After suffering through the hottest days we have experienced in Connecticut in quite some time (105 degrees!!) I decided to leave work a little early today to go to the spa. I jumped in the truck and plugged in the GPS unit my parents gave me for my recent birthday, and typed in “spa.” I ended up in Glastonbury, with a nice woman who gave me a foot, hand, and back rub in addition to a pedicure and manicure.
I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve had my nails done in my life. The first was with Catherine when I went home with her in 2000 so she could vote in her first (mine as well) presidential election. We went to the Philadelphia art museum the afternoon before voting, and there was a group of people sitting on the steps – made famous in the movie “Rocky” which I have yet to watch but heard so much about from my Philadelphian friend – each holding a letter to spell out “Vote Gore.” Catherine of course wanted her photo taken with them, and as I was framing the shot I heard a male voice behind me asking if it was the first time we were voting. I told him yes, and we were both very excited to finally be a part of the process, took the photo, turned, and guess who was standing next to me?
This might not be a big deal to most people, but for Catherine and I – both huge Law & Order fans (or Orderly Lawns as it’s often called in conversation) it was huge. He told us both that he was in town on break from filming, and that he was campaigning for Gore.
I was, sadly, not very articulate – I think I actually said “ohmygod, I LOVE Law & Order!” to the man – but Catherine was, of course, totally calm and actually spoke with him for a few minutes as we walked into the museum to see the Van Gogh exhibit they had at the time.
I blame my lack of grace on the fact I had a total crush on the man. I do love a man with silver hair.
Back to my pedicure – I think that sometimes people underestimate the importance of taking time out and doing something nice for themselves. I have a lot of friends who seem to get lost in work, or school, or family life, and never do anything just for them. Every now and then you need to go get a massage – or whatever it is you get personal pleasure from – or you know the saying, “all work and no play make jack a dull boy.”