Oh By the Way, You will shine, you will shine, you will shine! While on spring break, my sweet friend booked each of us a massage. The four adults were all going to go at 10 AM. I forgot that I had a virtual appointment with my surgeon at 10:45. I did not want to have to cut my massage short, so I talked to the receptionist about moving my appointment. She suggested that perhaps my masseuse would simply come in early at 9:30. I said great! I met Oscar, a cute man who stood maybe 4’ 10” at the new time and off we went down the hall. I immediately thanked him for coming early and he asked why I needed to change my appointment time. I answered oddly by over-explaining. “Well, I have breast cancer and I need to have a Zoom call with my doctor,” I said. After I spit that out, I thought to myself, ‘Why did you have to say all that? He doesn’t want to know all that. Why couldn’t you have just said, “I have another appointment?” Oscar simply replied, “Oh.” 

The massage was relaxing and nice. Pretty typical but thoroughly enjoyable since it was my first massage in over a year. As we neared the end, he asked me to take some deep breaths. He held his hands over my face and took them with me. They were seriously deep breaths. Then he took a finger and placed it on my forehead and the other on my stomach. He began to talk or rather pray/meditate/chant. He asked me to imagine my family and my friends. He talked about wishing them love and gratitude. He then asked me to imagine myself happy and healthy. He ended with the words, “You will shine, you will shine, you will shine.”By that point, I could barely contain my emotion. I welled up with tears and regret not telling him about my nurse friend who wished me those same words weeks prior. I simply couldn’t speak. I just thanked him and walked back to the locker room in shock. Why is the phrase coming back to me again? What does it mean?


I had to start this blog with the Oh By the Way because it’s just really an amazing nod back to my previous blog, You’re Going to Shine Today. I can’t make this stuff up. It amazes me how the world works if you are just paying attention. I’m paying attention as I navigate this journey through breast cancer. Somebody is sending me a message, so Im sending it to you. I’m also imagining Oscar. I see him deep breathing, happy and healthy, and I’m grateful to have met him.