I got my first pedicure last week. Heavenly. I’ve got happy feet. I’m walking on sunshine. My socks don’t snag on jagged nails anymore. I’m a believer. I might become an evangelist for pedicurism.
This was not an impulsive decision. I’d been thinking about it on and off for at least 10 years. I’d get ready to call the salon and suddenly feel squeamish. It seemed too decadent for my latent hippie sensibilities. And worse than that, it seemed unmanly. Effete. (Ha ha!) But my woke conscience shrieked:
Shame on you. Don’t tell me real men don’t eat quiche or wear pink or get pedicures. I bet LeBron James does. I’m pretty sure Tom Brady has a pedicurist on his domestic staff.
So last week I made the call to TD Nails. I thought there might be a six-month wait as there was for my last colonoscopy.
Nope. Tomorrow will be fine.
Any preparation or diet restrictions?
Nope. Just bring your feet.
I liked this place already.
I arrived a few minutes early in case I had to inscribe my nail history and/or allergies and medications while biding time in a holding cubicle. There was none of that.
The salon was abuzz with cheerful women. I didn’t see any men. I asked the Vietnamese attendant if men ever availed themselves of these services.
Oh, yes. Many. Especially in summer.
Why summer?
Older men wear open-toe sandals in summer and want to look good.
Okay. Of course, of course. I’ve never been tempted to look at old men’s exposed toes, but I will this summer.
My feet soaked in warm water for 20 minutes. The pedicurist gently held my feet and surgically trimmed and shaped my nails, filed the tips, scoured my soles with a pumice stone (not for the ticklish), and massaged my toes, feet, ankles, shins, and calves with lotion for 10 minutes.
(A treatment I’d never get from anyone in my podophobic family!)
Going to feel lot better.
Great. And will I live longer?
Oh yes. You live to be 100.
Awesome.
I stood up and sighed. I felt better. Tranquil. Reposed. Collected.
For one whole hour I hadn’t thought once about Putin, Ukraine, Gaza, Christian nationalism, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Mike Johnson, or the Antichrist.
I left a big tip.
There’s a lot you can’t cure in this world of woe, but you can get a pedicure.
Amen brother! You’ve seen the light that only comes from the shiny reflection of buffed, perfectly shaped toenails! Praise peddies! I’m overdue.
My Dad had his very first pedicure at TD Nails at the age of 96 and loved it!
Amen brother. Got my first 6 months ago and have gotten 2 more since. It’s wonderful to love your feet and appreciate them after all the travelling they have done for you! When I have gone to TD half of patrons have been men.
I am a holdout. Yet all my friends and many family members including the 6 and 7 yr olds get pedicures. I think for me the big draw would be the pumice and massage. Enjoy your feet !
Feet are our foundations, my brother! Remember. Every long journey begins with a single step. Love thyself, should stand as the first commandment. I think you are probably now a trend setter beyond our usual spiritual and political ruminations. My sister has availed herself of pedicures for the last several years. I’ve secretly admired the results, meaning her elevated spirits following the pedicure. You’ve made a believer of me. No more excuses. I must take the plunge. (Sister gets her nails painted. I think I’ll skip that part.) 🙂
Good for you! Self-care is foundational and so are our feet. While I have never had a professional pedicure, I might consider one now. Your “happy feet” seem to reflect the following quip by some anonymous person: “When life gives you lemons, have the lemonade while getting a pedicure!”.
Wow real men get pedicures! My toes tingle at the idea. But my inner man says, “not for you big guy. What if a burly old truck driver passes by, looks in and guffaws at you getting a pinkie massage. You’d be ruined. Guys would point at you, hoot and yell “Hey there goes ole pansy toes.” On the other hand, my old toes could use a boost. Maybe I’ll rent a trailer truck, buy some jack boots, and get me a pedicure.
You didn’t persuade me to be a Baptist in 1959. The gospel of pedicurism is a bit more persuasive.
My first and only pedicure was a Christmas gift I received at one brother’s home in Florida maybe 20 years ago or so. I swore it would be the last, because the pedicurist cut and filed my otherwise lovely, kempt big toenails into an unnatural curve into the quick. While I avoided medical issues, it took five years before the nails on my big toes began to resemble healthy, naturally growing, in-grown-avoiding nails again. I dodged a cuticle bullet. Never again. I’d much rather have experienced my own earliest notion of a pedicure–Jesus’ washing of feet at the Last Supper. He understood, as do you and your readers, the essential experience of sacred feet connecting with sacred earth. All that said, I am very familiar with the experiences of permitting professionals to participate in the providing of bodily self-care, and I am 100% in favor! And thank you for the delightful story of a “reluctant first.” Keep it up–the self-care and the stories!
Did you opt out of the “happy ending”? Some years ago, for my birthday, friends chipped in on my first (and only) pedicure, concluding with a polishing off. I chose Dreamy Sea Mist. Fabulous!
New joys are wonderful. New experiences that lift us are worth waiting and getting older for. Almost sandal time.
It is no small feat for one to pull up stakes of their generational and/or sexual sensibilities. In these times of her, him, and them, there is a license, there is a door wide open for exploration. Thanks for walking through that door not only for you, but for those of us who have hesitated where the jamb meets the door. Thank you!
Thank you! I am going to make an appointment myself! Doing your own pedicure is like trying to look down your own throat; it ain’t all that easy.
I have 13eee feet that have lived in torture shoes until I took them off last November. Now the only thing that fits are Crocs ’cause I’ve uncurled. The pedicure sounds heavenly.
I joined my son recently for my first pedicure, having overcome my screaming objections,, “that’s not what men do ” and it was great! We’ll do it again, cuz I do not have the clippers to do it myself!