Power of Human Touch

Yesterday I was able to spoil myself with a one-and-a-half hour massage. It was heavenly. I had a gift card from Christmas and they had this introductory special going on for first-timers who had never been to their place before, so I was able to afford this little luxury for only $7. Simply AMAZING. She found lots of trigger points, especially in my neck and shoulder area because of 1) my horrible posture and 2) picking up kids at work. She also informed me that I would benefit from some glut work, and I really wanted to ask her if she was implying I was a tight-a**?? :) I simply smiled and said "maybe next time!" When we got our massages in St. Lucia that lady went right to town on my butt...she didn't even bother asking! Once I got over the shock factor, it felt really great. The hour and half flew by and really felt more like 20 minutes. Guess I'll just have to go back ;)

So usually I'm not a big talker when I'm getting a massage, but yesterday I was in quite a chatty little mood. I think it has to do with the fact that I've been spending a good majority of my week alone, so all human interaction has been eagerly welcomed! Anyways, while I was there, we started talking about massage school, their requirements, how long she'd been doing it, etc. I told her I worked with kids and asked if they did massages on kids, which led to her telling me that she has 2 kids and they are always asking her for a massage. I then proceeded to tell her that my mom used to tickle/rub my back EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. before I went to bed. I'm not just talking about when I was little...this carried on all the way into the high school years and even throughout college when I would come home for the weekend. I'm not even ashamed to admit that even to this present day when I go home for the weekend and we stay with my parents there is a 99% chance that I am going to ask my mom to scratch my back. Heck, my roommate in PT school and I used to swap "back rubs." It makes you relax and forget about the rush of the outside world. And mostly, it just feels good. We started discussing how we feel that the world, generally speaking, has lost "touch" (literally) with one another. She said that she sees so many clients that she feels are "bitter" towards the world and others that they have almost an aversive reaction to the wonderfulness that is human touch. I think that everything is so fast paced these days that we often times forget the power behind a gentle hand. We don't hug the ones we love as much as we should. When Nolan asks me for a back rub, I reply "maybe later" and then "later" becomes "never." I know that we all can't just rush out and get a massage whenever we want, but I'm definitely going to make a conscious effort on my part to "love" on others more and reconnect with those around me.

So the spoilage just carried itself on throughout the rest of my Thursday. I've mentioned in previous blogs how I am so lucky to attend fun concerts because Emily has the hook up through her job. Last night was no exception, and we saw none other than Mr. Brad Paisley in concert. He was fabulous. I might be a little biased because I love his music and feel like he's one of few musicians who has maintained touch with reality despite his fame. We actually witnessed how awesome he is last night at the end of the concert. He was finishing up his last song and he took off his signature white cowboy hat and placed it on the head of a little boy who looked to be no more than 7 or 8 years old. After the show, one of Mr. Paisley's crew members took the little boy and his family aside, took the hat and told them to wait. He returned a few moments later with a look-alike hat that was autographed. You know that little boy was STOKED and will be telling that story for the rest of his life. Simply AWESOME.

So that was my Thursday. Today I tried out my new running shoes that I got last weekend. I haven't run outside in I don't know how long. When I lived with Emily, we used to get up at 5:45 in the morning and go run before work. It was always nice to have it out of the way for the day. After we ran the 5k last September, that whole little plan kinda just fizzled out. I've been saying that "I need to get back into running" for a while now. With spring coming up there are lots of little local races for good causes that I would like to participate in. I'm definitely not claiming to be a good runner. And I'm definitely not fast. But dare I say I "enjoy" running?? I don't know that I've ever reached that "runner's high" that people always talk about, but it makes me feel good afterward and that's what's important. I'm sure that I'll feel it tomorrow :)

How AMAZING has the weather we've been having here lately - I'm so excited that it's supposed to hang around through the weekend! ENJOY!