headaches – We Only Get One Chance

DOG MOM LIFE

I am not sure I have actually written much in this space about dog mom life.

It is truly the BEST LIFE!

Most of you already know that Louis came to me is a super roundabout way and I didn’t have any intention of having a dog in my life. I grew up with dogs and after having to rehome a dog a few years ago, I didn’t have time and space to have a dog in my life…or so I thought.

Obviously having Louis has been one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me. We are all certain about that!

Just over 2 years ago, I began to follow a group up in Traverse City who breeds teeny tiny dogs. I was in communication with them asking what it is like with the teeny tiny dogs in the same home as big dogs. She graciously answered all of my questions back then though ultimately I decided not to pursue one of their dogs. I did, however, keep following them and their accounts on social media.

Last September, one of their dogs birthed just a single puppy. I don’t know much about dogs but I do know that dogs have litters, not single puppies. I was curious about this little one but more curious how he was born a singleton.

Fast forward to the first week in January and the breeder posted on Facebook that they needed to help a family rehome their little dog and that he just wasn’t fitting into their home well enough. It was on my heart to reach out to talk about this pup and maybe get a chance to meet him.

During that time, I had remembered that i tuned in when this pup was born as it was the singleton from September! Apparently when a mom is done having puppies, they spay them (obviously) but when they went to spay her, she was already and unknowingly pregnant. Her body was done having puppies and so she was unable to support a full litter and only one made it to their birthday.

I met Tater Tot, formally named Maddox and Nico, the first Friday of January, the family brought him to me so that he and Louis could meet.

It wasn’t an instant match, but it was a fun playmate that Louis took to right away. I knew that both Louis and I would need a bit of time to get used to the idea of having this 3 pound pipsqueak around AND I also knew in my heart that it was the right thing to do in that moment.

So this little one came home with us that day.

3AM in the morning, I woke up with so much anxiety…HOW ON EARTH IS THIS TEENY TINY 3 POUND BABY GOING TO SURVIVE THE STAIRS IN OUR HOUSE?1/!?!?!?!!!!!! My house has 4 full flights of wood stairs and there is just no way around it. In my mind, there was just no way that he would be able to manage going up and down that many stairs when he was smaller than the stair itself!

I wrote to the breeder and also the family to let them know that I made a horrible mistake! I am still not sure that either of them appreciated a 3AM email but sharing this concern was the only way I was going to be able to go back to sleep!

I awoke to an email from the breeder assuring me that all their little ones eventually learn to work with all the stairs in all the homes that they live in.

Little did I know that the big guy would also be teaching the little one so many things, including going up the stairs within just a couple days. Louis would go up to the top of the steps and wait for Tate to do the same. He would sit at the landing wagging his tail and of course I was there being his cheerleader too.

He mastered going up the stairs in 2.5 days and another couple days, he mastered going down too.

For those reading this who live in Michigan, you may remember the weather through those winter months. To be honest, it was very difficult to bundle up 7 times each day to take this little one out. I also knew that when I took him home on that Friday that I was signing up for that for the season no matter what was happening. I also had faith that the commitment to that this year would be tough but wouldn’t be every year.

The biggest concern of all was being a single mom to two dogs. What was I even thinking? Would I be able to make that happen? Would I be able to manage two dogs? Would it be overwhelming to have eight little legs and feet running around the house? Will I have enough time and energy for both of them? Will they figure out how to eat next to each other?

YES TO ALL OF IT and SO MUCH MORE!!!

Having the little one has brought new life and fun into Lou’s world, as well as, Lou teaching Tate so much about life and living and listening (well we are still working on that last part).

They aren’t the very best of friends just yet but day by day they are growing and evolving together. I also take them on adventures together, and very different kinds of adventures separately.

So the question that everyone has asked, “WHEN IS TATE COMING INTO THE OFFICE???”

That is NOT our plan. Although you would all love him so much, the office would be more of a dog party than a chiropractic office. And more importantly, he want to be in the mix of it all and he easily become a trip hazard for me…and also for all of YOU!!! There are just too many moving parts inside of our days to make that happen. For a long while anyway. We will see once he is maybe a couple years old to see what kind of temperament he evolves into.

