90th birthday

Stephen and I have been invited to another 90th birthday today, one of my former clients.

It will be lovely catching up with this gentleman who must have been 86 when I last saw him, and fit as a fiddle back then.

I have lost touch with most of my clients, after suffering the pericarditis. For too long, I was unable to socialise or work and thus didn’t get to see many of the people who had visited me regularly to relieve their aches and pains. One gets quite close to people in this situation and even though they are clients, they become more than this, even if one doesn’t see them outside of the clinic.

I remember a friend commenting about another friend not so long ago, ‘’oh, but you don’t know her like we know her.’’ I didn’t say anything, thinking the statement rather catty, but in my head, I was thinking, you know what, I probably know her more than you ever will. Once someone has a few sessions with a therapist like myself, they often end up sharing details of their pasts that they haven’t told anyone about before. When holding a tight muscle that has given the client grief, I was often given an image and when asking about this, the story around that particular trauma would be revealed, usually releasing it in the process.

Whatever occurs in these treatments is always confidential and stays within the doors of that treatment room. Having a massage client is no different from other situations, such as doctor/patient relationship. But that doesn’t stop one enjoying the visits and the contact of the different people. I always looked forward to the latest news from each of my clients – a visit to the tropics or the grandchildren, a cruise, whatever it was that had occupied that person since I last saw them.

With some, I would even share some of my news, though generally it was more one-sided towards the client. With some, there wasn’t any conversation. These people would melt into the table and only wakeup at the end of the session. I tend to be like that when receiving my massages. It doesn’t take long for me to be far away in another place.

As well as the people, I have also missed the music I used to play in my room. I had a large collection of new age cds. Occasionally, I will bring one up to the house to play. I had some lovely native American ones that I really enjoyed, Marina Raye being my favourite.

I also miss the essential oils which I always added to the carrier oil. These were full of therapeutic properties of which I would also benefit from. My bottles generally lasted a few days and when I made the new ones up I would randomly add different essences to the mix and invariably these would be perfect for the clients that came that week…and me.

I don’t miss the physical aspect of that job though nor the tie of having a steady stream of clients. It is so lovely these days to have my time to myself, to do whatever I feel like. Write, walk, visit the beach. What more could someone wish for?