life lessons – Page 4 – We Only Get One Chance

FIVE LAYERS OF NOTHING

I have found an entire five layers of nothing.

What on Earth does that mean????

I AM OVER IT!!!!!!

I am over talking about this boot and I am REALLY OVER wearing it! I am being restricted in my life but I also realize that the patience I have had and the grace I have afforded myself through this process has been the reason I am making any progress at all.

Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - Five Layers of Nothing - Dr Erica Peabody

I have always been an athlete and directly involved in the fitness industry through my late teens and all the way through my 20s. These are the years when habits form and I have formed a strong habit of working out on a regular basis.

Prior to June of this year, I would have some sort of movement or exercise as part of my day, every single day. Intensity varied of course, some days it would be as simple as a 20-30 minute walk while others I would attend a 60 minute step class or a 75 minute hot vinyasa yoga class.

I live an active lifestyle, yes that is so true…but now I have realized something else.

In March 2017 is when I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro. I trained hard leading up to that and of course the 8 days of climbing was the most grueling physical activity I have done in my life up to this point.

When I returned home I continued with my “normal” workouts but also jumped in on a 6 week yoga challenge at Bent Yoga. The challenge was to do 32 classes in 42 days and started at the end of April through beginning of June. As I did that and earned my free t-shirt, I was noticing an increase in pain over those weeks and so I decided that I would scale way back on my workouts.

Scaling back meant taking a month break from the hot vinyasa classes at the yoga studio, no step class and no running. This felt like I was “doing nothing” as compared to what I had been doing for decades.

By the end of June, my hopes were to be able to start to train to run the Crim 10 mile road race that I have run every year for the past 12 years. By the end of June, there was no way to start running as it was getting difficult to even walk which resulted in me putting an end to my regular walks. Having to take that out of my regular days it really felt like I was “doing nothing”.

I was still going to the gym and mindfully walking around and lifting weights, core work and my boyfriend and I were still riding bikes (since that was not weight-bearing). Although x-ray and MRI showed nothing was wrong, all of that got to be too much and I had to cut out bikes and all yoga and that really, really felt like I was “doing nothing”.

Then it got to the point that weights had to go, gym time had to end completely because I was too tempted to do too much if I went to the gym. If I did go to the gym, I would simply alternate going from the cold plunge to the hot tub and back to the cold plunge. This was really the end, this time I was really “doing nothing”.

Just when I thought I was “doing nothing”, I would still be racing around my office all day long but then get home and want to spend my off-time shopping and getting other things done. Then Mike put his foot down, raised his hand at me and said “Babe, just sit there. Let me get your shoes for you. What do you need upstairs? Where is it and let me climb the stairs for you. When you have time off of work, just chill and relax.”

This was the very end of “doing nothing”. This was truly nothing.

Just when I thought I was “doing nothing” back in June, layers and layers of “doing nothing” showed up after it. As I have chatted about this, I will sit back and laugh at how twisted and skewed my brain is surrounding physical activity. I have laughed at just how ridiculous the standards I have kept for myself have been.

When I tell people this they ask me “How do you survive and keep your sanity while you are ‘doing nothing’?”

Three words: Meditation, gratitude lists and journaling.

When my major release of stress usually happens through physical activity, I had to find a good combination of some things I could commit to in order to keep my sanity. All three of the above have been part of my wellness routine regularly over the past years however daily commitment to all three has been key.

So maybe that was part of the Universe’s plan during this “boot camp” of sorts. I have found a lot of time to cultivate inner peace through this process and I actually feel really good. Of course I am also itching to start walking and get back in the yoga studio regularly, however having these things in my regular day to day, allows me to be patient with this healing process.

Working all the way down through the five layers of nothing has been like peeling through the layers of an onion and although it has been difficult to sit still, I have learned so much. More than anything I have found a real appreciation of the difference between the time to do lots of things and the time to truly do nothing. …and Universe, if you are listening, may I pretty please with sugar on top get back to at least my regular daily walks now if I promise to keep them around 15-20 minutes??