If you are still reading this, THANK YOU!!! It has been wordy however both of their stories deserve to be shared as this DOG MOM LIFE is the VERY BEST LIFE EVER!!!!

NOURISHING

I have not been one that has much time to spend on gardening or flowers or tending to things in the yard. I am learning a lot about nourishing this summer.

I have walked through many greenhouses in my life. I have always been inspired by the beauty of them but I also remember having to plant marigolds growing up and then weeding that garden and it wasn’t something that was enjoyable as a kid. At all. So I brought that concept into adulthood. I love indoor plants and always have, but this season has been about nourishing outdoor plants as well.

One thing I would always notice while walking through greenhouses are those drip hoses that go continuously. I ALWAYS thought a constant drip to every single one of those plants seemed excessive. My thoughts would go to “gosh that is a lot of water and why can’t they just water them a couple times a week and call it good?”

Um…yeah. I am learning this year.

I have beautiful planters at my home and they are filled with petunias and greens. I have a couple hanging baskets and at one point, I bought enough at one of the greenhouses that they offered me a free tomato plant.

So here I am with these BEAUTIFUL planters and now is the time to begin nourishing them. I bought the proper fertilizer and a nice watering can and I am good.

I began to give them a good dousing of water and then put my watering can away for a couple days. I would leave in the morning for work and continue on with my life. By the end of the second day the petunias would shrivel up and threaten to “off” themselves. So I would douse them again and then try to put my watering can away for a couple days and they would do it again…and again and again.

So I started to learn that these things need to be nourished every single day. It took me about 3 weeks to realize this and I would hear people say “I just didn’t want to be a tied to my yard and garden this year and so I didn’t plant anything.”

The indoor house plants are on a weekly watering schedule. The outdoor plants are on a daily watering schedule. When I took a few days away from my home, I was more concerned that my plants get watered every single day than anything else since I had invested so much time into them. Fortunately for me, my Mom lives close and she was able to stop by every single day to do that, but they are THRIVING!!!

I am learning a lot from my moody petunias this summer. The main lesson: If you want something to grow and flourish, it is important to nourish it every single day!

I have had this awareness in a lot of areas in my life through lessons over the years however this beautiful representation in my life right now is so timely…and I am bringing it back to focus on myself.

It is my greatest joy to work with my patients every week, they bring such good energy to my life, my heart and my soul. Doing the work that I do, I have found great purpose in helping people regain their health, uplevel their health and continue to thrive inside of their bodies. And I have learned that ready or not, you will all show up at or office as soon as our doors open.

I spend a good portion of my downtime prepping my body and mind to be ready to serve at my office. I am doing all the things I tell you to do: Eat good food, exercise, keep a sound mind, stress management, connection and rest. But those are the bare minimum. This alone time, quarantine time, has been devoted to finding more nourishing things I can do within the guidelines set by this crazy time. Watering my plants is one of them.

My days begin with letting the dog out to do his business while I fill the watering can for the first time. It takes 3 fills to nourish the plants I have right now and a little time pulling off dead portions and discarding so the plant can send more good juju to the thriving areas.

It brings a lot of joy to my heart and soul to nourish these and experience what the daily nourishing leads to. As I look ahead, I have often wondered if I have to water every single day, will I plant as much next year? The benefit and enjoyment of them WAY outweighs the time it takes to nourish them. It is a 10x payback from this act of nourishing.

Look around in your life. What are you spending your time nourishing? Is it an even exchange or are you being depleted by it? Are you nourishing yourself? Nourishing your body? Nourishing your mind? Nourishing your soul? Nourishing your connections? Nourishing your family? Nourishing your relationships? Nourishing your community? What a beautiful thing!!

NEW

WOW!! Is life crazy or what? It feels all brand new. But not like the super great brand new that we have been wanting and looking forward to, more like a new that hit us smack in the face, shoved our noses into it and said “Here!!! FIGURE IT OUT!!!”

I know we are all in this same kind of boat although we are not navigating the exact same waves, I know that for sure. Some are working from home while also learning to teach school. Some are displaced from life or work or family or whatever it is…but we are all out here doing our very best with the unknows. It literally feels like most of life is filled full of unknowns.

