Fenton Michigan – Page 3 – We Only Get One Chance

THE HARDEST DAY

“It is hard to prepare for the hardest day of your life when you have no idea about what the hardest day in your life will be like.”

That was a quote from my brother, Garrett, last night as I sat in my office with 3 women who will be heading to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in 2 months.

Since my trek, many local (semi-local in the region) people have stepped up to ask what it is like to do that climb because they are heading that way within months.

“How did you train?”

“What did you bring?”

“What was the most used piece of gear that you didn’t expect?”

“What about medications? And which vaccinations?”

“What is the bathroom situation when you are climbing?”

“What did they feed you?”

“Tell us about summit night…”

“What do you mean ‘Don’t die with your day pack on?'”

The last one was the best one.

I walked and talked these ladies through my entire trip last night over 2 hours of conversation. They are bringing their husbands and teenagers with them.

As we were going through all the details, I realized just how amazing the trip was doing it with an incredible group of women. I remembered around any corner, if anyone needed anything, someone had extra of it and was willing to share. What could you possibly want that one of the 31 women didn’t have...I mean half of them were moms and MOMS ARE PREPARED!!!

We all suffered a lot during the trip but, and this may be a major over-generalization and stereotype (sorry, not sorry), women are pretty graceful at dealing with suffering and moving forward anyway.

When Kelly and I headed over to Kilimanjaro, WHOA Travel gave us a packing list and sort of an idea about the trip with the FAQs of course, but we didn’t have anyone to sit down and have this kind of conversation with, which looking back was a blessing and a curse.

How did I prepare for dealing with having to go to the bathroom out on the trail?

How did I clean my body and what was it like to use wet wipes as a “shower” every morning and night for all those days?

How did I manage my period that started on day 2 of an 8 day trip and summit on the day of highest level of anemia in oxygen levels half the normal of sea level?

What about the hole in my heart and the decreased oxygen levels that I experience at sea level just walking around much less 19,341 ft above sea level.

How did you manage the 10 day trip with a total of 24 hours of sleep? How did you function like that?

What did you do at night when you were unable to sleep? and then the next night? and the next? How did you keep hiking 6-7 hours per day with such little sleep?

How did you keep your clothes in good working order and what materials did you prefer to wear up there?

How do you manage temperatures from 90 degrees at the bottom to below zero at the top?

Were you bored out on the trail during the days?

How do you hike 15,000 ft to 19,341 on the final day with barely anything to eat or drink (due to my own specific circumstances) while having 3 bouts of massive diarrhea and having to still manage your period sitting and squatting on porous lava rocks at zero degrees?

What do you mean your porter had to help your every single step for the final 100 yards to the top?

It seems so strange that going down is actually harder than going up? A walking boot for 6 months following your trek? Still not healed? How is that even possible?

There was a real thought on my plane ride over there that it is possible, possible anytime of course but more possible than anything I had done before, that I wasn’t coming back. Of course that wouldn’t have been ideal, and I am glad that it didn’t happen and I lived to tell all these stories, but truly that trek is quite dangerous. The trail is relatively safe but exposure to the different elements, not to mention 19,341 ft elevation, can cost you your life. I am not sure they ever really considered that deeply…maybe they have but I think they were caught off-guard that I would speak about it so casually.

I also remember, when I had that thought I mentioned above, that I was okay with how my life had been and how much I have done and accomplished and just how many lives I had helped to make a difference, big or small. Because life is truly about contribution. When exposed to cultures like what was in Tanzania, and spend those 10 days with them, life gets really simple. Clothes on their backs, shoes on their feet, roof over their heads, foot to eat and family and that is true happiness. Truly. <<<—-THAT is the simplest thing of all.

So how do you prepare for the hardest day of your life….put a smile on your face, look around, be sure you packed the right layers and take in every last moment because your life will FOREVER BE CHANGED…for the better. Best of luck to that group, I am sure you will all have massive success and I am excited for the report back when you are done! <3

HOUSE SHOES

I am one that has to wear house shoes now.

One year ago I was preparing to turn 40 and I was really busy calling it “Version 4.0” and redirecting my attention away from the number and more towards an “upgraded version” of myself. Reframe on point!

I had summitted Mt Kilimanjaro a month prior and although I am sure my body was still trying to recover from the physical intensity of that experience, I was also in the middle of a 6 week yoga challenge when my birthday rolled around. Looking back, I am not sure that much yoga was a good thing for my body at that time.

