An Ordinary Day...

Wednesday, April 12th started off as an ordinary day. The alarm sounded off at 6:00 a.m. like it always did. Reggie did his work day morning ritual, showering, grooming, selecting a suit and accessorizing with the perfect accents for Read more

Why are some people mean?

Why are some people mean? I'm not talking about a little mean, but bazaar, go out of their way to be mean. Recently I've encountered a few mean people, I remind myself that these situations will make me a stronger Read more

Maldives

Our last trip of 2016 was to the Maldives. Last year was one full of excursions, We traveled to Cameroon, Paris, Bali, Hawaii, New Orleans, New York, Chicago, Lake Tahoe, Atlanta, Napa, San Francisco, Dubai, and I must say Read more

Quote

It's okay to venture out of your comfort zone... Lately I've been doing it quite often. This weekend is going to be one of renewal, my personal Super Bowl. What are your plans? I will be working today and tomorrow. Happy Read more

Do you enjoy yourself?

Both of my kids are in New York, my son is in school in the Hudson Valley and my daughter is living in Brooklyn and working. So we are officially empty nesters, and have been so for a while Read more

nailpolish

Where Does the Mind Go, When it Decides to Leave?

Posted on by Gigi in Aging, friendship 2 Comments

I have been incredibly busy these past weeks. Between traveling and shotty internet, my blog has suffered-but I’m back. I’ve missed coming to this “place” sharing my thoughts.

You don’t need to be a neurologist to recognize when someone’s “brightness” is slipping away. What I find interesting is the moment it happens cannot be identified. Was it Christmas 2012? Was it the first time keys were misplaced? Was that the beginning? hmmmmm… I’m in trouble!

I’m a girlie girl who loves being pampered, and the older I get the more pampering I need to keep this body running smoothly. My “beauty services” are necessary indulgences, that help maintain my sanity. For the past 18 or so years I have been trekking across town to the Westside once a week to partake in various appointments. Once I find a person I like I am a lifer, a dream client that  will be there “rain or shine”.

I remember the first time I went to Jessica Nail Clinic, a friend of mine treated be to a manicure for my birthday. I loved my nails and was happy to find a shop that  was into healthy nails and did not do acrylic nails, which were all the rage back then. Leni, my manicurist  and I hit it off and I quickly snagged a “standing” appointment and have been going ever since. I developed a unique friendship with Leni, so much more than a client/service provider relationship. We watched our children grow up, shared our proud moments, our daughters graduations, medical school, marriage, grandchildren and our mutual love for Michelle watches. You would be amazed of how well you get to know someone spending an hour a week together year after year. As soon as I sat down she knew if something was wrong with me. We had a secret “eye” language that we would use when snotty rude clients walked in the shop.  Leni shared my tears when I lost my brother, went through a pregnancy with me, and my significant birthdays, there were a few sprinkled in during that period. We became each others confidants, even though our worlds outside of the shop did not intersect.

Endure

 

I can’t pinpoint the moment I noticed something different, but slowly I observed this sharp proud Romanian lady slowly start to slip away to some strange space. At first it was little things like “do you want coffee?” I stopped drinking coffee years ago, but every week she would ask. Picking out a color became an ordeal, changing an appointment was almost impossible, thankfully someone would  always come to the rescue. The ladies at the shop are like family, most of them came to this country from Romania. I had to pay attention to my manicure and help her keep on task with the various steps. Sometimes I felt as if I could feel her embarrasment for asking me questions over and over. I thought about leaving, and going somewhere else, but I couldn’t, deep inside I knew it was only a matter of time. My manicures suffered, but I could not abandon her at this point, even though I noticed some of her regulars disappeared.

So last week I cruised up to Sunset Plaza, stepped inside and did not see Leni. I was told that she got the “flu” and retired and would not be back. I was overcome with sadness, that quickly deteriated to a waterfall of tears. Leni was only in her early 60’s and just like that gone. Of course I pressed for an explanation and I got it. I was told that her last day at the shop she got so disoriented that she could not find her car, and they had to call her husband. She had been at the shop for over 20 years, all I could think about was no good bye, no farewell celebration, just gone.

My favorite Jessica color is “endure”.  I will always remember Leni when I wear this color…

Do you have a special relationship with your hair stylist? Manicurist? Massage therapist?

Xoxo,

Gigi

Manicure

Nails

Enhanced by Zemanta

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox

Join other followers:




Designed by: Kgrafix Creative Design