My Favorite Moment
From 16 days of graduation whirlwind
Sixteen days ago, I landed in Boston, picked up a rental van, collected my parents and brother, who had traveled from the other side of the globe.
A day later, we joined the rest of the family in Vermont to celebrate my daughter Claire’s college graduation — the first of two milestone events!
A few days after that, Claire and I loaded my Thai family into the van and drove across the border to Montreal, where we soaked up the glory of French Canada. Many crepes and poutines later, we re-entered the U.S. for my son’s graduation back in Boston—a three-day celebration filled with joy, pride, and very little sleep.
There were multiple hotels, day trips, and countless meals. We navigated big challenges and small ones. The whole family gathering was exciting, mundane, exhausting, heartwarming, frustrating, and everything in between.
It was the very definition of a whirlwind!
There were so many special moments along the way, of course. I could tell you about the dinner we shared with the almost-Thai prime minister. Or the passport rescue. Or spotting the Queen of Belgium at a class picnic. I could unpack commencement speeches by Ronny Chieng and Conan O’Brien. I could tell you about the virus that invaded all of us and how we coughed our way through sixteen days, but joy and pride were triumphant.
But today, I just want to tell you about one small moment that I will hold near and dear to my heart for the rest of my life.
It was a special time I shared with Claire, but I think you might find something in it, too. It happened after dinner one evening in Montreal. We had just put my parents and brother into an Uber when Claire declared:
“I know exactly where I’m taking you for a drink tonight. It’s about two miles from here, and we’re walking!”
“Awesome. Lead the way,” I replied.
Claire is a runner. She’s currently injured, but even when she can’t run, she walks at a pace that feels suspiciously close to running.
I worked hard to keep up. What wasn’t hard was getting to hear her stories.
About halfway through the walk, she opened up without any prompting.
“I had a pretty rough spring.”
“Tell me more,” I said simply, excited to learn more about her internal world that up to that point, I knew little about.
She told me about the running injury and the physical and emotional pain that came with it. She recounted the hard days and the friends who showed up consistently. She talked about the things she deliberately did to keep herself from slipping into anxiety and depression.
Then her voice suddenly became more animated.
“You know what made me so mad?”
“What?” I asked, genuinely curious.
“All the things people tell you to do when you’re struggling. Like put down your phone and go outside. Exercise. Eat real food. Sleep. Talk to real people. Spend time in nature. You know... all that stuff?”
I nodded.
“They actually work!” she exclaimed. “I was both mad and glad at how simple it was. But if you actually do it, it actually works!”
“Yah… I know,” was all I said. Because… of course, I know.
She’s 22, a recent college graduate with the whole world waiting for her to explore. I can’t be more proud of her. But you know what I am even more happy for her about? That overcoming her challenge has helped her crack the secret code to a good life.
Eat real food.
Move your body.
Get good sleep.
Be in nature.
Connect with real people.
Repeat.
The secret to this secret?
Doing it.
Consistently.
Even if you don’t want to.
That’s it.
The reason I loved that moment so much was that I got to witness my daughter’s maturity in real time.
Because of the challenges she faced, she had to learn these lessons for herself. She couldn’t learn them from a book. She couldn’t learn them from a podcast. She couldn’t even learn them from me.
She had to live them.
She had to do the things that sounded too simple to matter.
And then discover that they mattered. A LOT.
Eat real food.
Move your body.
Get good sleep.
Spend time in nature.
Connect with real people.
Repeat.
The secret isn’t knowing what to do.
Most of us already know what to do.
The secret is doing it. Consistently.
Especially when we don’t feel like it.
As I listened to Claire that night, I realized she had discovered something many people spend decades searching for:
Well-being isn’t usually found in a grand breakthrough.
More often, it’s built through ordinary simple choices repeated over and over again.
No college degree required.
Just a willingness to be annoyed by how simple it can be, and to show up for yourself.
Now it’s your turn to be mad. 🥰
Much love from here,
xoxo
Dr. Kit
P.S. I am back and I have some openings in June for private acupuncture sessions in Clintonville or Community acupuncture sessions at OSU integrative health.
Make your private session appointment here.
Or call 614-293-9777 to make a Community Acupuncture appointment.
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