Have you seen the Disney movie “Coco”? I think it is so true and important to talk about our deceased to keep their spirit alive.
I’ve never questioned the what that has led me to how I’ve gotten here…the why of it all. I’ve just known that for as long as I can remember I’ve been drawn to health and wellness. After some time to reflect, I’ve realized that since a young age I’ve seen first hand that how you treat your body directly ties and influences how you look, feel, and live your life.
So here it goes…Today was my Dad’s birthday. This is a photo of him and my baby sister. He was the nicest person, to a fault, I’ve ever known. He honestly would have given you the shirt off of his back and the last five bucks to his name. He wore cowboy boots to make up for his height and was never without his Stanley thermos full of coffee. He passed on his love of photography and his dislike of actually being in the photo on to me. I lost both him and my sister to drug related addiction on separate occasions. My mother also was an addict, but thankfully is currently in recovery. I don’t want to paint a picture of a childhood full of neglect, but as a teen I definitely became aware that even parents have their own inner struggles and battles to fight.
Like many of us familiar with death, I’ve lost numerous aunts and uncles, grandmothers and grandfathers to cancer and other illnesses, but many of them were in the decade that I’m currently in when they died. It most definitely has changed my perspective on the aging process; appreciating the now for what it is instead of what it could be. Smile lines can’t be a sweeter sight when you know the alternative.
Then enter motherhood…having children of my own made me hyper aware of how not only what we put in our bodies, but also what skincare we put ON our bodies affects us. I saw firsthand when using various lotions, “natural” baby products, or sunscreens, my children would break out in rashes. Parabens, phthalates, formaldehyde, sulfates… the list goes on and on of chemicals that alter us and are affecting us internally. To quote Maya Angelou, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
So over the many years my personal story has evolved into my passion for educating myself and others why self care, wellness, and clean conscious beauty knowledge and choice is so important to me and those surrounding me. I don’t hold resentment or ill will for choices made by my loved ones, we are all doing the best we can and know how, but I have definitely changed my future path and choices because of it.
Happy birthday Dad. I miss you more than you know. XOXO