gratitude

Dr Erica Peabody - Best Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - Expansion

HI!!! It’s me again. It has been a while and I wanted to first express my deep gratitude for you being here, following my adventures and also hanging in with me for this long BETWEEN BLOG POSTS!!!

It has been a while. I don’t know about you but I am having a hard time believing we are into the month of November, Chapter 11 in this crazy book we are all writing called 2021!

As my weeks are filled with taking care of patients and staying strong and healthy myself to continue to do that well, I have had many, many conversations about how hard it is to believe how slow AND quick the year has gone by.

I would like to take a moment to re-introduce myself and what I am up to on here with the writing I do (or shall I say “did do” since it has been a while. I am bringing this up to present-tense right now!).

I was born and raised in Fenton, Michigan, with my 3 brothers on an apple orchard just south of town. Lucky for me, those three brothers and their families still live around that orchard and I just three miles from there, WHICH allows me a chance to fulfill my role of BEST AUNT ON THE PLANET to all their littles. 😉

After graduating from Fenton High School, I left the area for ten years for a grand adventure around the country following my heart and also for school.

YES!!! I am a Spartan through and through and began college at Michigan State University.

YES!!! I also attending the college with the blue turf, Boise State University, where I lived for over two years. I love that city, have you been?

ABSOLUTELY I DID!!! finish my Bachelors Degree from University of Alaska and YES!!! made the most of all the adventures I could get involved in while I was there for three years. I have so, so, so many stories I can and will share.

YES!!!! I then drove the AL-CAN highway for the second time and made it all the way to Atlanta, Georgia to start my doctorate…but ALSO finished it in Spartanburg (aka “Sparkle City”), South Carolina.

NO!!! I did not think I was going to come back to Fenton after all that. NO WAY, JOSE!!!

YES!!!! ABSOLUTELY!!!! I’m so happy that I did.

In case you haven’t met him yet, this is my Bernedoodle, Louis Holtz Peabody, “Lou” for short, the doggie I never knew I wanted or needed. He has been a life-saver, no seriously he has saved my life more times than you can even imagine in his short little two and a half year life he has had so far. He is one of my reasons for living, and when you meet him, you will understand.

I called this blog “We Only Get One Chance” because I want us all to remember that we get this one chance to go around in this body and make the most of this life. It is up to each and every one of us to squeeze the most juice out of our days…and I have stories to share along the way.

My intention in this blog is to shine light on ways that you can live your best life, love with your whole heart, be the healthiest you can be, be vulnerable enough so that you know I am just like you, share heartache, share wins and losses, and LIVE FULL OUT!!!

I have deep gratitude to you for being here….let’s begin again. Together.

GRATITUDE

November always has a gratitude theme to it. I wish more months did that, but I guess with the very best of all holidays (in my humble opinion) being in November, it just makes sense.

“What you think about and thank about, you bring about!”

One of the greatest quotes and OH SO TRUE!!!

Best Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - Gratitude - Dr Erica Peabody

There are so many things to be grateful for, just look around you. No really, stop for a moment from reading this, look up and look around you. I bet you can instantly find 5 things to be grateful for! If not, LOOK HARDER!!!

There is always something to be grateful for and gratitude, when used as a driving force in our lives, is a really powerful tool for bringing about more of what you want and shifting energy around worry and fear.

I have been using the month of November to express my gratitude towards individual things inside of my life and my days that I am grateful for. Just a few more days to go however my list truly goes on much longer than just the number of days inside of this month.
When I take a glance around in my life, one of the greatest gifts ever given to me is the army of people that support me every single day. There is a lot happening in life and for whatever reason, I tend to not take the easy path to some of the life lessons sent my way. It is tough stuff sometime. Just when the world seems like it is crashing down on one side, I reach out and ask for a little bit of help and support and someone always steps in to help me until I can do it all myself again…well that is until another side starts to crumble.

When I head home after my day of work, I realize that within a mere 3 miles of my home are some of the greatest people I know. I feel so lucky to be living and working inside this incredible community of Fenton, but beyond that, I have so many people, family and friends, that are part of my daily life. I am so, so grateful!