THE SECOND STRAP

He always reaches for the second strap.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#YOGAEVERYDAMNDAY

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THE SIDELINES

I am not a “sit on the sidelines” kind of gal.

I am in it. I am in the game. I am in the adventure. I am playing full out. I am making things happen in whatever way I can.

This coming weekend…I will be sitting on the sidelines.

Let me explain…

Wait! Before I explain, I do not want sympathy but I will take some positive vibes if you have some to spare:)

By now, you all know that I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro back in March of this year. I had a successful summit, flew home the next day, had one day to rest and then I was back at Cafe of LIFE, my chiropractic practice, being the chiropractor that I always am.

Two weeks later one of my favorite yoga studios, Bent Yoga, started a 6 week yoga challenge. In those 6 weeks the challenge was to complete 32 yoga classes in 42 days. “Piece of cake” said my internal voice and I signed right up.

I also workout every single day in some way and I have had a regular step aerobics class that I have attended for years every single week at my favorite gym, Genesys Athletic Club.

I also have done a couple cleanses which included two long walks (8-9 miles) as part of the protocol in the past few months.

Every single one of the activities I feel fine during, but soreness has followed ever since my climb. Then I would do something again, and I am fine but maybe a little more sore the next time. …more sore…and more sore…and more sore.

The beginning of June I decided to scale way back on the intensity of all of my workouts and simply just walk and lift weights. I would feel good for a while and -> so I would want to increase again -> and I would get set back again.

I always heal. No problem for my body, I always heal. Until now…

The end of July I got some x-rays taken of my foot and ankle to rule out stress fracture. Bones are fine. “It is ligament damage and if you do not rest, you are heading for surgery.” WHAT?!?!?! “Oh and here is a boot you will wear for 6 weeks and we will see how you are at the end of those 6 weeks.”

Um…boot? I cannot adjust and serve my patients IN A BOOT!!!

Most of you have no idea any of this is going on. When you come to my office, the focus is on YOUR HEALING, not mine. The focus is on YOU, not me. We are serving YOU and YOUR FAMILIES, not me. This is our way. I truly cannot wear my boot to the office. I tried adjusting one of my chiropractors and I got stuck and had to have him push me back up to my feet. No bueno, that is not going to work.

So instead I slowly and mindfully walk through the office and take care of patients. And when I am doing that, I am pain free. Then after work and whenever I am not there, I am in my boot.

When I really slowed down back in June, I told my man that “if I slow down, maybe I will heal and still be able to run the Crim 10 mile road race.”

This Crim is this coming weekend.

I will be on the sidelines.

Sometimes I can find the blessing in it all and sometimes I am crushed over not being able to run those 10 miles.

The Crim rolls around every year. It is one of the greatest days that Flint has all year. The energy is high, spirits are high, music is blasting through the streets and there are thousands of people accomplishing big goals that day. It is a FUN day and really fun to be part of it all.

I have ran the Crim for the past 12 years and when the end of August comes, it is just part of what happens and in the back of my mind it is sort of a way that I prove to myself that “I still have it”. It is a head game for me. I have been told that some people think that I don’t have any of those “head games” going on for me…but WE ALL DO!!! Every last one of us is playing a game with those internal voices EVERY SINGLE DAY.

I attended an incredible event this past weekend which brought my awareness to a whole new level surrounding this subject. For the past two months, I have been in so much pain that even when I simply see a runner, I view it as a horror film in the back of my mind “That would be so painful”. When I see high heels I also view that with so much distress. I realize that “if thoughts are things” and they are, that these thoughts have inhibited my healing process as well. We head in the direction our thoughts go and so I may as well spend my time getting excited for when I can get back to running and wearing heels (not that I wear heels a lot but I do like having options, ya know).

I am sure I will shed some tears from the sidelines this weekend.

I am sure I will laugh and be entertained from the sidelines.

I will actually get to see the head of the pack finish the race (let’s be honest, I never see them ever for my entire race at my pace).

I will hang with everyone else’s families and friends as they cheer on their runners from the sidelines.

I will cheer the loudest for my man from the sidelines.

