25 April, 2009

dinner with friends

Dear Friends, 
How wonderful to see you all last night. It was worth rescheduling my Friday night clients to be able to join you all. Even though it was a stretch for me, it was very enjoyable. I had been at work since 7 am and didn't realize how exhausted I was until I sat down. Did I mention that on Fridays I provide deep tissue, rehabilitative massage and craniosacral therapy at a Chiropractic office. I work with people who have been recently injured in car accidents. My patients are mostly Muslim, Somali men who have never experienced bodywork , let alone from a woman(!) and many have had interesting experiences in the Somali military, refugee camps and sources of trauma. Two years of military service is mandatory on completing school in Somalia. I leave there with my hands, particularly my thumbs, swollen and throbbing, sometimes spasming. I go home, soak them in hot water and epson salts, collapse, then, go back and do it again the next day. Just to spend an evening relaxing with a hot meal is my idea of heaven. I hope you will understand, when in the future I pass on opportunities to provide you with spontaneous, complimentary massage services. Your request took me quite by surprise and if I were thinking more clearly, I hope I would have responded differently, than to simple unquestioning compliance.
Looking forward to seeing you soon,

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