Best Chiropractor Fenton Michigan Dr Erica Peabody - New

You haven’t heard from me through this format in a long time as navigating it all has pushed blogging to the back burner. One other stumbling block is my laptop was on its last leg for a few months. I would begin writing here or inside of an office newsletter and in the middle, prior to be able to save it, it would kick me all the way back off and discard all that I had written. Life has taken a lot of extra energy lately and so trying to deal with that as well was just plain frustration.

So I ordered a new laptop and braved the curbside pick-up they had set up and honestly it was seamless and rather delightful!! So I now have a brand new machine to communicate with you better. I am excited to move forward with this blog and creating other content as we all learn to navigate this brand new life.

I take solace in writing and sharing in this manner and hopefully it remains interesting and entertaining as I share tips and trick, but probably more brutal honesty as we move through the stories of life: mine, my practice, friends, colleagues, being a dog mom, my family….on and on we will go. Check back here regularly and of course all of these posts will be shared on my social media platforms.

Years ago, I named this blog “We Only Get One Chance” and I still live and eat and breathe by that tagline in my day to day. Maybe now, more than ever before, others have really increased their awareness around that as well, that we really do get only one chance. It is time to make the very best of it!!

New computer, new life, many unknows and a new commitment to sharing and helping in any way I can. Stay tuned!!

PART 2

To continue from the previous blog, I wanted to give you an update on where I am now, following my Patent Foramen Ovale closure surgery, but also answer some of the questions you have had since the first post. Welcome to part 2.

In August of 2019, I was at my regular yearly check-up with my primary care physician. Now when I say “regularly yearly check-up” I haven’t been to anything “regular” and “yearly” except to see my chiropractor and functional medicine practitioner in years. Being a spouse of a GM employee required that I do certain things on that insurance and so I am following the rules.

When I was in that appointment, I said to her, “I know I have a hole in my heart. I may be planning to have my own family in the next couple years and I would like to pursue getting is closed ahead of time.” I had a different cardiologist recommended to me but she told me to absolutely go back to the same one I saw before and that he is the greatest in this region.

One test was redone and a few more tests were added to the mix to determine exactly the size and location. Funny and not funny part of this is that I happen to be a healthcare provider and also in good health inside of a cardiologist’s office and so they sort of took it for granted that I would already know how this whole thing would go.

I asked questions along the way, and although I didn’t get “blown off” it was more like “of course yes that happens…” and “of course no way it would go that way…” was always the attitude. Which ended up probably being a test to me and my ability to trust.

I am a generally trustworthy kind of person and so I just turned it all over to them to do what they needed to do and know that I was in the best care in the region. On that I settled in, navigated through it all and am now here to tell the story on the other side.

Many have asked “How are you feeling now?”

I feel GREAT!!! I truly do. Instantaneously following surgery my hands and feet were warm for the first time in my entire life. I remember back in chiropractic college, my fellow classmates would always mention just how cold my hands all the time. I didn’t know any better so I had no idea it was even an issue.

Best Chiropractor - Part 2 - Dr Erica Peabody - Kilimanjaro

By this point in the game, 12 weeks out from surgery, I have skipped what I would count to be 9 migraine headaches (I’m tallying this due to my history of roughly 3 per month). I haven’t had even one. I don’t even get any headaches that I know of anymore, or nothing that I would even count as a tension or cluster headache.

I am able to workout and do what I want to do at this point and feel pretty amazing. Three weeks ago I started back at step aerobic class and looking back on teaching step for over a decade of my life, I feel incredible. The step I take now I can keep up with the HIIT moves and can actually do a burpee without blacking out!!!

I will begin to run again soon. If you have been to my office, you can see my collection of participation medals although not many from anytime recently. I will know more once I begin to train for the CRIM this year, it is a race I have done numerous times and I am curious to see if my finishing times improve and just how well I recover. I will begin back to the triathlon sport as well and look forward to seeing how my swimming progresses.

If you have followed this blog at all, you know that I had a severe foot injury following my summit of Mt Kilimanjaro back in 2017. (I have added the video log link below in case you missed it thus far…it was EPIC!!)

