Review of 2023 and a note on the history of pasteurized dairy
Happy New Year!
Last year I reviewed my 2022. It wasn’t something I’d truly done before that because I haven’t set a New Year’s Resolution for myself since I was in high school and realized that I didn’t need to wait until an arbitrary date to decide on something and stick to it.
But while grieving last year and because the end of the year had been so hard, it was incredibly helpful to look back at the year as a whole and see all of the wonderful things that had happened.
If you’re a paying subscriber, you can always access previous newsletters (and I thank you sincerely for being here and funding my endeavors) and can review it if you wish:
Yesterday I went through my calendar and Bullet Journals from this past year (I started Bullet Journaling after visiting my friend Mel in March and seeing her beautiful journals again) and reflected through all of the goodness and challenge and extreme growth that was packed into 2023.
If you’re really serious about reviewing my year, I’m including the extended version for paying subscribers. It’s like the Director’s cut of a movie.
2023 was the year of:
Collective thinking, building and dreaming:
I joined and subsequently attended four Modern Chiropractic Marketing Masterminds and learned all year long with some of the best minds in chiropractic. I said yes to an invitation to join a confidential women’s group and have learned how to support the dreams of others alongside my own.
Becoming an author:
I somehow re-formatted my book and had it ready to publish on my birthday. My book became one of Amazon’s Best-Sellers and stayed on Amazon’s Hot New Releases for over three weeks straight. I conducted two book signings, was a guest on multiple podcasts, and had multiple respected authors promote my book (Dr. Kelly Starrett, Dr. Tom Michaud, and Carl Paoli) simply out of the goodness of their hearts and in appreciation for my work. Practices and businesses across the country purchased my books to sell them to their patients and clientele. I recorded my own audio book and released it.
Business changes:
We went out of network, Dr. Almonte left in September to cover maternity leave for another doctor and then start a practice in Puerto Rico with her husband and Dr. Smith left to purchase a practice a friend had told me he was selling. I hired and fired multiple times this year. I promoted Ashlynne to the new position of Office MOM. Dr. Bailey began practicing as an Independent Contractor in April and then I hired him in July. Ashley began training for her new role as Rehab CA. I changed my patient schedule in October for the first time in 7 years. We launched our Recover Membership.
External business support:
I hired a company to help us overhaul our Front Desk experience, and another one to clean up our insurance ledgers from patients with outstanding claims. I consulted with two different business coaches, hired a fractional CFO, and met with lawyers and accountants more times this year than any previous.
Extended family challenges:
My uncle passed away, my best friend Lisa had surgery on her broken hand, my sweet Ashley busted the crap out of her foot, my aunt suffered a massive stroke (she wasn’t vaccinated - I know you’re wondering), and my 90 year-old grandmother fell and broke her wrist; she fell again and broke her pelvis in two places.
Alchemizing grief into praise:
I intentionally lamented the loss of Mary and fell apart in joyous grief that led to laughter at The Burrow (our land that we’ll eventually build on). I made the choice to honor Mary’s life rather than continue to focus on her death, and in a beautiful sacred ceremony in Sedona, AZ, we (Ashley, Caroline, and I - who were together on the night of her death) released our hold of her here on earth.
Daily practices:
These continue to include looking at the sun and grounding every morning as well as 10 push-ups (but added 1 in February after hearing Ed Mylett speak about the power of “one more” and now do 11). I started a mostly-daily practice of Bullet Journaling in March, daily check-ins with my women’s group starting in July, and in September I started daily Wim Hof breathing exercises and a daily 11 minute kundalini kriya for deep healing that Lisa invited me to join her in doing. At the very end of the year, I committed to a two-week meditative practice that I’m currently doing.
Hosting:
I hosted an Ecstatic Dance experience and multiple other fundraisers to help my friend Corrinna raise money for her healing journey. We hosted our first DNS Exercise course and our first Patient Appreciation Day. I hosted another Wim Hof Workshop and hosted Teacups & Tissues twice.
Really fun work travel:
I took a work trip to the beach with Ashley in June (taking signed books to my VEA), to Prague with my dear friend Kacie and multiple colleagues to complete my coursework and testing for Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization, and to the Blue Ridge Mountains with Lisa and our kids to pick up the original prototype for the outdoor ergonomic workstation I’m creating.
Teaching, speaking, and learning:
I got to speak at Parker Vegas and the Texas Texpo, taught multiple MPI courses and a moveMentors course, guest lectured for a few chiropractic college classrooms, spoke at my high school’s graduation, and was officially inducted into the Hall of Fame there. I taught a workshop to a Pilates group on core and pelvic floor health, which was encouraging because Pilates typically teaches the antithesis of appropriate core health, but despite that, my discussion was very well-received. I took my first Visceral Manipulation course and began implementing this work into my patient care. I got to proofread a protocol for preventing falls in the elderly by Dr. Michaud. Dr. Almonte completed her translation of my Postpartum Rehab course and made it available in Spanish.
Celebrations:
We celebrated: the holidays with friends and family; my grandparents’ 70th wedding anniversary, a milestone I’ve never personally seen before; 12 years of marriage; 10 years of parenting; and my cat’s 18th birthday. I celebrated passing my DNS certification course and got to add some extra letters to the end of my name.
Impactful experiences:
I experienced a ton of lucid dreams this year and divine interventions (such as narrowly missing getting T-boned by a car who ran a red light at high speed because I was texting Dr. Bailey and hadn’t started driving when the light turned). The Advanced Wim Hof workshop offered a mind-blowing out-of-body journey via breathwork. I took a beautiful trip with Ashley and did some more incredible and mind-blowing breathwork and ceremonial practices in the gorgeous mountains of Sedona, AZ, with her sister and my friend Caroline and her family. The Burrow was broken into and someone robbed us there.
Throughout the year, I challenged myself and those close to me and I grew to be a person who is literally different from the woman I was a year ago.
This reflection has taken me hours to complete (especially because my Bullet Journal and the paid subscriber content include more details than I’m willing to share publicly) and I do not regret the time spent here. I encourage you to do the same. Recognizing your own growth and the path you took toward it is a powerful experience.
And now for just a tidbit of something historical that I think you might enjoy pondering over for a bit.
You see, what had happened was a Trojan horse. The tactic worked well for the Greeks and we’ve continued the practice: introduce a “gift” but pack it full of things that will destroy the recipients when they’re not expecting it.
One of only two speeches Nathaniel Rothschild made to Parliament, despite sitting in the English House of Lords for a lifetime position.
There are three objections to pasteurization which are more serious than those to which I have already referred. The first concerns the possibility that the institution of compulsory heat treatment would not only put small producer-retailers out of business, but would reduce the nation's milk supply. Of course if the Government were to pass some totalitarian Bill making it illegal to sell any form of milk anywhere in the United Kingdom which was not pasteurized, this would be the case. But my Motion is not worded in this way, and nobody in his senses would attempt such a measure.
Nobody, huh? Strange.
It is illegal to sell raw milk for human consumption in North Carolina (as well as many other states) and is under the strictest selling guidelines in the UK, which make it incredibly difficult for small producer-retailers to comply (as Lord Rothschild assured it wouldn’t).
To your healthy and prosperous 2024! I’ll be in touch soon, I’m sure.
L