I prepare the tools of my art. I will travel deep into my head…entering a zen like state. The cares of the outside world wisp away like smoke. 

Let us begin. 

A clean canvas…

Color…

A protective cloth…

Water…

A clean brush….

A cuticle trimmer…
Wait. 

What – you say?!? 

What is a cuticle trimmer?

Besides the patently obvious answer that it’s a tool to trim cuticles – it is a very small, very sharp instrument that trims the extra skin around the nail. 

You know… when you get (or give yourself) a manicure.

Too girly. Right?

Waste of time. Yeah?

ZEN LIKE STATE?

Before you assume that I’m some frilly, frivolous, high-maintenance housewife from wherever – have you ever had a manicure? Or better yet – taken the time to give yourself one? 

Some of the most relaxing time I enjoy each week is spent dipping my fingernails in an acetone- soaked sponge, soaking them in hot sudsy water and leveraging that “never say die – the stressful world won’t kill me” artist deep inside to paint each one of them perfectly. 

It truly is one of the few artistic things I do. 

But a manicure can be so much more than a fun, girly, even pseudo artistic thing to do. It can be the catalyst for some really significant female bonding. 

Over the last several years of my mother’s life (even as her hearing failed, her eyesight dimmed, and her memory faded), some of the sweetest moments we spent together were over a bowl of sudsy water. I would file and paint her nails and we would chat about life. Toward the end, we would play games to help her remember people and places. It is those moments I conjure when struck with grief and longing. 

On a happier note, I invented a intimate little party I called “Margaritas and Manicures” (or “Merlot and Manicures” for those who are tequila-adverse). An evening spent with girlfriends or female family members. Drinking, nail painting, gossip swapping – so much fun! Although truth be told, I had to revise it to “Manicures and Margaritas”. We discovered fairly early on that one didn’t turn out so well if you’d already had too much of the other. 

Something as silly as lacquer on nails can result in so much more. A moment of peace at the end of a long stressful day, a memory to be carried deep in your heart, or a belly laugh so outrageous that you can’t breathe. 

So much more than just polish.