of all that he said and 3 simple “call to action” steps that we can take as we travel through our days.

1. LOOK AT PEOPLE – really look at them because we all have a strong desire to be seen and the “eyes are a window to the soul”.

2. SMILE – Smiling at another means “I get what I am looking at. I get you.” If you are happy in your life, make sure to tell your face about it so it can be your loudspeaker to the world around you.

3. TOUCH – Reach out and make contact with someone. Our culture walks around severely deprived of physical touch and it is a necessary part of being a human.

…and a little bit of icing on the cake – SAY SOMETHING NICE – tell people how wondrous they are and give them back to themselves.

Can we really afford to walk around one more day not expressing ourselves and holding back from showing the world love? The days go quick and this life is really short and we only get one chance.

“We never know how something that we think, say or do today will effect the lives of millions tomorrow.” -BJ Palmer

Let’s make it count because what if life really IS about something different than we have always thought?

THE CHART…A CLOSER LOOK

HUNKER DOWN

This past weekend I spent hunkered down and studying. It was the perfect weekend to do just that and I was so grateful to have the time.

The holidays were crazy busy and the beginning of the year was the same. This past weekend fell into the perfect spot, and from this point forward, life will be busy again. I also found an appreciation for the “January thaw” that happened as there wasn’t even an option to snowboard and that took one more possible distraction off my list.

When I tell people that I hunkered down and studied this past weekend, I find them trying to figure out what in the heck am I studying at this point in my life?

I am studying me…and what makes me, me. Over the years I have found that the more light that shines onto our life, the darker the shadows get meaning when life gets really, really good, dim corners begin to take on a new level of darkness.

Some look at me and my life and automatically think that it must have always been this good. Not true.

Ad astra per aspera. — “to the stars through difficulties”

This statement is a great summery of LIFE. I have had some serious ups and downs that have shaped me to who I am today.

You may not know that I grew up in a home seriously challenged with alcoholism. To add to that, I grew up with 3 brothers and finding yourself on the short end of the 3 versus 1 game on a daily basis was just plain hard. I found refuge in escaping to my horse barn and spending hours braiding my horses’ manes and tails.

I was always a good student and did my very best to be absolutely perfect so as to not ruffle any feathers. I was, and still am, a massive overachiever because I have found that is the safest way to maneuver this life.

Did you know that I got married when I was 19? And that I was married for 7 years? I divorced when I was 26 years old and moved home to Fenton 2 years later after I finished chiropractic college. Because I divorced during school that required 35 hours a week of mandatory attendance, working part time, and taking test after test and national boards that are determining my next move in my career, there is not a lot of time to sit and process things. So when I moved home 2 years later, I fell into a depression. I was able to function but just barely for about 2 months. I had no idea what I was going to do, where I was going or how I was going to get there. The best I could do was to promise myself to get out of bed every single day and do something that furthered me down the path to opening a practice, even if that meant buying one pack of pens because that was all the motivation I could find that day…but all I really wanted to do was hide.

These are just a few of my own personal struggles…of course you know me well enough to know that I will not air it all on here but these are a fraction of the challenges and obstacles I have experienced. I also realize that these struggles may seem simple as compared to what you have been through in your lifetime. I have come to the conclusion that life is for living and learning.

Nothing in my life has been handed to me. I have worked very, very hard at creating what I have and I am often in tears of gratitude that I get to express myself in this life in the way I do.

For me, there is ALWAYS “excavating” that needs to be done. I do my best to not take life to seriously however from time to time it is right and necessary to get serious and start digging. In order to genuinely express myself in my life, I need to take time to look at the things that hold me back, the fears I have, the misconceptions and internal obstacles that stand in my way of living fully.

This past weekend I had set time aside to do just that. I belong to an amazing Book Club that helps me excavate on a regular basis, but I also need to pull some of the wounds open on my own, debride, apply some salve and let them remain open and uncovered as they heal.

