In a small town like ours, boundaries and roles are often blurred, there aren’t that many of us, and we cross and blur the lines out of necessity. I normally would not know my massage therapist out of our work together, but Many is a close friend of me and of Maria.

She is one of the Good Witches who meet every Wednesday at the Round House Cafe (Mandy, Athena, Maria.)

She is also  a student in my writing class.  She eats regularly at the Round House Cafe.

Mandy, a single mother of two wonderful young women,  is also a gifted and conscientious healer who has helped keep me healthy. I was intensely wary of massage before Mandy, her manner and professionalism calmed me and opened me to this powerful kind of medicine.

After my open heart surgery two years ago, Mandy came to the farmhouse every week to do massage and energy work, it was a transformative experience for me helping me to rest, feel strong and experience some of the most intense peacefulness I can remember.

I fell asleep within seconds of her arrival, and felt so extraordinarily rested and healed when she left. I miss that feeling sometimes.

We manage all of these different roles together almost seamlessly and with care and respect for boundaries. We respect these lines.  My massage work has nothing to do with the writing class, and those roles have nothing to do with the lovely dinners we often share with Mandy, where we talk easily and openly well into the night.

And Maria rarely speaks of her own conversations with Mandy, unless she asks that they be shared.

I think in cities those criss-crossing of roles is less likely to happen, here, it is something we know how to do, and is necessary to do. It is a part of real community.

Today, I had lunch with Mandy to talk about her writing, she is a natural writer doing terrific work in the class.  We went over story ideas, I try to meet with my students whenever possible to clear up any misunderstandings and see what I can to do help.

Then we went to her office for a massage. Massage is important to me, I never thought of massage until a few years ago, and now it is essential to me, especially as I age and work to control my diabetes and my heart.

Both are under excellent control and Mandy is one of the reasons. Today she did some energy work, and this is something I barely understand but have come to love and respect.

I find it meditative, relaxing, it transports me to another place. Today, I saw myself floating high above the earth on a crisp, cool day, the wind carrying me along, as if in a balloon. Below me, cows grazed, I sailed over rows of corn and alfalfa, then over green hills and streams.

It was a beautiful feeling. Transported again. This week was stressful, Maria and I were working on fund-raising for her trip to India. I needed this message, it was important. Mandy’s energy work lifted me up and put me down gently.

On the way out, I saw this beautiful light streaming through the window and I asked Mandy if I could take her portrait, she hesitated for a moment,  but agreed.  Mandy is one of those people who would rather not be photographed, I guess, but also respects the art of it. I guessed the light and her face would be a good match and they were, I think the camera captured the serenity and warmth of Mandy, the healer.