I will cheer all my patients on and yell real loud from the sidelines.

I will stand proudly in my boot, excited for the coming years and returning to running, from the sidelines.

I have already learned so many lessons from the sidelines these past couple months and I will report back to you what that day teaches me from the sidelines.

I will cheer for this life and my incredible body that has chosen a successful summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro instead of finishing the Crim this year.

I will sit in massive gratitude to just BE ALIVE while I sit on the sidelines.

And now that I am finishing up this piece of writing, maybe I will actually enjoy the sidelines.

The best part is, I do not have to sit on the sidelines of the dance floor at the after party, so meet me there for a jig!!!

Best wishes for an incredible 10 miles this coming Saturday and wave to me if you see me on the sidelines!!!

THIS IS 40

It is almost 3 months into my 40th year and I find my inner voice saying “this is 40” in the back of my head at least a few times per week lately.

I spent a week in Florida over the 4th of July. My travel was hooked to a International Chiropractic Pediatric Association seminar the weekend of July 8-9 but I went down to get a change of scenery the Tuesday prior. I have not mastered the art of “stay-cation” where I just stay home instead of going to work. I take 2 weeks off per year, one at the holidays and one at the 4th of July however I have to leave town to not go into work. It is not possible for me, YET anyway, to just hang out at home and take time off from work. The guilt rules my days and getting on a plane and being away makes it peaceful for me so I am able to relax and let go of the office for a bit.

My most favorite way to start my days on vacation is to put on a swim suit and a cover-up and walk the beach for 1-2 hours. It is a peaceful time of day and the walking helps the energy and thoughts surface organically. In fact, the friends that I often vacation with, began to start asking me what the “song of the day” is because, inevitably, a song would surface in the morning time. There is always a song in my mind however when it is quiet, it gets really loud.

While in Florida last week, my morning routine changed. I still walked the beach but I had to have socks and shoes on. My left foot is still not right from my trek to Mt. Kilimanjaro. If you saw me in my day to day, I am fine and my foot is fine. As soon as I start moving forward deliberately walking, it yells at me. My walk is now a stroll and socks and shoes don’t look cool with bathing suit and swim cover so I wore workout clothes. Which is fine. So I am out there the first morning walking, strolling, on the beach for 45 minutes to start my day. I look down and am in socks and shoes and avoiding the waves as they come to shore, instead of barefoot and walking in the water and my inner voice pipes up “This is 40”.

That bums me out. I realize I just have to let my body rest and my foot will recover but it has really slowed me down.

In these moments, I know the very best thing to do is to start reviewing my current gratitude list to override that little pesky voice inside of my head.

“I have an incredibly strong and healthy body, stronger and healthier than every before. This is 40.”

“I have an amazing chiropractic practice that has been amazing all these 12.5 years it has been open but it is a new level of awesome as I have progressed as a doctor and servant to my community. This is 40.”

“I have outstanding relationships with my brothers and their families and can bring the wisdom I have gained over the years to help guide the littles in my family and offer unconditional love in their lives. This is 40.”

“I have learned so many great, hard, wonderful, nasty, eye-opening lessons in life and love. This is 40.”

“I am grateful to share regular time with my amazing Mom as we have grown to be such allies in life. This is 40.”

“I have found an incredible supportive loving relationship and I am grateful for all the lessons in love up to this point. This is 40.”

“I have come to a point in my life that I realize 100% of what I focus on heads my way so I better keep it positive and fruitful. This is 40.”

“I realize the days, weeks, months and years go by so quickly and have learned to squeeze the juice out of every single day. This is 40.”

“I am more and more grateful for all the little moments during the days that make my heart warm; from serving my patients, to stopping along my morning stroll to take in the beauty of a neighbor’s yard, to the simple hugs from loved ones, to laying down in my bed earlier at night in order to get proper rest to keep my body strong and healthy. This is 40.”

“It is obvious who ‘real’ friends are, who is in my tribe, and to invest in those relationships. This is 40.”

