GRATITUDE PROJECT

It is the month of THANKSGIVING!!!  The best holiday of them all in my opinion.  We have a GRATITUDE PROJECT going on in our office for the final months of the year.

“What we think about and thank about, we bring about.”

The world proves to us over and over again that what WE FOCUS ON, EXPANDS!!!  So let us get back to focusing on GRATITUDE and what we are grateful for.  Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - Gratitude

Our lives are blessed in so many ways.  Seriously so, so, so many ways.

I want to challenge you to sit for 5 minutes, set a timer even, and think about all the different things you are grateful for.  Make a list in your mind.  Can’t fill 5 minutes of time?  Look harder, you are not paying close enough attention.

I am so very grateful for my office Cafe of LIFE Chiropractic and the ability to serve this community!  I could not imagine my life any other way than spending my days doing what I love.

I also LOVE LOVE LOVE to fill this space with GRATITUDE!!!!!!!!

GRATITUDE PROJECT:

Each day you walk into the Cafe of LIFE, you will make sure to stop by our GRATITUDE STATION.  There are leaf cut-outs ready for you.  Write one thing you are grateful and tape it to our tree on our window.  It becomes the biggest and most beautiful gratitude tree in just a few short weeks, and we just keep going.  It is simple and super fun and such an awesome way to build GRATITUDE ENERGY!!!

And if you are not a patient here at the Cafe of LIFE, feel free to swing by and just fill out a leaf and join our mission.  The more GRATITUDE, the BETTER!!!!

In saying all of that, I want to take a moment to extend my GRATITUDE to you, my readers, family, friends and patients, for being part of my life.  My life and heart are filled up because of YOU!!!  Thank you.

 

EXPANDING

The services at Cafe of LIFE are EXPANDING!!!

I have been in private practice for almost 12 years.  Over the years, we have seen many patients come through our doors and heal, healing on levels both big and small.

There are so many different aspects to what make up our health and while chiropractic is a BIG PART of that, many people also have other areas that need assistance to sort out and change to really express more life and ease in the day to day.  Things like diet, exercise and stress-reducing activities are so important in maintainingChiropractor Fenton Michigan - Expanding - OSO Sisters good health.

In the end, I am only one woman.  And although I have created this facility and, along with my team, have grown it into what it is today, I am still only one woman, with only so much energy and only so much time.  I realize that I cannot do it all.  I also realize that you all need more.

So it is PERFECT TIMING to partner with a couple of dynamic women who have been doing HOLISTIC LIFESTYLE COACHING for a few years now.  Jennifer Ream and Christine Landaal, otherwise known as the OSO Sisters, live locally here in town and have been coaching through an online and telephone platform.  They are ready to bring their services out into the community and reach those in search of assistance to move their lives and health forward.

Jennifer holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing, is a certified Reiki practitioner, and is a life-long student of spiritual awareness and holistic healing.  She is also a wife, mother and lover of the outdoors and enjoys helping to guide clients towards reconnecting with themselves, healing from the inside out (which is also the chiropractic philosophy, seriously a perfect match for us) and learning tools to manage everyday life with ease.

Christine has a Bachelor’s in Business Administration and is a certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach.  She is a wife and mom and has done some work with her son’s food allergies as well as healing herself through an autoimmune disease.  Her knowledge and personal experience has led her to pursue her passion for nutrition and healthy living and assisting her clients on their health journeys.

WE ARE THRILLED to have such qualified and dynamic women here to assist us in furthering our mission to help serve this community better in your multitude of health needs.

Jennifer and Christine are conducting their business here Tuesday mornings from 8am-2pm.  Go to www.OSOSisters.com to learn more about their services and schedule a consultation.  Find them and “Like” their page on Facebook at OSOSisters or email them directly at JenandChristine@OSOSisters.com.

Some of our patients have had concerns about how we will all fit into this space.  One day we hope to EXPAND the building, but for right now, we will be working with our different practicioners (there are 2 others joining us as well that I will introduce over the next couple weeks…stay tuned!!!) during hours we are not regularly open.  Chiropractic care and massage therapy will carry on as they always have.

We are excited to be EXPANDING and able to offer you a little more in an INTEGRATED HEALTH TEAM atmosphere here at Cafe of LIFE.

While you are at it, grab your calendars and mark THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20 to join us here at the Cafe of LIFE from 6-7pm to meet our team and learn more about our INTEGRATED HEALTH TEAM!!!

