Hair and Manicures

Before the boys were born, I would go to a salon and have my hair cut.  I also had it colored or had a clear gloss put on it.  I was working full-time and Chris was working full-time and we had a little extra money to spend on luxury items.  Usually, I would have a manicure while I was sitting waiting on my color.  It was nice to have someone do my nails for me.  But, that all changed after David was born.  I still went to the salon, but only for haircuts.  And since I was a regular customer, the boys got their hair cut for $5.  I was lucky enough that the stylist (and owner) would come out and trim David’s hair while he was asleep in his car seat.  As for manicures, I was lucky if I could keep polish on for more than a day or two, so it wasn’t worth the money.

After a while, he was too expensive and we found another place to go.  At the new salon, haircuts were inexpensive.  They also had a several massage therapists and I loved having massages, although those were a treat.  I was teaching pre-school when we went there, so I got to have a massage a couple of times a year.  And I would pick a massage over a manicure any day of the week.

Massages in Colorado are much more expensive than they were in Illinois at the little salon on Sheridan Road in Winthrop Harbor.  I try to have one every year, but it doesn’t always happen.  As for a manicure, I don’t remember the last time I had one.  But, I do have a paraffin wax machine and wax my hands frequently (especially in the winter).  Since Colorado is dry, my hands seem to suffer.  The paraffin wax is wonderful and really feels like a treat.  It really wasn’t that expensive for the machine and the wax is reasonably priced.  David and Michael also enjoy having their hands done too.

My nails have been short for some time.  Working with pre-schoolers and Significant Special Needs kids for the last 8 years required that I be very careful not to scratch them and so I kept my nails somewhat short.  And polish, well it just wasn’t worth it.  I did give myself pedicures on a regular basis instead.

When I was a kid, I would bite my nails.  I broke myself of the habit when I was a senior in high school because I wanted to have nice nails and hands for prom.  And I pretty much kept from biting my nails until I was without a job in June.  The stress was immeasurable and I found myself biting my nails.  I hated doing it, but it seemed that it quickly became comforting to me.  I don’t know how it happened so quickly.  When I found out that I got the teaching position at the high school, I started trying to quit biting my nails.  For the most part, I have been successful.   I have two fingers that have shorter nails – they have just taken a long time to grow back.  But the rest of my nails are at a pretty good length.

Now, since I am teaching high school students, I can let them grow longer.  And longer nails need polish.  I’ve done pretty good keeping up with them and most days they look pretty good.  So, I think that it might be time to start back to getting manicures again.  My grandmother had gorgeous nails.  She went once a week.  I don’t think that I have that kind of time or money – maybe once a month.  Anyone have any thoughts?