wellness – Page 2 – We Only Get One Chance

SPRINGTIME HAPPINESS

When people think of happiness in this time of season shift, it is often with images of thawing snow, warmer temperatures, sunshine and everything coming back to life. That is usual springtime happiness.

For me, springtime happiness includes a trip to the slopes in Colorado! I think it is the very best time of year on the slopes for many reasons: the locals are snow snobs and think the snow conditions are not worthy of the drive up and over the pass so the runs are less crowded, the temperatures are mild to warm which allows for a much more enjoyable experience for someone who doesn’t make a lot of my own heat and SUNSHINE!!!!

I have to admit that the snow is not the greatest and changes consistency as the days warm up. I try to be out for when the chairlifts start first thing at open time but it is all dependent on the crew I am traveling with….and if I am honest, I am more lenient as my trips around the sun add up (as I am getting older if that was too cryptic).

The thought of gathering all the gear, packing all the clothes, getting all the way to the slopes, putting all those clothes and gear on, buying the lift ticket and all the other things that need to happen in order to get out on the slopes seems daunting at times.

Between taking care of patients, running businesses, a household, managing a team, managing real estate and being a dog mom, the weekends are mostly spent resting and resetting to prep for the next week. But inside of life, there really needs to be moments of epic levels of joy to continue to fuel the “other stuff”. Life is not always joyful but we do need to seek out ways to find and follow our joy and pleasure…and I have to admit that sometimes I forget that.

So a few weeks ago, I contacted a couple friends and said “LET’S RIDE!!!!” …and so we did.

In all the daunting tasks and things to do to make it all the way to the moment when I am strapping my boots into my snowboard to get on the first lift, I actually stopped to ask myself “is this worth it? Is this still where I find my joy?”

As busy humans, we all really do need to stop ourselves every so often to be sure that we are assessing what brings us joy, what fills up our cup and what recharges our batteries. If we don’t have moments where we take pause and really look inside for honest answers to these questions, we can find ourselves having gone YEARS in autopilot not even knowing what makes us happy. Our own assumptions and outsider’s projections onto us can keep us walking the same path without much question.

The first chairlift comes up behind me and scoops me up to carry me off towards the top of the mountain. In that moment, with the sun shining down on my face, I remembered IT IS SO WORTH IT!!! The chairlift ride to the top is to the tune of great conversations with an incredible friend about life and love and hope and dreams. Its reviewing the past and projecting greatness into the future. It is talking down tough things and great excitement about what’s ahead. It is all of it and in the middle of it all, I realize I have too many layers on to manage the temperature. And instead of worrying about that, I am just super grateful not to be freezing my 4$$ off, which is often the case on other times during the winter season.

This year, due to all that is happening globally, I didn’t know if I would even make it out on the slopes or not, though I remained hopeful. Last year, due to my heart surgery late 2019, I really laid low to allow the patch time to heal without the risk of falling and potentially jarring it with pressure. (Now, if you are currently asking yourself “Did she really just say HEART SURGERY?!?!?!” —>>>CLICK HERE<<<— to read all about it….and ––>>>CLICK HERE<<<— for the recap).

So my friend and I get to the top, strapped the other foot into our boards, and off we went!

Do you snowboard? Do you surf? Do you ski? There is a beautiful rhythm to snowboarding that is a match for some natural rhythm of life and it is almost as though the first turn linking together with the next turn and the next creates a harmony for the body and mind that is integral to help regulate my nervous system. That was the wordiest and headiest language to say THIS IS MY HAPPIEST PLACE!!!

And if you know much about snowboarding, if you are not paying attention, you are bound to get yourself in trouble or injured rather quickly, you are not on an edge and shifting weight as you choose your line down the mountain, you are going to catch an edge and faceplant or land hard on your backside. The presence to put it all together is so meditative for me. It is the present-time consciousness, the moments of mindfulness, that creates peace and grace and springtime happiness!

Springtime happiness comes in lots of different ways for lots of different people. Another springtime happiness moment is when the local lakes thaw and we can feel the impending glorious Michigan summer season in the near future. The budding of the trees, just the little leaf buds that begin to emerge as the world hints at coming back to life. It is warmer days and wearing less layers to be able to get outside and enjoy some fresh air. It is Opening Day, baseball and other spring sports coming back to life.

