To celebrate my husband Sean’s birthday, we treated ourselves to a date at a local hot springs spa. We each received massages, and as we lounged in the mineral pool afterward, we discussed how we could bring this level of connection and nurture home. So we established Massage and Movie Night, adding massage as a feature before our weekly viewing of Planet Earth.
We began with Lucas and Maya laying out every blanket we have in the house turning our family room into a giant red, pink, orange, white patchwork quilt of relaxation. We lit our fireplace candles and put on soothing music. I mixed up some sunflower oil w/ essential oil. Lucas and Maya waited expectantly, eyes aglow, spirits eager.
I said a prayer over all of us, thanking God that we have so much love in our family and that we can touch, heal and bring love through to each other with our hands. We all took a deep breath and agreed that we would go youngest to oldest. Maya lay on the red blanket excitedly waiting, arms tucked under in a modified child pose, as I poured oil into my hands.
What happened next was such a delicious surprise. Looking down at my daughter’s small back, her stillness, her innocence, transported me right back to her birth. To the overwhelming joy and love I felt upon our first external connection. Here she was this gorgeous, precious soul, love in form, and here I was mother, entrusted to guide and love and grow with her. The holiness of this moment, this anointing with oil the one you love, resonated in my entire being. I warmed the oil in my hands and placed them on her, this holy child, this gift, and I simply rubbed my Love into her, Love in me and through me from Spirit.
When I went to Lucas, it was the same. My holy precious, delightful boy. I remembered the eager expectation we had when he was just a babe, “What will he be like when he gets older?” As I anointed him with oil and rubbed my Love in, I drank in the knowing of his soul that we have now. The tender heart, the silly, playful spirit, the curious mind and more, the fullness of our life together.
As I moved on to Sean, it was the same, remembering what brought us together, the sweet love we shared then and how it has evolved. I felt so grateful for this chance to slow down and pour my love intentionally into him, especially him because as parents we get so busy and rarely remember to so consciously nurture each other. Lucas and Maya jumped in with their energetic selves and poured their love into daddy, throwing in lots of eager karate chops. “More oil!” they kept declaring as they loved the feeling of their hands sliding over their daddy’s back.
They tried a few experimental moves including rolling their whole body on Sean’s back. And Sean modeled the boundaries we had discussed by letting us know what he likes and does not like (which we encouraged L and M to do). Then it was my turn to feel the exquisite peace and contentment of the gift of my family’s jubilant love . This was a practice in presence and gratitude. We were all anointed, we were all healed, we were all resting in the grace of Life.
Since then, Lucas and Maya ask for “massage night” above anything else. It is so easy to speed through life, but it is so much richer to slooow down and be together with intention and love.