How to Get a Massage at the Spa. Or: Is that guy gay?

Soooo . . . Gee. Where to start, where to start. Normally, I do not have so many crazy-loco stories to tell, but my life seems to be full of them right now. Let me just start with a disclaimer that says Julia Lynne's life is fairly normal, even with five kids. Then again, what's normal to me may be way out there for you. Who knows. Nevertheless, let's begin, shall we?

Last year during April and May, my dad was battling cancer. Cancer is that disease that rips your heart out and puts it back in with pieces missing. Even if you are healed of it, your life is never the same. If you aren't healed of it, life as you know it . . . or life as your family knows it . . . is turned upside-down, backwards, and head-over-heels. One of the hardest parts was that we were in the middle of our Little Miss getting ready to graduate with the local homeschool co-op. And the closer graduation got, the worse my dad's health became, and the worse dad's health became, the more worried I became about how things would turn out with graduation. Cancer takes you in vicious circles like that.

Even though we were usually over at my parent's house one afternoon a week to eat supper with them, it came to the point during his illness that we were over there several days during the week. I am thankful to God that we were given that time with him, though he did sleep a lot. Things got pretty intense during those few brief weeks.

The Sunday before he died was Mother's Day. Deciding what I wanted for a gift from my family seemed pointless, and I asked them to pick out what they wanted for me. What was more important for me was gifting my mother with something she would really appreciate, considering her circumstances. We really did not know how long dad would be sick; all we knew was that it could be an ordeal that would last many months. Mom was already exhausted and worn out, so we went together with my brother and sister to buy a gift certificate to the spa, hoping she would get a massage or something to relax her and make her feel special.

My husband and three older children decided that they would do the same for me. I was pretty excited about it because I'd never, ever been to a 'spa' before. At first, I thought mom and I might go get a pedicure together. Then I chickened out because I'd like to be fungus-free for the rest of my life, if at all possible. I'm so afraid of getting something from having a pedi or mani. Just gives me the creeps.

So, months . . . and months . . . and months passed by, until I finally committed to getting an appointment for a massage. I had had one last summer at Stone Mountain when we stayed at the Evergreen Conference Center during a meeting my husband had. It was marvelous. Things get pretty tight around here this time of year, especially my neck muscles. So, I thought it wouldn't hurt to be totally relaxed for all of our upcoming activities.

All I can say is that I shouldn't have thought so hard. I wasted brain cells having a thought like that. Who knew that having a massage could leave you more tense when you left than when you arrived?

To be continued. Gotta get ready for an evening out with the youth group.

J.L.