So beautiful was the sky this morning, it just felt like a special day. Never mind that it’s a Monday, it isn’t a special day for any specific reason. But I am superbly good at finding reasons to celebrate. So today we will celebrate another perfect, Oregon summer morning. It is mid morning, about 75 degrees, the skies are the most perfect robin egg blue I have ever seen. The air smells sweet, not the least bit heavy. The breeze gently pushes and pulls the hair off your face…
“We should celebrate!”, this is what I am saying to my two daughters (4 and 6), “We’re going to get pedicures!” Neither know what this means, but they are wildly excited. The two chatter back and forth about our “peddlers”, not once asking what a pedicure is. I am buzzing with the anticipation of being pampered, of my girls loving this luxury.
We arrive at our neighborhood nail salon; full with petite Vietnamese woman; chatting to one another in exotic tongue. Lines of Pedicure chairs like soldiers across two walls, half filled with women on cell phones, engrossed in magazines, gossiping with their friends. One of the woman leads us to three chairs, side by side; my littlest is totally amazed by this woman’s waterfall of black, satin hair. ( We are not exotic, we are Swedish, blond, blue eyed, not at all exotic.) “You are sooooo buutiful.” she says, and the woman says to her, “No baby, you are so pretty.” Of course being 4 and the woman not speaking perfect english, my little girl just looks at her like she’s crazy.
The three girls who arrive to sooth my aching feet and my daughters pink little toes are giggling. It crosses my mind that they may think I’m crazy, or that they think these two little girls are so cute, or how will they do a pedicure on these two crazy, squirmy little things. It turns out that all of the above are true. My six year old is really ticklish and afraid of just about everything new, and my four year old is tiny. Her feet barely touch the water, let alone go under the water. But these women, new to the US, new to Oregon (only one of the three has been in the states for more then 2 years, and they are young) give my little girls and myself the best pedicure ever.
My daughters love it; they belly laugh when they scrub their heels, they purr when their feet are massaged, they glow as the women call them baby and shower them with compliments. I relax. Enjoy. Feel good. This I think could become a tradition, or a family thing that we all do together. Or at least that my Husband treats his girls to.
They choose their nail polish colors. My oldest chooses two colors, and the woman paints every other toe an alternate color. She paints a flower on the big toenails, and puts a rhinestone on. It is a masterpiece. My little one picks a lavender shade, she declares it is what color tinkerbell wears. The woman paints her little nails, and makes a crown on her toes, and also adds rhinestones. It is a big deal. We all sit and wait for our toes to dry. It is really hard for these girls to sit still. I think that this may not be a good idea after all. It could be a total waste of time and money. It could all be ruined, my hopes dashed, a little girls heart broken when her polish is smeared.
I say silent prayers that they can keep their feet from touching anything, I carry them to the car, without shoes one. And it works! Mission complete! We all have pretty toes, perfect pedis. My girls are so proud of their new polish, they show everyone who will look. Their little chests puffed up when a stranger comments on how fancy they are. And I was able to sneak in a little bit of luxury! WooHoo. I think this is cause for celebration! Ice Cream, anyone?