Moments of springtime happiness have an extra bit of sweetness after this past year of quarantine and limited connections with family and friends. I hope you are able to find some of these moments for yourself…we only get one chance!

MIDLAND DISASTER RELIEF

Inside of all the ways that life is crazy and busy and shifting on a daily basis, imagine that your home or place of employment was washed out by major flooding and you lost some or everything you owned. Some of the residents of Midland, Michigan experienced just that and I was able to join the Midland disaster relief efforts.

The Michigan Association of Chiropractors put out an email a week ago asking for volunteers to offer their time and services to the disaster relief workers and also the residents that have been effected by the flooding. There is a tent set up at Calvary Baptist Church and School in Midland and volunteer chiropractors are going to be manning the tables there on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays 12p-2p indefinitely. If you are in that area, please look for the burgundy tent that is set up and stop in to get your spine checked!

I have had a lot going on in my personal and business life but honestly that stuff never outweighs the LASTING PURPOSE that lives inside of me. Lasting Purpose is a principle that the chiropractic profession was based on and it means “To Give, To Love and to Serve out of our own sense of abundance.”

Many people have asked how I come up with the energy to donate my time like that, my own Lasting Purpose drives me to do it all.

I shared in a couple FACEBOOK LIVE videos a little bit about what is happening up in the Midland, Michigan area. It is truly devastating to know that our “neighbors” have not only dealt with the global pandemic that has been happening and sheltering in place due to executive orders, but also watched as severe flooding was heading their way and trying to rescue items from their homes prior to the damage.

Many of the homes and businesses will never be the same. There were disaster relief workers from all around the country there helping people restore some sense of order and assist in repairing and rebuilding their homes.

It is nice to be a helper and it is extra nice to help the helpers. It is nice to be of service to the community giving the chiropractic adjustment to allow for things inside of their bodies to settle and help them to integrate stresses. It is nice to be barefoot in the grass with my table, my hands, a smile on my face and a couple colleagues by my side helping others. It is truly the magic in this life.

Many have asked how they can help. If you are a chiropractor, grab your portable table and drive up to the tent and set it up and open up your heart. If you are a contractor, I am sure there is someone organizing efforts and so maybe contacting the Calvary Baptist Church would be a good place to start. If you just want to go up and help clean up, I am sure if you just showed up at the church, someone would take you onto their crew. I wish I had all the links to hand out to you and how to get involved. I honestly don’t have the personal bandwidth to find out much more information except I sought out my own way to help.

I have had so so many inquiries about this service mission I just wanted to share. I would encourage you to find some way, even if it isn’t up inside the Midland disaster relief work, to help people.

“I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve. ” –Albert Schweitzer

COVID CHAOS

I am writing this from inside some massive COVID chaos! I don’t even know exactly what to call it anymore except for that. (And when I refer to it this way, I am not talking lightly about it. This has been and is very serious as many have been very sick and even lost their lives. This is written from a safe place at home in good health with deep respect for the severity of it all.)

COVID chaos is one of the reasons that this blog has been on delayed because I didn’t know the best way to go about getting a new laptop anyway. I know I could have just ordered one and had it shipped to me but I am such a “hands on” (pun intended from this chiropractor) person and I like to touch and feel things prior to purchasing.

Best Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - Dr Erica Peabody - COVID chaos

So as I mentioned in the previous blog post, I got a great recommendation from a very knowledgeable person and just pulled the trigger. The experience with Best Buy was seamless and here we are.

So one week later I was noticing that my phone battery would hold a charge for a few hours and then I would have to plug it back in, I would be charging it 2-3 times per day. THEN, last Sunday morning I went on a kayak tour with my niece and nephew and put my cell phone in the “dry” compartment of my kayak…quotes intended. Well turns out it wasn’t dry and it sat in there while I did a few more errands in a bit of water unknown to me.

I put it in a bag of rice and later that day I accidentally dropped it and smashed the screen. On the computer with Verizon for 2 hours on Monday morning through their live chat section…they would say “Well just call us and we can handle it over the phone.” “Call you? With WHAT?!?!?!” Two hours later I have a new phone to be picked up at the local store, or so I thought, until I got an email with shipping information and tracking…now they decide they will ship to me.

