I Get By With a Little Help

As you age weird things happen to your body.  Sometimes parts of your body have to be replaced.  In 2008 I had my entire knee replaced.  It wasn’t so bad and now my knee doesn’t hurt constantly like it did for 2 years prior to the replacement. 

Even though I wish I didn’t need the replacement, I am less annoyed by this major surgery (brought on by years of high impact aerobics & the wearing of 3 inch high heels for 8-10 hours a day) than I am by the fact that one of my fingernails has a split in it and refuses to grown out or fuse together.  As a result, about once a month I have an acrylic nail placed over my natural nail.  I go to this very nice nail salon where 100s of women get each of their nails replaced, not because they are split, but just because they can sport really spiffy French manicures or else finally have long, strong nails polished in a variety of vivid colors.

These women have spectacular nails, especially when they gesture with their hands or pose nicely with a wine glass.  I’m usually pulling the sleeves of my sweater over my hands to hide my stubby nails beleaguered by years of yard work and key boarding.  (Although for a short time after my nail technician artfully sculpts my fake nail and smoothes & paints the others with a pale pink glossy lacquer, my hands look pretty presentable.)

Don’t get me wrong, the gentlemen who does my nails creates a hell of a realistic looking fake nail and I am in awe of his ability to create such beauty given the raw material (me) he has to work with.  As a result, I am quite fond of him.  Hell, I see him more than I see members of my family.  We know quite a bit about each other and he

really knows how to read me.  If he senses I’m not in a talkative mood, he quietly goes about his business.  If I’m my usual chatty self, we’ll have a spirited conversation about his son, his upcoming trip to Vietnam, our gardens or a particular news story that has captured our fancy. 

I’ve recommended him too many people (it turns out “split nails” are a common problem among the over 55 set.)  In addition, I tip him quite well and give him an extra generous tip at the holidays.  I’m not suggesting that others don’t do this, but I for one think his skills are greatly undervalued and that the normal charge for what he does is extremely modest.  I mean this man can create a replica of a natural fingernail with a mysterious mixture of powder & goop in mere seconds and it stays put for at least a month!

I wouldn’t begin to compare my Orthopedic Surgeon to my Vietnamese Nail Technician; although I have to say they both have provided me with viable solutions when parts of my body have failed me.  I guess the theme of this post is how the number of people I require to keep me pain-free, upright and well groomed continues to grow. 

When I was a pre-teen and teenager, I’d get a haircut at the beginning of every summer and then let it grow for the rest of the year.  I washed my hair with Breck shampoo and let it air dry.  I currently have a hairdresser who I see every 6 weeks for a trim and touch up and my shower ledge is filled with a variety of shampoos & conditioners geared to what stage of hair maintenance I am currently experiencing.  In addition, the variety of hair care “product” that fills my bathroom cabinets is too numerous to mention.  I am a sucker for “product” and not just hair product.  Albeit, I would need to devote another entire blog post to “facial care”. 

Needless to say, I feel my closeness with my hairdresser, and my nail technician, stems from the fact that we see each other so regularly and are always within inches of each other’s faces.  I once read an article that suggested that hairdressers should take psychology classes as part of their training given that so many people confide in and speak frankly to them. 

It’s a good thing I am retired, because I don’t think I could hold down a full time job as more and more of my time is taken up with beauty service providers and medical personnel.  Man, does that ever sound dismal… Perhaps I should just let time and nature take its toll.  NO!  As long as I have breath in my body I’ll continue to repair and replace; buff and wax; and color, cut and confide in my various care givers. 

I’m just saying…