The Path Before Me

I am having a harder time leaving my house than I had divorcing my husband. And divorcing my husband was hard.

I am having a harder time leaving my house than I had burying my father. And burying my father was very hard.

Someday, I will share stories of my marriage and its end, of my father and his death. Someday, but not today. Today, I feel such deep longing for the past that if I linger there, I’ll surely become a pillar of salt.

And so I look ahead. I turn to face the path before me, and my little house whispers as if from behind, Go. It’s time for you to go.

On the path before me lies this mountain village on the isle of Crete:

 

Uproot whatever the roots are that hold you to a smaller vision, and move into a much larger sphere so that you can see in new ways.
-- Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Brave

I cried in the shower this morning.

Such a safe place to have a good cry, wrapped in a cocoon of tile and steam, where the walls echo my sobs so that I hear myself as though somebody else, someone not me, so that I the listener can say to me the crier, “Shh. There, there, love. It’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay.”

*  *  *

“You are so brave!”

That's what friends and acquaintances often say to me about my upcoming sojourn in Greece. “You are so brave!” These voices, all these enthusiastic voices racing in my head, “I admire you, Chrys,” “You are such a strong woman,” “You are so brave,” you are so brave, you are so, you are so, so brave, so brave.

Brave? I’m terrified.

I am not leaving my house in order to set out on an adventure. I am leaving my house because I have to. The divorce decree says so.

Happy Little House, 2004

Brave? Look at me! I'm crying like a child. 

I don’t want to leave my house. Not yet. I’m not ready. I love my little house, I always have. This sweet house has been a rock in my life, a comfort, a constant. I wish I could buy it. I wish I could buy it and fix her little problems and tend to her gardens again. I wish, I wish, I wish.

I wish I could just drop everything and go to Greece and live in a little village for a while and learn something new.

*poof!*

I raise my face to the stream of water, wash away the last of my tears. Brave, terrified, it doesn't matter. There are things I need to do today. I turn off the water, pull open the curtain, reach for my towel, and step out. Out of the tub, out of the crying, into the moment. 

That, my friends, is the bravest step I have ever taken.

Going to Greece for 80 Days

It's official. I bought my airline tickets tonight. Details to follow.

My Massage Biz on Facebook

Golden Flower Massage on Facebook

Michigan Massage Licensing

Michigan Licensing Bill Signed by Governor Granholm

Friday, January 9, 2009

Today, House Bill 5651, providing for the state licensing of massage therapists, was signed into law by Governor Granholm. The law is effective immediately.

The law will benefit the massage therapy community in three primary ways:

• Minimum training requirements and scope of practice are defined.
• An avenue for consumer complaint is established.
• Local regulations will be pre-empted, meaning all massage therapists will license with the state and no longer have to become licensed in their city or in multiple cities.

An eleven member Michigan Board of Massage Therapy, consisting of seven massage therapists and four public members, will be created to implement the law.

Click here to read the law.

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Jan 2013 UPDATE: EXCITING NEWS!  The applications are ready! Here is a link to the application, in .pdf format, complete with application, instructions, and information on requirements for grandfathering: Massage Therapist Application Packet

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Nov 2012 UPDATE: The Michigan Board of Massage Therapy was scheduled to meet four times in 2012. They cancelled three sessions and met once. Check for updates here.

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Nov 2011 UPDATE: The Michigan Board of Massage Therapy was scheduled to meet six times in 2011. They cancelled five sessions and met once. See what's new here.

My Massage Website

Finally! My massage website is up and running. There is so much I'd like to do there still, such as adding informative articles on health and massage. One wee step at a time, me lassies. ;) Come visit me at goldenflowermassage.com, and tell me what you think!

Election 2008

When I slipped my ballot into the machine this morning, I turned to face the voters waiting in line, smiled, and raised my hands in the air, victory-style. Some smiled. Some did not. I thanked the two election officials who stood near the ballot box/machine. They smiled, indeed. Brightly. And I walked out with a bounce in my step. By God, I do love living in this country. What I would love more than anything right now, today, is to find others who feel as happy, grateful, and enthusiastic as do I for having had the opportunity to vote. That's where I am today, right now. I am happy. I feel like celebrating.

Anyone care to join me?

Phasing Out?

I am taking a break from this blog while I build my massage website. I don't know when I'll start posting here again, but I will certainly keep this blog online for probably quite some time, thanks to the hundreds of hits that some of my older massage-related posts continue to receive from all over the world. People have questions; that their questions have led them to this humble blog sometimes astounds me.

Kids Say the Darnedest Things

...even when they're 24 years old.

You know those email forwards you get from well-meaning friends (or mothers), the "Get to Know You" type that ask random questions, such as, What's your favorite sandwich? Well. A dear friend sent one of those to me, bless her heart. ::winks to TW:: I replied and then sent it to my daughters.

This is my eldest daughter's answer to one of the questions:

Q: What did you want to be when you were little?

A: A twin. But then I figured out that since I didn't already have one, I wasn't going to get one. So I grew up a little and wanted to be a mermaid instead.

Massage Job Update

It's official: I got the job! I'll be working at a chiropractor's office in Royal Oak beginning September 22. I will begin by taking new clients only one day per week, and my hours will increase slowly over a period of perhaps 2-3 months. The office itself is going through a transition of its own, so it seems fitting that they'd move me into the position slowly.

I'll post more details later.

Hurray!

Dance!

The best 4 1/2 minutes I've ever spent online:


Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Thank you (((Rina))) for sending this to me.

The song is Praan, by Garry Schyman
Lyrics adapted from the poem "Stream of Life" by Rabindranath Tagore.
The poem appears in Tagore's book, Gitanjali (public domain).

Stream of Life

The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day

runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures.

It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth

in numberless blades of grass

and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers.

It is the same life that is rocked in the ocean-cradle of birth

and of death, in ebb and in flow.

I feel my limbs are made glorious by the touch of this world of life.

And my pride is from the life-throb of ages

dancing in my blood this moment.

Hellas Photos, 2

Touch

Don Cheadle as Graham Walters
Crash (2004)

Hellas Photos, 1

Just a few of my favorites from among my girls' 1000+ photos. I'll add more later.
















And finally....

Lynnie, this one is for you...






Eh! Why you honk on my goats?