As I continued with the challenge, I experienced more and more pain in my left foot. I was always fine during the class and for the rest of the day following, but the mornings were continuing to get worse and worse, with very painful first steps out of bed. This continued until I finished the challenge and took a break from that kind of movement….and then every other kind of movement as well. (All of the rest of the year following that injury and my “boot camp” has been written up in previous blog posts so I won’t go over all the details here but look back through the blog history).

Two days ago I was getting ready to head over to my brother’s house to celebrate my niece’s 8th birthday. I had a few things I needed to gather however front and center on my list of “things not to forget” were my house shoes.

I have been unable to comfortably go bare-footed in my house, or anywhere for that matter, in months. I spend all of my time with some sort of shoes on my feet.

I have been to quite a few yoga classes lately and sections of the classes are comprised of dramatic movements and jumping around…on hard floors…in bare feet. As I glance around the room at the other yogis, I find myself wondering just how much they take the fact that they can go barefooted for granted. And that is not saying that I wasn’t that same way not long ago.
I look at them and their feet and I think to myself…I remember a time when I didn’t think twice about being barefoot. Now I can wear one of 3 pairs of shoes but I have to have a pair on my feet at all times.

Yes that means getting up out of bed in the morning and stepping right into shoes.

Yes that means carefully crawling onto my double yoga mat (for extra protection) in the yoga room and being mindful enough to get through the classes.

Yes that means every single outfit I wear is matched with sneakers…either my Brooks or my Saucony…black or navy blue…and when I say every single outfit, I am serious.

Yes and that also means that I have to pack house shoes whenever I go anywhere.

I have a healthy fear of hardwood floors and tile now which seems really unfortunate but is apparently how life will be moving forward.

I always thought I would be able to do what I have always done. Version 4.0 told me different. I am not a fan of blaming age and years for all of our ails and have been seeking any and all information about healing foot tissue and nerves and bones…and everything else for that matter.

It has lead me down some interesting paths, into some interesting offices, trying interesting remedies, meeting interesting practitioners and reading some interesting books. I have a whole lot more knowledge about the foot and leg than ever before and I will continue to progress down my path of healing.

I still have quite a road ahead of me with this foot and have never had anything take over a year to heal. In fact, I am at the point of accepting maybe it will never ever be the same. I am trusting the slowing down process that has been required of me so far. I will keep walking forward even if every single step is inside of sneakers or these silly house shoes. Here is to celebrating the completion of my 41st trip around the sun!!! 🙂

I’LL TAKE A HUG

Out of the mouth of babes “I think I’ll take a hug.”

Be still my heart…let me set the scene.

Life has been incredibly busy and full and I haven’t gotten specific time to hang with my nieces and nephews like I usually do. Actually it is not just the time of life, it has more to do with the season than anything. We hang out every weekend all summer long playing together on the lake. When winter rolls around, although we all love the wintertime and the snow, it just isn’t as organic to get together.

A few weekends back I chose to take time from the regular busy life, canceled a few things and headed up north to ski with some of my family and be able to have some high quality time together. I am not a skier but when I am out on the slopes helping with the little ones, it is nearly impossible to do anything helpful strapped to my snowboard.

I bought a set of skies about 2 years ago, after not skiing for 22 years, and have been having a lot of fun with the kids out on the slopes as they learn to make turns on their own.

It was a fun filled day of skiing and each of them were eager to show Aunt E just how good they are getting…and they really are! It is the best to be able to be with them as they are learning so much and putting pieces of their own worlds together. I absolutely love being in the role of Aunt E.

So at the very end of the day, I was going to drive back downstate to be with Mike for the rest of the weekend. I said my “good-byes” to all of the adults and had to hunt down a few kids to give them squeezes and kisses and one more exchange about how proud I was of their skiing.

There were a missing group tucked in a back room watching a movie together. As I knocked on the door and entered, I found them all huddled around a little TV on the top bunk watching a movie together, a precious site in and of itself.

I said “Hey guys! Aunt E is going to go now and I just wanted to say good-bye and tell you how great you are all getting at skiing.”

“Aunt E, where are you going?”

“I am going to be with Mike for the rest of the weekend and so I will be driving back down to our house in Frankenmuth and we will have Sunday together.”

