Get Ready

I declared today – the day before I leave for Florida to go to my 40th high school reunion – SPA DAY. It was a day to pamper myself and I did just that.

For Mother’s Day, my husband had graciously given me a gift certificate to Serenity Day Spa. When I called to make an appointment, I learned that it was a little more than I needed for a standard massage, so I decided to extend it just a bit and get a manicure and pedicure as well. I hadn’t done my nails since my bad experience a year ago at a place that was obviously not so hygienic.

I’m not used to the spa routine where they give you a big fluffy robe and slippers and then send you on your circuit of “treatments”. But I’m very adaptable.

The massage was first. Erin got high marks for not hurting me, but unfortunately the litmus test she was being measured against classified the overall massage as somewhat mediocre. It was obviously timed for 50 minutes – and definitely not 51! Like with any form of exercise or even piano practicing, it would seem there should be a warm up at the beginning and a cool down at the end. But this massage was just the same rhythm, the same intensity for 50 minutes. I knew exactly what I was dealing with when she commented that she liked to schedule her clients as close together as possible so she could be done and go home.

But from a somewhat mediocre massage, I moved on to the best manicure and pedicure I could ever imagine. In contrast it lasted a full 90 minutes with a beautiful Japanese woman who really knew what she was doing. Reminiscent of the tea ritual, she introduced each step in the process from choosing the color of polish to the final topcoat. She was careful to be thorough but never to hurt me. She actually said I had good nails, a real first! I confided to her the fact that orthodonture had cured me of nailbiting.

The final stop on spa day was to have my hair cut by Richard at Axis. He laughed as I told him where I was going tomorrow, realizing he was just 5 years behind me. He did his usual magic on my hair, blow drying it as I can never do it. The great thing about Richard is that he has figured out how to color my hair so I only have to get it done about every 4 months.

Then spa day was over and I returned to the real world of taking Dylan to the vet’s and thinking about packing. The tension level at home is rising, so it is none too soon that I’m leaving on a jet plane.

Posting from PC may be somewhat problematic because there is no Internet access where we are staying. We have a choice of Joey’s Pizza or the Cajun Shack, neither of which sounds terribly appetizing. I will take pics, but the report may not be up until I am back on Monday. There will definitely be a lot to tell!