Self Love
Why Isn’t Mother’s Day More Often?
20
May
May
By Jennifer Elizabeth Masters
My kids are all very different. David is the middle child, the one most often looked over, yet he is the most sensitive, grounded and successful in so many ways. He asked me for my address and Adam told me later that he then researched the best spas within a forty-five-minute drive from my new home. He selected a Groupon for an 80-minute facial or massage at the Hotel Intercontinental on The Avenue of The Stars in Los Angeles and surprised me with it on Mother’s Day (from all of them).
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| Don’t you want to just dive in? |
Mothers are the most important person in our lives when we are children. They have the greatest impact on us than any other person. Why then, isn’t Mother’s Day celebrated more than once a year?
Yesterday, when I was enjoying my Mother’s Day spa day gift from my adult children I thought we need to celebrate Mother’s Day more often. I had such a fabulous experience that I wanted to share it with you. It is the small things that can make such a difference to us. We have to be fully present and grounded in each moment to appreciate what is before us.
Mother’s Day was just days ago. We might have a tendency to wait to use a Groupon gift our kids give us; I chose to schedule my day right away as I knew not only did I deserve it, I needed it. After the stress of a move and a booked client schedule, I needed a day of relaxation and pampering. I was not disappointed. If you haven’t
looked at Groupon for facials, massages or other delights do so. You can save a ton of money and enjoy more pleasure. Even the guys might enjoy a spa day, massage, facial, pedicure and use of a pool, steam, fitness and other facilities.
In the end, I share a bare-faced photo – no makeup after my facial. Aging doesn’t have to be something we fear, but rather an embracing and loving ourselves no matter how we look and no matter how old we are. When we love ourselves completely gaining weight is just a passage, as we notice more wrinkles appearing, it is not something that makes us look ugly, old or horrible, but evidence of wisdom we have gained through our experience along the road of life.
Self-nurturing is the most loving thing we can do for ourselves.
Most women put themselves last.
A lack of self-nurturing is the underlying cause of breast cancer.
My kids are all very different. David is the middle child, the one most often looked over, yet he is the most sensitive, grounded and successful in so many ways. He asked me for my address and Adam told me later that he then researched the best spas within a forty-five-minute drive from my new home. He selected a Groupon for an 80-minute facial or massage at the Hotel Intercontinental on The Avenue of The Stars in Los Angeles and surprised me with it on Mother’s Day (from all of them).As a flight attendant, I have stayed at Intercontinental Hotels in Europe and enjoyed them immensely. They are well-appointed and planned not missing a detail. Their spa embodied this luxury and careful planning. From the $10,000 Japanese Toto washlet in the ladies restroom, that greeted me as I locked the door, by automatically raising its lid, to the warm seat and water in the bowl. This is what I call sitting on the throne! The Intercontinental Hotel spared no expense preparing this spa.
Sitting down on a warm seat made me chuckle to myself, as I pushed buttons on the wall next to me I tested out the front spray, the back spray then the warm blow dry. Imagine never having to sit on a cold seat or use toilet paper again!
I changed into the comfortable robe left for me and followed the esthetician into the treatment room where I could have a body scrub, wash off in a beautiful jetted tub, I chose the 80-minute facial.
Elizabeth, cleansed my face three times using three softly fragranced plant-based products, steamed, exfoliated and massaged my face, neck, and arms. I felt relaxed and de-stressed when I left to surrender to the steam.
I cranked up the timer without being able to read the hash marks on the timer. I had no idea that I whirled the dial around to shake and bake! If I had it to do-over, I would carefully set the steam room for ten minutes. As I sat down on the stone bench, the steam billowed out of the pipe across the room from me. I closed my eyes and meditated. When I opened my eyes, I couldn’t see any of the walls around me. I felt like I was in a dense cloud. The idea of being in a steam room so filled with moisture I couldn’t see the walls was hilarious to me. I burst out laughing and couldn’t stop.
There was no one to hear me laughing. After I felt I couldn’t take the heat any longer, I slid along the bench to the wall and along the wall to the door. I turned off the steam on the outside thankful that I was in the cool air. I donned the robe from the spa again and made my way outside to the pool.
I had the entire pool and deck to myself. The water as I tested it was warm enough for me to walk right in. I created ripples in the water as I swam, the water filled up to the top of the overflow. I was my own ripple effect. I began swimming laps slowly at first. Our body has memory. It wasn’t long before I was back in the old groove of swimming competitively. In less than fifteen minutes I had done thirty laps. I was thrilled to see I still had it!
I love my solitude. For some, a people filled deck area might be more comfortable. I could hear a samba playing on the speakers near the water, other than the music, the quiet was absolutely what I
Elizabeth, cleansed my face three times using three softly fragranced plant-based products, steamed, exfoliated and massaged my face, neck, and arms. I felt relaxed and de-stressed when I left to surrender to the steam.
I cranked up the timer without being able to read the hash marks on the timer. I had no idea that I whirled the dial around to shake and bake! If I had it to do-over, I would carefully set the steam room for ten minutes. As I sat down on the stone bench, the steam billowed out of the pipe across the room from me. I closed my eyes and meditated. When I opened my eyes, I couldn’t see any of the walls around me. I felt like I was in a dense cloud. The idea of being in a steam room so filled with moisture I couldn’t see the walls was hilarious to me. I burst out laughing and couldn’t stop.
There was no one to hear me laughing. After I felt I couldn’t take the heat any longer, I slid along the bench to the wall and along the wall to the door. I turned off the steam on the outside thankful that I was in the cool air. I donned the robe from the spa again and made my way outside to the pool.
I had the entire pool and deck to myself. The water as I tested it was warm enough for me to walk right in. I created ripples in the water as I swam, the water filled up to the top of the overflow. I was my own ripple effect. I began swimming laps slowly at first. Our body has memory. It wasn’t long before I was back in the old groove of swimming competitively. In less than fifteen minutes I had done thirty laps. I was thrilled to see I still had it!
I love my solitude. For some, a people filled deck area might be more comfortable. I could hear a samba playing on the speakers near the water, other than the music, the quiet was absolutely what I
needed. I was thinking Mother’s Day needs to be celebrated more than just once a year. This day was too good to not do more often. I vowed to treat myself to a spa day once a month and swim first before my facial next time.
I took some photos of me in the pool and sent a text of thanks to my kids. It was a really good day. I was grateful that my adult children cared enough to gift me with something that I would enjoy every moment.
The moral of the story?
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| No makeup afterglow |
Treat yourself to the things you love and don’t worry about how you look when you do it. If you love to swim, then do it as often as you can. If yoga is your thing, do it every day. Whatever your pleasure enjoy the heck out of your experience and do it as much as you can.