“Awe, do you have to go?”

“Yes guys, I want to be able to get some good sleep and wake up refreshed for Sunday back home.”

“Ok. Well maybe we will be able to ski again some other weekend?”

“Absolutely!”

They were all tucked together and up high and so I wasn’t able to really get up to them to do much so I said “Hey, how about high fives all the way around?”

They did that and I turned around and headed for the door when Charlei chimes in and says, “Hey Aunt E? I think I will take a hug.” …and proceeds to climb all the way down to give me a hug.

It was the sweetest thing. In fact I left and shed tears of gratitude during the first 30 minutes of my drive back downstate.

I am fortunate to have such an incredible family.

I am blessed and lucky to have these little one running around calling me Aunt E and caring about spending time with me. In all of the things that I do to make a small difference in my little corner of the world, knowing that I have touched them is one of the most important things.

“I think I’ll take a hug.” from the mouth of my 7 (almost 8) year old niece. They all mean the world to me and that phrase landed so intensely on my heart in the most beautiful way. Thank you sweet little ones!

NATURE CALLS

Nature calls.

No, really, it truly did call but probably not in the way that you are used to hearing that phrase.

Since my climb last year, I have spent almost no time out in the woods. I had a severe calf/foot injury that locked me into that boot for 6 months.

Of course I have had to keep my body moving and so I found some routines inside the walls of my gym that I could do and still keep my body moving and built a lot of strength at the same time.

I got used to those routines and got comfortable and since the environment was controlled, I stuck with it which really worked out well for me.

What I didn’t realize inside of that time is that I hadn’t been able to get outside and walk, hike, bike or just stroll through the woods…and I also didn’t realize how much I missed it.

Two weekends ago, as I wrote in the previous blog post, I ran a 5K on a trail in the snow. It was a test for my foot which responded well. This past weekend I thought I would test it again and I went snowboarding on Saturday. If you have followed me through the years, snowboarding is one of my greatest joys. My foot managed snowboarding well too.

Sunday, Mike and I decided to go out snowshoeing along the Arcadia Bluffs overlooking Lake Michigan. Through these two adventures, snowboarding and snowshoeing, it hit my core that I hadn’t hardly spent any time outside in almost a year. It also reminded me just how much power and peace I find from being out in nature. Being in the woods and in fresh air is an absolute MUST for me.

As I am cruising the trails on snowshoes, I am taking in the fresh air, the scenery and the trees around me. With snow falling and getting stuck in my eyelashes, I feel that peace and I begin to remember just how much that serves my soul. WOW I have missed that!!!

Fortunately for us, we have had loads of snow back at home and so Monday night I went out after dark and put my snowshoes on again and wandered out around my old stomping grounds by the light of my headlamp.

I am so grateful for the reminder that was offered to me last weekend. And since I have manage more and more outdoor activities as my foot heals, I am opting to spend less time in the gym and more time in the fresh air. I am grateful for all the lessons I learned during “boot camp” and I am also really excited to be getting back to my normal life.

I am a nature girl. I love the outdoors. I relax on walks in the woods, mountain biking, snowboarding and hiking. I need that in my life. In fact, I think all humans need a regular dose of nature in order to maintain health and peace.

We all have a tendency to stay focused at the task at hand and taking care of the needs of those around us and we unintentionally veer away from grounding and centering forces like getting out and exploring the Earth.

Have you noticed a place in life where you recharge your batteries? Is there a spot outside that you like to visit? An outside activity that you enjoy for re-centering life? Share with me your favorite things when nature calls!!

THE PROPOSAL

Everyone loves love and I have shared this video with so many people, PLUS, there were about 150 people there to witness it anyway…I wanted to share the proposal.

If you are wondering what I am talking about, check a few posts prior to this one. 🙂

Let me set the scene…

I grew up on an apple orchard just south of town called Peabody Orchards. It is no longer a functioning apple orchard and hasn’t been for quite some time.

My family still owns a good portion of it and along with the property came a rusty old crane-like piece of equipment. My brother is an adventurer and he and a buddy of his had an idea if they erected some telephone poles, braced by the crane, wrapped them in chicken wire and put a sprinkler system at the top, they could farm ice and then climb it. This is currently a fully functioning business called Peabody Ice Climbing, sort of like a rock climbing gym only for ice climbers.