As a little call to action inside of this simple blog post, go grab a piece of paper and a pen. Go ahead, I will wait right here…

Okay, now that you have paper and pen, just write 1-30 down the left side. Sit for the next 10 minutes or so and fill up each one of those slots with 30 things you are grateful for.

Want to take it one step further? Go share that with your spouse, your kids or give a friend a call and share it with them. It is one thing to think about it, it is a whole other thing to write it down and it takes it up a level to share it out loud with someone. Then report back here and let me know how you did. You can simply read through this blog post and say “Oh wow Erica, I can see how that would be beneficial.” …or you can GO DO SOMETHING!!! Get off of your phone (I know you are reading this from your phone), set that thing down, pen it to paper and SHARE THE GRATITUDE!!! I can almost bet that it will spark something inside of that next person to do the same.

You will see… Expressing gratitude is the first step in bringing more of those things you are grateful for into your life…and it is quite contagious!!

PUPPY LOVE

I am sure you know, as most of you follow me already on social media, this puppy love is a real thing!

As written in a prior post, getting a puppy wasn’t exactly my idea. In fact, inside of the logistics challenge that is already our life, there isn’t much time or space to give a puppy the proper home.

Best Chiropractor Fenton Michigan Dr Erica Peabody Puppy Love — **Puppy Hugs**

Would I call myself a “dog person”? Not necessarily although a few years back I had a chocolate lab that brought me so much joy. Life was very different back when I had Choco though, I was traveling a ton and it was quite a juggle to make it all happen as a single mom to a dog.

But life has changed…A LOT!!! I a lot more than anyone can really fathom (I have wanted to write more on this blog lately but when my computer has taken a crap and life has been so crazy, it is hard to keep you all filled in).

How has life changed? Things are beginning to settle a bit and slow down a lot more. Many of you know that I transitioned the office to my Center for Well-Being, affectionately known as “Big Blue” a year ago. Our wedding was in March and we were simultaneously working to blend our lives and fire a builder and finish building my super-delayed home. SERIOUSLY UNIVERSE!!! That much challenge for one gal all at the same time, that is not even funny anymore. In fact, something finally cracked… (more to come on that, stay tuned).

This time in life is about slowing down and looking around at all the amazing things that surround me on a daily basis. This time is about looking back on all the hard work and then looking forward with eyes both on the the laboring that the life ahead requires, but also enjoying the fruits of all the labor up until this point.

This beautiful floofball joined the roster back in August and since then the schedule constraints made it so that he has been with me and by my side most of the days. I thought I wanted life to be a different way, but honestly, when the Universe throws you some life lessons, at least begin by embracing them.

I became a dog mom overnight inside of a time that I had no idea I wanted a dog. And I am not sure that I would want just any dog, this guy has special magic powers.

Inside of the responsibilities of taking good care of a dog, life needs a little more space and time; get up a little earlier, head home between events, check in on him and get super creative with ways that he can fit into it all. He is a charmer, cute as can be, loves snuggles and actually hugs back. He is smart as a whip and so so generous with his energy. He is a Bernedoodle; Bernese Mountain dog with their grace, peacefulness and loyalty and Poodle which is one of the smartest breeds and non shed hair.

When I describe him I always say that he is literally like if one of your favorite stuffed animals came to life and follows you around to brighten your day. It is the GREATEST connection ever and the most perfect companion.

Remember that list from above? The list of the past 2 years and all the chaos? Well one chick isn’t able to always completely hold it together and the level of daily anxiety was (and still ebbs and flows) off the charts! I have done a lot of hard things in my life however I never experienced chronic anxiety like that.

Since Lou, my days are calmer, quieter, more peaceful and more filled with appreciating the little things. Life went from the big grand scale and doing all the things just to keep up with that moving train, to most of my focus on this little 4 legged floofball and what his needs are at any time. It went from big and outside the home, back hunkered down inside this beautiful sanctuary-like sacred space that I intentionally created.

And my level of anxiety went from red-lining most of the time and has reduced by probably, if I had to put a number on it, 70%. It has been an incredible shift. Being a dog mom at this point in my life, in this space and time, having the contrast of experiencing the tornado of the past 2 years, is a shift I did not know was coming…but I am forever grateful.