“I realize how fast I got to 40 and I will spend the next 40 years trying to slow life down and smile even more. This is 40”

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3WOUF_cOi0[/youtube]

Trivial things like having to wear socks and shoes while walking the beach can really take us, well me for sure, out of my game. I know and trust the tools I have worked to develop in my life that can change that feeling of being bummed and it all begins with GRATITUDE. This life is not perfect. These days have their own inherent challenges. Life lessons come at us in all shapes and sizes.

But be grateful. Search for that silver lining. For me, even though I had to wear socks and shoes to support my feet while I walked on the beach every morning and every evening, I am grateful I CAN walk and I am grateful to have climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and realize it is just a reminder of my journey…for now. This is 40 and I LOVE being 40!!

DO LESS

“DO LESS” is the mantra I say over and over to myself lately.

I don’t know about your life, but every single last second will fill up in my life if I let it. I find myself running here and there and being pulled in all kinds of different directions.

Dr Erica Peabody - DO LESS - Chiropractor Fenton Michigan — In Moshi, Tanzania relaxing

Also when all the minutes of life are filled up, the days and weeks and months fly by! In fact, it is hard to believe we are working on the second half of June already when it feels like January was yesterday!

Since my training and trip to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, I have had a lot to accomplish. I always have a lot going on during my weeks of serving the community at my office Cafe of LIFE Chiropractic. But on top of that, I had so many weekends where I needed to travel for work conventions and the other weekends filled with other plans, fun plans, but plans nonetheless. It turned out I was only home 3 weekends out of 3 full months.

Once June rolled around and I was working to plan my month ahead, I decided this was going to be the month to do less. Do less traveling. Do less roaming around this area. Make less plans. Do less with my downtime. And now that we are over half way through this month, I am glad I made that an actual goal.

I have spent a few full days sitting at the lake. I have spent many evenings just relaxing and reading and writing at home. I have opted for longer walks and bike rides from my home rather than making it up to the gym. I have ran less since my foot is still healing from my climb in March (subject of the next blog). I have eaten more meals at home and stayed in to just sit and listen to music. I have successfully done less.

I was considering getting on a plane this coming weekend because I have some new really important people born into the world in the last week but have decided against it. I have had invites to head up north that I have turned down. I did take advantage of one day road trip last week that really filled my soul so I haven’t been totally and completely grounded to Fenton, but in that day we did less than what would have been my norm in the past.

Dr Erica Peabody - DO LESS - Chiropractor Fenton Michigan Traverse City — Enjoying the beauty in Traverse City

Since summer break from school is in full force, I have asked many of my patients at the Cafe “What are your summer plans? Any trips coming up?” Many of them have said “Nope, we are mostly just going to be home.” When they respond like that, I almost have a small sigh of relief for them as the school year is so busy that it truly is a time to do less. Especially since the fall sports season pretty much cuts the last month of summer right out, that is just a few weeks away.

My Tuesday mornings used to be spent going up to the gym and taking a step aerobics class and now I am sitting and writing instead. When I say DO LESS, I do not mean with your body or with mine and will follow up this writing slot with a bike ride to get my daily movement. But following that I will sit meditation, if even for just 5 minutes.

Do less. This doesn’t mean do less with your family or do less with your body, it means do less with your time and be more present. Be closer to home, closer to the ones you love and closer to yourself.

I am a doer. I go and go and go and go and go…non-stop…for years. It has been so eye-opening to have a true goal to do less. For many reasons I reevaluated what are the most important things to me and saved my extra time to spend doing those things with specific people and cut the rest out.

After writing and sharing all of that, I want to encourage you to look around your life and find an area or maybe a couple areas that you can do less. I find when I am doing less, I am being more…more centered, more grounded, more peaceful, more rested…less of a human doing and more of a human being, and that makes me really happy.

A SUNDAY SHARE

I was driving back from Chicago this past Sunday and deep in thought about life and living. Here is a Sunday share…

https://www.facebook.com/erica.peabody/videos/10155200524038792/

I hope this message finds you happy and healthy and enjoying your week…and your LIFE!! I was realizing as I was sitting in the car for all those hours that we really do have a lot of power in the intention we set for our own lives. I hope you are making the most of it all!!! As the title of this blog says…we only get one chance.

