7:14 p.m. - 12.23.2002
queen for a day. Amishqueen that is.
What a day. I am no longer amishboy...today, I became an amishman. Seriously though, today was the day I spent the afternoon at the spa as my graduation gift from my sister. It sounds a bit decadent and feminine, but I don't care. It was a dream.
You see, when my sister was going through chemo-therapy last year, she went for massages regularly because of the pain. When I graduated she felt it would be a nice gift. And it was. Let me tell you about it...
It was in a small New England town called Jaffrey, New Hampshire. Like much of New England, it was right out of a Norman Rockwell painting. The spa was an old farm house and surrounding bulidings that had been converted into a bed and breakfast/spa set-up. The spa itself was what was once a carriage house. There were a number of rooms where the "sessions" were held and then some saunas and shower rooms.
First, we began on the floor with a shiatzu (sp?) type rub down. The therapist did some basic stretches/yoga with me along with some kind of breathing exercises. All very spiritual in a zen way.
Then I dis-robed, and there was a traditional massage session. In a word: bliss. She worked with a number of aroma-therapy oils. After she would complete an area (i.e. shoulders, legs, arms) she would then cover the completed area in somekind of hot compress. After a full body massage (front and back) I adjourned to the sauna. A few minutes in the sauna, and my two hours were up. Time flies when you're being pampered.
I don't mean to ramble on - but it was a really nice treat. I feel sorry for the rest of my family, because this gift will be hard to top this year. (not that its about gifts).
Later in the day we grabbed the wee one (my nephew Connor - 2 in April) and drove to see Santa in the nearsest Mall....in the next state. Santa and Connor were old friends. The child was a happy clam. Yet, as soon as we left, he was a miserable cuss the rest of the night. I've never heard such shrill octaves from a child. The only thing that finally calmed him was a CD of John Denver and the Muppets on the drive home. It confirmed my bachelorhood for a good ten years.
We came home and, no joke, fondued. Now I'm kickin' back and relaxin' for the night with a belly full of cheese. Thank-god I exercise.
Maybe now I'll hit the ol' Wal-Mart and see what the local color does for fun. Like the song goes, there's no place like home for the holidays....or or a sister's home in the arctic tundra...synonymous really...
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