Lilies and Noshoulds

For Valentine's Day, I have not one, but two gifts to give you. First, flowers. These Salmon Lilies were in bloom at the park I was hiking in yesterday. Apparently they only show up for three weeks per year, so spotting them is a treat. Enjoy the beauty.

Second, I give you a day without shoulds. Sometime during the next week, you are hereby instructed to chill, indulge in extreme self-care, waller around all day like a lazybones in your pajamas if you feel like it, read a whole book in one sitting, take a three-hour bubble bath followed by a mani-pedi, or whatever seems fun for an entire day. Be sure to include that thing you always want to do but never allow yourself to because it will make you feel guilty for not accomplishing anything. (For me, that is reading a book in the daytime.) In fact, you are forbidden to accomplish anything on your special day. If you can't afford a whole day, no worries. Take a half-day, four hours, whatever you can manage. 

This gift is scientifically proven to improve your health. It is courtesy of Pingping, my acupuncturist. She is my own personal Mr. Miyagi. (If you're too young for that reference, watch The Karate Kid.) The reason I like Pingping so much is that I really enjoy being able to turn my head. She and Kate, my massage therapist somehow manage to un-jigger me every time my neck painfully freezes up. Thankfully, this happens less and less often as the horrible car accident two years ago, which I may have mentioned a time or two but am now finally almost completely over, fades into the distant past. Though, it happened two Saturdays ago. After months and months of enjoying good health, I awoke locked in the forward-facing position, which brought me back to Pingping. 

Pingping is wise and does not use unnecessary words, kind of like a certain guy I know. When she talks, I listen. After my treatment, she said what she always says, "Muscles too tense. Go home. Rest. No exercise. No work. Take hot bath. Relax. Just relax." 

Of course, I had to listen. It was Dr.s orders. And there was that memoir, A Faery Tale, I'd just started calling from my nightstand. I read it all afternoon. Got nothing done. Felt so much better the next day. Within a week, I was back to full-range gawking abilities. Thanks to Pingping & Kate and a few should-free days. 

My working theory is that if you allow yourself a total chill day every so often, you can avoid the frozen neck, backache, tummy trouble, or whatever you are prone to, ahead of time. Preventive medicine. If, like me, you need permission to chillax, here is my prescription: "Muscles too tense. Go home. Rest. No exercise. No work. Take hot bath. Relax. Just relax."