So I hunkered down and did some of that last weekend so that I can show up in my world in the best way possible. In the technological age that we live in, it is so simple to keep ourselves so busy we never get time to just sit and think. We go and go and go, and when we have a moment to sit, we pick up our phones, iPads, laptops or turn on the TV and get some screen time in instead of taking time to be and sit and think. When was the last time you had a moment to think about things? I would like to challenge you to take a moment between all of your obligations, and instead of filling it with screen time, just think. Some quick “easy” questions to ask…Who am I? What is the meaning of my life? What is my purpose? Where did I come from? Where am I going? and How am I going to get there? You do not need to do serious excavating to begin to express more of the life you want…but taking time to sit and think would do us all a lot of good.

GRATITUDE TREE

Through the months of November and December this year, we had a “Gratitude Tree” here in our reception area. Every time someone would come and get adjusted, they had to stop by the “Gratitude Station” and fill out a leaf and put it up on the tree. Since we are into the New Year, the tree has come down however I want those gratitude thoughts to live on so I want to share them with you.

“my family, naps, resilience, hugs,communication, sun, the ability to communicate with loved ones who life far away, I am grateful for how much Erica is in touch with her Innate, ninja turtles, my children, my friends and family, love light and laughter, a healthy family, my husband, butterflies, saving grace, abundance of health, holiday parties, my body and its ability to heal itself and for chiropractic for helping it along, my amazing connections with people, my friends, my family, the Cafe, for the people in my life who inspire me to go beyond my own boundaries and fly, my cat Izzy, being able to wake up on a Monday and feel excited to go to work I LOVE my job, laughter, my dog he makes me smile every day and bring a lot of joy to my life, I am grateful for my loving family, all the people in my life, the lessons I’ve learned, the gift of love, I am thankful for my family friends and Dr. Erica and staff, flow let it flow!, my wife and kids, music, my physical mental and emotional health, I am grateful for time with people I love, family friends and good health, family and health, warm cozy sweaters, Jesus, my awesome LIFE, my back, a fun and happy place to visit…the Cafe of LIFE, my daughter graduating from WMU this week Magna Cum Laude from Honors College, sunshine, a healthy family, grateful for Erica and my health, my nephews, my son, family, my children Ashton and Lorilei, I am grateful for people who grow organic produce, Bloody Marys, having an “easy” pregnancy and the love and support of my wonderful husband, I am grateful for my Mom and all that she does to love and support me as I evolve and grow in this lifetime, being able to work on and overcome my challenges, fall, hot cocoa, friends family and community, I am thankful for God’s love, family, LOVE, Thankful for good health, happiness, prosperity and EXCELLENT chiropractic service, unconditional LOVE, my children-grandchild Paul and health, I am grateful that I’m still breathing, I am grateful for ANGIE!, patience, I am grateful for all the amazing people that come to the Cafe everyday I love being able to serve you!!!, Innate Intelligence and the body’s ability to heal, I am grateful for Angie Bucsi and how much light she brings to the Cafe everyday, I am grateful for a really amazing man that has recently entered into my life and I look forward to the journey, I am grateful to be blessed with an amazing job and people to work with, the strong women I know and love, God’s favor, being in this community, abundance, I am grateful for my LIFE sometimes I forget how BIG, opportunities, I am thankful for the wonderful family that surrounds me, hunting season, Happy Holidays for all and good health and blessings, I am grateful for my LIFE!, health, I am grateful for unanswered prayers, friends who love me, memory, my sister she is my best friend, I am thankful for my husband-my friend and confidant, cake!, I am grateful for the ability to serve this community!, family and friends, the life lessons I’ve had the opportunity to learn from, health, my kids, I am thankful for my puppy Ava, smiles and laughter from my family and friend (and strangers who have happiness to share), my pets, my son Nathan, people who hire housekeepers, espressos and free puppies, able to pay bills, a healthy body, language and communication, health food and clean H2O, I’m grateful for my new baby daughter, Jeff Sheila and Stella, wine, sugar-free lattes, family, peace, sobriety, my awesome husband, the ability to read, I am truly grateful for my daughter Sandra, happiness, LOVE, my blessed life with my family and those who choose to still be friends, my cousin Nathan, knowledge, babies and grandmas, video games, I am thankful for Dr Erica and her calming soothing presence, I am grateful for good health, my wonderful family, I am grateful for my 3 amazing brothers and their wives and children, family makes the sun shine brighter, my daddy, able to live life happily, LIFE, being in my 40s life is good, Sam passed her driver’s test look out Fenton drivers, for my husband’s family, family, I am grateful for my book club, my support group that has supported me and helped me through a time of transition I am now a happier and healthier person, my dad boys sunshine sleep and wine, my 3 sons and husband, for my lovely wife and Cafe of LIFE, family and friends, thankful for my mommy, music, hope, book club, chocolate wine and my Integrity peeps, my beautiful family my health and my friends oh and Cafe of LIFE, abundance, my hubby, my life, gratitude, nice weather, my freedom, people who are positive, sunshine, Obama, family Jesus and friends, I am thankful for LOVE, I’m grateful for my grandma’s cooking, I am thankful for Skype and airplanes!!!, my adjustment today, God’s love, ice cream, book club, cousins, good health, Jesus Christ, family and friends who care, I am thankful for my nieces and nephew, the amazing staff and students at EKLC, chocolate and wine, us, pork chop lamp chop and cupcake, LOVE, I am grateful for the opportunity today to take one step closer to being open to divine light and energy, pets, Erica and Angie, for LIFE, that the cutest little boy I know calls me “mommy”, my children, fresh AIR, the sun shining.”

