How a weighted walk started my business
My entire idea for a business came from running late. It was a Saturday afternoon and I was hanging out with my kids while my husband was working. I had plans to meet my college bestie of 20+ years for dinner, which was rare for me, as I am often a homebody. My husband was running late at work and it was washday for my curls (iykyk). I could feel the flustered-ness inside me rising. When he called to say he was late, my mind went to “now I can’t wash my hair”, “I never get to go out”, “this isn’t fair”. On a cognitive level I knew this was ridiculous, my husband was working and needed to eat. Even though I knew that, I couldn’t stop that flow of thoughts.
I decided to kill some time by going for a walk and I threw on some ankle weights. I walked down to the elementary school with my kids. My son play some basketball and I paced pushing my daughter in the stroller with 3 lb. ankle weights on each leg. I did this for 15ish minutes at most.
This was a moment of sensory self care. The weight of the stroller and ankle weights gave me some proprioceptive input. Proprioceptive input is input to your joints and muscles. This released some serotonin, which helped me FEEL GOOD.
When we got back home my husband had gotten back from work. We spent about 10 minutes together as a family while he ate lunch in the backyard. This was our only time together as a family that entire day and it was so special. I still washed my hair and I was still late. Yet, after that input to my nervous system, everything about my thoughts was different. I realized my bestie and I hadn't been on time in 20 years, it didn't matter. I could have missed the joy of a spring afternoon with my family (even 10 minutes of it). And even the joy of dinner by arriving all annoyed at my husband.
Before that afternoon I had felt the demands of motherhood, working and adulting. After my son was born I connected the dots that if I exercised every couple of days I “felt better”. After my daughter was born it was harder for me to find big chunks of time for movement. That coupled with the demands of 2 kids had me feeling more frustrated, on edge and overwhelmed. This walk changed everything.
I had been recommending weighted walks to kiddos and parents (for their kiddos) for YEARS. Before that afternoon, it never occured to me that all that knowledge could help me, in my own life, too. When a child comes to occupational therapy, a parent wants to support that child in their daily life. They want them to go to birthday parties, school, and family dinners with ease and actually enjoy them. I want the same things, for both my clients and MYSELF!
From that moment on I started playing around with sensory processing and myself. How could I give my nervous system little doses of what it needs throughout a day? How could I see moments of overwhelm and frustration from a nervous system? How could I view my husband, my kids and my family as a whole from a nervous system perspective?
This changed everything for me and my family. Patience felt possible. Empathy for my kids and husband felt doable (and not at my own expense). Even when one of my kids (or me) were having a meltdown, I felt more in control. I knew I needed to share this with other people. My desire to share what was working so well for us in our home, is how Jessica Addeo Coaching was born. In my career I have never been more excited than when I made these connections.
I will forever be grateful for that day in Spring of 2022. When I became a pediatric occupational therapist I wanted to help kids. To help them enjoy their childhood and feel safe, loved and supported and to have FUN in all the ways. I now realize how much of that work starts with the parent. I couldn’t be more excited to share this knowledge and bring those feelings to more parents and kids! Thank you for being here ❤️
