About nine years ago I was having a lot of problems with my right hip. My friend Mike told me about a chiropractor he knew, and that’s how I met Tracy, who owns The Healing Point in Fort Smith. Oddly enough, she’s located in the building I attended the third grade in. For the longest time when I’d talk about Tracy, I simply called her “the magic chiropractor.” That’s how much she helped me. Now I just call her a friend.

Sometimes I think of meeting Tracy as a doorway I walked through without knowing it, an entrance into a whole new world. I remember being in her office once when she mentioned a healing art called chi kung, as well as one called Reiki. Well, I’d never heard of either one of them before, but since my hip hurt and I had constant sinus infections, I was open to almost anything that didn’t involve coffee enemas or crystal balls. Thanks to Tracy, I got curious. I went home, found someone who practiced Reiki, and called her. We’re still friends today, and she’s the one who said I should go ahead and learn it from the lady who taught her. So I did.

Since 2008 I’ve learned Reiki, meditation, chi kung, and all sorts of other weird healing things, all thanks to the same lady. It’s not my point to discuss those things in detail here, but I can’t tell you how much all of it added up has changed me for the better, both physically and spiritually. In 2014 when I was miserable with my ex, it was my Reiki teacher who supported me and encouraged me the most to really figure out what was going on. Had it not been for her, I wouldn’t have ended up in therapy. Consequently, this blog wouldn’t exist. It’s really hard to say where anything starts, but in my mind the journey I’m currently on started with that pain in my hip and ending up in Tracy’s office.

I spent the first part of this evening with my old roommates, Justin and Ashley, who were christening their Big Green Egg for the 4th of July. (A Big Green Egg is a grill. You can guess what it looks like.) Here’s a picture of me and Ashley. That’s our friend Joseph in the background, probably headed for Ashley’s ridiculously good salsa.

This is me and Justin–or as he said–Fidel Castro. I’m not sure what’s up with my side-eye. I swear it takes a college degree to know where to look when you’re taking a selfie. You’d think I’d have it figured out by now.

Here’s a picture of Fidel and Ashley showing off their flexible skewers. (Ashley’s is invisible.) But seriously. First they put a man on the moon and then they make skewers that bend. The next time someone tells you life sucks, you just remind them they live in America–where you can grill fruit on a string.

When I left Justin and Ashley’s, I went to Tracy’s. She and her husband, Aaron, have one of the coolest houses I’ve ever seen, with one of the best views for fireworks, so I always try to invite myself to their parties. Here’s a picture taken from their back deck.

Y’all, I learned the coolest thing tonight–a recipe–a meal, really–called Walking Tacos. You take a bag of Doritos, crunch up the chips, and then open the bag and add meat, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, whatever. Grab a fork and you’re done. This is my kind of food. Genius!

By the way, so you know what pains I go through in order to make this blog true-to-life, I’m actually walking with my Walking Tacos in the picture.

Ugh. Just because everyone else is doing it, here’s a picture–one, single, solitary picture–from the fireworks display. I’ll spare you the twenty-nine pictures that didn’t turn out and instead direct you to your Facebook news feed.

After the fireworks show, I hung out with Tracy’s family in their kitchen. Someone had a bottle of red wine called Whiplash, which I thought was funny because I was just in a car wreck. Tell me God doesn’t have a twisted sense of humor. (Or maybe that’s just me.)

Since I got home tonight, I’ve been thinking about whiplash and the number of times over the years I’ve been frustrated with pain in my physical body. It really has been a problem. Still, when I look back at all the things I’ve learned and all the wonderful people I’ve met simply because my hip hurt nine years ago, I’m actually really grateful that things were out of whack. Of course, when Mike told me about Tracy, when I actually met her, I had no idea the doorway I was walking through, no idea I would eventually leave an entire world behind in exchange for something better. It’s not like life bothered to announce in flashing lights–WEAR SOMETHING CUTE, THIS IS A BIG MOMENT.

Personally, I’m glad big moments often hide behind the ordinary and even the painful ones. Of course, I can’t say for certain why life works this way, why the doorways that ultimately transform us don’t come clearly marked. But I suppose it’s because the path of transformation isn’t for sissies. It’s worth it, but it’s rough going at times. And who honestly loves change, having their world turned upside down slowly and consistently for nearly a decade? So I imagine if there were neon signs that said, “Attention–Big Moment Just Around the Corner,” we would only look at them briefly and then–so blinded by the light–turn and go in a different direction.

[On an unrelated note, here for your viewing pleasure is a slightly dirty and extremely delightful Santa Claus joke told by Cee Cee, Tracy’s sister-in-law. Apparently it’s a family favorite, and I’m sure you’ll see why.]