 

 

I SAID YES

Quite often I receive emails that sound like this “I see you are on an adventure out on a boat in the Lake Michigan.  How did you get involved in that?”  My simple answer, “I said yes.”

When I get invited somewhere, I figure out if it is at all possible to say yes and if it is, I do.

When I was 10 years old, I said yes and was given my first horse.

I said yes and ended up moving across the country for school when I was 19 years old.  Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - I said Yes

I said yes and moved up to Anchorage, Alaska for an awesome 3 year adventure.

I said yes (to myself and my abilities) and opened my own chiropractic practice Cafe of LIFE that thrives still today.

I have said yes and ended up away from my family for the holidays but with great friends and that has led to some awesome trips over the years.

I said yes and purchased a condo, a building and a home.

I said yes and have a second business that has been running and successful for years.

I have said yes and got on planes to not one, but 5 different first dates over the years.

I said yes and ended up in some really incredible relationships (though none have gone the distance…just yet anyway).

I said yes and found myself jumping out of a plane.

I said yes and signed up for and ran the Chicago Marathon.

I said yes and ended up having some of the greatest times of my life.

And just last weekend I said yes and ended up on a boat along the shore of Chicago to watch the America’s Cup Qualifying Race.

I am sharing all of this because as I am sitting on a boat in the water and under the sunshine and with a beautiful view of the city of Chicago last weekend, I was so grateful.  I have had many experiences and in that moment, I am proud of myself for having the courage to just say yes and get out there and live life.

In the past, I have also gotten email messages inquiring whether I had some sort of terminal diagnosis and why I was making so many different things happen all the time?  “The tragedy in life is not death…but what we let die inside while we live.”

Brush fear aside, step up and have the courage to say YES to your life!  I promise you will find great adventures along the way and open up to really living!!!!

Next time I see you, I want to hear from you that “I said yes and…” and then tell me all about your adventure.

 

 

HUMILIATED

I am absolutely humiliated!

A patient walked into the Cafe of LIFE last Wednesday afternoon and asked me where I was earlier that day and why I wasn’t here when my office hours said I would be here.

“What do you mean?  I am always here for our office hours  Wednesday morning is 7:30a-10a.”Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - Humiliated - Dr. Erica Peabody

“That is not what your business card says.”

When we looked closer, our business cards have our office hours as “7:30am-1pm”.  For months.

Sometimes when reviewing a proof for those kinds of things, the brain will look at something, skim right over an error and make up something completely different.  That is exactly what happened.

So in essence it has looked like we just high-tail it out of here whenever we feel like it on Wednesday during that time slot.  And if you know me like most of you do by now, I would NEVER do that.

She continued, “Yeah I was talking to my mom and she said ‘well she must just come and go as she pleases.’ You really don’t seem like that kind of a person to me.”

Um…I am NOT that kind of a person and I am not that kind of professional!  I feel a lot of responsibility to all of you and there are a lot of people that rely on us.  I was born with punctuality and responsibility woven into my fabric, that is just how I am.

So needless to say we looked over all our thousands of card that I ordered just a couple months ago and realized they were all wrong.  In the meantime, every person that has come into this office, we always tell them, “Make sure to grab a card at the front desk, our hours are on the back.”

OH.  MY.  GOODNESS.  I am seriously humiliated.

Yes I am only human and there are humans involved in the making and printing process of these things and mistakes can happen.

And by now I am sure you can imagine just how very GRATEFUL I am to this lady who brought this mistake to my attention!!!

The last thing I want to do is look like a slacker, and especially when I am not.

To all of you out there reading this that we may have confused and misled, I apologize and am so humiliated.  Live and learn, right?  You can bet I will have many different sets of eyes on all future materials like that.

 

BVI SAILING PICTURE DIARY

In order to have seen many of the pictures of our BVI sailing trip, you would have to have been a friend of mine on Facebook or have come into the Cafe of LIFE. There are quite a few asking about my trip so I wanted to put together a little BVI Sailing Picture Diary for you to take a glance at some of what we did with our 10 days on our sailboat Yacht Emily Morgan.Fenton Chiropractor - BVI Sailing Picture Diary - My Friends

These are my friends, some really good friends that I have traveled with often.  They all live in Denver and are all chiropractors…and have been trying to get me to move out west since I moved home 11 years ago.  I met all of them in 2001 within the first week of starting chiropractic college at Life University in Atlanta, GA.  I love each of them for what they add to my life, my being and the level of joy and laughter daily, even when we are not together.