MANY EMAILS

I receive many emails. About once or twice a month I get emails that sound exactly like this. This exchange is copied and pasted from my inbox…

“I have been dying to ask your motivation behind your “living” Has this always been your life or was there a catalyst? I recognize the journey and enthusiasm and I am wondering if I can ask your reason? Would you mind sharing?”

My response: “There was no catalyst, just realizing that more and more of life slips by fast and faster…I have always lived like this just have taken it to a whole new level recently for no other reason than life is slipping by. Many have written me asking if I am sick or have some sort of terminal diagnosis (and I don’t) but more than anything is my desire to help inspire others to take action in their lives.”

These emails come in regularly and so I thought I would just share in a bigger way than I have before.

As most of you reading already know, I am taking on MT KILIMANJARO in just under 2 months. No I do not really run a true “bucket list” because I don’t want to do things because I will be dying someday. I take on these adventures because I want to TRULY LIVE this life that I have been given!

When I wake up in the mornings, I start with gratitude. I am so grateful for another day and I go about getting up and around and making things happen. And then I do the same thing the next day and the next day and the next day. This can get mundane and monotonous however I also plan on life mostly being mundane and monotonous and by default it will stay that way. Most people experience this. I think real joy is found in the mundane and monotony of the everyday. When we can learn to enjoy the mundane and monotony of the day to day, happiness is truly lived because lets face it, life is not one crazy adventure and vacation to the next. We live mostly in the in between.

I am a rather simple gal at my core. I love my life, I love my job, I love my family and I love my friends. I like to have nice things but I usually try to go about obtaining them through shopping the “sale” racks. I am always prudent with my next steps and am ultra responsible. In all of that, I do my best to say “YES” to invitations that are thrown my way. Many times I do not know what I am getting into but I choose to stir up all the courage inside of me and step forward. I have learned that over and over and over again, LIFE has my back. And even when stakes are high and probability is down, I choose to step forward anyway and just see what turns up.

I have fallen many, many times, more times than I like to admit or own up to (and for the sake of this blog, I have maybe not shared as much of that as I should) but what do they say? “Fall 17 times, get up 18!’ and I try to live by that. Just get up and step forward and see just what appears under your foot.

So I am taking on MT KiLIMANJARO in the beginning of March. The highest altitude I have been is around 14,000 ft above sea level, “KILI”, as it has been nicknamed, stands at 19,000 ft. That is HIGH!!!! SUPER HIGH!!!

Some of you know about my heart condition, some of you don’t. The hole between the top 2 chambers of the heart that is there in utero never closed for me. What does that mean? It means that a portion of my blood skips the trek through the lungs and doesn’t get oxygenated. It is an issue in my day to day and a bigger issue when I am working out and I manage it by staying super healthy and strong. Will it be a problem at altitude? Quite possibly however 10% of the population has this defect and many don’t even know about it and I am trusting that a few of those 10% that have no idea they have it have done KILIMANJARO or something even more intense and succeeded. I am trusting that LIFE has my back on this one.

But who really knows? There is absolutely no way for me to know if I am going to succeed at climbing to 19,000 ft or not. The only real way to know is to train as hard as I can and then show up and give it my all and see what happens. All that I have read so far is that this trek is treacherous and daunting and a good portion of it is, what my brother refers to as, a “nose down suffer-fest“. He hasn’t done Kili, he has done way more intense trips than that and is partially my guide, trainer and inspiration.

I am so curious if summit is possible for me, way too curious to do anything else but get over there and give it a whirl! It sounds extravagant to be doing something so intense. I plan to share the entire story with you so that you may have an idea of what something like that is like. I also hope that in this process you realize that there may be something in your mind and in your heart that you want to take on and that waking up day in and day out without taking on the challenges just isn’t living enough for you.

