The Sauna

I've never really liked saunas.  Maybe it originates from a time long ago when I was a
girl and we were playing hide and go seek and I thought my friends said, "Let's hide in the sawmill" instead of a "sauna".  It was an old, historic house in a little historic town and I somehow thought they had a sawmill in their basement.  That's not traumatic at all..

I sometimes will go into them with friends, but to me, why would I go into a hot, dry place of my own free will?  Yes, I do compare saunas to Arizona and that other place that's got 4 letters.  I mean, it's really HOT.  Reminds me of the joke about Arizona- "What do Arizonans bring with them when they go to Hell?  They bring sweaters!  haha.  Yes, I still have memories of buying a chocolate bar in a store and it melted in my hands on the way to the car.  While I like Arizona, I will definitely avoid it in the heat of the summer.

Well, in the way life gives you strange twists, where have I been finding myself this week?  In a sauna.  I think my husband thinks it's relaxing for me- I guess it is somewhat.  Having quiet for a half hour is kind of nice.  Being hot for a half hour and feeling like you're going to melt?  Can't say that's on my bucket list.  If it was I would have already struck it off with living in Arizona for two years.

I have been spending time in a sauna because my doctor told me to.  Yep, that's right.  It was medical advice to "detox".  I think I might share this advice with my husband because you know what?  You can't bring a cellphone into a sauna- at least if you want to keep it working, you can't, so maybe I can tell him he needs it for a "technology detox".

My husband laughed at me and chided me for taking the book he got me for Christmas into the sauna and that the binding is all melted so now it's just looseleaf paper.  I told him, "Well, what would you do if you had to sit still for a half hour- do you think you could do it without any stimulation?"  I didn't really get an answer back.  My friend and doctor mentioned that I could, "pray the rosary".  Yes, that's a great idea and as a Dominican, I'm supposed to do that.  I guess it's one way I could REALLY try to meditate on the Sorrowful Mysteries, but there's no way I could make it a half hour.  I would end up meditating on how miserably hot I was.  Perhaps my friend thinks I'm a better person than who I am at this point?

So, I've been baking in the sauna and having a half hour of quiet.  No kid, no husband, no iPhone or radio or TV.  That's somewhat therapeutic.  The book that I'm reading and is looseleaf paper now is really good and refreshing.  I did have the thought that it takes roasting in a kind of "hell" for me to slowdown and read some good spiritual reading.  It was actually cool to read about St. Margaret in a dragon's stomach and feeling like I was right there with her.  All kidding aside, sometimes it takes unexpected things to find yourself in a place you never thought you'd be and enjoy it for reasons you never thought you'd enjoy it.  I'll have to write more later about the great "sauna" book I'm reading- you can check it out below.




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