Every winter for the past 10 years or so, Peabody Ice Climbing has been hosting people from all over the region for regular ice climbing and even some competitions. For his loyal customers, my brother throws a huge party called Ice Fest and it is a riot every single year. Through the years he has gotten bigger and bigger sponsors to help support his efforts and the party.

It takes a lot of people to get the party started and keep it going. As a family member, I always show up to enjoy the celebration but also help in any way I can.

Little did I know the plan was on me this year, and everyone there was in on it…

At the end of the day the ice climbing portion shuts down and it is time for dancing and a little bit of cheer. The after party goes to the wee hours of the night and, although tiring, is super duper fun.

It kicks off with a raffle for gear donated by the sponsors. I always help with the raffle to be sure everyone get their stuff and all the gear gets into the right hands.

This year was no different…until Mike grabbed the microphone and proceeded to tell our story. It went like this (be sure to watch until the end). It starts with me kneeling down near the floor figuring out the raffle items:

So there you have it!

Everyone loves love and through this relationship I have realized that everyone relives their own little love story out along the stories I share. Since there were so many people there to witness it anyway and it was recorded on numerous phones, I thought I would share the proposal with you all.

I’VE BEEN MEANING TO TELL YOU

I’ve been meaning to tell you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Wait!!! It is past the middle of January, isn’t it too late to say that? Yes, you are probably right however I do hope your New Year is off to a great start!!!

I am writing to let you know that I spent all the money I was going to use to send out holiday greeting cards. I went to order them but when I ran the numbers of how many thousands of cards we would have to send out here at Cafe of LIFE Chiropractic as well as my personal life and how many hours it would take to personalize all of that, I decided to do something different.

Over the past 13 years, Cafe of LIFE Chiropractic has grown and served so many people in and around this area that our address list consists of thousands of people. Back in the early days when the Cafe was in its infancy, it was pretty simple to order 500 cards and take the time to sign them all, address the envelopes and send them out.

After a few years, and our office filled up, I realized how much time that was taking from my staff and myself as well as just how much money was spent to make all that happen.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love receiving Christmas cards and and holiday greetings and love to see how your families are growing. THANK YOU SO MUCH for including us in your Christmas card list! In fact, we have kept all of those beautiful cards with your gorgeous families here at the office and have wallpapered the back side of a door here at

the Cafe. Want to see it? —>>>

I decided about 5 years ago, since it was a substantial amount of money to make that all happen and I also know that there are many people going without food in our area, more than we even know, I would donate all that money to the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan.

The Food Bank can take $1 and get six meals out of it. I don’t know what kind of food they can get their hands on but it has to be better than no food at all, especially during this time of year.

If one single dollar provides SIX MEALS to those in need, with the money we donated we provided THOUSANDS OF MEALS. That makes us feel good about what happened to your Christmas greetings this year and for the past few years…someone is eating your Christmas card.

I realize that sending Christmas cards and greetings is an important part of the year to many people. In fact, I am certain in the coming years I will get back to sending personal holiday cards again with a regular update as life progresses. In the meantime, I will be supporting places that support our community and make the world a better place. I think feeding people instead of sending cards was a great choice for us as I know our money was spread far and wide.

I trust the year is off to a great start and I’ve been meaning to tell you all that I am thinking about you, Merry Christmas and Happy 2018!! May this be your best year yet!!! …and something to think about for the future, maybe you will send some money to them as well knowing how much need there is and how far your dollar can go.

THE SECOND STRAP

He always reaches for the second strap.

It doesn’t matter how many hundreds of times I have put this walking boot on, he reaches for that second strap to help out.

Most of you know I have been in a walking boot since early August. This has been an overuse injury do to my climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro back in March. Actually it didn’t happen on the mountain, it was when I got home and never took the proper time to rest that the injury happened. And beyond that I have been dealing with plantar fasciitis off and on for the past 4 years in my left foot. It was simply the perfect storm of events.

The trip to Mt. Kilimanjaro was life changing and amazing however since Kilimanjaro it has been the best seven months of my life and all due to meeting one heck of an incredible man.

He has been such a light in my life and I will be sharing our incredible life adventures as we go but I wanted to introduce you all to Mike.

He is the most kind, gentle, generous, hilarious and loving man I have ever been around and I feel lucky to even be able to hang out with someone like him on a regular basis and even luckier to be loved and supported by him.

