Obligatory Thanksgiving Post

I have so much to be thankful for this year. As always, I am thankful for my amazing friends, boyfriend and family (and sweet little Ollie of course). I love them more and more with each change that happens in our lives. My change in career paths has shown me how supportive the people in my life are. Friends (and boyfriends) moving away has shown me that long distance relationships can last, as long as you make time for them. I'm terrible at calling, but the people who are far away know that they're in my thoughts and I am thankful for the few times a year I get to see them and for the fact that it never feels like some forced, awkward meet up. I'm also thankful that people moving away and my path to becoming a massage therapist has brought new friends into my life.

I am thankful that the more I learn about it and the more clients I work on, the more I love massage. I was fortunate enough to treat an elderly client the other day. He was on oxygen and unable to handle much pressure or lie face down. Side-lying was also difficult. The techniques I could use and the areas of the body I could touch were limited so I did a lot of rocking and applied nurturing strokes. When the session was over, the client said to me, "Thank you, that was a wonderful massage," and went on to tell me that most of his life is spent sedentary so it feels good to get out of the house, and he loves that massage gets his blood moving. On my end, it didn't feel like I was able to do much for him. But hearing it from his point of view, put it all in perspective. Massage doesn't always have to heal. It can simply be nurturing and a reason to get out of the house every few weeks. I am so thankful that I get to do what I do.

Regardless of your profession, it's the people in our lives that make everything worthwhile and have control over so much of our emotions. Keep that in mind in your everyday life as you interact with people. Be kind, be there, and be thankful. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!