It’s kind of ironic, but really quite fitting, that Mother’s Day in this country originally began as a day of work for women.  Back in the 1850s, Ann Reeves Jarvis of West Virginia organized the first “Mother’s Day.”   The goal of the day was to improve sanitary conditions in hospitals and reduce the instances of milk contamination in an effort to reduce the extremely high infant mortality rate of the time.

In the 1860s, during the Reconstruction era, Jarvis expanded the Mother’s Day event to include caring for soldiers wounded in the Civil War and promoting peace and reconciliation between Union and Confederate soldiers.

Today, mothers continue to do the hard work – in the home, the office, on the battlefield, the playing field – as heads of households, heads of corporations, or heads of PTAs.  Regardless of the kind of work they do, they all share one common thread -they nurture us and foster our growth and development.  They guide us on our paths, cheering us on when we are most in need of encouragement; they pick us up when we stumble; and they lovingly let us go when we are ready…but they never stop being mothers.

The innate need to nurture, love, and care for others runs deep in women – quite often at the expense of their own health and well-being.  I don’t think there is anyone who does not know of a woman who has sacrificed her own well-being in her efforts as caretaker for children, spouse, her own parents.

Mothers have a limitless capacity for love; they also tend to ignore the aches, pains, and strains of trying to be all things to all people.  The average woman may consider an hour of massage therapy as a luxury she wouldn’t even consider.  Yet, just one hour can do wonders to relieve the tensions she may carry in her neck, shoulders, back, or feet.

The team of massage therapists at Bodywork Professionals want to help give mothers the same kind of nurturing treatment that moms give to others on a daily basis.  For the past several years, owner and licensed massage therapist Nick Pavoldi has crafted his own unique gift certificates.   Using a Golding #7 letterpress dating back to the 1880s and Strathmore paper, he lovingly creates each card to be a thing of beauty and a symbol of the kind of care and attention that Bodywork Professionals massage therapists give to each client.

Whether it’s for your own mom, a mother in your office who deserves some special treatment, or even someone you know who “mothers” and cares for rescue animals or orphaned pets, show her your appreciation this Mother’s Day by giving her the gift of massage.