Why I Still Have Short Nails
Years ago, I used to get acrylic (fake) nails. I never had really pretty nails growing up. They could never get much longer than maybe that 1/8 of an inch of white from my fingertip.
Then I discovered acrylic nails! Professionally done, of course. They were beautiful, the polish would last for a couple weeks, and it gave me a chance to feel – girly.
I would choose colors like blue or purple – just enough different than the pink or red others may choose.
Sometimes I went subtle, sometimes I didn’t.
If I was going to a tropical location for vacation, I’d definitely choose a tropical azur blue.
For my wedding to Rick, I chose gold, since gold was the accent for our wedding regalia.
After awhile, for some reason, I stopped getting my acrylic nails. It was probably a stupid reason, but for whatever reason, I stopped.
Fast forward to massage school where one of the very first things they said: You cannot have long nails and be an effective massage therapist. Your clients do not want to get scratched by your nails.
Almost any hint of white on a fingernail could scratch a client, and make them uncomfortable.
So, I’ve been ok with having short nails.
Mostly. Sometimes, though, I want to feel – girly. With pretty nails.
When I got my real estate license, I started noticing more and more that the other female agents in the industry had such beautiful nails.
And frankly, I was getting a bit envious.
Well, if I focused only on real estate and gave up massage therapy, I could have pretty nails again.
And then, I get clients on my table….
Take for instance a sweet client who had been working the front desk for a successful local business. She was always so impeccably dressed, yet seemed somewhat unhappy.
After the shut-downs from COVID, I hadn’t seen her for over a year. A month or so ago, she contacted me that she needed a massage. Of course, I was happy to see her.
But when she walked in the door, her whole countenance had changed. She wasn’t impeccably dressed, as she used to be, but she seemed so much more open and happy. She let me know she had changed jobs to something that works with kids.
After the session, I mentioned (probably over-stepping boundaries) about how much happier she seemed, and she gushed about how changing jobs was the best thing for her. The old place treated her very badly, as they could kick her around like a puppy, but the new job was so rewarding to her because of the kids.
To by honest, this is one of those times that I probably over-stepped boundaries so much that they got kicked into the cow-field.
We hugged and told her how happy I was for her that she was happy.
I got misty-eyed with her happiness.
I realized that it’s clients like these that make me LOVE what I do.
In our “wellness space*” we are all independent therapists. Saturday’s are one of the days where therapists in the office tend to see regular clients and we each start recognizing each other’s clients.
In the last couple months, one of our office-mates has started seeing a gentleman who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness. The illness debilitates him so much that he has trouble moving and his wife has to help him into the space.
I saw them today and noticed that he’s moving even slower than before. It wasn’t a Saturday, so I was kind of surprised to see his wife and him there.
It struck me, also, that he and his wife go through this process to get him into a space where he can receive bodywork(massage) that will help some of the pain and debilitation. And they trust my office-mate to help him feel better.
I got a little misty-eyed again, and once again realized that even though it’s my office-mate that the gentleman sees, it’s the bodywork that can be so helpful. And that someone would trust us with that vulnerability.
But honestly, to get woo-woo, the body, soul, and mind are so interconnected that the bodywork he gets can also strengthen his soul…his spirit.
Maybe during and after his massage, he feels healing – of the emotional kind in addition to the physical healing – or soothing, maybe in this case.
What a powerful thing that bodywork/massage can do for a person – not just their body, but their whole body, soul, and mind.
And it’s clients like these (whether mine or my office-mates) remind me of why I still have short nails.
*We each rent independently of one another, but all do the same thing.