Stress-Free Weekend

Friday at 6pm I declared the weekend my Stress-Free, Non-Crisis, Non-Drama weekend. I vowed that if anyone called me and wanted to talk about any crisis, anything dysfunctional, broken or stressful I would ask them to leave me a voicemail and I'll address it on Monday. Yes, I was at another one of those points where I realized that the stress my work, combined with the stress of my life was becoming a lethal concoction and I needed a big old reprieve. I got it.

I called a friend after work Friday, and I could tell by her tone that this was gearing to be one of those conversations. I informed her of the reprieve before she got started. She understands my need for a break, but I could hear the underlying pout. Oh well? There's always Monday. Isn't it funny how if you neglect someone's "crisis" for a couple of days, when you come back to it they seem to realize how non-crisis it really was?

So, you wanna know how badly I needed this break? I had my massage appointment Saturday at noon. The massage therapist was, well...Moses (so much for my burning hunk of love rubbing me down), but he was great. His name is Tom. His specialty is intense massage to correct problem areas. He used a method called myofascial release. Since I identified my neck and shoulders as a problem area, this is what we focused on in this session. So, no, not the relaxing soothing, I'm gonna fall asleep massage I was expecting, but good in a different way.

First of all, Tom politely informed me that he has rarely had the opportunity to work on anyone with as much tension as I have in my neck and shoulders. Super!! I'm a special case stress bag. He worked on my neck and shoulders for about 45 minutes of the hour and after all of that stretching and pressure, the muscles in the right side released, but those buggers on the left side, that's causing all the problems and the headaches, wouldn't let go. He suggested that often this type of tension is emotional, but the good thing is that I'm young and trying to learn how to release this stuff now. Let me tell you, if I didn't realize anything else from this session, I surely get how stress will kill you. It sets up shop in your body and does a number on it. I'm more committed than ever to reducing the stress in my life and taking care of my body.

He also asked me if I dragged one foot when I walked. I hadn't really thought about it, but when he mentioned it, I recalled that I always get "flip-flop drag" on the right side, not the left. Well, that's because my right hip is 2 whole inches lower than the left!!! Again, it's muscular as well, tension on the left side. That's where ex used to sleep. I wonder if that's what this left side deal is all about? Anyway, we'll start working on that in the next session and spend some time trying to get this left shoulder to release. I felt great afterwards and I swear my shoulders are at least 2 inches further from my ears than they were that morning.

It was such a beautiful fall day in MD yesterday that I decided I wanted to be outside. There's a trail near my house that is 4.5 miles to this lake in a neighboring town. Last Saturday I walked to the lake with a friend and then his wife came to pick us up on the other end. Yesterday I went with my sister-in-law and we walked back as well. Yep. 9 miles yesterday. I feel it today, but it's not too bad. It helped me decompress some more and it was so beautiful and crisp outside. This jump-stared my fitness program big time. LOL.

The rest of my day yesterday, after a loooooong hot shower, was spent in my most favorite way: in my apartment naked. Doesn't get much better than that. And yes, I did buy more baby oil gel, so I'm smooth again too.

I slept until noon today. A couple of trips to the bathroom assured me that yes, indeed, I hiked 9 miles yesterday. I used the excuse that sleep helps muscles repair themselves to stay in the bed longer. It was glorious.

Not yet sure what today holds. It's another glorious, beautiful crisp autumn day. I should probably take my warm clothes out of the storage closet.

Methinks Operation Stress-Free Weekend has been a success!!