A Box of Rocks

Yep. That's one of the things that Enoch got me for Christmas. But really it was so much more than that, and more than thoughtful.

The story of the gift actually begins in the summer of 06 when Enoch and I were dating and I was studying that summer in Asheville. At the very end of studies before I came home to Phoenix, I went to a spa and had a massage. Massages are something I splurge on every so often because they just feel so good. Anyway, this massage was a bit different. Rather than getting the traditional Swedish kind, I elected to go with a hot rock therapy. It felt incredible, and when I flew home the next day, Enoch commented on how relaxed I was. The massage apparently did the trick.

Enoch has always remembered that, and has secretly wanted to learn how to do it himself. One of Enoch's lesser known talents is with his hands. He gives great massages. He has had no formal training, but there was a time when he thought just a bit about going to massage therapy school. How lucky I am to have married a guy with such talents because I definitely benefit.

I digress. Back to the box of rocks. So Enoch told me that there was a gift he needed to give me before we went out to Hyder because he didn't want to haul it out there, so Tuesday night we opened them. They had to be opened in a certain order. So first I opened a box of rocks. They were of varying sizes, but all the smoother rounder kind. I came to find out later that he had gone to the Salt River riverbed to pick out the rocks on a Saturday when I was at school doing newspaper.

I was more than a bit confused by the rocks, but okay. Then I opened up a second much larger box that was a huge electric roaster plan—like for turkeys. By this time, I'm thinking, "what on earth is Enoch doing?" We already have a roaster pan for the oven, and we don't often need to use a roaster pan, so why this?

But then he gave me the third item, and it all came together. The last was a DVD entitled "Massage Nerd: Hot Rock Therapy." How sweet! My husband wants to be my personal massage therapist. Turns out the video is pretty hokey, and I don't know how much he can really glean from it. I suggested he get a hot rock massage done to himself professionally so he can feel and study what they are doing while he's having it done. He might get more out of that.

He did practice on me yesterday, and it was wonderful. With more time and practice, I'm sure it will only get better.

A pretty strange combination of items certainly led to a pretty fabulous and thoughtful gift. I love you, Enoch!