I have been attacked by 2 dogs in my life, breeds that are not suspect of turning quickly like they did, but I see the world differently now. I see through the eyes of this grand puppy love and, although I have had my own dogs in the past and grew up with them, I really get it now. No, like I REALLY get it now. The love for the little fur balls is something so super special.

SIDE EYE

Mike says to me, in a side eye expression, “I have something to tell you. I got a dog.”

“YOU WHAT?!?!?!”

Best Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - Dr Erica Peabody - Side Eye — Lou

Let’s go back a bit.

As a married couple, some things you talk about and some things you don’t need to talk about. Getting a dog is one that falls inside of the “things you talk about” category…except for this time apparently.

At first I flipped out and if you know anything about the logistics of our life together, you would easily understand why living between two houses is a challenge for a family without a dog, much less a dog family.

BUT this little guy is like having a real live teddy bear around. He is a Bernidoodle and his name is Lou. He is almost 3 months old and is an absolute lover. They say he will end up around 35 lbs but, hmmmm I am not quite convinced and will wait and see how that goes.

I am not a dog person because I have been lunged at by 3 dogs. I do not have breed preference at all, I am just one that doesn’t necessarily trust that any breed will always stay calm, cool and collected…until I met this guy.

Gentle, peaceful, cuddly, and lazy – are good qualities in a dog in my opinion and Lou is all of them. At 10 weeks he has had a couple days in the office but he does have a lot to learn. Many people love dogs but some people do not and I can respect that. For now, he will remain sleeping at my feet under my desk back in my office when I have him. One day, when he grows up a bit, he will hopefully be wandering around during my office adjusting times that he is with me.

Which I am not exactly sure how much that would be because he has an awesome group of triplets that he is very fond of as well. They will take priority in having him and taking care of him.

I reject the idea of a dog for about 2 hours and 45 minutes until I had an actual change to meet Lou in person. When you have a chance to meet him as well, you will see what I mean and just how special it is to have a real, live teddy bear walking around with a heart of gold and wanting to spread pure puppy-love.

That side eye expression, when Mike gives it to me next time, I will know to just trust and hear him out and that most likely, even if it is a “should be talked about” item inside of our marriage, it may end up being a really good thing anyway.

PS Mike, do not do something like that again. 😉 And Lou, WELCOME TO THIS CRAZY FAMILY!!!!

LAUGHTER

Laughter helps everything.

There has been a lot going on in life lately, all of it really good stuff but keeping laughter at the forefront of it all helps everything!

For Memorial Day weekend, Mike and I headed up north to be with my family. On Saturday we decided to kayak/canoe/float the Betsie River which runs right by my parent’s house. It was a beautiful day, quite warm for late May in Northern Michigan and it felt great to get out on the river. I always forget how relaxing and healing a nice float down the river is until I am on it.

Mike insisted that I just relax in the front of the tandem kayak and not paddle and that he had it all handled. I trusted him completely and he gave me very little reason not to…at least for the first part of the trip.

We had rented a sit-on-top kayak from Crystal Adventures. The adventure company owners advised that we bring one of their dry sacks with us on the boat and I said “It is nearly impossible to tip one of those things over but we will for sure take one.”

Famous. Last. Words.

Mike did and incredible job (THANKS BABE!!!) at navigating the river until one tricky part. I was so used to sitting back and taking in the scenery that I did not see it coming and I don’t think he did either. A big tree branch was down in the water and in very slow motion, I remember being in total disbelief it was even happening, the kayak got stuck, the current was super strong and tipped us right over. I grabbed the stuff that I could and the rest headed down the river to be retrieved by other family members. We were both soaked in clothes not necessarily planned for dunking in the river but laughing. I am not sure what else there was to do but laugh. Mike felt bad but was also sort of bruised up. I had some scratches and bruises and we just laughed and went on our merry way.

Around the bend, my brothers were whispering to each other “That must really be the right guy for her if she was that calm, cool, collected and both of them were just laughing.” They were pretty shocked at our response to the whole thing.

All the weekends, and weeks for that matter, are spent managing things, handling projects and making things happen. This past weekend was no exception as we framed and wired an entire basement at one of my rental properties. It is a rather large space and a lot of work. We finished the project around 10pm on Sunday and were wrapping everything up, finishing laundry and loading the dishwasher. We sat down in the living room for a few minutes and as we were heading up to bed, Mike put a couple things in the sink. As he stepped up to the sink, something felt strange. Looking down was the view in the picture below!

