Happy 20th Massage-iversary to Me!

Twenty years ago this week, I was in Grand Junction, Colorado getting certified in Hawiaan Lomi Lomi Massage Therapy. I spent that week in the home of Practitioner Mary Golden, God rest her beautiful soul, learning the history and practice of Lomi Lomi, giving and receiving four hours of massage therapy each day, studying, snuggling her dogs, sharing a carry-in breakfast with my classmates, laughing, crying, learning. In the evenings, I explored the beautiful town of Grand Junction and hung out on the mountainside overlooks of the Colorado National Monument.

It was a really rough time in my life. I was very sick, mentally and physically--was down to a weight of around 105 pounds on my 5'7" build and was about to be diagnosed with untreated Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Two months from then, I was going to get unexpectedly pregnant with my daughter. I was lost and had no clue what I wanted to be when I grew up. I had no direction. But that week was transformative.

And each year, during this week, I am given a reminder that the Great LOVE in our universe is always at work, guiding me on the path when I can't see the trail, carrying me. The massage career I did not know I was about to embark on was going to grant me the opportunity to go to college and finish my education as a single mother. It was going to take me on countless adventures and introduce me to priceless experiences and friendships. It was going to (just barely and not without a LOT of help from my village) support Taylor and me while I raised her. It was going to allow me to care for my loved ones when they were sick or injured or just needed to relax. And I am so, so, so eternally grateful for all of it.

I rarely give massages anymore. I "hung it up," so to speak, when the pandemic began. But I recently re-upped my Indiana certification through 2025. Maybe I will practice when I am visiting our home in French Lick once it's completed. Maybe not. Maybe I'll get certified in Florida. Maybe not. I don't know yet. I know that the last twenty years of massage therapy have not been easy on my hands, despite my best efforts to take care of them in all of the ways I learned to do that. So time will tell.

But regardless, Happy 20th Massage Anniversary to me. And cheers to a wild ride!