“That was awesome!” This was the comment most frequently heard during the two hours I was doing minimassages on a constant stream of girls ranging in age from 5 years to around 12 years old. A couple of adults and teens snuck unto the line, too.
The event was called Girls In The Know and, in its first year, had 500 little girls and their moms sign up in advance. Several St. Louis massage therapists, including myself, were asked to volunteer at the event.
I’ve worked many events over the years: the Working Women’s Survival Show, Earth Day, the Muscular Dystrophy Telethon, and numerous health fairs, to name a few. When I walked into this event, though, and saw a sea of little girls, I thought, “Oh my goodness, this is going to be different!” To be honest, I was a little intimidated at first. I’m accustomed to working with adults at these events; what was it going to be like having scores of very young girls line up at my table? Well, I’m always up for an adventure.
What was it like? It was a blast! The first little girl, a young gymnast, was so ticklish I could hardly touch her. However, I have some techniques to overcome ticklishness and she responded well to them. She said her neck was always tight and no one could touch it, but I was able to massage her neck. She really liked it a lot and when she got up off the table, she exclaimed, “That was awesome!” Her best friend, also a gymnast, was next in line. I told them both how I worked with the gymnasts of Cirque du Soleil. They liked that. The second girl told me her mom massages her. I invited her mom to come to the office and I could teach her some specific techniques that would help her work effectively with her daughter.
The rest of the day became an endless series of little girls hopping onto and off of my table. Each one of them was adorable. They all dressed so colorfully and many had had their hair fixed with fancy braids. I loved their glittery little shoes and their smiling, bouncy energy. They were all so darn cute!
One mom took a photo of her daughter getting a massage. I hope she’ll send it to me. If she does, I’ll post it on my FaceBook page: Massage St. Louis.
By the end of the day, I was exhausted but very happy. The girls all looked like they were having a good time and they all loved the massage. From the first to the last, they all agreed, “That was awesome!”