Marlena

Why was I so excited? I had a very big day on Saturday and it was great :-) We went to Brimfield on Saturday - me, Rusty, Rusty's parents, and my parents. I love Brimfield. It's a week-long fair full of antiques and vintage articles of everything - furniture, dinnerware, clothing... you name it. It's pretty famous. There are acres and acres of vendors with stuff that's truly unique and either treasure or junk.

After Brimfield, we all went out to dinner and added Rusty's brother and his wife. We went to a really nice restaurant in Worcester called Castellana's. Mmm... I joked at dinner that I seem to go back and forth between not wanting to eat anything, and wanting to eat everything within arm's reach. My stomach was in bottomless pit mode, which was fantastic.

Now, there's one thing I haven't mentioned about the day, yet, and that was how it all started - with my massage.

There's a spa I've been going to for the last few years with my mom to get my toes done (I love to wear sandals) and occasionally to get a facial or a manicure. I also oftentimes get massages with Marlena, a phenomenal massage therapist. Within the last couple of years I've been trying to be more regular about getting massages because I've found that it really makes my back feel better and it's a good remedy for my "computer arm".

I don't know if this is normal or not, but I usually talk through most of the massage. Marlena and I will talk about anything- upcoming vacations, the Galloway running method, preparing for a party... anything, really. This makes my more of a rejuvenating and refreshing experience than a relaxing one. For someone I have only met a dozen or so times, I feel like she knows me pretty well.

When I originally found out about having cancer, I wanted to make sure that I could still have regular massages. I read that massage is actually a recommended complementary treatment to traditional medicine. In my mind, there was no question - I would tell Marlena and she would be a part of my healing. I scheduled a massage for a few days after diagnosis. When I went to see Marlena she gave me a big hug and let me know that she would be happy to be a part of the process and she let me know that she actually was trained in working with clients who were undergoing cancer treatment. I wasn't surprised - she's really good :-)

So, since then, I've been going every two weeks on the chemo off-weeks. (My muscles are usually too sore and fatigued on the weekend after chemo.) This past Saturday I had a massage at 9:00 AM so that we would have plenty of time to get to Brimfield and still enjoy it.

At 8:45, I walked up the steps to the door of the spa and as soon as I entered I was greeted by Marlena with her head shaved! I was so shocked and surprised - she hadn't even seen me with my head shaved, yet, and she had the guts to shave hers! I kept giggling because it was just so funny and it was also very touching. We admired each other's head and then it was off to my massage.

Right before I left, we took a picture. I already can't wait to go back. Thank you, Marlena!