Ouch! My aching back! I sure could use a good massage. How many times do you catch yourself saying that? I find myself saying that very often. Which is kind of funny because I am a massage therapist. I owned and operated a small spa for many years. I loved helping my clients everyday. I had a very busy practice where I would do seven or eight massages per day, six days per week. There is something so rewarding about helping people feel better. Between giving many deep tissue massages, sports massages, hot stone massages or even relaxing Swedish massages, I can tell you that I enjoyed getting massages as well as giving them!
I gave up my spa about six years ago, when my Dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. Taking care of my Dad became my full time job and massaging clients at my home became my part time business. I think giving the massages at home saved my sanity! My massage workload was greatly reduced to giving only one or two per day. Always scheduled around my Dad's nap schedule and when I knew someone else was home to watch him if he were to wake up. Oh, those were some crazy days! You never knew what the day would bring! He walked around saying "WOW -WOW-Wow!" at the top of his lungs. He opened car doors while we were driving to doctors appointments. I did learn to make him sit in the back seat with the child safety locks. He would go out the door when no one was looking. Once I caught him making himself a peanut butter and spaghetti sauce sandwich! There were daily adventures! Never a dull moment! Looking back, I should have scheduled massages for myself during that time. Sadly, my Dad passed away in October 2009. Then I was diagnosed with Small Cell Carcinoma of the Lung in late December of the same year.
I began my Cancer treatment in January 2010. And again....... I reduced my workload. I was now down to giving only three or four massages per week. These were still one of the greatest joys that I had. It helped me to concentrate on other people instead of concentrating on myself. I was only given a 15% chance of survival. I made it my mission to enjoy every moment that I could. I wanted to make people laugh and I wanted to make other people feel better. I kept a positive attitude and with the Grace of God, I am still here, four and a half years later. I also started working on my garden during this time. There is something very therapeutic about creating a beautiful garden and yard. Now, mind you, this wasn't easy. I dug out grass with a hand spade and laid a beautiful cobblestone patio and garden path. I planted roses, not just one or two, but more like 40 to 50 rose bushes. I love the way it all turned out. It is really like my own little oasis. But during all of the work on my yard I managed to tear my rotator cuff and my deltoid muscle. Sound impressive, huh? More like painful!!! I get the most relief when I get a massage. Does that happen as often as it should? Nope! I have been grounded from giving massages for many weeks now. So that means, I do not get to enjoy helping my clients get rid of their pain and I do not get paid to NOT give massages. Therefore, I can't pay to have someone give me a massage, either! GOSH, I SURE DO MISS MASSAGES!!!
I began my Cancer treatment in January 2010. And again....... I reduced my workload. I was now down to giving only three or four massages per week. These were still one of the greatest joys that I had. It helped me to concentrate on other people instead of concentrating on myself. I was only given a 15% chance of survival. I made it my mission to enjoy every moment that I could. I wanted to make people laugh and I wanted to make other people feel better. I kept a positive attitude and with the Grace of God, I am still here, four and a half years later. I also started working on my garden during this time. There is something very therapeutic about creating a beautiful garden and yard. Now, mind you, this wasn't easy. I dug out grass with a hand spade and laid a beautiful cobblestone patio and garden path. I planted roses, not just one or two, but more like 40 to 50 rose bushes. I love the way it all turned out. It is really like my own little oasis. But during all of the work on my yard I managed to tear my rotator cuff and my deltoid muscle. Sound impressive, huh? More like painful!!! I get the most relief when I get a massage. Does that happen as often as it should? Nope! I have been grounded from giving massages for many weeks now. So that means, I do not get to enjoy helping my clients get rid of their pain and I do not get paid to NOT give massages. Therefore, I can't pay to have someone give me a massage, either! GOSH, I SURE DO MISS MASSAGES!!!
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