A Small Pampering

I’m a sucker for pampering. Facials, massages, pedicures – would I like one? The answer to that question will always be “Yes, please”.

That’s right. I’m happy to pay someone to touch me.

In the interest of spreading the love, a group of friends and I, a good dozen years ago, hired professionals to come to the house, invited 20-some women and threw a party. It's become something of a tradition. The host house supplies Bloody Mary fixin’s, everybody brings a dish to pass, and we basically sit around in comfortable (read: elastic waistbands) clothes, tell jokes, and talk smart.

I believe we’ve solved a number of the world’s problems during these Salon Days; but as there is alcohol involved, no one remembers how we did it.

We either have to drink less or hire a court reporter. Why isn’t anybody writing this stuff down?

Since the initial Salon Day, we’ve done it maybe three times a year for the last 12 years. We can’t always afford something as silly as a day of doing nothing but sitting around relaxing and pampering ourselves; but it’s a small thing to make us feel good, a communal thing, a potentially tipsy and hilarious thing. Not to mention that you can pay someone to touch you.

Have you ever had a facial? Oooh, do it. Find someone who does it cheap. (Schools are good for this.)

The next Salon Day is in December, and we’re having it at my house, which means that I’ll have to clean it. No one’s catching me with that pile of dirty clothes that mysteriously accumulates on my bedroom floor during the work week…

Show of hands now: who wants a pedicure? I do – even in the winter in Minnesota. I go to yoga three/four times a week, which means that three/four hours a week I’m seeing an awful lot of my toes. Have you taken a good look at my feet lately?

Seriously! Why hasn’t someone done something about the condition of my feet?