Bonus Days

My mom is 77. My dad is 80.

I've done the math. I probably shouldn't have, but I have.

Statistically, I have an average of a few hundred days left with my mom. And every single day I get face-to-face with my dad? That's a bonus day.

We've been living on bonus days since 2003, when my mom went through treatment for ovarian cancer. And again since 2008, when my dad had his first heart attack.

It's Easy to Get Depressed

Sometimes it hits me how little time we might have left together. And I mean really hits me. The kind of hit that makes you want to curl up in bed and cry. The kind that makes you want to do nothing at all.

And I've learned something about that feeling: it doesn't do any good.

It doesn't bring my mom closer. It doesn't make my dad healthier. It doesn't add a single day to the calendar.

What does do some good?

Going to visit your mom. Going to visit your dad. Going to visit that person you love but haven't seen in way too long. And giving them a hug. A real one.

Smile and laugh with them. Or just listen. Let them tell the same story for the hundredth time. Ask them about their childhood. Ask them what they're proud of. Ask them what they're afraid of.

There will come a day when it's too late. But today is hopefully not that day. And you still get to choose what to do with it.

Same With Your Spine

Now let me ask you something.

Do you ever beat yourself up about your health? About the fact that you didn't make yourself a priority? About the years you spent not getting checked, not taking care of the one body you'll ever have?

I do. I hear it all the time: "I wish I'd started coming in years ago." "I wish I hadn't waited until ___." "I should have made myself a priority."

And you know what? Beating yourself up doesn't do any good either.

It doesn't undo the years. It doesn't erase a single subluxation. It doesn't make your nervous system function any better.

Coming in to get checked? That's what helps. That's what lets you live your best life. And you still have today to make it better.

You can't get back the years you didn't get checked. But you can start right now. And right now is the only moment that's ever actually yours.

So Here's My Challenge to You

Go see your mom. Go see your dad. Go see the person you've been meaning to visit for way too long.

Hug them. Laugh with them. Listen to them.

And get your spine checked. Not because you're broken. Because you deserve to show up for the people you love as the healthiest, clearest, most vibrant version of yourself.

You can't pour from an empty cup. And you can't hug your mom with a nervous system that's firing on all cylinders if you're walking around subluxated.

Today's not the day for regret. It's the day for action.

So get checked. And go see your mom. 😊

P.S. — If your mom is anything like mine, she's already wondering why you haven't called. Go call her too. Right after you book your visit.