You see, neither of us has had a dishwasher in our lives for over a year. I am not sure how he did it but mistook liquid dish soap for dishwasher soap and the kitchen was filling up with bubbles. I just start laughing. First off, we are old enough and know better, or at least I thought we did. But secondly, we have both missed having dishwashers in our homes so much it has been something we have looked so forward to!

Here he is standing in ankle deep suds from putting the wrong cleaning product into the dishwasher and bubbles and spewing out the sides and continue to flow. I am laughing so hard at this point that I think I am actually making him a little irritated. Through laughter “BABE!!!! How on Earth did you do this???” both on hands and knees cleaning up the floor. (Side note: our kitchen floor is extra shiny and nice now!!)

We pretty much laughed ourselves to sleep that night.

Laughter helps everything!!! Truly lightens the mood, shifts the tone and make it all better. Mike and I do a lot of laughing together all the time, life is just too short to be any other way.

Look around in your life. Are there areas you can laugh more? Are there things you can laugh about instead of get angry or irritated with? How can you choose laughter more through your days? We only get one chance in this life!!! Let’s have some FUN!!!!

DONATION

Hello Everyone!!! Happy December!!! Over the past couple years, my chiropractic office Cafe of LIFE has chosen to forgo sending out holiday cards and use that money to increase our donation.

We have decided that it is more important to help those who need assistance fulfilling their basic human needs (of food in particular at this point).

Here is a quick clip of what we do with the money we would normally spend for sending out holiday cards.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhl-RsAOtsk&t=1s[/youtube]

We want to do the most good we can this holiday season and we have discovered sending donation to the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan is one of the best ways to spread our donation as far and wide as possible while serving our local area. It is astounding that one single dollar can provide 6 meals inside their system. That is some serious buying power!!!

We trust you are accepting of our choice to increase our donation this year. In saying all of that, we are still excited and will gladly accept your holiday cards. In fact, we look forward to it! Happy Holidays!!!!

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.

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.

GRATITUDE

The month of November is such a great time to bring our focus back to gratitude.
We have a gratitude project happening at Cafe of LIFE Chiropractic this month. There is a gratitude station set up in the reception area and every time you come in, we are asking you take a moment and think of something you are grateful for. It could be something really big or super small. It could be something from today, or something from years ago. Absolutely anything you are grateful for, write it down on a leaf and we have a “gratitude tree” painted on our big windows that you can tape it to.
The only other thing we ask is that you take an extra moment, maybe 5 or 10 seconds to consider what it is that you are grateful for.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4tzY6xbzXs[/youtube]

It is one of our favorite activities of the year, literally planting seeds of gratitude in our reception area that grow and flourish. I have to say, honestly, day after day after day of that really builds some incredible energy. With the Thanksgiving holiday right around the corner, what perfect timing!!!
We have had some teachers come in and borrow that idea to take it back to their classroom. I actually got the idea from a friend of mine who did it on their window at home and allowed the entire family to participate.
What are you grateful for?
One Monday, one women said “I have so much to be grateful for, how can I pick just one?”
Take a moment every single day for gratitude. Truly we are blessed beyond what words could express if we really take a good look.
While we are on this topic, I would like to express my gratitude to you for being in my life. If you are part of my practice, part of my family, part my circle of friends, a colleague, someone who is following this blog or a perfect stranger that has stumbled upon this post by chance, Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! When I count my blessings, you are one of them and I want to take a moment to express my gratitude.

2.5 YEARS

Some friendships bridge all concepts of time and space. I am sure you have someone like that in your life. It has been close to 2.5 years since I have seen one of my greatest friends, Lana. Time never seems to matter with us.

In June, we spent a beautiful long weekend in the Dominican Republic at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino (if you happen to be heading that way, I highly recommend this spot).

The resort was amazing, the food was wonderful and, of course, the company I was with was the best part.

Life has twists and turns and many ups and downs. Sometimes managing our own lives at home can be enough, much less trying to stay closely connected with friends that are 3 time zones away. Lana and I do not get to actually talk much, but we hang with each other in spirit all the time.

