So ready to go back to class!!

Winter break is winding down, classes resume on Monday. I have missed, not just the learning, but the friendships as well. Some of us have stayed in touch via text (gotta love technology), however, it is not the same as face to face contact. In any type of environment you will meet people who strike a chord with you or in you. We started out with 18 students. One guy made it through week 1, and we never saw him again. He was in sales and had a very stressful job. His reason for attending Massage Therapy School was to change his career path. He had an uncle who was very zen-like, acquired through being a massage therapist…something he desperately sought for himself. Week 2 was the first week we were disrobing and starting hands on. Perhaps it was a bit more than he was ready for. There was a mother-daughter pair whose goal was to go into practice together. The daughter came to class using a cane, suffering from rheumatoid arthritis in her knees. Not to say she couldn’t do it, however, so much of our strength when doing massage is utilizing our legs and our core, not so much our arms. The physical aspect was too much for her. Her mom, a small petite woman in her early 70’s, struggled with the material presented and the physical component. She, too, had rheumatoid arthritis, in her hands, and it was difficult for her to apply deep pressure when required. Perhaps in her practice, deep pressure would not be required, however, to pass the class, it was a critical point. She did not advance to 2nd quarter. Half-way through 2nd quarter, another classmate got sick with bronchitis, missed several weeks of class and was unable to make up the work. She is a single mom of 3 teen-agers, widowed (her husband was murdered); I felt so bad for her - she saw massage therapy as the change in course for a better life for her and her kids. That leaves 14 of us. Two women are going through ugly divorces; a gentleman was relocated to Tucson via Katrina and his dream is to return to the home he so misses. “Tucson just ain’t Nawlins’ !” One woman found out she was pregnant, and due about the time we graduate. She missed more than several classes, and was unsure if she could continue due to the strenuous physical aspect. As a class, we’ve kind of adopted her unborn baby, think godparents…asking about “him”, and looking forward to his impending birth. I don’t know if she’ll be there on Monday. The rest of us, with our stories and struggles, journey onward, toward the same goal, yet the path each of us takes to get there, our own.

The massages I scheduled during the break have been awesome! Family and friends who have allowed me the privilege of providing this service have touched me deeply. The time we spent, their vulnerability in a state of undress; my own, an awkward not-sure-what-I’m-doing-but-I’ll-get-through-it mode. They were happy, I was happy - served dual purposes.

We have made it through the first complete work week of 2010! I’ve been busy. I cleaned my dining room table from all of the last two quarters’ school paraphernalia. I purchased some plastic totes to store sheets, towels and other massage accessories; a filing cabinet for all my learning documents and books, plus the files I’ve now started for my clients (ooh, I like how that sounds!)

Talk soon…