Invest in Your Best Self This Summer
Sing it with us: Summmmer tiiiiiime and the livin’s easy!
The sun may be distracting us a little from our other priorities, but we’ve designed it that way, mainly because that warm, glowing orb in the sky has been such a rare fixture in the past several months. It almost feels like we’re really earned these lazy, sandy days. And they’ve been really, really nice, haven’t they? Pack a picnic, corral the kids, and throw those beach towels into the trunk. We’re headed back to the beach!
If we want to bring the feeling of endless Summer Fridays into autumn and beyond, we need to get our affairs—as it were—in order now. What do we mean by that? Let’s dig in.
Your Best Self All Year Long
Doused in SPF, our hair perfectly sea-salted and beached-waved, we often feel like our best selves in the summer. So many things are, well, more manageable. And, if they aren’t, we are too busy at the beach to give them a second thought anyway. Intentional procrastination (aka summer vacation) is the name of the game right now. And carrying that ease into the rest of the year—more smiles, fewer meetings, less stress—relies on laying the groundwork now.
So, setting up physicals, picking a new insurance plan, and trying on a new counselor to help combat our previously inevitable Seasonal Affective Disorder needs to happen now, not when the days get greyer, and all the appointments are taken.
Put Together Your Physical, Mental, and Emotional Support System
How often do you get your hearing checked? If you’re like us, you’re probably saying to yourself something like “…never?” Now’s the time! Advanced Hearing Systems, a mainstay in Edmonds since 1996, will check your hearing and help you get fitted for hearing aids (should it be determined you need them). No more complaints from your significant other about your selective hearing. You now have a partner in managing those battles.
For women who are pregnant or managing young kids, ensuring your pelvic health is optimal (e.g., you’re not accidentally peeing unintentionally!) is Dr. Allison at Body Motion Physical Therapy’s specialty.
If Eastern Medicine is something you love or are interested in trying, we have a few downtown clinics that specialize in acupuncture and other ancient modalities that have been helping people heal and thrive for centuries. Head to Innate Radiance Acupuncture for health and wellness support utilizing many East Asian Medicine forms. This clinic also offers craniosacral therapy and herbal and nutritional therapies. Quan Yin Acupuncture specializes in treating pain, women’s health, fertility, pregnancy, stress, depression, anxiety, allergies, digestive issues, sleep problems, and a number of other health issues.
While you’re out and about, ensure your spine is in alignment by stopping into your appointment with Stewart Family Chiropractic, where your doctor will remove the most common cause of spinal pain, Occipital Cervical Subluxation. Don’t worry, they’ll tell you all about it. All you need to know right now is if your neck or back is kind of achy, you may want to make that appointment. It’ll only get achier over time.
Proactively keeping your mind right should also start during your best you summer. Sound Nutrition can help you with a whole host of food issues, including disordered eating and PCOS. For 1:1 talk therapy—with virtual options—call Nicole Ivancovich Therapy to see if she has availability and, if not, who her local references would be.
Create a Comforting Home Environment
Lay the foundation for a home that feeds and nourishes you, especially once the weather starts to cool. Your home should feel like a sanctuary, and we have many resources downtown to make it exactly the way you envision it. Interiors of Edmonds is a full-service interior decorating company in the heart of downtown that has been beautifying homes in Edmonds for over thirty years. From blinds to candles, Interiors of Edmonds has your design needs covered.
Relatedly, add a beautiful piece (or a few!) of custom glass to your home that will make you smile every time you see it. Lowell’s Stained Glass Studio makes custom leaded and stained glass windows that will make your home feel just like you.
Streamline Your Work/Life Systems
It is never too early to plan your estate, but there does come a time when it can get to be too late. Working with a business like Edmonds Wills & Trust or Sound Estate Planning, PLLC to order your affairs while you’re feeling young and less achy is much easier and more fun than it is when you’re less mobile. But, even if you are moving more slowly, it’s smart to call them ASAP. If you’re reading this and thinking it’s a sign, you’re right.
Need someone who can support your financials? Ameriprise Financial will ensure your money is in good hands, so you can realize your dreams in this lifetime (and beyond). If this money talk has you thinking about umbrella policies and the like, get yourself some quotes on home, auto, life, etc. from Farmers Insurance, Allstate Main Street Insurance or Insurance Services Group (the latter works with over 30 insurance companies).
How’s That Best Self Coming Along?
Whew! We’ve got our work cut out for us, don’t we? We spared you dentists, bankers, and accountants, but now that we’re thinking of it, that might make for a nice follow-up piece once you’re all squared away in the categories we outlined above. We’ll give you a little time before we publish that piece. Shoot us a message on Instagram or Facebook when you’re ready for it, and we’ll deliver.
Here’s our advice: Pick one specialist a week to investigate and start putting your ducks in a row. You may not need to dig into each category, which will also give you more time to spend at the beach. Your best you is doing all the right things, and we’re right there with you.
By Whitney Popa, photos by Matt Hulbert