It was my mums brirthday on Friday and both my mum and my sister were able to get the day off work so my sister suggested we all go for a morning at a spa. We had about 3 weeks notice so plenty of time to work on the knot of anxiety that sprung up as soon as it was mentioned.
Three weeks later that anxiety was still very much there but it was for my mums birthday so I had to brave it and go. I had a good chat with my amazing friends about it and spur of the moment on Wednesday night Lindsay drove me to the metro centre and I bought a new swim dress which I love 
It actually did help my anxiety ease a little to know I had a swimsuit that looks good and is fun with the skirt and all. So in my bag it went ready to go.
On Friday morning I was using all the relaxation techniques I could remember to calm down. We left in plenty of time to get there for 9am and despite the sat nav we borrowed from my dad being out of battery we found the place easily with me navigating using my phone. First big nervousness was the changing rooms but I found I didn’t even mind they were communal as I had started to have fun already on the rode over. The robe even fitted my ample figure mostly (it didn’t do the full wrap around but met in the middle so I call that a win). The actual spa was lovely, nice size pool and a steam room, sauna and bubble pool which as we circulated around them relaxed me so my anxiety wasn’t so bad. As the morning wore on I was having actual fun and was almost anxiety free. It was amazing. And my head massage (despite the fact I’ve still got oil in my hair after washing it) was so relaxing that after a few minutes I didn’t even need the deep breathing to dispel my anxiety. I can’t remember the last time I smiled so wide and felt so relaxed.
After the treatment it was time to get dressed and because we had been out of water in fluffy gowns for a while I was mostly dry and my pain level was not too bad so despite taking a while it was quite easy. Lunch was lovely and the rest of the afternoon we spent watching a movie and going for a lovely walk when my dad was home from work.
All in all I had a great day despite my anxiety trying to ruin it. I felt quite free for once overcoming it to have a truly good time. I will most definitely be going back soon – I already have three sets of plans to return including for the weekend for my mums 60th next year.
So that’s it. I learned that despite what I always feel I can in fact completely master my anxiety. It’s hard, it takes a huge effort to get there and the fact a spa is meant to do exactly that helped, but I can do it. I will leave you all with some pictures of my awesome weekend when we took a short walk to Low Force (that I’m still paying for with pain). I’ve had a great long weekend and a small barbecue today will finish it off nicely.
My Spoonie Life 