Fenton Chiropractor - BVI Sailing Picture Diary - My Feet

These are my feet and this is the front of the boat.  The entire trip was absolutely beautiful, as you can tell, and this was such an awesome spot to take it all in.

Fenton Chiropractor - BVI Sailing Picture Diary - Christmas Morning

Christmas morning, we are in the midst of our white elephant gift exchange and I ended up with a selfie-stick which I was totally stoked about!!!  My friends, Marco and Scott, and to the right in the picture, is Bones, the owner of the ship, host extraordinaire, comedian, dance instructor, master sailor.  We got lucky to be on this boat with him and his wife!!

Fenton Chiropractor - BVI Sailing Picture Diary - First Selfie of Many

Later on that day using said “selfie-stick”…

Fenton Chiropractor - BVI Sailing Picture Diary - Selfie Stick

…and then I realized that I hardly needed any friends to take my pictures or be in my pictures because I now had a SELFIE STICK!!!! Fenton Chiropractor - BVI Sailing Picture Diary - Fab FourI am only kidding…that is not really true, we all need our friends.  Fenton Chiropractor - BVI Sailing Picture Diary

Then one day Bones took us knee-boarding on the back of the dinghy.  It has been since June 24, 1998 since I have been knee-boarding.  I remember the date so clearly because I ended up breaking my nose out on Lake Ponemah (a whole different blog post to share that story, maybe).  It was super fun to be knee-boarding and of course I can’t help but always try to see what’s still possible on that thing.  Here is me doing my best rendition of “Hey Mom!!!  Look at me!!!”  …only my Mom wasn’t anywhere around.  🙂

Fenton Chiropractor - BVI Sailing Picture Diary - Paddleboards

Emily Morgan hauls around these paddleboards we could take out anytime we wanted.  So much fun although I am not sure I used them all that much.  This trip became quite a sedentary trip actually.   Fenton Chiropractor - BVI Sailing Picture Diary - Rainbow

But while we were sitting around all day, we would see such BEAUTIFUL rainbows!!!  Spectacular rainbows and a few of them each day.  I know this picture may not even seem real but this was shot with just an iPhone camera, no zoom.  Crazy beautiful place!!!  Fenton Chiropractor - BVI Sailing Picture Diary - Sunset

And while I am at it, enjoy these two beautiful pictures!  Fenton Chiropractor - BVI Sailing Picture Diary - Sunset #2

Sundown time was some of the coolest lighting of the entire day.  I think coupled with the sway of sitting on the boat and about to eat some of the most delicious food, it became our most favorite part of each day.

Fenton Chiropractor - BVI Sailing Picture Diary

…it was time for another selfie…  🙂

Fenton Chiropractor - BVI Sailing Picture Diary

After the first few days of strictly being only on the boat, we began to crave being on land and would dinghy into shore and get grounded for a few minutes.  Sometimes we would find beautiful beaches to hang out on but mostly we just needed to not be moving, swaying and rocking for a few minutes.  Fenton Chiropractor - BVI Sailing Picture Diary - Helping with Sails

I LOVED learning about sail physics and helping with to put sails up and take them down.  The greatest part of our trip is our hosts could completely handle the boat themselves and so we could choose how much we wanted to participate in crewing the boat minute by minute.  I just loved the raising and lowering of the sails, literally the mechanism that was catching the wind and moving us around these islands…how freakin’ cool is that?!?!?!  I am still in awe of how it all works and am excited to find a sailing vessel of some sort this coming summer…maybe windsurfing.  Yeah, that sounds about right for me.

Fenton Chiropractor - BVI Sailing Picture Diary - Sleeping

This is a picture of my room.  These 2 bunk beds that were available to me and I ultimately found that the top one had the best air flow.  I do not sleep well when my body is moving (in the car, on a plane and apparently not on a boat either).  Aside from a sedentary 10 days, sleeping was the only other downfall of being on the sailboat for me.  I am particular about sleep and need certain pillows and support and position and basically the only way to sleep in this bed was to tie up a hammock up to the wall at the head and foot of the bed to keep from rolling out at night as the boat rocks in the waves.  This took a while to get used to and then once I was home, it took a while to get use to being in a bed that was not moving. It is interesting to watch the brain try to adapt to all of that!  Fenton Chiropractor - BVI Sailing Picture Diary - Sailing and Talking

This is how our days were spent…sitting, sailing and chatting.  This particular group of friends are what I consider “growth friends”.  We are always presenting ideas, talking things over, offering each other perspective and solving the problems of the world…well our own small worlds if you want to be particular.