One of the things that Angie and I noticed the minute we put the tree up is that the mojo in the reception area shifted significantly. When you start putting energy into things you are grateful for, more of that stuff shows up. There is so much to be grateful for. Please take a few moments and recognize something you are grateful for every single day or make your own “Gratitude Tree” at home! Thank you for sharing with us!

THANK YOU

I need to say THANK YOU to all of you. I have made one HUGE transition since the beginning of this year and it is making a world of difference. I finally changed our afternoon hours at the Cafe of LIFE!

Over the past few months, we had numerous requests for our

afternoon hours to begin at 3pm instead of 3:30pm. In combination with that, we were finding that our 6-6:30pm time slot has been quiet and since the time change this past fall, it really felt like we were working super late into the night with how dark it is. So after a couple years of deliberation (this one I have been considering for quite some time) we have made the switch.

And I AM THRILLED!!! I have spent the past 8 years serving others and at times, have made sacrifices in my own life in order to do so. Getting out at 6:30 Monday through Thursday would limit me. Seems so many events, classes, concerts and such that I wanted to attend would start at 7 and be close to an hour away from Fenton (everything seems an hour away from Fenton for some reason). I would have to decline offer after offer over the years. There were classes at the gym that I never could make due to my schedule. Leaving at 6:30 meant that I could pretty much do one thing and then the night would be over and its time for bed.

Some of you may be thinking…its a mere 30 minutes she is talking about here. What is the big deal?

There is a lot that can be done in 30 minutes…a good cardio workout, make a delicious dinner, drive half way to Detroit, drive half way to the Wharton Center, have a meaningful conversation, make a phone call to catch up with a friend, run a 5K, bike one loop around Kensington, drive to Pine Knob Amphitheater, eat dinner at a restaurant, have a glass of wine, drink a glass of champagne, make a few runs on my snowboard at Mt. Holly, sleep…there is a LOT one can do in 30 minutes!

Then multiply that by 4 (days a week that I get out a half hour early) and then multiply that by 50 weeks of work in a year and that turns into 6,000 extra minutes in the evening per year…and there is a WHOLE LOT one can do in 6,000 minutes!!! You get my point. And it is 6,000 minutes more for me and 6,000 minutes more for Angie who, mind you, has a little one to tend to in the evenings.

