life lessons – Page 3 – We Only Get One Chance

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG BLUE

June 14, 2019 marks one year. Happy Birthday Big Blue!!!
The first look at the insides of this beautiful building, I had no real idea that it would come this far.
I saw the listing come up on www.Zillow.com and sent it on to my realtor to see if I could get a look at it. My Mom and I met the realtor here for the initial walk-through and truly we were “just going to look, we had always wanted to see the inside anyway.” We were pretty convinced that the place would smell strange and/or be unrecoverable and not even an option before going in.
Halfway through the initial visit, my mom and I looked at each other in almost the exact same moment and said “WOW!!! This place is amazing and the main floor is set up already for us. This just might work!”
Fast forward 4 months of day in and day out due diligence; all the things the bank wanted, the inspections, the tests, the surveys, the walk-throughs, the research, all the things and it was finally closing time.
I was nervous because of what was ahead of me but I was also pretty confident because there was so much working in my favor and so, so, so many things that easily fell into place along the way. It was just meant to be.
From June 14, we needed to wait about 30 days to get keys. This building was an assisted living location since the 1960s and they needed some time to relocate the residents. To be honest with you, I am pretty confident that any place they were relocated to would have been a better fit than this and along the past year, as I hear stories, I am confident they are all better off where they ended up.
As we progressed into the summertime last year we got keys in the middle of July and I actually moved myself in while I was waiting for my new home to be completed.
That was supposed to be until October.
9 months later I got certificate of occupancy at the new house and moved out of Big Blue.
But in all actuality it was a blessing for sure. A blessing that I had a super cool place to stay. A blessing that I got a chance to really get to know Big Blue and all of her quirks. A blessing as through the last winter, with those incredibly frigid temperatures, I was able to just walk downstairs to go to work rather than have to be outside and face the elements. I never dreamed I would get a chance to “work from home” but it was a treat.
Our master plan was to get some of the 17 bedrooms open by this spring and rented as office space.
We are past spring.
But inside of this past year you probably also know we planned an executed a wedding and I became bonus mom to triplet teenagers.
What you probably don’t know is that we also had to fire the builder back in October for unbelievable negligence and take over finishing the very complicated new house build ourselves.
To say it has been a year, is an absolute understatement. I am not even sure how we survived it. Some of my phone conversations to my Mom would have her stop me mid sentence and say “How are you even doing all of this?”
I don’t know Mom. I don’t know. I just get up everyday and, because I am excited and passionate about what I am doing and where I am heading, I just do what needs to be done and keep working on all the “to-do” list stuff I can and then rinse and repeat the next day. When we got to move the Cafe pf LIFE Chiropractic office over in September last year, my incredible office manager, Nikki and I would wander around the place on the very first day like it was our home forever. It feels like home here, it really does and has since day 1.

So today, HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG BLUE!!!

It Is What It Is

It is what it is.

Have you listened around in your life and realized just how many times you hear this phrase? Anyone hear this phrase daily? Do you notice your coworkers, family and even strangers saying this phrase?

If you haven’t noticed already, you will now. You’re welcome. 😉

This phrase is 2-fold for me. “It is what it is” can clearly mean that there is absolutely nothing you can do in this moment except to just accept the truth and reality of the moment. “It is what it is” can also mean that the only thing TO DO is to just let it go…and honestly that is one of the healthiest things that we can do inside of our life at times, LET THINGS GO!!!

“It is what it is” inside of the work place or dealing with traffic during your commute (and I know a lot of local people that are dealing with commuter stress of an additional half hour to hour in the car one way) can be beyond frustrating. This can mean a few things: look for a new job, find joy inside of a job that you didn’t think there was any, change your feeling about your current job as a “stepping stone” rather than a forever place, or find a way to be productive (listen to audio books or podcasts) during your commute. “It is what it is” can feel very dis-empowering and at the same time, awareness that change is needed.

It can also be very empowering! “It is what it is” is an avenue for letting go of things we should let go of anyway. I was listening to a podcast the other day and someone was saying

“Remember that thing this time last year that you lost weeks of sleep over?” “Yes, I remember.” “Well how did it work out?” “It worked out way better than I could have ever imagined.” “Well let’s not worry ourselves into endless sleepless nights over things. They will always work out.”

Inside of our health, “It is what it is.” is incredibly dis-empowering and in a way our culture and the media has led us to believe this. Even though it may seem true, we are NOT victims of our genes. Yes, there are times when genes play a role, but those are minimal and genes expression is controlled by the environment that is mostly created by us individually.

Every single choice you make of what to put into your mouth, every choice you make about how to move your body, what to do with your free time, how to handle the inevitable stress in your life is what determines how your body will be respond. If we put an apple or a cookie in our mouths, it matters. If we get outside for a walk or sit in front of a screen somewhere, it matters. If we get enough rest at night or choose to burn the candle at both ends, it matters. Our current state of health “is what it is” because of US!!!! The the greatest thing about that is we can make different choices.

