✨ Hey, hi, hello! Happy Saturday!
Today marks three months of Bailz Has a Blog!
The time has really flown by, it’s hard to believe it’s already been 3 months!
I am so proud of how far I have come since I created this space. So much has changed, I have accomplished so much and acknowledged so much in such a short amount of time. It’s wild and amazing and I am flooded with gratitude. 💜
I am so grateful for all of you who have been following along with the journey and sending me all of your kind words and encouragement with each step of the way. It sincerely means the world to me, not only that you guys are reading the words I write, but also that they are resonating with so many of you. I am so incredibly grateful, I really cannot express that enough.
💆♀️ Progress Scans, Nervous System Wins & Healing in Real Time
Thursday morning I had my second set of progress scans with my chiropractor and it went really well. I got a chance to sit down with Dr. Lauren and go over everything in detail and also talk about what still needs attention.
My rib is doing better than it was when we started, but it still doesn’t feel 100% yet, so we are going to focus on that more going forward. Same with the left side of my neck.
Because I am actively excavating past traumas to deal with and then ultimately heal from them, I have been experiencing more frequent tension in my neck recently. Dr. Lauren said this is normal as that is the first place that tension/misalignment will occur if there is any sort of disruption. So going forward, that will be a primary focus along with my rib.
But overall, my spine itself is in MUCH better shape than it was when I started, and my nervous system is much more regulated than it has really ever been in my whole life.
Yes, I am still experiencing some distress and I am still pretty easily triggered, but I am recovering from it all a lot quicker and easier than I ever have before. And that is simply incredible.
I honestly thought I would always be overwhelmed and that I would always struggle with everything — the big things, the little things, all of it. Being a fully functioning human always seemed like a foreign concept for me, I just never saw it as something achievable for myself.
But now I know that it is and I am working towards it, slowly but surely. ✨
🚗 Heading to My Happy Place: Guthrie, Oklahoma
After my appointment, I hopped in the car and headed up to Guthrie, Oklahoma for the night. Guthrie really is my happy place and I am so glad I made the effort to make that happen for myself. It was a very quick trip, but it filled my heart so much.
I got to spend brief but quality time with some of my favorite people. Though they are relatively new friends, my heart feels like I have known them for a lot longer, and it was so lovely to get to hug them and laugh with them and talk about everything we possibly could in the short amount of time we had together.
Though I was only there for 24 hours, I definitely feel like I was able to make the most of my time. I was fortunate enough to be able to see the local production of A Territorial Christmas Carol, a creative Okie spin on the Dickens classic, at the historic Pollard Theater.
I got in a round of karaoke. I got a private tour of The State Capital Publishing Museum which was SO incredibly cool. I even got to go upstairs and out onto the balcony from which it was announced that Oklahoma was officially a state in 1907. I won’t lie, I got a little emotional as I stood there. It was truly amazing. 🥹
🌆 Food, Local Favorites & Walking the Town
I ate at some of my favorite places. I shopped at my favorite local businesses and I got to walk around the town quite a bit, which is honestly one of my favorite parts about being in Guthrie.
The houses and downtown buildings are just so beautiful and historic and it just does my heart so good to be out and about in town just taking it all in. 🏡✨
🌹 The Cemetery, My Ancestors & The Roots That Pull Me Back
One of the most meaningful parts of the trip was going to the cemetery and spending some time with my ancestors and putting some Christmas themed flowers at their gravesites. Upon arrival, I was very pleased to see that the flowers I left for them this summer are still in great condition!
My grandfather’s great-grandparents, the Mertens, were part of the Land Run in 1889 and helped settle Guthrie in its earliest days. Later generations stayed through the early 70s. My grandfather was actually born in Guthrie, though he grew up in Atlanta. The Mertens were very involved with the community, through local government, public education, and some of them were even Masons.
This was one of the reasons why Heath and I chose to get married at the Scottish Rite Masonic Temple in Guthrie. Even though it was just the two of us for the ceremony, it did feel like I had some family there with me, though they might not have been visible. 🤍
I didn’t know any of them personally, they were all gone long before my arrival on the planet, but I have always felt a very strong pull to Guthrie and my ancestral roots there. Every time I am in town, I make sure to go spend some time with them at the cemetery and it feels so significant each time. I swear I feel their presence and it is so comforting.
I honestly feel their presence all through town. Through a good amount of ancestral research, I have discovered where they all lived over the years, where they worked, what their lives might have been like back in the day, and it feels so special to be able to walk into the buildings I know they were in a century ago. To be in rooms I know they stood in. To walk by where they lived, some of the houses are even still standing in their original forms.
It just feels incredibly significant and I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to go back as often as I do. Guthrie is just a special place and I love it so much. ✨
🌅 The Drive Home & A Full Heart
I left to drive home around midafternoon and it took a little bit longer to get home than normal because of Friday rush hour traffic, but instead of getting annoyed at how long it took, I focused on being present and just enjoyed the time in the car — singing along to my favorite songs and enjoying the sunset views. 🌅🎶
I am pretty tired now that I am home and have some time to catch my breath. But I am mostly just so grateful for the experience and I am so proud of myself for making the time to go and for doing something fun just for me, just because I wanted to.
I am also grateful that Heath was so supportive and encouraging of the trip. Though I wish he could have come with me (everything is always more fun when we are together), I am grateful that he could stay home with the dogs and give me the opportunity to get out of the city, even just for a day.
Big city life has its advantages, but I have found myself feeling a little burnt out by it recently. So a short respite in the country was just what the doctor ordered and though I am tired, I also feel restored. Like I’ve said before, two things can be true at once. And this is one of those times. 💛
I am hoping that we can get back up to Guthrie together soon — at the very least in March to celebrate our one year anniversary. 🥰
💬 A Question for You
Do you have a place that feels like your “happy place” or a place that pulls you back again and again?
If you do, I’d love to know where it is and what it gives you when you’re there. 🤍
✨ Want to Follow Along?
If you enjoyed this post and want to keep following along with my journey — the healing, the adventures, the reflections, and all the little moments in between — I’d love for you to subscribe.
You’ll get an email whenever a new post goes live (no spam, just the good stuff). Thanks for being here. It truly means the world to me. 💜
Love always,
Bailz 💜
Bailz Has a Blog 