Michelangelo’s Momentum

I’m feeling anxious. A client is nine minutes late for their session and took their credit card off file. Without the card, I have no way to charge them for the missed session. Will they do the right thing and put it back on their account, or will I have to eat the cost of over a hundred dollars for the hour? It’s frustrating, and I’ll definitely need to make a line on my intake document for credit card information.

Boo.

On another note, I’m going to have a night and day all to myself. Evelyn and Dave are headed to the cabin with Dave’s friend Jeff to prepare it for the next Airbnb guest. I’m looking forward to having a tremendously large bed, and the freedom to bee-bop around the house as I please.

It’s funny how time seems to slip away. What once felt like an abundance of free time now feels like a fleeting shooting star in the night sky.

Finally, the client called. They hadn’t realized their card wasn’t on file and had a chaotic experience at work that kept them from attending the session. While it’s understandable, I can’t help but wish they had let me know sooner. If they had, I would have been more willing to discount the no-show cost.

In my new break I hit up Subway, and notice the view of Mount Rainier is unfortunately obscured. The pristine beauty of it is hidden behind the smoky veils of our Independence Day celebrations. I hope there’ll be a movement banning fireworks on the ballot at some point, yet I am all too aware it wouldn’t be successful.

On a personal note, I may have exaggerated the other day. It seems the pain in my groin region was likely just a strain, and it has resolved now. I feel a bit embarrassed about making a big deal out of it. But hey, it’s not the end of the world. I can now empathize with a client in their 20s who has a tendency to self-diagnose with serious conditions, and see the value of helping them manage their panic-related symptoms, so they can make informed decisions about their health concerns.

Our bodies, complex as they are, serve as vessels that drive us toward all that is meaningful and valuable. However, health conditions can be like a wrecking ball, shaking the very foundation of who we are.

I had another interesting experience with a client recently. She shared her discomfort with a married friend’s overly flirtatious behavior. He would place his hat on her head and sit too closely, which after allowing this to go on all night made the client feel disgusted with herself afterwards. During our session, I emphasized the importance of setting boundaries. We discussed ways to establish “light boundaries”, such as removing the hat to start, but then if that’s not respected, to set a stronger boundary, like a direct comment about not appreciating it or even removing ourselves from that person’s space.

In setting boundaries and working with others to set theirs, I view this process as an art form—a work in progress. It’s like sculpting the David, and even that masterpiece took three years. Perhaps by turning boundary setting as part of a lifelong journey, we can acknowledge the ways we are constantly evolving, as are the people around us. The result? We establish trust in ourselves, today and every day after, which I believe will create a truly spectacular work of art of which we can be proud.

Love, Jaclynn