Fenton Chiropractor - BVI Sailing Picture Diary - New Years Eve

Another incredible evening anchored in some beautiful place, rocking in the waves, chatting about the day and prepping to wind down for the night.  Fenton Chiropractor - BVI Sailing Picture Diary - New Years Even Foxy's

New Year’s Eve was spent on the island of Jost Van Dyke at a world famous bar called Foxy’s.  It is amazing that among the 3,000 people at this party that I can be dancing around the place and come across a sticker of one of the businesses, Unlimited Offroad, here in Fenton, MI.  It amazes me to be thousands of miles away and have evidence of Fenton’s greats right in front of me!!

Fenton Chiropractor - BVI Sailing Picture Diary - More Friends

These guys…the greatest!!!

Fenton Chiropractor - BVI Sailing Picture Diary - Bones and Anna

And these two, Bones and Anna and their beautiful boat Emily Morgan, exceptional is not even the word great enough for them.  24 hours per day for 10 solid days with 6 demanding goofballs in their home…I have no idea how they endure something like that.  This is the moment stepping off the boat and parting ways after our 10 days.  We were truly like a big happy family with them and we all miss them.  You can see in their smiles and in their energy fields, even after 10 FULL DAYS, they have the biggest servants hearts of any people I have seen in a while.  Our trip was as amazing as it was due mostly to them.  Look them up if ever you are looking to have an exceptional vacation!

So that concludes the BVI sailing picture diary.  If think I covered the trip thoroughly as I also strongly believe that pictures tell the best stories.  Until next time…I am still “Sailing the Scene, 2016!”

 

NOBODY IS EXEMPT

Daily, for over 10 years, I have been helping people to increase their health and internal resilience through my job as a Doctor of Chiropractic.  Aside from keeping the nerve system free of interference, the chiropractic adjustment, there are NATURAL LAWS OF THE BODY that need to be followed in order to be healthy and remain that way…and nobody is exempt.  It doesn’t matter how old or young you are, in order to be  healthy, you have to do the following:

EAT WELL.

MOVE WELL.Chiropractor Fenton Michigan Eat Well

THINK WELL.

REST WELL.

Some of you are doing an exceptional job at committing to health and I don’t want to make a blanket statement but I do want to review what is necessary.

Let’s start with the first…EAT WELL.  The body heals by replacing cells.  The body and all the cells in it are replaced on a regular basis.  The body grows new cells by the building blocks you ingest.  Ingest a bunch of junk and you will have weak structure and usually a lot of inflammation.  Ingest good healthy food and you will have strong building blocks to construct your cells. AND DRINK YOUR WATER!!!  Every single day, yes ALL OF THE DAYS, EVERY SINGLE LAST ONE, you need to DRINK WATER.  It doesn’t matter how old or young you are, in order to be healthy you have to EAT WELL AND DRINK WATER and nobody is exempt.

Second thing you need to do daily…MOVE WELL.  The body is built to move.  Every joint in the body is nourished through movement.  If we were supposed to be sedentary we would not have nearly as many joints in our bodies.  Circulation increases when you move your body and with that oxygen increases as well.  Circulation is how nutrients and oxygen are transported though the body and delivered to all organs, tissues, muscles and glands.  Muscles also need to be moved and stretched every single day.  It doesn’t matter how old or young you are, in order to be healthy you have to MOVE WELL EVERY SINGLE DAY and nobody is exempt.

Our quality of life is determined largely by our attitude towards it.  Wake up with a smile or wake up with a frown, it is going to set the tone for your entire day.  The days add up to weeks, weeks add up to months and then years and life goes by rather quickly.  Life is only a fraction of what happens to us, and mostly our reaction to it.  Be grateful.  Even when things don’t seem to be going your way, be grateful for something.  Take some time to express gratitude silently to yourself and maybe even out loud to those around you.  It doesn’t matter how old our young you are, in order to be healthy you have to THINK GOOD THOUGHTS IN YOUR LIFE and nobody is exempt.Chiropractor Fenton Michigan Smiling Flower

Have you ever really taken time to think about sleep?  At night, we literally leave this conscious state and step off to some place while our physical body rests.  Sometimes this is to dreamland and sometimes it is quiet and
uneventful.  Either way, we sleep.  Our body shuts down and goes into restoration mode.  It is a time for rebuilding, regrouping, integrating and healing and our bodies require it.  Every.  Single.  Day.  It doesn’t matter how old our young you are, in order to be healthy you have to REST WELL, take some down time and rest and nobody is exempt.

