(Sunday Paper, Volume II, Issue 29)

Another week, another guest post.

This time it's my sister.

And I know what you're thinking - John has a sister?

I'm just kidding. I think you knew I had a sister.

It's just that I write much more often about my brother...I recognize that.

I also know that my sister does incredible work for a lot of people. I just don't have the ability to coherently describe exactly what it is that she does.

So maybe it's best if we let her tell you about that...and more.

Hello everyone! First I want to say “thank you” to all of you who are choosing to read this. You might consider me the quieter member of the Sucich clan. I have two very talented brothers and if you’re reading this then you, most likely, know quite a bit about both of them. Growing up, I was surrounded by the brother who kept stats on everything and simultaneously earned Valedictorian, and then there was the brother who gave up on his instrument lessons to phenomenally self-teach himself how to play ‘by ear’. I was the thick-skinned, scheming, perfectionist. I played the same song over and over on the piano until it reached perfection, studied my most difficult subjects till my eyes teared (to get a ‘C’) and rarely showed that things could ‘get to me’. I am extremely impressed by both of my brothers (now probably more so...they were pretty annoying then) and have actually learned quite a bit through their perseverance, patience and possibly most of all, their ability to not care what others think. So with this in mind, it’s funny that I have turned out to be the person I am today with the profession I have created. I am proud of their journeys and have always been supportive of their choices. Now, ask me if my brothers have any clue as to what it is I do? What was that? *crickets* I would love to be a fly on the wall to hear their responses. Let’s not single them out though, that probably goes for most of my family. In a nutshell, I’m a therapist that helps people to heal themselves. So we’re pretty varied in our professions but we’ve all seemed to turn out alright. The common thread between us though that deserves a mention is our parents. I don’t know if where we are now is where our parents thought we would be, but that was one of the many gifts they gave to us. We never saw their dreams for us.

Through life’s trials and tribulations, and as a parent now I am recognizing, pretty early on, the balance necessary between walking alongside your children and clearing the way ahead of them. They taught us how to go at it alone (it can be argued that one of us may have had it slightly easier as the road had been paved...or possibly the challenge he presented was too great). Not to say they weren’t there for us, but come time for the school ‘crap’ sale they weren’t bringing it to work and selling it for us. We were never the kids that got the prize for the largest order, had our summers/days packed with non-stop activity or our parents micromanaging our every move. I think that I speak for all of us when I say that we got used to the fact that sometimes things don’t work out the way we hoped early on, they allowed us to learn in smaller ways how to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and try again. As the ol’ adage says, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, again." The three of us don’t give up. Their parenting helped us to grow to be our individual very best. Whatever the challenge, struggle, heartbreak we always came home to a safe place and knew unconditional love.

That may be why I’m so comfortable in my skin. My brothers have always been supportive of me but I think they get a little freaked out by what I do, or don’t believe me. I work with families and practice techniques that are in accordance with the theory that our bodies are always speaking to us. Someone’s a ‘pain in the neck’, our blood is ‘boiling’, something makes you ‘sick to your stomach’, our bodies are listening. They’re listening when you hear the doctor say ‘your child has autism’, you worry ‘how will I pay these bills’, your friend says ‘you're a loser’. These emotional, as well as the everyday physical traumas (never mind your tragedies, accidents, etc.) are causing the pain and dis-ease in our bodies and finally science is catching up on this.

As exciting as it is that science is catching up, we have to start to open our minds to it.

This world needs some significant healing right now and it’s so important to share a message of growing to be our individual best. We each have gifts that are too often overshadowed, initially, by emotions that are (knowingly or inadvertently) placed on us by others.

We can significantly improve the quality of lives globally by elevating the quality of thoughts individually. Much of this, in my eyes begins with the children. We need to be the light for them, whether they are our own, those we interact with at work or just encounter. It’s important for them to understand that what they hear, and what they see isn’t always face value and that we all have our ‘stuff’. It’s ok to not be ok. That ‘not ok’ is how we learn our lessons and grow. That ‘not ok’ is what will later become their damaging beliefs and dis-ease if not addressed in healthy ways. Children hear things too, and often their hearing is sharper than ours. Sometimes it’s things we don’t want them to hear and possibly something we feel the need to share but how a child’s mind interprets it is up to them. These things all make an imprint. That imprint can help or hinder. The kicker is that most of the negative feelings are created by thoughts conjured up by the labels, and opinions of others. In order to be their individual best and change our world for the better they need to keep their quirks and believe in themselves.

The three of us have really stepped out of the box at times and I think that is in part due to the foundation our mom and dad gave us. Our parents always allowed and encouraged us to meet life’s challenges in childhood which in turn helped us to meet the greater challenges that we encountered, thus far, in adulthood. I am extremely grateful for what they have provided and taught me. I am also grateful to the siblings that avoid my profession like the plague, and what they have taught me. Might I add that many of these teams you write about, John, use these techniques fairly often to perform as their best selves (well maybe not the team you mostly write about...but it would be a good start if they looked into it).

Oh, and your foot, I have an oil for that.

I think my sister was inspired by the pictures of her nieces at the computer constructing their Sunday Paper guest posts.

Writing

*I actually considered myself a writer for a short stint in elementary school. I wrote a series of ‘children’s’ stories with a friendly bear, Theordora as the main character. This was a far cry from that but fun.

Comedy

*You can check out the John Sucich calendar and go see him in New Hampshire or MA in the upcoming week. He’s funny.

[*Note from John: And while we're at it, if you're new to the Sunday Paper from the guest posts, please Like the John Sucich Facebook page to stay updated. Thanks!]

What I've Been Enjoying

*I am enjoying being pregnant again, with that I am taking time to enjoy being a family of four a bit more, eating treats because the baby wants it, and not wearing pants.

*Planning July birthdays for 2 of my favorite LITTLE people (sorry John).

*Having dinner a couple of nights a week after work with my parents and their granddog.

*Anything purple.

Notes

*I am a Speech-Language Pathologist and JFB Myofascial Release Therapist. I have a holistic practice, Purple Table, that uses techniques as previously mentioned, including EFT and essential oils. I practice tapping with children and adults as well as teach people the important place essential oils can have when using the correct ones. Please like me on Facebook - Purple Table - or check out my website if you are interested in learning more or would like help in finding any of these techniques near you with a qualified practitioner.

* I have no shows to plug but am currently doing a summer series on Thursday mornings at a local delicious organic bakery. If you are nearby and want to learn what essential oils are, how to use them, and the importance of how to choose them, please join us! If you can’t join us, but are interested please send me a message on Purple Table’s Facebook Page or mydoterra.com/purpletable and I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.