Burlington’s “BEST” Chiropractor

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Monday, February 2nd, 2015.  Groundhog Day.  Ontario’s Wiarton Willie did not see his shadow; an early Spring, if you’re keeping track.

As I write this, Burlington is in the midst of a snow day.  The City has essentially shut down, as all the schools and municipal buildings are closed and the plows are busy clearing the 35cm that fell quietly last night.  We even declared a snow day at Burlington Sports & Spine Clinic, not something we take lightly; the parking lot hadn’t been cleared, roads were treacherous, and more snow was predicted to fall.  Winter is here and making its presence known.  Mother Nature, you continue to impress.

I’m sitting with a cup of coffee in front of the computer (flavoured with coconut cream and Stevia, as per the Whole Life Challenge guidelines that I’m following for eight weeks.  Please, sob, can I just have a tiny bit of cream and sugar?)  My six-year-old has the stomach flu, and my mama-senses are heightened and alert.  This computer break is intermingled with forehead checks, cool, damp cloths, and worry.  My two-year-old is content with making Valentines playing keep-up with a balloon.  I am feeling blessed and grateful for this extra day.

But my reason for this post is to write about Burlington’s annual Reader’s Choice Awards.  You all rallied around me in my bid to become the community torchbearer for the Pan Am Games, and I’m asking for your support again (as an aside, Pan Am makes their official torchbearer announcement on March 23rd).  I have been nominated in the “Best Chiropractor” category.  This is the first time in my nine year career that this has happened, and the nomination fills me with honour, flattery, and a whole lot of humility.  You see, the word “Best” is a hard one to place upon yourself, isn’t it?

Then I watched the Always’ “Like a Girl” campaign commercial.  If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you can watch it here.

This is Always’ official statement:

  • Using #LikeAGirl as an insult is a hard knock against any adolescent girl. And since the rest of puberty’s really no picnic either, it’s easy to see what a huge impact it can have on a girl’s self-confidence.  We’re kicking off an epic battle to make sure that girls everywhere keep their confidence throughout puberty and beyond, and making a start by showing them that doing it #LikeAGirl is an awesome thing.

So, with that, I shed the discomfort and lingering uneasiness of calling myself the best.  I am the best that I can be.

I am the best wife I can be.

I am the best mother I can be.

I am the best friend I can be.

And, guess what, I am the best chiropractor I can be.

 

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Please VOTE in the “Best Chiropractor” category under the “Best People” menu.

Are you Happy, Mommy?

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My little girl, who is a month shy of three years old, is sugary-sweet and firecracker combined into a 30-lb package.  My hopes and dreams for her span far and wide.  She’s taught me things that no one else could.  She thinks I hung the moon.  She’s a “Mommy’s girl” through and through.

Lately, she’s been asking me this question a lot:

“Are you happy, Mommy?”

Usually it gets asked after her or her brother have been disciplined.  Sometimes she asks me in the darkness of the night, when her little voice has called me to take her to the bathroom.  But once in a while it’s an out-of-the-blue, regular conversation question.

Most of the time, my answer is yes.  And it’s a genuine yes; I’m blessed to live a happy life.  But sometimes the answer is no.  No, I’m not happy that you just had a temper tantrum about which pants to wear.  Or threw your fork across the room.  Or hit your brother.  In those instances, I explain that I’m not happy about what’s just happened.  But what about the times when I’m just having a tough day and she can read it on my face?

From time to time, I struggle with my answer.  Her bright eyes peer at me, her head tilts, her concerned brow questions.  Am I happy?

  • Do I shield her two-year-old heart from negative emotion and keep her safe and secure in a world of only happiness and good outcomes?
  • Or do I show her the real-life stuff and teach her that emotions, both good and bad, can ebb and flow?

I choose the latter.

I think it’s important that children see their parents be sad and disappointed and frustrated.  Upset.  Worried.  Troubled.  And yes, even angry.  But I think it’s even more important that children see their parents handle these emotions constructively.

My kids see me cry.

My kids see me get excited.

My kids see me yell.

My kids see me laugh.

Emotion is a part of life, so it is the process of learning to deal with that emotion that will serve them well.

“Are you happy, Mommy?”

Yes, my sweet girl, more than you’ll ever know.

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Be Kind, Always.

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I have a ‘Notes’ section in my phone called ‘Blog Ideas’, and whenever an idea strikes me I try to jot it down for easy access when I’ve got time to write.  The first entry under ‘Blog Ideas’ says ‘you never know what someone is going through.’

Now isn’t that the truth?

I jotted that sentence down more than two years ago and have yet to write about it….. but now’s the time.  The event that brought this thought to mind initially was the tragic passing of my neighbor.  A father of two teenagers, he was in his early 50s when he died.  These neighbors are private people, and we had only lived in the neighborhood for a year, so we didn’t know them well enough to know that they were enduring a lengthy battle with illness.  It was his teenaged son who came to share the news of his death and it came as a shock.  He didn’t look sick, they didn’t act like he was sick, but he was sick.  Very, very sick.  So, it’s true, you never know what someone is going through.

I’ve certainly learned this through my work.  My treatment rooms are often a place where people feel comfortable enough to divulge their secrets, share their troubles, discuss their burdens.  In a place of confidentiality and comfort, their physical complaints are often exacerbated by the stressors that lie underneath the surface.  I am happy that they share with me, I’m happy to listen, I’m happy to try and help.  In fact, I wish there was more I could do.  I’m a sensitive soul, and emotion rolls through me like tidal waves crashing into the shore.  You may be surprised to hear that, as I usually present an even-keel disposition to the world.  But the real me is sensitive, emotional, and yes, dramatic.

Author Regina Brett wrote: “If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.”  I have many friends fighting many tough battles right now.  If you’re reading this and think I may be referring to you, you’re right.  You’re right too.  And you and you and you.

So, please: be kind, always.

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