NIRVANA: An ideal condition of rest, harmony, stability, or joy.

Interesting title, huh? Well today I am completely convinced I found MY nirvana. After literally years of my hinting and finally outright telling Bill that I sure would like a spa gift certificate to go have a massage he came through this year for Valentine's Day. He put a lot of thought into it too as he didn't just get me any old massage. He got me the:

Samunprai Royal Thai Massage
Pronounced Săm-Mūn-prī, this deep heat muscle massage dates back to 14th Century Thailand when soldiers returned from battle. Take your body on an exotic journey of renewal; alleviate sore muscles, back and joint pain, reduce stress and feel re-energized. Ideal for athletes, "weekend warriors" and stressed-out people. (80 minutes)

He told me at the time that he thought it appropriate because it was "ideal for stressed-out people." Apparently he had recently opened the dictionary and happened to see my photo next to the word "stress." :-)

I was so excited but wanted to save this for when I knew I truly needed it. This week was that time. After a rocky work week, another week of interrupted sleep thanks to Anna's night time adventures and several pieces of bad/sad news I knew that I was ready.

I arrived at Simonson's 10 minutes prior to my appointment to fill out paperwork. I noted the areas most in need of help on my body (well they all need help but that is another story!) and focused my needs on my left shoulder and neck and the center of my lower back. Gab, my massage therapist introduced himself and took me to my room and explained how my massage would go. He was very very nice and completely put me at ease. He also told me that Bill did an excellent job in his massage selection and that I was getting the "Cadillac of massages" as he put it.

The massage was the BEST. I could feel him pushing the knots in my back muscles right out - poof they were gone. It was just truly truly amazing. I never fell asleep but I was utterly and thoroughly relaxed. When it was done I couldn't believe 80 minutes had gone by but sure enough I looked at the clock and it was nearly an hour and a half after Gab started working his magic.

Needless to say I will be saving up for my next visit and plan to request Gab and the same massage. My only question is why didn't I ever just do this for myself earlier? If you haven't I say life it too short. Go splurge on yourself!