Patients come to the Cafe of LIFE Chiropractic Center every week for over 10 years and I help them through the chiropractic adjustment.  The greatest thing about chiropractic care is that the adjustment helps keep the body connected to it’s power source, the brain and nerve system, and allows it to do everything it is supposed to do, better and more efficiently. I also do my best to help my patients understand the NATURAL LAWS OF THE BODY.  I ask things like “How much sleep have you had lately?” and “How much exercise have you gotten today?  This week?” and “How much water have you drank today?  This week?” and “What are you doing to handle stress in your life?”

Some reply a resounding “YES!  LOTS!!” and I realize that so many are committed to their own health.  However, some reply with answers that DO NOT follow the NATURAL LAWS OF THE BODY as described above.  These are not laws I just made up…this is really serious business and involves your body and your life.

WE HAVE TO DO WHAT WE KNOW WE NEED TO DO IN ORDER TO BE HEALTHY AND THAT’S IT!!!

There are no shortcuts.

There is no easy way.

There is no magic pill.

I talk about water on most of your visits because the importance of being properly hydrated is underestimated.  But now you have to go out there into your life and DRINK YOUR WATER!!!  You have to, that is all there is to it.

I love you and this is why I am expressing to you the fact that it doesn’t matter how old or young you are, in order to be healthy you have to FOLLOW THE NATURAL LAWS OF THE BODY and NOBODY IS EXEMPT!!!!  Got it?  Now get out there and get to work!!!  🙂

 

 

SUGAR

It starts with Halloween and ends with New Years Day….SUGAR, SUGAR EVERYWHERE!!!  Notably this is also considered “COLD AND FLU SEASON”.  Guess what?  Sugar is a major factor in decreased immune system function and when that happens, the “invaders” (viruses and bacteria) have a chance to take over.

Let’s learn some physiology…Chiropractor Fenton Michigan Sugar
White blood cells are a HUGE PART of your functional immune system.  They travel through the body and convene around areas of “invaders” and do some clean-up work.  White blood cells need Vitamin C in order to activate and do their job of phagocytosis (in essence “eating up”) of the viruses and bacteria.  Sugar and Vitamin C have a very similar structure and compete for the same activation/binding site on the white blood cells.  If sugar is around, Vitamin C doesn’t get to do its normal work and your immune system becomes compromised.  When you decide to eat sugar, you can think of your immune system becoming a slug and slowing down to a crawl…every year…around this same time and going all the way through the New Year.

Certain minerals are required in order to process the sugar you eat.  Because refined sugar doesn’t contain those minerals, chronic ingestion of sugar can lead to depleted levels of essential minerals in the body which creates further problems and compromises health.

SO WHAT CAN YOU DO TO KEEP A STRONG IMMUNE SYSTEM?  
Great question!!!  Let’s take this little bit of awareness in to this holiday season and see how making a few better choices in what you put on your plate and in your mouth can have a drastic effect on your energy levels and immune system function.

WAYS TO BOOST YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM: Chiropractor Fenton Michigan Adjustment

  • Drink lots of water
  • Eat your vegetables
  • Get plenty of rest
  • Exercise/move your body daily
  • Take your vitamins
  • Steer clear of sugar
  • Steer clear of alcohol
  • Keep up with your regular chiropractic care
  • Get outside for some fresh air
  • Laugh often and take some time to play
  • Keep a positive mental attitude

The nerve system and immune system are interconnected (some will say they are the same – neuroimmuno system).  When the nerve system is compromised, so is the immune system.  REGULAR CHIROPRACTIC CARE will help maximize your potential for health by keeping your nerve system clear and your immune system strong.  Swing in to the Café of LIFE Chiropractic Center!  We would love to help you and your family have a wonderful, HEALTHFUL holiday season!!!

 

WELCOME TO THE FUTURE

Welcome to the future!!!