Of course they try to deliver to my office during my lunch hour yesterday and missed us so they were going to try again today…Friday, when nobody is there. SO, now they will hold it where it is this morning and I will attempt to go and pick it up at the UPS location…except for I have done this before and they ask for an ID. Which is fine but they usually need the ID address to match the shipping address, except for it doesn’t match because the address on my driver’s license is my home, and this was headed to the office. This should be interesting.

I have seen many patients this past week and it seems this kind of chaos is happening all over. We are all ready to be released to a life of a bit more freedom and some familiar places and processes. The frustrations are high and the quarantine has gotten the best of many.

We are almost there. When things do open up, many will return to some old patterns and routines, and some have taken on an entirely new existence where the radius for desire for daily travel is reduced a lot and each of those is perfectly fine and well.

I have been in solitude for a good portion of the quarantine when I am not at my work. I enjoy the quiet of life, I always have, but I will also enjoy the more “hands on” experience of some of the things we took for granted prior to all of this.

We have all become a little more innovative with our personal and professional lives through this incredible time. The important things have bubbled up to the surface of our awareness and the people that are the most important inside of our lives are front and center. When it all boils down, a laptop and a cell phone are truly “first-world” problems and I realize these are insignificant problems compared to what others around the globe are dealing with and these are not real problems in the grand scheme of things, just using them for examples.

The COVID chaos has been eye-opening, everyone taking a “time out” from their normal lives has been challenging but good. It is going to be nice to get back to SOME of the things we enjoyed about the conveniences of life prior to all of this and NEVER taking any of it for granted again. Our freedoms are broad and wide in this time and place. I hope you and yours are safe and well and I will continue to pray for those who are sick and suffering.

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!!

WHOLEHEARTED

I am living wholehearted.

I am nine weeks post heart surgery. It feels crazy to even be able to say something like that and it has been an incredible shift in my life!

Best Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - Wholehearted - Dr Erica Peabody

14 years ago I was diagnosed with what is called a Patent Foramen Ovale, a congenital heart defect that is present in twenty percent of the population. Many go un-diagnosed and often the first sign is stroke. I feel very fortunate to know this info and I also feel really fortunate that I didn’t have to have a serious incident in order to get this information.

Playing sports growing up, there was clearly something wrong but they just lumped it into the group called “exercise induced asthma” and “when you start gasping and wheezing (which was happening all the time on the soccer field especially) take this inhaler.”

The inhaler never worked, never made a difference except just to make me shake…and be more frustrated because I still couldn’t catch my breath. I continued to play sports and excelled regardless.

When I was 12 years old, I started getting migraine headaches. I can remember my very first one as I woke up around 2am one morning and told my parents “It feels like a bowling ball hit me in the side of my head.” At 12, those were the best words that I could come up with to describe that pain. The migraines have happened anywhere between 2-10 per month since then.

I am sure there are some migraine sufferers out there reading this that know the kind of pain I am talking about, debilitating to say the least. I learned through the years just to deal with them and after the first few years, I still had the same level of pain but I never let it stop me. Life, school, tests, finals, patient care…nothing stops just because I have a headache and pushing through all of it has always been the way I handled them…and most other things in my life.

Best Chiropractor - Wholehearted - Dr Erica Peabody — they made me lay on my back for 8 solid hours following my surgery which was the hardest part

Shortness of breath upon exertion and migraine headaches, combined with numbness into my hands (which would come and go since my late teenage years) are the classic symptom group for Patent Foramen Ovale and I tested positive. To top all of these symptoms off, chronic hypoxia (lack of oxygen) was the over-riding theme since the blood would just skip the trip to the lungs altogether. On a scale of 1-5 for the size of the hole, I tested as a 4.

I scheduled to see the cardiologist 14 years ago and was looking forward to having all of these things improve for me through a surgical procedure where they inserted a patch in the heart. His exact words “I make a lot of money doing these patches but we do not have the research of what happens to the current devices 30-40 years down the road and so if you are not suffering every single day, don’t do it.”

I was bummed because I was truly looking forward to a shift for me, but I was going to listen to the expert.

I revisited the idea and the tests and all of the procedures this past fall. When I went back to the same cardiologist he said “We have the BEST devices now and so YES!!! …considering how you test and just how compromised you are, lets do it!”