I wore a walking boot for 6 solid months and have been working with that foot at about 80% healed. Now I am beginning to not even have to think about it at all…warm hands and feet mean that blood supply is actually going to my feet at a better rate and I AM HEALING!!!

I truly feel great and I am so, so, so, so grateful to have been a candidate for the closure as I just know for the next decades of my life, I will be far better off.

One of the questions I have gotten a few times along the way is “how do I find out if I have this or not?” as a few of you may be suspecting something similar for yourself now listening to this story. I have to send you right back to your own general practitioner to get that resolved.

The recovery has been amazing and pretty simple for the most part. The cardiologist had me on a blood thinner since the anatomy of the heart changed and has since taken me off to proceed into my life exactly as I want to.

Dr Erica Peabody - Part 2 - Best Chiropractor Fenton Michigan

Your words of encouragement as well and your good wishes are appreciated more than I can really say in words here on this blog. It has been quite an experience and I hope that my sharing this information, that you feel a little more informed and educated about the possibilities.

Of course, all along I have continued chiropractic care, massage therapy and stayed in touch with my functional medicine practitioner. I have continued yoga and meditation and am now back at full capacity in the gym. In essence, I have done the things that we talk about in the practice all the time: eat well, move well and think well. These are truly the keys to optimizing the body and it’s inborn ability to heal, and even more critical to healing from something like that.

Thanks for checking back for part 2 and stay in touch as time progresses…there is a lot more to share!

WHEN I WAS SIX

During a yoga class a few days ago, the instructor says “I remember when I was six and I was sitting on my bed listening to this song.” I cannot remember exactly what song she was talking about but I do remember first hearing that song when I was in my upper 20s.

Ugh.

In that very moment, I was reminded of just how many times I have already been around the sun…and another trip will come to completion in just a couple months.

This kind of an idea can be a real downer, although I am certain she didn’t mean it in that way. She was just in a sincere moment of remembering inside of her own life.

We all have those songs that take us back to a time and place in our lives. If you are a patient of mine at Cafe of LIFE Chiropractic here in Fenton, you have heard some “different”, “interesting” and maybe “unusual” music during your visits.

This has 2 primary reasons: FIRST, if it was music that you know and have heard before, probably I have too, and you would have a singing chiropractor all day long. And though I have been told that my voice is reasonable (and of course my fiance says I have a “voice of an angel”), nobody is interested in hearing me sing all day long, and especially my team. And SECOND, a song in your life can be a trigger for something amazing while that very same song can trigger the next person back into some of the worst moments in their lives. I have deliberately chosen music that is unfamiliar except inside of this healing space (or its quite possible you have heard some songs inside of the local yoga studios or meditation centers, other places for healing).

That was a complete tangent on music and is not the message I am really wanting to write about today.

What I want to talk about is, in that moment when the young yoga instructor was sharing her initial memories of a song at age 6 and mine was upper 20 something, my internal dialogue went to “Oh to be 25 again…” and “Wow I am old!!”

I hear you little internal critical voice. You do really work against me most of the time don’t you?

In the very same moment I was inside of an intense and powerful yoga pose, with my strong arms and legs, my “relatively” peaceful mind, after a busy day serving people going on 15 years in practice, inside the 4 walls of my incredibly beautiful office, in a time that I am closing in on marrying the man of my dreams and planning for a beautiful life, in this body that has taken me incredible places and climbed one of the highest peaks in the world, gotten my doctorate degree, lived all over the country, and…and…and.

In that very same moment, that sweet little comment from the yoga instructor took me down into a valley of how old I am getting AND then the work that I have done in gratitude and appreciation for my life and what I have done in such a short amount of time, took me to the highest of highs. It was a beautiful roller coaster and one that I felt like I was watching from an outsider’s perspective, but I was living it.

I didn’t even know I could have an opinion about music until I was 9 years old and my older brother got two cassette tapes: Michael Jackson “Thriller” and Prince “Purple Rain”. It is the first music in my life that I remember I would consciously choose to listen to myself. Everything before that was just Cars 108 on the radio in my mom and dad’s cars.

It is funny how life works and it is sometimes frightening how fast life goes. I have a clear memory when I was 6 years old, in first grade and I had some neighbors that were in fifth and sixth grades. I remember thinking “WOW!!! Those girls are old and it will be fun to be in fifth or sixth grade and not in first.”

