I spent that week in the home of Practitioner Mary Golden, God rest her beautiful soul, learning the history and practice of Lomi Lomi, giving and receiving four hours of massage therapy each day, studying, snuggling her dogs, sharing a carry-in breakfast with my classmates, laughing, crying, learning. In the evenings, I explored the beautiful town of Grand Junction and hung out on the mountainside overlooks of the Colorado National Monument.
It was a really rough time in my life. I was very sick, mentally and physically--was down to a weight of around pounds on my 5'7" build and was about to be diagnosed with untreated Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
Two months from then, I was going to get unexpectedly pregnant with my daughter. I was lost and had no clue what I wanted to be when I grew up. I had no direction. But that week was transformative. And each year, during this week, I am given a reminder that the Great LOVE in our universe is always at work, guiding me on the path when I can't see the trail, carrying me.
The massage career I did not know I was about to embark on was going to grant me the opportunity to go to college and finish my education as a single mother. It was going to take me on countless adventures and introduce me to priceless experiences and friendships.
It was going to just barely and not without a LOT of help from my village support Taylor and me while I raised her. It was going to allow me to care for my loved ones when they were sick or injured or just needed to relax. And I am so, so, so eternally grateful for all of it.
