You're Soaking In It

Now where do I get that hair-do?

When I turned 40 - an astonishingly brief seven years ago - I took the day off and spent it with my friend Winnie. Win was a woman who knew how to take care of herself, and was ready to show me the way. "First, we're going to get mani-pedis. Then we're going to have Thai food for lunch. And then you're going to buy a bra at Victoria's Secret."

I scoffed at everything but lunch. I do love me some Pad Thai.

But ... mani-pedis? I hadn't let anyone clip my toenails since I was a baby. And scrub my feet?  Soak my hands in ... mystery liquid? Remember the ads with Madge the aesthetician (I'm sure she didn't have such a fancy title back then) plunking her clients' digits into Palmolive dishwashing liquid?

Don't even get me started on Victoria's Secret. Me, pay $42 for a bra? I had long believed I wasn't sufficiently endowed to warrant such an expense, and thus resigned myself to uncomfortable and ill-fitting over-the-shoulder-pebble-holders for $12.50 on sale at Ross Dress for Less.

"Debra," Win said authoritatively, "You're 40 years old. It's time."

So we got all dressed up and went for our mani-pedis.  Since I abuse my hands with an abundance of clicking and finger-picking and dishwashing in non-Palmolive liquid, the mani was sort of an indulgent waste.

The pedi, however... well, what's not to love about immersing your tired toes in a hot bath, getting your calves massaged, having some pepperminty exfoliating mixture rubbed all over them and then never having to bend over to awkwardly trim your own toenails ever again as long as you live? 

Oh. Yes. I am forever and always all-in for the pedi.

And definitely go for stripes and leopard prints!

Lastly, the $42 bra from Victoria's Secret forever holds a special place in my heart (located conveniently close to my bosom). It only took one, but I've never gone back. It's not all sexy pushups and lace. There's wireless relief to be found there, too. After 27 years of bra-agony, to suddenly discover there exists a contraption that actually fits and is so comfortable you forget it's even there? And comes in a wide array of fun colors and patterns?

For my 47th, I splurged on four all at once. It helped that they were on sale, but really, I would've done it at full price. It's my birthday, and Win taught me it's okay to go big on your birthday (even if "going big" is a 34A).

Tomorrow I'll be soaking my feet in a hot whirling bath having someone else make my toes look pretty. And may I recommend this to all the ladies in the house? If you walk upright, you deserve a pedicure. And if you wear a brassiere most days of the year, you damn sure deserve to have it feel FANTASTIC! So go out there and treat yourself to (at least) one, wherever it may be and at whatever cost. You are worth it. We are all, every one of us, worth, at the very least, a decent, if outlandishly expensive, bra!

And some pampered feet.