I know what you are thinking out there, “How compromised is she? She has done all these things with a hole in her heart, long distance running and biking, hot yoga, taught aerobics classes for 10 years, even climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro! How is that possible?”

I am (well was) VERY compromised but was going to do all the things anyway because that is the fabric I am built from. I do my best not to let anything slow me down.

November 21, 2019 I went under the knife. This is the procedure they did.

The cardiologist wanted me to take on Thursday off work to have the procedure done, stay the night, go home Friday and head back into work on Monday the 25th. Unbelievable to me in the moment he had said that but that is exactly what I did, and I probably saw many of you that day!

I didn’t share much about this ahead of time for the simple fact that the words “heart surgery” freak most people out. I wanted to get through it, survive it and then tell the story when I can really share the details.

This post is getting lengthy and so I will leave this info here for now and then I will share more in the next post.

When you take a moment to do the math of chronic hypoxia my entire life and never slowing down, to getting full amount of oxygen moving forward, you can see how great of a thing this is and the how freakin’ incredible the medical profession is to be able to develop a fix like that video I shared. Literally I am now finally living wholehearted.

GRATITUDE

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

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

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

Best Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - Gratitude - Dr Erica Peabody

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THE FIRST YEAR

I cannot believe that we are already through the first year of practice here at the Center For Well-Being, our beautiful BIG BLUE!!!

This will mark my 15th year in private practice but the first year in this location. It has been nothing less than incredible!!! We have, hands down, no exception, the most beautiful office space in the area. I am not saying that just to toot our own horn either. As you look around during your appointments, you will notice it is like being adjusted in a museum. The woodwork is incredible, there is so much to look at. I do my work by hand, and the fact that all of this woodworking was done by hand is just so impressive.

The space that we adjust out of is just absolute perfection for us. We have room to move and breathe and as our reception area packs full, which happens on the regular here, we still have room for everyone and do not feel like they are sitting on top of one another. The greatest thing is being able to have so much room to move as I dance around my tables adjusting all day long.

I am grateful beyond any words that could describe it all. One year later, I look back to where it all began with a big unveiling of our sign out front in the front yard on Monday, September 17th of last year at 9:45 to accept our first patients at 10!

Every single day I feel more and more healing coming from this building, but as we work with her more and more and begin to shine her run-down corners, I can feel her healing as well. She hasn’t had the TLC over the past years that she is so deserving of.

Have you been in here yet? Do you feel the grounding and healing energy like we do?

Over the past 3 months, we have been able to really begin to shine up those run-down corners, hallways and rooms. She was already so beautiful but you need to SEE HER NOW!!!

Dr Erica Peabody - Best Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - The first year

We have our first tenants moved in and joining their businesses under our roof. It was the intention from the start that instead of saying “The acupuncturist is across town” we can now officially say “The acupuncturist is just down the hallway and to the left.” as Michigan Community Acupuncture has joined us early September.

I have many practitioners that I refer to on a regular basis and now we can ALSO say “An incredible psychotherapist, Lauren Lay, is just up the grand staircase and to the right. She has created a beautiful cozy space to work in.”

What I love the most about all of this is that there are other great people now loving on our building just like we have over the past year, and it is only the beginning. We have a few other things in the works and only 11 more office spaces available up for grabs at this point and we couldn’t be any more excited about this whole thing coming together as my dream is brought to life.

WOW!!! One whole year!!!

Just WOW!!! And if the first year is any indication of where this thing has potential of going, I stand in pure amazement. Swing by and see for yourself! It is time to plan an official OPEN HOUSE!!! Stay tuned….

AFRAID TO ASK

Some people stare. Some people just catch a glimpse. Some noticeably try not to look. Many are afraid to ask…about my tattoo.

I have a tattoo on the back side of my right forearm. I often forget it is even there because it is out of my visual field. The only times I really see it is in the mirror.

Best Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - Dr Erica Peabody - Afraid to Ask

I got my first one 23 years ago and this is my third. The other ones are not in plain site and are usually covered by clothes and many don’t even know I have them.

This one is different. I had it done in January of this year. Up until now, it has been covered by long sleeves. Now that it is warmer, it is exposed most of the day and due to the location on my arm, I never realized how much I use that hand to rest my chin on while my elbow is on a table.

