Have you ever experienced a vacation in which nothing went right? The dream you had of a fun-filled week worked for everyone around you except for you?
Since this happens to me most of the time I don't even plan what I'll do on vacation anymore, I just go. Then I won't get my hopes up to get them dashed.
This past week, however, I didn't follow the plan. I wanted to get ahead on my manuscript--due at the end of April!!--so I went with the intention of getting thousands of words written and to walk the paved trails of Big Cedar near Branson. Unfortunately, my hip refused to cooperate. I realized I needed my recliner in order to have a comfortable position to write, since I cannot sit in a regular chair, and there were no recliners in my room. I felt like the person in the cave in the picture, watching everyone else have a good time while I was standing in the dark.
Not only couldn't I write, but when I ventured out on my first walk down the hill, my leg went out on me. I mean, it stopped holding me up for several minutes. A little panicky, I called Mel, who was driving to do some target practice with his brother. So I couldn't talk to him. I finally made it back to my room--in a lodge at the top of the hill. I couldn't get to a doctor nearby, so I called the spa--which I ordinarily would never do, since Big Cedar charges tons more than my regular massage therapist--but I was desperate. They got me right in, and a therapist named Julie had to help me back to the massage room. She spent 90 minutes working on my back, legs and shoulders, and when I walked out of that spa I was a new woman!
I walked up and down those hills at Big Cedar for the rest of my stay. That therapist was a miracle worker. I know what some people think when they hear about massages, and there have been some massage parlors in the past that earned the legitimate ones an unfair reputation. These therapists are trained, they know what they're doing, and the good ones can really help us health-wise.
If you haven't been to a massage therapist, I suggest you try it just once. Ask for a relaxing massage, and if you're uncomfortable, ask for a woman. The most therapeutic massages go more deeply into the muscles and they can sometimes be painful at first, so start small and build up. If you haven't been to one in a while, I suggest you go again, and try to do it more regularly. Consider this an additional bid for health, because that's exactly what it is.
Now, can anyone tell me what a Swedish massage is?
I forgot to ask.
Labels: out of the game, Playing, watching others play
Have you ever experienced a vacation in which nothing went right? The dream you had of a fun-filled week worked for everyone around you except for you?
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