On our flight back from Maine, as we approached the runway, every parent’s nightmare came true for me as my daughter whispered in my ear “daddy poo poo” with a level of urgency that I honestly had never heard from her, ever.

 

Sparing you all the visceral details of all that transpired, this was a snapshot into what Thanksgiving was like for our family. 

 

It’s not easy to go to Maine from San Diego when you are a married couple. I’ve had a couple of you tell me that growing up in Boston, it’s hard to get to Maine, even from there. 😊

 

 

So venturing with a 4 and a 1-year-old was not in any capacity the easiest but going to Maine was really really really special. 

 

And a major net positive for our family.

 

First and foremost, watching Luka pull himself up on the ottoman, and very casually take both hands off and stabilize himself before he took his first unassisted and independent steps was a moment for my wife and I that we have dreamed of.

 

Needless to say, my wife and I were filled with incredible joy, given that we were told that he would essentially be disabled for life.

 

If you don’t know Luka’s Journey, please give the following podcasts a listen:

 

Episode 116 – The Gift of Luka’s Challenges

Episode 118S – The Anatomy of Healing Miracle: Luka Remix 

Episode 119S – The Root-Cause of Lukas Damaged Eyes 

 

Many of you have asked how we did with visiting the side of the family that subscribes to the mandatory injectables, and I will tell you that if we prepare two weeks ahead of time, during, and the two weeks following, our family seems to do just fine.

 

No Bell’s palsy – although my face did feel a little bit tight a couple days. And no other adverse reactions from other family members.

 

We do a gentle combination of fulvic and humic minerals, charcoal, the “vaccine detox” herbal tincture from earthly wellness, and we wear Lifewave patches. 

 

My children did, in fact, get to meet their great grandmother GG. She turned 99 on Thanksgiving day and is on hospice. She is my wife’s favorite grandparent ever and the feeling is mutual from her grandmother’s perspective. It was so important for us to have the youngest members of our family tree meet the oldest living member of our family tree, especially because she is, as I shared in the past newsletter, a daughter of the American revolution.

 

And I was 1000% validated in my clinical presumption that this version of human connection is far more robust of a healing experience than any single disease or “virus” nefariously man-made in a lab or found in nature. 

 

Please, please, please, be with your people. Your children will thrive in the unconditional love and oxytocin rich environment, in ways, both measurable and immeasurable than you could ever imagine.

 

My kids getting to actually see snowfall for the first time and watching my daughter eat a bowl of freshly fallen snow was one of the most amazing things to witness.

 

Just another day in Maine. ♥️

 

But there is no manual for parenting. There are a lot of Instagram profiles that teach and preach all the things but no one can actually ever prepare you for that feeling you get when you see and feel your baby in the flesh for the first time. Or when your daughter falls down a flight of stairs as she’s trying to find you in a foreign sleep space on vacation (she didn’t break anything thank God). 

It made me reflect on how at every stage of our kids development, there are moments of real HUMILITY. On one end, realizing no one gave us a manual for this new stage, this new experience, this new behavior or pattern. But on another end, realizing that I have ignorantly judged some parents over the years totally unaware of the stage of life that family was in. 

 

I’ve been thinking about this humbleness over the last month. 

The humbleness to the challenge of parenting that I had no concept of previously but also a deep-seated humbleness to the pure JOY that some of these amazing stages offer. 

 

It’s one of my favorite states of mind if you can call it that. 

 

And at this time of year one of the most powerful tools that we have done as a family and a team for years is a document we are attaching here called Remember, Completing and Creating. 

 

Moving into December is a moment that I love as we get to reflect on the previous year and really get intentional about the next year. I have found myself so grateful for the 2022/2023 “squat” we experienced in our family but also at FG. Those moments that seem like lulls, or trauma, or regressions, etc. are often opportunities to create a lot of potential energy before the big leap. 

 

The big leap. 

 

The big transformation. 

 

That quantum shift. 

 

I invite you to move through the questions in the document. I invite you to do it with your spouse and your kids if old enough. It has the potential to truly transform your life by allowing for the reconciling, processing, and integrating of the last year so you can co-create some really amazing and inspiring stuff for 2024. 

 

Here are three of my answers in brief: 

 

What was your biggest triumph in 2023?

Hands down, Luka’s first steps. I honestly thought they would come sooner but I am so so so happy and proud. 

 

What was the smartest decision you made in 2023?

Coaching with the amazing Hannah Abad and catalyzing our transformation as a family. 

 

What was the greatest lesson you learned in 2023?

Regression is often simply a squat of potential energy before the RISE to a greater potential. 

 

Thank you for reading. It means everything that you care to stay this long with us in a world that is riddled with click-bait, 7 second attention spans and insane superficiality. 

 

Thank you for being a part of our beautiful FG family. Stay Humble. 

 

Love and appreciate you all, 

S