I thought I would write about it because so many are afraid to ask.

The coordinates read 3.0666 S, 37.3507 E and is the peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro which I reached the summit in March, 2017.

When I completed that trek, I unfortunately ended up 6 months in a walking boot due to a severe tendinitis/plantar fascitis. I was asked hundreds and hundreds of times “what happened?” My answer was always “I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and this is the souvenir I never wanted.” Of course that would then lead to further conversation around the trip. As overwhelming as it was to answer the same question hundreds of times, I enjoy the curiosity and sharing my journey…because it really was an epic adventure!

When I get ready in the morning is when I see it. To me, it serves as a continuous reminder. It reminds me that I can do hard things, really hard things. It reminds me that I am brave. It reminds me of the connections with the women I did the trek with and some of the strength of their own stories they shared. It reminds me that I have serious endurance and that I am capable of reaching my goals.

I have done many hard things although nothing was as physically taxing as that. When I got home, everyone asked “what’s the next mountain you will climb?” I do not have another physical mountain to climb, I have no desire to do Everest or anything like that. When I look back over the 2 years since the climb, I realize I have already reached the summit of another couple goals although there is always more ahead. I just thought I would share a little bit so that you are not afraid to ask. AND not just me, ask others of their stories too because maybe their ink represents a story they would like to share. I am adding my short Kilimanjaro vlog to the end of this in case you haven’t had a chance to take a view.

IN THE GENES

The real question these days is “Is it in the genes?”

Let me share a little story with you.

I should have gotten a picture of my new cousin and I together but I guess me “being a chiropractor” is the best I could do for this post. 🙂

In March I get a lengthy text message from my mom. It read something like this: “I wanted to share with you that the family found another cousin. Your cousin, Rayce, called the other day and it appears that after he did ancestry.com, that there is a first cousin that he didn’t know about, and none of us knew about.”

So let me start this story. I come from 2 HUGE Catholic families that were both raised on Foley Rd, maybe 4 miles south of downtown Fenton. It was a wonderful spot to grow up.

My Mom is one of 10 kids and she has 7 step-siblings as well. My Dad is one of 9 kids. One grandma was the matriarch of 93 people when she passed and the other was matriarch of 67 people. These numbers included children, their spouses and ex-spouses, grandchildren, great grands and great greats.

HUGE families.

I have close to 60 first cousins and with both of the families living so close to each other, I actually know them all pretty well. The years have made some separation, naturally, but for the most part, I know them because we were raised together.

So when this conversation started back in March, all of us were a little dumb-founded that it was even happening. It is funny to me because as I share this story, there are more families than we really realize that have a similar story, the world is a pretty cool place.

So this cousin’s name is Scott and he is just over 50 years old. But get this, HE IS A CHIROPRACTOR!!!! We have 4 chiropractors in my family already and to have this guy be out in the world, unbeknownst to us, and be another chiropractor is so freakin’ cool! He has been engaged to a woman for a few years and her son just finished CHIROPRACTIC COLLEGE TOO!!! This makes number 5 and number 6 chiropractors in my family! Actually Dr. Scott would have been number 4 chiropractor and then I would have been 5 and then his son, Austin, makes number 6!!!

Dr Erica Peabody - Best Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - In the Genes

I’m still floored by the entire thing and I also think it is one of the coolest things ever!

Unfortunately, my uncle Jeff, Dr. Scott’s biological father, passed back in December of last year. Fortunately, the entire family was going to be present for Jeff’s memorial service that had been planned for months and now Dr Scott and his family were going to join us for that celebration of life and a family reunion.

So imagine if you were adopted and had no connection or knowing of your biological family, and then you found out about them and then it just so happens the number of people you just found extended over 100 people (there have been a few more additions to the family since my grandmother passed), it would take a certain personality to be able to handle that kind of transition.

The reunion and memorial service were just 3 weeks ago and what a blast! We all have our family “things” and hang-ups around certain scenarios but it was SO MUCH FUN to welcome in yet another family member, his 4 kids and his fiance and her 2 kids and grandchildren.

What a crazy and fun world!!

So it does boil down to the final question which I started with, “Is it in the genes?” This chiropractic thing, it just has to be in the genes.

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!!!