2026 Update

In 2015 I posted this blog. That was a couple of years after it happened but it stuck with me and there’s an update:

In my massage therapy practice, a woman brought her 10-year-old son to me for a half hour session. It was the reward he had requested for having earned good grades at school. Though I’d done therapeutic muscle work with children who had been injured, having massage therapy be a premium for studying was a first. The boy was familiar with massage as his mother was a regular client of mine and he knew the basic routine. His mother stayed in the room and sat quietly during his session, while he enjoyed being professionally pampered.  She was a single parent  and working toward a teaching degree and didn’t have a lot of discretionary income at the time but she said she wanted to encourage him at an early age to become acquainted with bodywork and understand the importance of looking after himself.  She hoped he would learn to prize self care as an integral part of his life. Over the years, I lost track of them but I hope he still looks after himself well.

2026 Update: Not long ago this mom turned up on Facebook and asked to friend me. I have wonderful memories of her son asking for a massage for good grades. I couldn’t have imagined that from a kid. The mom is an elementary school teacher these days and that boy is now all grown up and has just become a dad. She posted Facebook pictures of him proudly holding his newborn baby girl. I’m willing to bet that guy will be an excellent father and she will be a wonderful grandma. It makes me happy to think of it.

Photo courtesy tinytribes at Pixabay.com