The other day as I was leaving to head back into work after my lunch, he was there grabbing the boot and helping me. Of course I am the only one that knows exactly when I am putting it on and taking it off but as soon as I grab and velcro or un-velcro the first strap, he always grabs the second strap. I got choked up “Even after all this time, how do you just keep doing that and helping me?”

Last week must have marked 500 (not exaggerating) times or so that I have taken this boot off and put it back on. If he is with me, he jumps up from any place and is instantly up in my business and helping me get this thing back on and he is always fast enough to grab the second strap. There are 5 total and by the time he has his hands on the second strap he is fixing the rest of them up for me to go out and take on the world. Every. Single. Time.

We have worked and camped and traveled and danced and played since I have had this boot on. He is always always always making sure it is handled.

There is an air pump on the boot that pumps air around the liner and softens the hard rough corners of the boot. He knows it takes 8 pumps to pump it up to a comfortable level and that when I stand up it needs 2 more pumps of air for it to be solid. He counts out loud as he does it. It comforts me.

I have never ever known a man so willing to help me in my life. He is there for the fun times but also there, right by my side for the mundane-ness of life…like taking this boot off and putting it back on. The extent of his help is endless, I am just using this simple task as illustration.

I would be a liar if I said this has all been easy for me but honestly, to accept help in my life isn’t easy to begin with and it has taken this long to really be alright with leaning on him. His continual willingness to grab that second strap has been eye-opening, as well as mind-boggling. For the 40 years of my life so far, I have never had so much help, love and support.

Does it sound strange to say that I believe the Universe sent me such a crazy injury that needed so much tending to and sent him at the same time just so I could truly have a shift in my being and allow him to infiltrate my life? Does it sound crazy that this boot has been like a “boot camp” of sorts to break me down, break all the guards down and teach me to allow someone, him, in?

A friend said to me the other day “I sympathize with your foot thing as I dealt with something similar for 6 months. It took me getting to a place in my mind that if this is how it was going to be for the rest of my life, if this pain is permanent and I have to deal with this limitation for life, I accept that as my reality…and then I started healing.”

That hit me like a ton of bricks mostly because I have learned to accept it into my life with the condition that it is just for the time being assuming it will heal and feel better. But taking the idea up a level to the concept that if I have to live in this boot for the rest of my life and be alright with that has really allowed a huge emotional release for me and I can feel the healing happen…on many levels.

…because if I get to have his help with this (which I am finally healing so I will be back to normal in the next few weeks so I won’t need help with it for a lifetime BUT there are ALWAYS other obstacles) life for the rest of my life, I open my arms and heart fully and accept it.

After all of these months and never wavering ever even once, I know he will always be by my side ready to grab that second strap and help me move forward. I am forever grateful for his love.

FOUNDATION

If you are following me on this journey, you know that I am currently building a house. In fact, this week they are finishing with the foundation. Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - Foundation - Dr Erica Peabody This house project is about 1 year delayed but it is a tricky lot and there has been a lot of time spent on putting in the foundation. The house is set back into a hill and so the foundation has to be done in pieces and locked together.
The house project has been going on for quite a while and the one right next door finished just about a month ago. Of course because that one is ahead of us, it puts a bit of pressure from outsiders that are wondering why they aren’t finished at the same time. What they don’t realize is that the neighbors had their house plans in the works even before I had dreamed of purchasing my lot. Their efforts began much before mine did, but sitting side by side, onlookers forgot about that part.
I am fascinated by demolition as well as construction and I am the homeowner that sits on the sidelines, literally on the sidelines, and watches as much of the process as possible in person. I have a very talented builder working on my house and have been sitting right by his side since the very first line was drawn.
I feel very lucky to be part of the process but also even luckier to be privy to the very beginnings and all pieces along the way.
Currently it is difficult to not spend every extra minute out there watching what they are doing on a day to day basis. Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - Foundation - Dr Erica Peabody It started with excavation and then on to footings. Footings started with just boards for forms and then the cement was poured. At this point it felt like something was actually happening.
The next was forms for the foundation. Watching the crew work so hard and putting together this steel puzzle that would eventually be the foundation of my home, absolutely fascinating. I have an incredible team hired to do the foundation and to watch as they all worked together to make this thing happen was really interesting.
Then the pump truck pulls in and they start filling the forms with cement. I sat there and watched from the neighbor’s stairs as this puzzle soon became my basement.
It has been a beautifully sunshiny fall here in Michigan and that day was no exception. It was in the low 60s and the sun was shining on my face as I sat and watched them do this process.
I have been in awe of this entire building process but to actually watch something like this come together, I called my builder and said “It must be so gratifying to watch lines on paper become something!”
Not everyone will get a chance to put a mark on the Earth.
Not everyone who does get a chance to build will be able to watch the process every step of the way.
In that moment, I realized how strongly I was fighting back tears of

Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - Foundation - Dr Erica Peabody

gratitude. I had to have the events of my life to line up exactly the way they did in order to be able to have this chance. During this long and drawn out process, I had no idea if it was going to actually happen and, truthfully some of the process has been very very difficult and some of it actually quite painful.
The nay-sayers will always be there. The ones that want to give opinions on what to do and how to do it will always be waiting in the wings to chime in. I have heard “Do this.” “Don’t do that.” “Have you considered this?” “If I were you, I wouldn’t do that.”
Yup, you know what? We got this covered. There is a reason, well many many reason, why I am chosen the particular builder I am working with. In the midst of all of this I am confident he has it handled as he has shown me over and over and over.
In a moment, those tears of gratitude busted through the surface and I was balling.
Of course I am sure this looked so bizarre to the crew of guys that a woman would sit on the sidelines and ball her eyes out. It was a combination of tears along with laughter as it must have been a pretty bizarre energy coming through from me (I caught some of this in my instagram story: follow me @drericapeabody)
So I am in this. I have been in this but I am truly in this in a way that I can feel it from head to toe. I have created this beautiful home in my mind for years now. It is amazing to see the beginnings of its foundation, a foundation that has so much strength it is palpable.
This also rolls over to the fact that I am currently building a strong foundation for my life in other ways. Using the visual of the powerful foundation that is built for my home as a vision for my future, I have confidence it will be able to withstand the many tests that come with time.

#YOGAEVERYDAMNDAY

As a compliment to my calling as a chiropractor, I am yogi and have been for decades now. If you are in the yoga community, you know that there are online yoga challenges happening all the time, all over the world. I finally decided to join one called “#yogaeverydamnday”.

The point of this challenge is have yoga as part of “every damn day” no matter what. It doesn’t mean to strike a pose and take a picture (although to some people it does). Yoga is a way to mindfulness…or is it mindfulness is a way to yoga? To me, they are one and the same. To me, it also means to move the body in some mindful way to bring our awareness and existence back to the present moment.

Every day I would find a bit of time, some days was a little and some days was a lot, to do some form of yoga and then share a bit about that day. (It is all on Instagram @drericapeabody)

I have been a yogi for over 20 years. In a past life, I taught yoga for years inside of a gym setting (have I told you that in said “past life” I was a group fitness instructor?). I also took Yoga Teacher Training with Ethos Yoga about 4 years ago. I didn’t take the teacher training curriculum in order to teach yoga in my current life, it was more about bringing even further awareness into my own personal practice, I don’t have the ability to commit to more in my regular week at the current moment. Who knows, maybe someday.

You also probably know about the walking boot I am currently wearing that I discussed in one of the “Sitting on the Sidelines” blog posts. My physical yoga practice has taken a back seat to my healing and I haven’t been able to attend many classes since June. Following my summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in March I was fine while taking a yoga class, but after class my foot would start screaming and I decided was not doing it any favors to continue so I took a break.

September rolled around and one of the people I follow on Instagram, Rachel Brathen aka “Yoga Girl”, decided to do her “Yoga Every Damn Day” challenge for 30 days. I needed a little shift for myself and decided I would join.

After decades of yoga, I like to attend very specific hot, intense and sweaty classes with specific instructors. I am reminded of the irony of having rigid guidelines of classes and instructors as I practice more and more yoga…seems it should be the other way around. Honestly, if I am going to be in class, I want to spend my time exactly how I want to practice and I have my favorite instructors all over the region, just depends on the day and time for which one I would attend.

I also love yoga for the community aspect of it. Doing yoga with other people has a very different feel than practicing solo, or at least in my mind.

I am currently limited in my range of motion as well as the ability to get into different postures. But inside of the the 30 day challenge framework I just mentioned, I learned so much.

During the month I did make it to a couple classes, having to modify almost every posture…I learned new modifications.

