Fake, Phony… or Faith? A $40 Foot Bath Had Me Thinking…

Yesterday afternoon, I went for my third detox foot bath.

How disgusting is this?! 🤣

Clear water.

A few bubbles.

Some fancy little coils humming beneath the surface…

And then suddenly...

it turns this deep, muddy, “something is definitely happening here” brown.

Like you’re watching stress, toxins, life…

all swirl right out of you in real time.

Naturally, I’m thinking:

✨ healing ✨ detox ✨ life-changing ✨

Nick?

Not so much.

But honestly…

we barely even have time to debate it these days.

We honestly never see each other right now.

Four kids. Full throttle sports.

Two houses.

Launching our first business together: Gardion Angel Property Group 💁‍♀️

Me in between jobs after I was let go in February…

And apparently…

renovation projects in both homes (Mequon and Lebanon)

—no thanks to the floods in Ohio and a leaky roof a few weeks ago 😅🙄

My day started at 5am—

filing three weeks of Ohio unemployment,

talking through my 401K rollover with a financial advisor (IRA is the winning ticket 👊),

a prayer service for Eva,

quick breakfast,

returns to Dick’s,

grabbing an undershirt for Elie’s first AAU tournament this weekend…

And then somehow…

in the middle of all of it…

Nick and I found ourselves on a day date.

Nothing fancy.

Just… together.

And then—bonus.

Ema casually says she doesn’t have plans

and offers to stay home with the littles.

So just like that…

Our “day date” turned into a night date too

We dropped Elie off at practice,

and instead of rushing back—

we got to go grab a quick bite to eat

while she trained.

And sitting there together…finally still for a second…

I kept thinking back to earlier that afternoon—the foot bath, the swirling water, the whole thing.

Because somewhere between the foot bath bubbling and us finally slowing down long enough to actually sit across from each other…

Nick had looked down and said,“It’s fake.”

Not mean. Not dismissive. Just… practical Nick.

“It’s probably just the water reacting with the electrode. The colors aren’t toxins.”

Of course I call my “doctor friend” because I needed backup..

And she pauses… and says,

“He’s probably right.”

But then she added something I won’t forget:

“If it makes you feel better, then it’s real.”

That one hit me.

Because suddenly it wasn’t about the foot bath anymore.

It was about everything.

Are things real… or just something we want to believe in?

Are relationships real?

Or just real for a moment?

What actually lasts?

And here’s what I’ve learned...

It’s not about what looks real.

It’s about who stays.

The people who show up.

Who keep you in their life

when it would be easier not to.

Who don’t walk away from your messy, chaotic,

trying-your-best-but-falling-short self.

Those are the real ones.

My angels.

My people.

My family. My forever friends.

Nick sees the “fake” right away.

I don’t.

I see the hope.

The intention.

The possibility that something is working, healing, helping.

And maybe that’s not weakness.

Maybe that’s Faith.

So yeah…

I’ll probably keep going to my $40 “fake” foot baths.

Because if something brings peace,

creates a pause in the chaos,

or makes me feel even a little bit better...

there’s something real in that.

Because at the end of the day…

God doesn’t need perfect conditions to work.

He shines through the mess.

Through the muddy water.

Through the things that don’t make sense.

And somehow…

He always reveals what’s real.

And just like the best part of our day...

a “day date” that turned into a night one,

a daughter stepping in without being asked,

a quiet meal in the middle of the chaos—

that’s where the truth shows up.

Not in perfection.

But in presence.

And then…

the real best part of the day:

all of us piled into bed,

me and Nick,

our littles—Brooks and Eva—snuggled in close,

watching Doolittle…

for the third night in a row

because every single night

we make it about halfway through

before we all fall asleep.

Nothing fancy.

Nothing filtered.

Nothing “perfect.”

Just us.

Together.

Tired.

Laughing.

Falling asleep mid-movie.

And maybe that’s the answer to all of it...

what’s real, what’s fake, what lasts.

It’s this.

The people who are still there

at the end of the day.

The ones who stay.

Who snuggle in.

Who don’t leave when life gets messy or exhausting.

Because real love—

real faith—

real life—

It doesn’t always look polished.

But it always shows up.

And it stays.