Movies, Massages and Allowing Myself to be a Little Bit Selfish!

I woke up Tuesday morning, leaned over to stretch and felt a sharp pain run down the left side of my neck into my shoulder. Ugg! What the heck was that? I moved around a little more and realized that I was unable to move my head to my left side without causing that same sharp pain. Either I had slept in a funny position or the stress I had been feeling the past few days was catching up with me. 

As the day wore on, I tried tylenol, my massage chair and finally a heating pad to loosen the muscles and relieve the twinges. Things started to improve, but I knew there was no way I'd make it to the gym that night. So when I headed home after work, I decided if I couldn't burn off my stress in the gym, I would try the next best thing. I scooped up my hubby, and we headed to the movies. It was time for a mental health break! 

The movie provided a nice respite from any real drama, and despite having to step away for a short bit to manage a work issue, it proved to be just what I needed to end the day on a high note. Truthfully, who could walk away from a movie with Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts and not leave feeling good about life! When I awoke this morning, it appeared that my efforts from the day before had paid off. The spasm in my neck had eased, and I only felt a slight twinge.  

As the morning wore on, however, the pain started returning.  If I wanted to get back to the gym, I knew I needed to try something different. After wrestling with the idea in my head for a little bit, I called and set up an appointment for a massage. Somehow, despite knowing the therapeutic benefit, I still felt a little guilty spending money on a massage. I am sure other Mothers can identify with my feelings. We've spent years foregoing extras for ourselves in an effort to give those extras to our children. The idea of spending money on something that only benefits us personally invokes feelings of both extravagance and selfishness. I had finally gotten to a place where I didn't feel guilty spending money on manicures and pedicures, but I hadn't quite reached that place with a massage yet. I still only allowed myself the luxury when something was hurting. 

This time the twinge in my neck, trumped my twinge of guilt, and I allowed myself to be a little bit selfish. There was never a question that the massage would improve the situation. Despite the pain induced by the masseuse as she kneaded and worked the knots, I left feeling much better than I went in. I had washed away the last bit of a stressful week, and was ready for a long walk to round out the day. Perhaps it was OK to be a little selfish once in awhile. Who knew, maybe I'd even start allowing myself to be a little selfish on a more regular basis.