So here we are, I am not 6 anymore, not 16, 26 or 36 anymore. The years tick by and the sweetness of the memories carry through the accomplishments of life and all the juice that is squeezed out of each and every day. I am so grateful for that sweet, little w”when I was 6″ comment she made that day as it makes me also really appreciate not being 6 anymore and that I have had such a full life already. Do you have a music memory? Whats your very first favorite song? Music really matters…to me anyway.

PEACHY

From the outside it appears that all is peachy and so simple.

It’s not.
It’s hard, anxiety-driven work to pursue a dream.
It’s long, late night conversations and countless sleepless nights.

It’s questions without answers and conflict without immediate or foreseeable resolution.

It’s stress beyond anything I have ever known.
It’s wildly uncomfortable and feels like running around constantly short on time.
It’s humbling and frightening.
It’s not just out of my comfort zone, it’s as though I took a rocket ship and split from the Universe my comfort zone is in.
It’s so far off the edge and hoping the ground appears somewhere beneath my foot as I take the next step.

It is tears of frustration and moments when I cannot stand being inside my own skin.

It is giving up beach towels and sunglasses for hammers and drills.

It is a deep breath in not knowing when i will have space to exhale.
…AND it’s not just business, it’s every aspect of life.
It’s building a home that’s gone on far, far too long.
It’s learning to partner inside of a relationship rather than run off on my own and do it all my own way.
It’s learning what being a bonus mom is all about and to triplets nonetheless.

It’s wedding planning and all that comes with that (which i am currently trying to figure out).
It’s a constant battle with my subconscious that wants everything to stay the way it’s always been.
It’s tough and messy and faith-building.

It is somehow trusting that stupid phrase “You will only be given as much as you can handle.” Everyone please STOP SAYING THAT!!!!
It’s being sure to meditate every day and pray every night.

…and all this I am writing because I got a great hot shower and did my hair and now I’m dreading walking outside into the humidity which will undo it all in 17 minutes flat. …and so this is me procrastinating and writing to you instead of that.
And now I’ve come to the end of this rant.
Regardless of all that I wrote above, I’m going to make it the best day I can anyway.

Building dreams comes with a lot of hard work and not all of it is peachy.

HOME

We are moving home!!!

I finished my final shift at Cafe of LIFE Chiropractic at 521 N Leroy this evening. I had 4 patients between 5:45 and 6pm and I could feel myself winding down the service in that space.

This is the fourth location for my practice, so although I am not a big fan of moving, I am familiar with the process. I bought the Leroy Street location in 2010 and the location prior to that was so super bittersweet leaving because it was a chiropractic office since the 60s. My heart ached to leave that location knowing I was moving my practice from the exact location my chiropractor worked in when I was getting adjusted as a kid. I settled myself knowing that my 521 location would be passed down to another generation of chiropractors at some point.

But it won’t be passed down and I am certain it will get rented to another amazing business other than a chiropractor. There won’t be little ones roaming the halls there waiting for their adjustments years from now and far beyond when I am retired like I always thought there would be.

But truly we are moving home. I cannot describe the feeling of our new building, affectionately known as “Big Blue”, except for it is home. I got a little choked up as I was counting down the final adjustments in the Leroy location but I could sit here now in full on tears to know that we are moving home.

This is home.

I have had a recurring dream over the past 20 years that has driven me to this exact location. Watch for a Facebook LIVE tomorrow, Friday September 14th, as I share that beautiful story.

How did I get here? How did this all happen? How on Earth am I moving my practice and my livelihood to my dream location, no literally the space inside of my dream? We have a lot of work ahead of us in the next 72 hours as we transition the office to be ready for the practice on Monday, but it is all worth it to move home.

ENDURANCE

I am fully convinced endurance is the key to success.

I have run marathons, half-marathons and climbed to the rooftop of Africa. I have done triathlons, 60-90 minute extreme hot yoga classes and 50 mile bike rides and ran a thriving family chiropractic office for 14 years. I endured 10 years of school beyond high school and driven 3,000 miles from Anchorage, Alaska to Atlanta, Georgia. I have spent countless hours studying, during school and since by doctorate degree and taken many long plane rides, longest being 26 hour plane ride from Detroit to Kilimanjaro.

