Good morning!

Nothing I’d rather be doing than hanging out with my friends (you) this morning.

A couple of months ago I’d run into an acquaintance (let’s call him Harold) at our local coffee shop. He was a little stressed and asked for some medical advice. I jotted a few thoughts down on a napkin.

I forgot about the interaction until I ran into him at Trader Joe’s last week.

He snuck up on me while I was alone making googly eyes at the Honeycrisp apples (oooh, they’re sooo delicious).

“Sabs, what’s up, my brother!” from over my right shoulder.

This was not the ‘same’ Harold from Java Central.

Well, it was, but… you know what I mean.

“Dude! Thanks for the tips last month. Things are good right nowaaa

Glad I bumped into you at TJ’s ’cause I wanted to let you know what’s going on.”

He reaches into the left breast pocket of his plaid, flannel-lined coat. He begins to unfold an 8×11 white notebook paper and starts looking around.

“Where’s Krissy, am I holding you up?”

“No, you’re good. She’s over there squeezing the avocados (sfw).”

“Ok, great! Dude, here’s my daily schedule!”

He clears his throat, which was a little unnecessary, honestly.

“Dude”

6:00 Wake-up. I get 7-9 hours of sleep just like you said. After a couple of nights, I could feel that it helped. Better cortisol levels from what I read.

6:05-6:30 I walk or jog outside with Franz Fur-dinand (Editor’s Note: Check out this report!)

“Your dog’s name is Franz Fur-dinand?”

He stared at me for a couple of seconds then looked down at the paper again.

That’s fair, he was trying to get on a roll.

6:30-6:50 Shower

“You take long showers, Harold.”

He stares again. 

I better just shut up and listen.

6:50-7:00 Meditate

7:00-7:20 Journal

He looks up. “Also Doc, I stopped watching CNN and my partner stopped watching Fox. I think that helps too.”

7:25-7:50 Drive to work.

During my commute, I think of three things I’m grateful for.

8:00-5:00 Work. You were right. It is amazing how just some simple breathing exercises can make a big difference.

12:00-12:30 Lunch. I eat outside and it just feels good to sit in nature and chill. If no one is out there, I do a little coloring while I eat. Don’t tell anybody, okay?

“Coloring is fine, Harold”

5:00-5:25 Music on the ride home. I just listen to music. Sweet music.

5:30-6:30 Dinner with my partner and family (and maybe friends)

6:30-8:00 I have a glass of wine and I will knit with my partner as she diffuses lavender essential oils.

“Harold. You really took this seriously, didn’t you?”

He keeps staring at me.

Yep, I think he is taking this seriously.

8:00-9:30 We watch Bob on Netflix under our new weighted blanket.

“That’s it. I get my 8-8.5 hours of sleep and start all over again tomorrow. Now I’m super chill – just look at me,” he smiles.

”I think my BP has dropped 10 whole points. Oh yeah, one more thing. On Saturdays, I volunteer at a local charity, Walk with a Doc. Have you heard of it?”

“Walk with a what?”

“You really should get out more, Doc.”



-david