Do you remember 1985 when the movie “Back to the Future” came out?  I was quite young at that point however it was an age that I can remember life and some of the specifics.

The main thing I remember is thinking that the date they were heading to in their time machine seemed like it was so far away!!  “That is forever from now!” I thought.

I also remember being in first grade and our neighbors were in fifth grade and I thought that was so old and thinking the moment I graduated from Fenton High School that my life was over.Chiropractor Fenton Michigan Back to the Future

When we are young, it seems like those things are so far off, however here we are today!!!

When I think back to 1985, I was 8 years old and in third grade at State Road Elementary.  Life was simple back then and school came easy for me.  I remember some of the most stressful things happening on a daily basis would be deciding between pizza or a cheeseburger for lunch and that was it.  I remember wearing parachute pants (because I would only wear clothes my older brother wore first) and always being one of the only girls on the soccer field for recess every single day.

The span of life between then and today “the future” has been quite an adventure.  I obviously finished and graduated from Fenton High School, went on to Michigan State, transferred to Boise State University and finally graduated with my bachelors degree from University of Alaska in Anchorage.  I started my doctorate at Life University in Atalanta, GA and finished at Sherman College in Spartanburg, SC.

During that time, I married and divorced, I lived in many places all over the country, studied my little heart out and moved home to open my practice.  Since then I have started a business, traveled to many parts of the world, been on a mission trip, ran a marathon and many half-marathons, completed triathlons, been on numerous dates, bought a condo and then a home.   I became an aunt.  I have nieces and nephews I have watched grow and have helped them learn about their world, adjusted thousands and thousands of people, made money, lost money and made investments.  I have been diagnosed with a heart condition but otherwise have had good health.  I have added many friends and lost a few, added many family members and lost a few of those too.

A LOT has happened from that time to now!

Sometimes life can feel as if it is not moving and nothing is getting accomplished.  But if you really stop what you are doing right now and see if you can remember back to the time while watching that movie for a first time (I assume everyone has watched it, its such a classic), truly you have come so far and accomplished so much.  The good, the bad and the ugly, take a moment to have gratitude for all of it.  If it didn’t go the way you really wanted it to, then take another moment and figure out something you can you do from this point to make a change.  Instead of waiting to make a New Year’s Resolution, how about resolving to do something today that will change your trajectory in life?

There is no time like the present since today is “the future”.  Welcome to the future!

 

 

MY HOUSE

Many people are asking about my house.

Back in the beginning this year I wrote a blog called “I’m Not Crazy” about how, in spite of all kinds of different ideas and opinions everyone has about moving from a lake home, I had plans to sell my house.

I think it is so interesting how life works sometimes.

Very shortly following that final decision to sell, I met a really interesting man.  Most of you know that I have been single and dating for years, sometimes what seems like years and years.  This guy came into my life and just a couple weeks later I got a great offer on my home.  He and I were playing with the idea of keeping the house in case we Chiropractor Fenton Michigan My Housewent the distance together.  It was so early in our relationship that we really didn’t know much about our future.  It got down to the wire of having to counter the offer or take the house off the market.  As the minutes ticked by, I was in sheer panic trying to figure out if I should really sell and move on or keep it and stay put.

As the final minute to counter that offer approaches, I pulled the house off the market.  It was a heart-centered decision about my life I was ultimately really happy with my choice.  The couple that had made the offer came up with another offer meeting me half way from their original offer and the asking price.  My response remained “it is not on the market anymore.”  Then they came within $3,000 of full asking price…but I remained happy with my choice.

That particular gentleman and I didn’t end up going the distance.  However, months later, I am still so grateful for him being in my life at that moment when that decision needed to be made.

Today I sit and write to you while overlooking the lake.  It is fall and it is time to get the boats out of the water, roll up the docks, and batten down the hatches to take on Old Man Winter.  I face west and that unencumbered west winter wind is absolutely brutal from here most of the time.  I have a few new windows ordered to replace some old cabin windows, some insulation and other fall chores to be done and a new incredibly sweet handyman in my life ready and willing to help me tackle it all.  For all of that and so much more, I am grateful.

Life takes twists and turns and I have chosen that, instead of trying to force decisions, I can get quiet, look around, listen to my inner voice, check in with my heart and make that next step.