Inside of relationships “It is what it is” is borderline unacceptable. If you wander around in your daily life, you may notice a few couples and families that just seem to have a zest for life and what they are doing, together and as individuals, and others that seem to live in chronic unhappiness. “It is what it is” is no way to be inside a lifetime but here is the super cool thing! I am no relationship expert (you can say that again), but it is a choice!

It is a choice to put a smile on your face and start the day like that, or put a frown on your face and project that on to your nearest and dearest. Life is not all rainbows and butterflies but I heard the following brilliant statement just earlier today that “Your face is your fault!” meaning that your smiling face or your pouting face is your own fault. I LOVE THAT!!! If you are around Mike and I at all, you will probably hear “Are you happy? THEN TELL YOUR FACE!!!” It is mostly a joke and is always followed by laughter, which is the whole point.

So all this “It is what it is” business is because my intention has been to write and blog and share all along the way, but it has been MONTHS that I haven’t said a thing on here…and “It is what it is.” And now I will make a better choice. Stay tuned!!!

HITTING SINGLES

Sometimes my future husband is absolutely brilliant. The conversation ended with “…we have to just keep hitting singles. You cannot put the bat down now.”

LIFE!!!!!! Seriously Universe! I am ready for a little less spice and a little more bored please!!!

Best Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - Dr Erica Peabody - Hitting Singles

As most of you know, I have been working on building a house for the past almost 3 years. I was told “start to finish, this project of building a house is about 9 months.” “AWESOME!!! Sign me up!!!” was my response.

It has been 34 months, turning the corner on 35 months here in a couple days. It has been one thing after the next after the next after the next. It has been one delay after the next after the next after the next.

Frustration doesn’t even begin to explain any of it, that is just a tip of the iceberg of emotions. The great thing is I have Mike and he is an exceptional project manager. Between he and I, we have it handled. But timing of one contractor depends on timing of another and the facts we get at one point do not match facts we get a couple weeks later.

We are very close, within just a few days in fact. I am so very grateful for that.

So when I am overwhelmed with the wedding approaching and still not being in the house, tears stream down my face on a regular basis. It is all okay and really great stuff that is happening, but happening all at one time is the real challenge. Mike tries to settle the tears and that is when he says “We just have to keep hitting singles, you cannot put the bat down now.”

No truer words have ever been spoken and then I looked out into life and just how applicable that is to ALL of life. I was just talking to a patient today that mentioned she started working out every morning for the past month and she is getting up earlier than usual to get 45 minutes in every single morning. I said “45 minutes is a big commitment, and although amazing if you can keep up the stamina, just know that if there is a morning that you can’t do 45 full minutes, do at least 20 minutes.” 45 minutes of daily exercise would be a home run every single day and the 20 minutes would be like hitting a single. We need to hit singles but we need to hit them every single day.

Hitting single after single after single is how you get something done and move forward in life. Think about getting a college degree…that is literally taking a few classes at a time. Want a college degree? Plan on continually hitting singles for 4+ years. Want to build a business? Same thing. Build a family? Same thing. Hit singles.

For whatever reason, life in this country and our culture/mindset is all about instant gratification and desire to HIT IT BIG the first time. There is a constant feeling, driven a lot by social media, that everyone has hit home runs…but the challenge is that many people that appear to be at “home run” status, those that seem to be wildly successful, have been working behind the scenes hitting singles – FOR YEARS!!!! YEARS AND YEARS!!!You just see the end product!

Best Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - Hitting Singles - Dr Erica Peabody

Patience is a lost virtue these days. As I just looked that concept up, it also says that patience can be synonymous with “courage”. I think that is an interesting synonym: courage to pursue whatever it is in the first place, courage to commit to the process, courage to get up and start again after falling down time after time after time, courage to keep going when it seems impossible and navigate the bumps in the road, courage to find a different path if it is just not working for you. Patience = Courage …I really love that.

I am giving the BIGGEST SHOUT OUT to my future husband that is one of the only people that gets to see the true stumbling that I do through life, boosts me back up, helps me change my perspective on a minute to minute basis and reminds me that all we have to do is keep “HITTING SINGLES”. You are my dream man for so many reasons, you know that right? <3

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.

3 DAYS IN

We are just 3 days in to our new location and I have to say it has been beyond extraordinary. We are over the moon excited about how this space has turned out which trickles down to our ability to serve you.

The space is airy and cozy and solid and grounding and healing and absolutely lovely.

So many people are astounded by our ability to get moved over and create seamless transitions for our patient crowd.

Here is all I know. We closed our doors at our Leroy location on Thursday, September 13th at 6pm. We had until Monday, Septmeber 17th at 10am to get up and running.

Mike would say over and over and over…. “Just pick the critical path, just the critical items that you need to get your day started and be able to endure patient care at the level they have come to expect.” …and so in and amongst a weekend of family obligations we made it happen.

Thursday at 6pm is when the anxiety set in. How long will it take us to do this? and is 3 days enough? It was a little like jumping off a cliff because, although I have moved my business a few times in the past, it had been 8 years and as I mentioned in a Facebook post, I am a pathological underestimator. I underestimate everything and commit 100% and somehow figure it out.