It will take us 6 day to summit and then 2 days to descend. In my mind I am preparing for just keeping one foot progressing in front of the other and see what happens. If I took that last step, I can probably take this next step. If I can take the next step, I bet I can take the next one too. If I can string a bunch of those small wins together over and over and over again, I can make it to the top I just know I can. When I picture this process, I get choked up as I know it is going to take every single bit of willpower that I have to make it happen. I am a natural athlete but I have physical restrictions that have deterred me from doing anything too extreme. This will be a test of just how far I can go.

For my 30th year, I ran a full marathon. At this point, I do not see a future of taking on any kind of extreme challenges beyond KILIMANJARO. That will be plenty and such an awesome way to cap my 40th year on the planet and shift into seeing where life takes my next 10.

As I started this post, I get many emails all the time asking why and how and what makes me do these things. Just LIFE…just simply and purely the desire to really live this life fully.

NOTHING

“Nothing” is my answer.

I was at a family party last Saturday night. Of course at this age, everyone wants to know how my dating life is and of course, most also know that I am working on building a house, so they are asking about my house.

I walk in the door and greet my cousin (who is sort of in the same boat as I am in life) and her and I discuss much deeper topics and catch up for a few moments.

The next corner I turn, I run into another cousin and the question is “What’s going on with your dating life?’

I respond, “Nothing.”

“Oh really? Ok. Well then tell me what progress you have made with your house?”

“Nothing” And honestly at this point in time I don’t really feel like talking about it if that is all I am to this person. So I cut that conversation quickly and turn the next corner of the house and run into an aunt, “What’s happening with your dating life? What’s going on with your house?”

“Nothing. Nothing.”

“No really, what is happening?”

“No really, nothing.”

I turn the conversation around on them and ask some questions about life but it was almost like I had sort of put the kibosh on the connection by answering my truth, which is “nothing”.

I turned yet another corner and a family friend started the same conversation with me all over again. And then of course is the ever so cliche comment of “How is someone like you still single?” which I constantly hear from every corner of my life.

“Who knows. Good question.” …and I really mean that.

So here is the deal, people, I am FAR MORE than who I am dating and where I am living! In fact, I believe the contrast on that particular evening was so strong because I spent the entire day leading up to that party at a most incredible and enlightening seminar on “Developmental Neurobiology” and although I couldn’t necessarily convey all of the information I learned that day in that seminar, I could have shared some. I am also working on a full Pediatric Chiropractic Certification which is far above and beyond the normal chiropractic degree and is a 2 year post-graduate program put on by the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association that I am incredibly passionate about.

I also have started taking an intense kettlebell class that is changing my entire physical makeup and spending my time at some of the coolest yoga classes. I also have done a ton of reading and lots of writing, hung out with some great friends and am planning or just went on a trip most of the time.

I also am a pretty awesome Aunt E and I could share lots of stories about my amazing nieces and nephews and the time we have spent together.

But to these people, I am defined by who I date and where I am living. And quite frankly, since NOTHING is going on with either of those, to them, maybe I am nothing. ..and that is ok by me.

Maybe these people, as we all do from time to time, are looking for some juice somewhere in life that they can share out in the world somehow and in someway. I don’t really get it.

So I decided that I would sit down next to an interesting friend of the family and chat about running a ski resort, which is what he does, and I learned a LOT!!! Then I moved on to a couple I haven’t seen in a while but really enjoy to chat about the year just gone by and the year ahead; plans, experiences, travels, fun, laughs, work…all those kinds of things. I have decided that one or two good conversations in an evening like that is worth way more than trying to get around to everyone and stay as the “single homeless girl” (exaggerated description but you get the idea).

In saying all of that, I am also not really all that skilled in small talk to begin with. It is not my strong suit as many of you already know. That is definitely one of my faults but I’m alright with that. I also realize and am so very grateful that I get to live the blessed life that I do, this is not talking negative about any of that.

Someone said to me the other day, “You know, you have a lot of dating experiences that you should share a little bit about sometime…and I thought to myself that maybe I will. Stay tuned for maybe some stories over the next phase of this blog as hopefully my “nothing” will start to transpire into an incredible SOMETHING!!! …or at least that is my hope, on many fronts, but house and relationships in specific. l.

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!!!!