afternoon indulgence

The hubs gave me an afternoon spa vacation… not sure if it was for mother's day or perhaps for our anniversary… and the gift card sat in my little file of papers on my crowded desk. At the risk of forgetting it or just not taking advantage of it, I made my appointment a few weeks ago. I decided to take the plunge. The only appointments they had were in the middle of the week. Do I dare take an afternoon off to pamper myself?
Not only yes, but hell yes!
It's been an incredibly tumultuous past nine months. Corporate merger, increased work load, new bosses, new accountability procedures, more pressure, family friction… it's not been an easy go. An afternoon spa vacation sounded like a small corner of heaven.
And it was.
Upon arriving, I was ushered into a calmly lit dressing room where I divested myself of the sports skirt and sleeveless tee and locked away my belongings, including my lifeline to the outside world… my cell phone. I turned that sucker off and went off to indulge myself in an afternoon removed from all earthly trappings.
Freedom!
After an hour-long massage that kneaded out the tension in my neck and shoulders {not completely, but I'll take what I can get!}, I was ushered into a small alcove where lunch awaited me. Really? Lunch?? Chicken salad croissant {I only splurged on 1/4 of the bread} accompanied by a luxurious fruit cup. I haven't had fruit in 9 weeks…can I just say I had escaped to heaven? It was divine. I ate the fruit off the chocolate drizzled cheesecake, too, and I'm not gonna lie… I had two bites of cheesecake. It was a tiny cheat, but I figured, since I'm in heaven, it won't matter, right?
It's not like a cup of fruit and two bites of cheesecake is going to turn me in to a Macy's Day Balloon!
After lunch, I enjoyed a steamy shower, slipped back into my own clothing and dried and fixed my hair. Off to a spa mani and pedi.
Ooooo La La!! I'm hooked.
Soaking and salt scrub. Hot paraffin wax treatment. Lotion massage. Cuticle cream, buffing, polish.  
It's such a little thing, but I have found having my nails painted makes me feel so put together! Who knew?

I'm no hand model, that's for sure! But it makes my hands so happy!

And having a nice pedi the day before I went to the foot doctor to have a suspicious lump looked at… that was providential timing!

Throughout the afternoon, though, I hand pangs of shame. I don't deserve this kind of pampering. I shouldn't be taking this much time off of work. I haven't done anything to merit this much favor.
I know many would say, Of course you do! You work hard! It's been a tough year!
And to a degree, that's true.
But I also know there are so many more deserving of this treatment. People who have suffered or sacrificed so much more than me.
I'm so thankful that my husband loves me enough to pamper me in such an extravagant fashion. It's not an everyday occasion. I thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon. It was luxurious and relaxing and made me feel beautiful. Even though as soon as I left, I returned home to catch up on work.
But as my fingers flew across my computer keyboard, I admired the pretty french manicure.
And began dreaming of going again someday.

I'm happy to report the suspicious lump on my foot is a ganglion cyst, and not something more serious. And the foot pain I've been experiencing is nothing more than plantar fasciitis. If I had been paying attention to the symptoms, I would have been able to self-diagnose that one. Duh. My son had it for a few years, and our symptoms are identical!