It was a weekend of moving furniture, unplugging computer systems and wires all throughout the office. It was filled with wires going every which way and plugging things in and praying. It was a weekend or rearranging chairs and sweeping floors and dusting everything from head to toe.

Mike had to leave with his children around 6:30 on Sunday evening and head back home to be sure they are all ready to start the week. I spent 5 solid hours on each adjusting station from one side of the place to the other and into the reception room.

The computer system was working, the music wasn’t. The tables were ready, the rugs couldn’t be put down because of the finish on the floors. The front desk was ready, the massage rooms were ready, the air conditioners were working, toilets cleaned and floors swept. One more faucet installation around 9:30 and we were prepped for my realtor and his team to show up for the unveiling of the signage and the start to our first day!!

We did it! It was a push but we did it and made it happen.

…and here we are just 3 days in and more inspired than ever before. Follow your dreams, listen to your heart and that small voice inside as it will lead you in the right direction. This truly feels like home and we are so glad to be here!

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!!!!

THE SCENIC ROUTE

I am one who always loves to take the scenic route.

I realize this more and more as the years go by. Even if it takes me the same time, 15 minutes more or an hour more, I would prefer to be on the scenic route than anywhere else.

This has become super evident over the past year being with a guy that also loves taking the scenic route. What’s the saying? “Life is about the process, not the destination.” I don’t know who said that but it is brilliant.

Last weekend I drove over to Cleveland, Ohio to attend Birthfit Professional seminar (I will share a lot more about Birthfit Professional as time goes by as it will become an incredible tool and offering here at the Cafe of LIFE). The seminar was Saturday and Sunday 8am-6pm both days. That is a long weekend and with everything else going on in life right now, it was difficult to commit to that schedule. I registered over 2 months ago and I am a woman of my word and so 7pm on Friday evening I made the drive.

Friday was a day filled with “life” and I wanted to be on the road by 5pm but that just didn’t happen. Because I also need to preserve my sleep, I took the fastest and most efficient way to the area and got to a hotel just after 10pm to prepare for a 6:30am wake-up.

Saturday was an incredibly informative and inspiring day with a group of colleagues passionate about helping prenatal and postpartum moms prepare and recover from the most intense athletic event of their lives. Saturday evening we were released at 6 and I set out to find some dinner.

Some of you know this about me but most of you probably don’t, I love just going for a drive. In fact, sometime I will say to Mike “Hey babe, let’s go for a drive.” …which he is usually game for and we go and explore. Another fun fact about me (at least I think it is fun although maybe I shouldn’t be so assuming 🙂 ) is I am passionate about real estate. I have invested around the local area and I absolutely love transforming spaces. Mike does too. As we go for these random drives around, I usually am opening my Zillow app on my phone as we see “for sale” signs posted along our route. Anywhere. Anytime. We drive around just to see what there is to see but also scope real estate wherever we are. I am a Zillow addict and I love that fact that I have access to see what the homes look like inside.

Saturday night I set out on a drive to find food and before long I realized just how close to Lake Erie I was staying. I got caught up in a long drive scoping the Cleveland coastline real estate…and then moved inland a street…and then another. Have you been to Cleveland? WOW!!! There were block after block of beautiful homes for miles. I ran out of daylight but I was astounded. I had Coffeehouse on my Sirius XM and it was the most relaxed I had been all week. I would wander around, taking in all the scenery and I could feel my heart filling up. That may seem like a strange thing to feel while on a drive looking at real estate, but I am okay with being strange.

Sunday came fast and furious and I was back in the seminar. Sometime during that day I decided I was going to take the coastline home. Yes I got out of the seminar at 6pm. Yes I had a 3 hour drive in front of me. Something inside urged me to take the scenic route and that something was making such a strong declaration about it that if I would have gotten on the toll road and taken the quickest route home, it would have been a battle inside myself the entire way.

So I did. At 6pm I got into my car and found the most beautiful stretch of homes along the coastline for a large portion of my drive back home. Looking back, I am so glad I took the scenic route even though it added some time to my late drive home. When everything was said and done, I had added just a mere 30 extra minutes driving the coastline between Cleveland and Toledo instead of the major highway. But on top of that, my heart was full.

YOLO “You Only Live Once” and FOMO “Fear Of Missing Out” drive my life and especially these types of decisions. I am the first to jump off the highway and see if I can find a fun way home just to see what is there.

So many people are in such a rush to get places. Yes there is a time to be rushed and there is a time to find the quickest route to the destination and get there. But what about when you are not rushed? What would the path look like if you got off the heavily beaten most traveled route? What would you see? What would you be exposed to? What would you learn?

Sometimes I take the scenic route and find that there wasn’t a whole lot to see. Most of the time when I am on the scenic route I find something new and always finished more inspired. In one of the books I read recently the author suggested “what would happen if you took a different way home?” Your usual route to work could actually look different…which would feel different…which would help to stir up the monotony of life and maybe help you see things from a different angle.

Life goes by so quickly, I have a hard time even wrapping my head around the fact that we are in May of 2018. Take the scenic route next time you get a 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