We had 4 solid days of uninterrupted “girl time”; no homes to take care of, no kids to tend to, no practices to worry about…just time together. Absolutely priceless.

We talked about life and practice and family and challenges and books and nutrition and growth and men and helping others and health and workouts and friends and clothes and love and adventures and…and…and…

We had some great meals together. We had a 2 hour walk on the beach. We had some serious laughs. We had a blast. When Lana and I met, we knew we were kindred souls. As time has gone by, it is apparent we have always been connected in some form. We think alike, ride the same wavelength and our lives have run parallel learning a lot of the same lessons at the same times.

Its friends like Lana (and there are a few others I connect with at this level, you know who you are) that make this life so much sweeter.

Did I mention that she earned this trip and had an extra spot for me to just go along for the ride? What a gift. Truly a gift and when I look at the generosity of a friend like that, I am grateful to tears.

I am hoping that our next time together isn’t 2.5 years from now, I am pretty confident it will be sooner than that. Though she lives in wine country in Northern California, I feel her support by my side on a daily basis. Thank you my dear friend. Thank you.

A HUG

Never underestimate the power of a hug. I get my fair share of hugs but I want to share about one that recently shifted my entire life.

Some of you may be thinking…”Oh, she finally met Mr. Right!”. Not so fast.

As I stated in some of my recent posts, I spent the end of 2013 in Costa Rica with some great friends. 4 years ago, this same group of friends and I vacationed in the same exact location. We all had a strong desire to go back since the day we left there in 2009. So, we made that happen.

We wanted to return to that spot for a number of reasons; the location was absolutely beautiful, our time there was peaceful, we were off the grid and we felt well taken care of. That “taken care of” feeling is so necessary for humans, we all have a strong desire to be looked after, tended to and assisted.

Fenton Chiropractor hug

My friends and I shared a little bit of anxiety going back after 4 years wondering if it would be as good as we remembered. It was, it is and we had a blast!

One of the things you will notice when you travel to Costa Rica is the exceptional service. Tourism is a large industry in that country and it is nice to feel a sense of pride coming from those who serve you. The locals work long, hard hours but they have beaming smiles and are some of the friendliest people I have been around.

Staying at one location for the entire week allows us to really get to know some of the servers, the ones at the restaurant in particular, and some of them remembered us from our initial trip 4 years ago.

They take time to get to know a little about their guests and, in turn, we get a chance to learn about them. We learn about their personal lives, their families, their homes and some of their life experiences.

As we were having lunch and winding down our visit on our final day there, our table was being waited on by a man named Christian. He happened to one of the servers that remembered us from our previous visit and so we caught up about his family and kids during the week.

We finished one final delicious meal at the restaurant and got up to pay our bills. As we were hanging out and waiting for the credit cards to process, the hugs begin. I hug a few of the group and then I get a chance to give Christian a hug. He is a bigger guy with a really powerful hug, he kind of engulfs you…and he holds on. Its longer than a cordial hug and I can energetically feel a deep meaning. Not anything like he has an attraction for me, but just the deepest, purest heart felt gratitude for another human being.

The experience was two-fold; first, it was a most beautiful, sincere expression of connection and gratitude, and second, it was unexpected in that moment because it was coming from someone who waiting on our table.

It was profound. It shocked my heart space and I had to choke back my tears.

A hug, an embrace, a gesture in a moment with another human being,..you just do not know how far reaching it can go. Add a smile, a high five or even simply making eye contact to the list of ways to acknowledge another human being for their presence.

Let’s not forget the health benefits of hugging; lowering stress, balancing out the nerve system, boost self-esteem among so many others.

I posted on my Facebook timeline about a “hug that shocked me into tears”. There were many people writing me behind the scenes about how excited they were that I “met someone” and hoped it stemmed into an amazing relationship. I regret to disappoint, however it was completely platonic, a simple gesture between 2 human beings, from a married man, with children at home, who lives in Costa Rica…so I am still looking.

BJ Palmer said it best with his quote, “We never know how far reaching something we think, say or do today may effect the lives of millions tomorrow.” Step out there. Give someone a hug. Hang on a little longer. If you see someone who isn’t smiling…give them one of yours. Be the change…we only get one chance in this life.