RUNNING WITH GRATITUDE

There are quite a few of you that ran the Crim over this past weekend. What an amazing race. 16,000 runners in all the races combined and what a party!!! There are some wonderful programs and ways in order to get the "non-runners" through this 10 mile race and a huge Crim Training Program that helps so many people reach goals they set. So the crowd is amazing and diverse and wonderful and what a trip!!! Anyways what I discovered 3 years ago when I ran the Chicago Marathon (yes the full 26.2 miles), is that it is better to dedicate the miles to something or someone. Otherwise, you find yourself dedicating your mind to focusing on the pain and the results are very painful. So I do not dedicate all 10 miles of the Crim to something different, I spend the entire race in deep gratitude: gratitude for having the ability to get up that morning and eat what I need to eat; gratitude to have a nice roof over my head and clothes to put on; gratitude to be able to have a car to get me to the race; gratitude for being able to share the race experience with my mom and a number of friends and practice members; gratitude for my life, my work, my family, my friends, and the list goes on and on. There is a moment in each of the long distance runs that I am welling up with tears of gratitude. Gratitude is an amazing and powerful attraction force in life and I am so grateful to have discovered that early so that I may use it everyday.
"Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others." -Cicero

G.R.A.C.E

Many of you reading this blog from the local Fenton area, definitely have hear of the wonderful work of Nancy Stockholm, a social worker in the Fenton area that just gave and gave and gave. Anyways her organization was/is so perfectly called G.R.A.C.E. and stands for "God Rewards All Caring Endeavors". That name came to mind when one of my practice members, we will call her J, came in today. J has been caring for an elderly woman for a while now and has really become a huge part of her life. J would go and sit with her, drive her around to any appointment she had, take her on small outings, etc. Well the elderly woman was recently put into a nursing home as it became challenging for her to live on her own anymore. This happened within the past two weeks, and in that process actually GAVE J her car. She actually just handed over the car, keys and paperwork for her to just have. Who does that anymore?!?! So J thought she was out of a job because the nursing home would take care of whatever needs that the elderly woman would have. But the woman's family still wants J to swing my a couple times a week because of the friendship they have created. And wouldn't you know it, J's car, which was on its last leg anyways, has finally transitioned to not running. Perfect timing. The Universe always provides...

FALL

Every year at this time there is a tree down Hartland Rd that likes to be the first to warn the area that fall is coming. I am by no means ready to wish the rest of summer away however fall is my most favorite time of the year. The tree is an anomaly...when all of the other trees are going about their summer business of being green, this one decides to switch colors first as a warning of the fall season which will be upon us soon enough. In case you would like to look for it, it sits on the east side of Hartland Road (State Rd) just about .25 miles south of State Road Elementary School. I am pretty sure I am not the only one that has seen this tree, but I never noticed it changes colors before everyone else until someone pointed it out. Mother Nature, please hold off for about another month and then bring on the color show!

KIDS ARE HILARIOUS!!!

Hilarious kid #1:

Two days ago, one of my practice members was in and she has this granddaughter, we will call her "G" with this personality that would best be described as larger than life. G was staying with her for a few weeks over the summer since she was out of school. Just the other day, G had a curious look on her face as asked "Fanny (that is what she called her grandmother), what is an ex-wife?". So the grandmother took a considerable amount of time explaining the concept of "ex-wife" to little G. At the end of the discussion, little G turned to her grandmother and said "Fanny, I think I want to be an ex-wife when I grow up." I realize that later in life she will hopefully have aspirations not to be an "ex" anything however it makes sense to her at this point.

Hilarious kid #2:

Three weeks ago this gentleman came in for his weekly adjustment. With him came his 10 year old son with two friends of the same age and their plan was to go to Uncle Ray's Dairyland where they plus about 15 other people were going to share a 5 foot long banana split. The three boys were sitting and watching intently as the father got adjusted. As my assistant and I were wrapping the visit up and getting things scheduled for his next visit I could hear his son begin to chuckle in the background. As they were leaving the son said under his breath to his friends "My dad just got beat up by a girl!"

This job is the greatest! Because I see so many full families, one of the best parts is watching the children figure out the world. They have an amazing at putting things together in a way that makes sense in their own little minds. I get some of the greatest laughs from them!

Medical Doctor: "You chiropractors haven't changed in 100 years, while medicine is constantly changing! What do you have to say about that?!"
Chiropractor: "You only need to change what doesn't work" (true story from Tedd Koran)