I never realized just how much endurance has played into my equation for success until a few months ago.

I was sitting down for lunch with one of my mentors in Florida and he says “I am really proud of you.” He then continues, “Anyone can work hard enough and earn the degree but not many can really do what it takes to run the business the way you have and succeeded in practice and kept that kind of energy doing it all by yourself.”

Here is a clue to my internal workings, I just expect that of myself and I do not give myself an “out” to not do what needs to be done when it needs to be done. …and that goes for every area of my life.

I was shocked when he said that mostly for the simple fact of the expectations I set on myself but when I really do look back and see how far I have come I have done this all on my own. Granted I do have an INCREDIBLE support network in my life for sure that pick me up, dust me off and give me a kick in the rear to get going again. I have to take a

Best Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - Endurance - Dr Erica Peabody

moment to thank my amazing team Nikki, Teri, Stephanie and Laura – you ladies make this entire dream worth living and working so hard for!!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!!!

One week prior to that trip to Florida, I was presented with an incredible business opportunity. The evening before this particular lunch with my mentor, Mike and I were out to dinner and I got wind that the opportunity was actually a reality if I wanted it for the taking.

So I jumped.

I had no idea that the words that my mentor said at that time about my endurance for what I am doing would ring truer and louder than ever before in my life. I had no idea how much that trek up Mt. Kilimanjaro would help me the past 3 months. I had no idea that Chicago Marathon in 2005 and all the half marathons and all those miles training out on the trails to prep for those grueling 26.2 and 13.1 miles would help me through this time in my life since March.

As I endured 6 months in that walking boot last year and 3-4 trips to the gym still training, some would chime in and ask “what are you training for now?”

“I am training for LIFE!” was always my answer.

Yes I have had road races and triathlons and trek and swims and hikes that I have trained for in the past, I have

Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - The Second Strap - Dr Erica Peabody

always had something in front of me that would inspire me daily to keep going…but I had no idea it was all for these past 3 months. The meetings, emails, lists, meetings, emails and more lists, along with straight up execution on all of these things day in and day out aside from my newly engaged life and busy practice…this is what I have been training for. If I am totally honest, I have developed slight PTSD opening my email these days in fear of one more list, one more thing, one more meeting that will need to be tended to.

And I still have yet to birth my own children and raise my own family…I hear that takes some serious endurance and I am certain that this time in my life is just mere preparation for those next steps too.

Patients ask me all the time, “What is your next big adventure?” “What is the next mountain you are going to climb?” Little did you know I have been climbing one of the biggest mountains in my life and you are all right along side me.

All of this “talking in code” and not being able to disclose this information has been a multiplying factor for the endurance of this climb. I love being able to bounce ideas off of my people, my board of directors especially, and share. I feel like when I share I am able to download and reprocess things inside of my mind and being and create some form of order. I have been unable to do that due to the nature of this incredible plan.

HOLY COW DOC!?!?!?!??!!!!!! Are you leaving us????? Nope I am here and setting even deeper roots into the Fenton community than ever before. I am more here than I have ever been before. I am more excited than I have ever been before. I am more charged up about life and living and serving than ever before. We are taking things up to a whole new level and are going to be able to be a beacon of light, a true heartbeat of health and wellness inside of our community and although I need another week or so to really share the plans, trust me it is really, really good and worth all the endurance.

Now if you possibly think I could tackle something like this on my own…well thank you and yes I probably could, however I wouldn’t want to without the greatest partner in life walking shoulder to shoulder right at my side. He props me up, he settles me down, he charges me up and knocks me on my behind when I need it. He has been a solid driving force since our day one together however even more so now that this kind of rubber is meeting the road and this kind of traction is needed. There were a few moments during this process that I had to consider if I would do something like this on my own…the answer us YES I would and could and will if necessary. But in saying all that, I am so so grateful, ever so grateful to you my Love. Thanks for everything Babe. Good thing he is a three-time Ironman, I knew endurance was part of the fabric he was cut from since the start.

Stay tuned!!! It is just getting good.

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!!!!

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!!! 🙂