Frederick County Public Schools, as an employer, has a wellness program for its employees and one of those offerings is called “Wellness Wagons” where each school is offered to have 2 massage therapists, a rep from HR, and a rep from their insurance carrier come in during a lunchtime (or other convenient time for the school).
I have been blessed to be a part of these Wellness Wagons as a massage therapist for a few years now. Each year, my love for FCPS keeps growing. Between the administrative people, custodial folks, food service workers, bus drivers, and as most people think about with schools, the teachers, I have enjoyed working with these folks whose desire is to pour themselves into the students they support.
While I understand there is a LOT of red tape, board meetings, and bureaucracy with education, the teachers and other support staff really do have their students in their hearts. I know there are to some that it’s just a job, but for the most part, they wouldn’t be there unless it was something so important to them.
Usually, when we are at the Wellness Wagons, we are mostly separated from the students. We have been on stages, stages that have been converted to music rooms, conference rooms, storage closets, music rooms(my favorite), art rooms(my second favorite), principal’s offices, and other various types of rooms because the rooms in the schools are being used and getting pretty crowded!
On occasion, the kiddos can see into wherever it is that we’re working and let me tell you, they are NOSEY!!!!!
The comments I overhear when they see what’s going on are almost always hilarious!
“They’re getting massages! My mom gets massages!” “How do they get that?”
While we were at Middletown Primary the other day, we were in an “activity room” that is right next to the gym, where there were classes going on. With only windows separating the giant rooms.
I heard one of the noseys yell something about “getting their nails done…” (while we were clearly working on their backs)
Kiddos are adorable, right?
Something else I saw that day is why I wanted to share this. The school educates children from Kindergarten to Second Grade, the littlest kiddos.
From our vantage point, we could see the playground where the kids were having recess, and I saw a teacher crouch down and tie the shoe of one of her students.
It sounds like a such a small gesture, but it really impacted me – because I could envision the care that the teachers truly have for their students – even down to tying their shoes.
I strive to have that kind of care for each person I touch, whether personally or business (massage or real estate).