The Spa Treatment.....

This morning I finally used a gift certificate for a local spa which was given to me by daughter #2 and her husband.  It was due to expire at the end of February.  After 5 years.  Yes, it took me five years to get up the courage to call and use it.

It was for a Swedish massage, but since I have been having a lot of trouble with the skin around my eyes, I traded it in for a facial.  And I am so glad I did.

The place is lovely, very calm and serene as you enter.  I was greeted right away and asked to fill in a little information about myself.  I was taken into a small, darkened room, given a towel wrap to put on and told to slip under the blanket on the table in the room.  It was heated! There was a large photo of a deserted beach in the room which emitted the sounds of the ocean waters lapping on the shore.  Ah, yes, I could see this was going to be a wonderful experience.

A bit unlike my first time.  The technician today inquired as to when my last facial was.  "About twenty years ago", I replied.  She seemed surprised.   I'm not.  Many, many years ago, a woman who worked for the Englishman suggested he give me an all day spa treatment at Elizabeth Arden as a Christmas gift.  Silly girl.  Now perhaps she found this to be a wonderful experience but I wasn't so sure. I didn't have much time to fret about it or delay the experience because the Englishman was taking me to NYC for our anniversary that February.  As we stood outside the red door of Elizabeth Arden, (yes it is very red), I grabbed the Englishman by the lapels of his coat and begged him,  "Please don't make me go in there!"  Seriously.  He laughed, peeled me off his coat and sent me inside.

It was....OK.  I was uncomfortable in the situation - I didn't know what the protocol was, where to go, how much to tip and when, etc.  Most of the women there seemed quite at home, like this was a weekly experience.  Which it probably was.  Not me.  I'm more comfortable digging in the garden.  The technician scolded me a bit for the condition of my face, another woman applied makeup and I spent the remainder of the value of the gift certificate on perfume.  Which actually lasted me a couple of years.  But at least I didn't have to get "the full Monty" so to speak, for which I was very grateful.

Fast forward to this morning and it was in fact a different story.  The woman could not have been nicer and I felt thoroughly at ease and completely pampered. In addition to the facial, she massaged my neck, arms and hands.  I actually enjoyed it - every minute of it.

Will I go back?  As I told daughter #1 when I returned, if I win the lottery I'm buying spa packages for everyone.  It was a lovely experience and when the time is right, I will go back.  And maybe this time, I won't wait five years to do it!