PurpAnd

I had a massage today. My first one ever from a professional. I had long talked about going to get one, but the idea of a stranger being ‘hands on’ while I was wearing less than I would wear to a pool party kept me from ever going.

Last Monday I had really started to feel my stress in my mid and lower back. Having stress manifest itself into a physical form was something new for me so I wasn’t sure what to make of it. I thought about calling my doctor and making an appointment, but I felt I would only get a prescription for pain medication and a request to call if the pain was still there a week later. So I checked with a few people about getting a massage and finally decided to give it a try.

The whole experience was rather enjoyable. After my anxiety wore off, I was able to relax and breathe and focus on the massage and not on how nearly naked I was. I got a full body work-up for an entire hour and it’s pretty safe to say I will go back. I learned a few things - like how to breathe into the pressure and how to communicate what was working and what wasn’t - and now that I know what the procedure is, I can go back with no anxiety.

If you’ve ever had a professional massage, you know what I am talking about. If you haven’t, I would recommend giving it a try, if only once, because all day today I’ve felt very peaceful and almost serene. I continued the experience by taking a walk afterward and then reading some when I got home. I was clear with T that I was making today a relaxation day and now I can go back to work tomorrow a little more balanced than I was last week.

Since my knees have been angry with me, I haven’t had much in the way of exercise, which I think contributed a lot to my feeling stressed all the time. I am not planning on using massage as a primary stress reliever and I don’t plan on getting massages on a regular basis, but it’s nice to know that I can go get one when I feel it is necessary.

Anyone have a massage experience, good or bad, they’d like to share?

I’ve been gone for the past week or so for my sister’s wedding and prior to that I was trying to cram five days of work into a three day span. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any posts saved up so you all got squat from me. My apologies.

My sister and her husband (wow, weird to say) got married in Las Vegas over the weekend. No, it wasn’t at the Chapel O’ Love, and no, it didn’t involve any showgirls, magicians, or Wayne Newton. In fact, it wasn’t even near the Strip. The ceremony and reception were held at a golf course up in the hills near Summerlin (if you know where that is).

Beautiful ceremony, perfect weather, and a smashing bride - makes a brother proud. There were about 70 guests and I am pretty sure each one of them had a blast. There were a couple of grandmothers and even a great-grandmother present. Some friends from as far back as kindergarten and some that no one seemed to know. Me, being the brother, had minor responsibilities, but for the most part, I was just a wanderer… making sure folks had what they needed and were properly liquored.

The rest of the weekend was spent with family and friends - enjoying meals together and walking around the Strip trying to stay out of trouble. No one was arrested or detained, but my cousin-in-law (yo, Homey!) actually ‘married’ two guys on the street outside the Paris hotel (he’s an internet-ordained minister). They came up asking where they could get married and he said, “well, I can marry you.” So he did the whole pre-marital advisement… asking them if they know what it means to be married and to profess their undying devotion to one another. Classic story.

The rest of the time was pretty slow-going. I watched a bunch of basketball, wagered a tad on a few games, and managed to stay away from the blackjack tables til Sunday night. When I finally did play, I was on the table for an hour and walked away even… not too bad.

So the weekend was a big success… one more of the cousins is hitched and we’re down to one more and then we’ll be a flock of familial domestication.

Wish I could get more into detail about the weekend, but you know what they say, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” (Sorry Vegas-residents, I know y’all hate that.)