Some days I felt like I am all the way back to square one with my practice, a beautiful reminder of all the progress i have made.

The only way in and out of the postures is through breath and where in my life can I take some deep breathes?

As the 30 days progressed, I relished going back to the basics and cherished the strength I have built in my core.

My movements were slow and very deliberate. Where else in my life can I be slower and more deliberate?

I had to change many of the transitions in and out of postures. Are there other paths in my life I can or should alter?

As I look around in life, I see so many ways yoga has opened my eyes and offered me different perspective on life outside of the yoga studio. That is the whole point of yoga and is one of the most powerful parts of having a regular practice.

Of course there is also the part about being flexible so as life comes at me, I can bend instead of breaking.

Thank you #yogaeverydammnday challenge, i have learned more in the past 30 days about myself and my life and how to alter and modify things and be ok with doing less than I am used to. In the end, I am so very very grateful that my body even allows me to move around like this at all…and I am (fingers crossed) can announce that I am on my way (although slow) back to a BOOT FREE LIFE!!!!

THE VALUE OF A DOLLAR

I learned the value of a dollar from a very young age. I come from a hard working family and not a whole lot was just given to us once we had earning potential.

That earning potential started around age 12 with babysitting and by age 14 I was working in our family orchard store.

During high school I worked locally at the grocery store and nights were spent babysitting. In fact, just last week I ran into one of the kids I babysat one summer that helped me earn money enough to pay for half of my 1977 Buick LaSabre ( <<–OH YEAH!!!) , my first car.

I think it goes without saying that the money we earn through our own blood, sweat and tears makes us appreciate what we buy with it even more. The work we do adds massive value to the earnings.

This post is not about earning money…I want to talk about the VALUE OF A DOLLAR…but even more than that, I want to talk about the VALUE OF A LOCAL DOLLAR.

I was leaving my office, Cafe of LIFE Chiropractic, last night and I was struck by one of the coolest concepts that I have to take a moment and share the details.

I see many local business owners and one was leaving my office at the very end of the night, he was my last patient. This particular guy owns a painting company and does a lot of work for a local restaurant. I also frequent that restaurant as well as have hired this guy to do some work around my building.

So as he was leaving my office last night, I stopped dead in my tracks with this thought…

I am leaving my office and heading to a restaurant for dinner. I sit down and eat great food and pay for it as well as the service there at that establishment. That restaurant needs painting done and so that restaurant takes some of those same dollars and pays this painter to come into their space and do his work for a fair money exchange. Now because this particular painter is so busy and has been for years, he has some regular work to be done on his spine to keep him in tip top shape so that he can keep doing what he is doing for a long time. He comes to my office regularly for chiropractic care and spends some of those dollars he earned painting that restaurant. Then I take some of those dollars he spends on his chiropractic care and I pay my staff for helping me run my office. My staff all live locally (actually born and raised in this area) and go to have incredible food and spend some of their wage at that same restaurant. I am a big fan of that restaurant and so I go back and spend those dollars there as well…and the cycle continues.

Now I use plastic for most transactions in my life, it is just easier to track that way. But let’s say I use single dollar bills to do all of this, and let’s say that the restaurant and that painter do as well. In all actuality, one single dollar could literally travel that loop for years and years to come. Of course some of those dollars need to go elsewhere to keep lights on and supplies stocked and such, but WOW!!! WHAT A CONCEPT!!!

The power and value of a dollar means something to all of us. But I want to challenge you to take a closer look into this concept and just how POWERFUL your LOCAL DOLLARS spent really are. Maybe these people are your neighbors. Maybe they are the owners of your favorite restaurant or hair salon or bike shop or other service location.

This isn’t a rant about where and with whom you spend your money. Not at all. I just wanted to shine the light on how money is energy and the dollar bill isn’t created or destroyed, it is like energy and just changes hands and gets a LOT OF THINGS done!!! When that energy is invested back into the local businesses, it becomes true power for this community.

Fenton is very “small business friendly” and even more so as the years go by. I currently live right downtown and as I walk by the stores and business, I realize my friends own and run those places, real friends and really good people. Fenton is a really cool place to be and in saying all of that, I want to say THANK YOU!!!! to the community for having me and my office as part of it all. As you are going through your days to come, think about the value in a dollar and just how much value we can all contribute to this energy circle right here in this beautiful town.