So I am saying THANK YOU because i haven’t heard one negative comment about us shifting our hours. Thank you for being so understanding. Thank you for allowing me to take back a little portion of my life. Over the past 6 working days, I have had tremendous guilt for leaving a half hour early but I recognize that is all self manifested guilt and that not one person is making me feel that way besides myself. It may take me the next 8 years before I am used to leaving at 6…but I am looking forward to making the most of those 48,000 extra minutes while I am doing it. Thank you!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I hope this post finds you gearing up to have an amazing 2013. I know I am. It has been a while but I am still here. I have been MIA dealing with some personal stuff. I sometimes find it incredibly therapeutic and other times very difficult to write while processing. This time around it has been very difficult. It isn’t bad stuff by any means, my foundation got completely rocked and it has been emotional. Then add to that the stress of the holidays and to use the word “intense” doesn’t do it justice.
I can finally see the light and each day brings a more and more clearer view of the greatness in the Universe. It is moments like these that I can feel my foundation rebuilding and it is rebuilding in a different way, a different formation, which is a good thing, but it taking time to do so.
I wanted to write to wish you a most glorious New Year! I am grateful to have a clean slate and a brand new year to work with. I have set some intentions and plan to set some more over the next couple weeks. What are your plans? Any big goals you are going for in 2013? What kind of shifts are you making? I would love to hear what is happening if you want to share.

Happy New Year!

ITS THE SIMPLE THINGS

It’s the simple things…It has been an absolutely beautiful day! I got to wake up in the beautiful state of Vermont this morning. I had the most delicious breakfast that the sweetest man made for me. We packed up the car and drove 40 minutes up to the beautiful little town of Stowe, Vermont. There is a beautiful chiropractic practice filled with people here that he has to tend to…I continue on up to the mountain, gear up and am out on the slopes by 8:30.

There isn’t a whole lot of natural snow but Stowe Mountain Resort does an amazing job with their man-made snow…and it allows me a chance to strap on my snowboard!!! It is obvious they take a lot of pride in their mountain and the snow conditions they prepare for us to ride on. There are just a couple lifts open and maybe 4-6 runs with snow enough to get on them. The morning is brisk but the sun in shining and the view from the top is absolutely breathtaking. It is in these moments that I am surrounded by so much beauty that I have an overwhelming feeling of being so grateful for my life!

I cruise for a while, getting the most out of each run. I wish I could explain the feeling on a snowboard, for those of you who have never been. It is a controlled slipping and sliding. There is some of it that you can take charge of, however so much is about finding the best line down the run and committing. It isn’t an adrenaline thing for me…for some, I am sure it is. For me, it is about being so present to the conditions, so conscious of the next move that there isn’t time to think about one other thing. It is meditative, freeing and makes me feel so ALIVE!!!
I meet up with a couple new friends and do a few runs with them to finish the morning.

It is lunchtime and in just a short 15 minute drive is that sweetest man that made me breakfast this morning…he will be needing to find lunch as well, so I join him. In this small town of Stowe, there is some really incredible hippie restaurants that are simple and easy. It is quite a common thing to find good quality, healthy food in this area. I LOVE THAT!!! We have great conversation and a huge laugh about a “mullet email” and then he has to head back to serve his people for the afternoon.

I find my way up to a spa. I need to use their facilities in order to clean up and get ready for the rest of the day. It was going to be a $50 entry fee into the spa however they allowed me to use their shower and lounge area for $20. What a treat! I flew late last night after a long, good day of work, got up early this morning, snowboarded hard for a few hours and by this point I am beat and just need some quiet time. It was the most beautiful place and such an awesome way to spend the afternoon. They didn’t skip a beat when it comes to details around that place and I appreciated every bit of it.

My next move was to head back to town and do a little bit of shopping and here I sit in a quaint coffee shop, able to have an extra moment to blog. So far this has been the perfect day!

I am writing out all these details so that you can experience the simplicity of what made my day so wonderful. It truly is the simple things that make this life worth living. It is a smiling face, a breakfast made with love, kisses, hugs, a car ride through the mountains, time on the slopes, beautiful scenery, great food, big laughs, a warm shower in a beautiful place, a quaint little coffee shop, and time to share it all. Life is beautiful, however things are so much sweeter when shared.