Every career has its perks, and massage is certainly one that has plenty of them. I have worked with many of my clients for years and years, and now I am working on their children and in some cases, Grandchildren.Because of this, I have become a trusted member of their extended family. The younger ones know that I care greatly for their parents and Grandparents.
One evening I received a phone call from the family of a dear client whose mother I had worked on for a while. Unfortunately she had begun to develop Alzheimer’s. The good news was that although she now had Alzheimer’s, she was still relatively good-natured and coherent. Her daughter thought she had one more trip and her and wanted to know if I would accompany her on a cruise. I said yes of course.
Before we left her daughter gave me a digital camera which could also take short videos for about 3 minutes. I took small, short video as we were boarding the ship and each day I would make a little film and take pictures. When she would be confused about where we were, I would show her one of our little films and remind her that we are on a trip together.
My friend Gloria was a great piano player she like to brag she had taught herself to play by ear. I didn’t want to take her to activities off the ship because she was in a wheelchair and I just didn’t think that would be fun for her. She was already well-traveled and had visited most of these places , and that wasn’t the point of this cruise. Instead, I would take her around the ship in different places and photograph her and make a little video film. One day when we were out snooping around in the ship we came across one of the entertainment rooms and I saw the most beautiful black baby grand piano.
I said “Glo, we’ve got to get you on that piano”! I looked around to see if the coast was clear, then I sat her at the piano and instructed her to play certain songs that I was certain she knew well. Sure enough that cute little video turn out to be very special. When her daughter saw the video of her Mom playing the piano, she said “wow all these years she’s played the piano I never had a video actually showing her as she played. You have caught the only few minutes of her on the piano we have”. I was so thankful that she had sent that camera and so glad I had the quick-thinking to take that video.
She just loved that beautiful piano and she looked so lovely sitting at it . Afterwards, when I would massage her for her usual appointment we were still be able to discuss that cruise and she still remembers things that we did. I felt like that was a little prize. I was glad that I had made the video so that I could show her every day where we were and what we had done. She really did internalize the enjoyment of the trip.
It doesn’t always take a trip to make special memories with our loved ones. Time moves so fast, and we never know how precious those special moments are until we don’t have those people in our lives any longer. Take a moment to look up from your phone, computer, tablet, and spend a little time just enjoying the loved ones around you.
I have been a personal trainer and massage therapist for many years now. My specialty is getting people moving again. I have learned through the years that preventing injuries is as important as relieving pain after an injury. To that end, I have also learned Yoga, Tai Chi, Qi Gong and Pilates.
