I started my life on a small farm in Southeast Missouri. As a kid I grew up fishing for catfish in the pond on our farm, picking blueberries, peaches, and pears right off the tree. I spend many hours sitting on a milk crate pulling weeds from the peppers, tomato and strawberry plants and chasing all the farm cats around the barn. Even though I didn’t realize it at the time, I had a blessed life on a back dirt road with a creek to swim in with the neighbor kids and nights spent catching fire flies. My mother used cloth diapers she washed and hung from the clothes line in our back yard, I had a grandmother who actually chewed snuff and spit it in an old coffee can and bottle milk was still delivered to our door step when I was just a baby. I drank well water that was produced by a spring fed creek near our home and didn’t have a soda until I was 10 years old. I played sports and rode my bike and my brother and I would have wars with sling shots using black walnuts and acorns as ammo!
My mother taught me about how to grow herbs and all their uses, about home remedies and essential oils. My primary care physician was a chiropractor that I would babysit for and when his kids grew up I then transitioned into the chiropractic office as a file clerk and learned to take SOAP notes working after school each evening. Little did I know these seeds planted in me as a young kid and teenager would follow me into my life and career goals as an adult.
After getting married, moving to Texas and having a baby, I returned to Missouri. I ended up being hired on at a very busy and successful chiropractic office in my new Missouri town and I worked there for 15 years learning every aspect of the practice. I could do the billing and coding, the therapies, x-rays, scheduling, collections and I learned about natural health and wellness. I studied the muscles and bones of the body, vitamins, supplements, hormones and the science of diet and exercise and the holistic benefits of essential oils, massage, meditation, yoga and of course chiropractic and physical therapy. My interest in the mind and body connection began to grown around the time I went through a hard break-up and some health issues all at once. I was in my early thirties and ready for a change. Even with all the healthy physical changes I was making in my life I was still struggling and I realized how important our mind can be in the process.
With the support of my boss I went back to school while working for him. He allowed me to work on my projects and pick his brain on thoughts and ideas. I knew I wanted a degree in psychology but not just a mental health counseling job, I wanted something outside the box that would incorporate everything I know and love. I left the chiropractic office after 15 years and went to work for a private practice counseling center while completing my masters degree so I could learn the office management aspects of insurance and billing for counseling providers and to get my supervised hours. The connections I made with the chiropractor and massage therapist have been great and I have a vision to work with them again when I complete my degree. I want a holistic practice that incorporates mind and body care. We will create a space for guided meditative yoga, massage, coaching and therapy for individuals and groups. Individuals can be counseled on every aspect of their lives and learn mental and physical ways to manage stress and live their best life.
This vision is in the works and something I have been meditating on and working towards my whole life. I think about my childhood and pieces from my past, how it all adds together in a path that has lead me to this point in my life. I am excited about what I have learned, who I have become and what the future holds. The wealth of knowledge I have gained in my life is something I want to share with others. My degree is not quite complete and I still have a lot to learn (don’t we all) but on this day I am feeling blessed as I look at how far I have come. Those seeds planted along the way have made me who I am today.
With love, health, happiness and blessings
Stacy
Life Unlimited 