From what I mentioned above, I am sure your mind goes to the question of “Is that ‘incredibly sweet handyman’ going to be it for me?”  I can say one thing for sure…for right now, I am so very grateful for his presence in my life.  That is all I know.

Seems as soon as I try to make some sort of plan for my future; home, relationship or otherwise, I get blind-sided and spun around in a completely different direction.  For now, what I am certain about is that I am staying in my house.

When you look back on your life, can you see key moments and people or experiences that significantly changed the course of the path your life was moving on?  Boy, I do.  It is sometimes so hard to see through all the energy of the moment, however in retrospect it seems 20/20.  For now I will sit back in my house, breathe, have gratitude and trust the next move will be obvious when it needs to happen.

 

 

LUCKY

I was a lucky kid.  I got my spine checked and adjusted by a chiropractor for as long as I can remember.  I went to an office right here in town where CRUST is located right now.  My mom took my brothers and I at least once per month to make sure we were growing and developing normally.

This morning I started a woman under care that is 82 years old.  She was an absolute delight and she got talking about this “old chiropractor that used to be right downtown Fenton” that she used to go to and take her children when they were growing up.

It just so happens to be the same chiropractor that my family went to.

I have to share the story she shared with me.  You all know we see a lot of children at Cafe of LIFE Chiropractic however sometimes I don’t get a chance to really share much of the “WHY” we see children.Chiropractor Fenton Michigan Marry Poppins

She started off with a story of her son, when he was 10 years old, decided to parachute off the neighbor’s roof using an open umbrella.  Mary Poppins flew around with an umbrella and everyone can probably see exactly why a child might try to make that happen.

This young man came crashing down and fortunately wasn’t hurt too badly…or so they thought at the time.

The very next morning this young boy woke up and couldn’t talk.  He could move his mouth but no voice or sound would come out.  They immediately went to see their medical doctor.  That doctor ran all kinds of test on this young boy, all tests were negative.  They sent him home with breathing treatments and some sort of cough syrup.  While he was on breathing treatments and syrup, he was able to do some talking but it had to be a constant daily regimen.  It never resolved it, just kept symptoms at bay.  After some time, the medical professionals recommended surgery to help this issue however they only gave them 50/50 chance of regaining his voice and the other half was losing his ability to vocalize completely.

Mom started wondering “how am I going to tell this 10 year old boy that he cannot talk much and cannot talk loudly and to save his voice?”

Her chiropractor at the time mentioned that maybe she should bring him in and see if he could help with this issue.

“Talking and voice issues and chiropractic care?”  Ultimately she decided this has to be better than surgery and they would give it a try.  Within just a few short months of starting regular chiropractic care, he healed.  His voice and ability to vocalize returned to normal.

So how does this work?  Children jump and fall and traumatize their bodies all the time.  The nerve system is the master control center of the body and is housed within the spinal column.  If there is interference in the connection wires of the nerve system, the body cannot heal and grow and develop as normal and all kinds of things can be a little bit “off”.  Over time, that little bit “off” can build up leading to further stress and even further diminished communication within the body, and potentially symptoms.Chiropractor Fenton Michigan Umbrella

The nerves in the neck supply all the things in the head, face, shoulders, arms and hands.  Guess what?  Vocal cords and ability to use your voice is controlled by nerves in the neck.  If the nerves are off, thing can go a little haywire.  This young man had interference in the nerves in the neck even though he did not fall and land on his head.

The bottom line is the body works better with a good nerve supply.  Does chiropractic care fix voices?  No, we help normalize the body and allow it to heal.  Chiropractic care was discovered when an adjustment restored hearing to a man that had gone deaf.  Does that mean chiropractic care cures deafness?  No, not a chance.  We are always assisting the body to do its job better…all of its jobs.

I feel so lucky to have been checked and adjusted since I was little.  If you ask all of my brothers, they would say the same thing and are choosing the same for their children right now.  Fortunately for me, I get to care for those precious littles since we all live close to each other.

If we take care of the spine in the younger stages of life, there is a higher potential of growing, healing and developing normally and that is why we see so many children at the Cafe of LIFE.  I loved this woman’s story because I think we all know a child or were a child that thought we could fly or at least wanted to give it a try!!  I also love this story because it reminded me of where my love for chiropractic first started.

I am opening up this conversation to everyone.  If you have questions about your children and how chiropractic could help them, reach out and let me help you understand better.  Email me at erica@cafeoflifefenton.com.  I would love to hear from you!