The truth is I have been wanting a French manicure for some time now. I was reminded of the manicure by another blogger who would show off her husband’s work on their barn with her beautifully crafted hands. So, I have a few extra dollars from work, so I treated myself to a French manicure.

I did not even know what it was called. Now as a lady, I tell you we meet all types of women getting pedicures and manicures. Some of them scare me with their long nails painted bloody red, black, green, rainbow, etc. I wonder how they get work done but I try to keep quiet and go with the flow. You know.

So, I finally find a neighborhood place where the ladies don’t seem to laugh at my naivety and they help me out as I keep saying to the owner of the store, “You know it is the clean manicure. It has white tips painted on and it looks so clean.” One giggled and said, “You mean a French manicure.” I shrugged as if part of the in group. “That’s it.”

Well, let me tell you. First, I locked in the price $33, thought about the tip and then sat down as two people worked on my nails. I tried to start a conversation with the lady next to me but she just stared at me as if sizing me up for something. I took off my wedding ring, so he could massage my fingers. I immediately checked to see if my gold ring was still where I put in. Okay, I did get a little paranoid. I tried not to be intimidated and watched my reflection in the mirror with my mask on. I was looking good, I thought. My new haircut looked cute, the owner was massaging and stretching my weary hands and I felt okay.

I think I could get used to this, I thought. I was surprised that there were a few young ladies in their late teens getting a manicure. I wondered why I was a latecomer to this. Then today, I made some keto treats and as I tried to open the different ingredients I found myself worrying about ruining my nails. I thought about all the typing I do on my computer and the cleaning, going to the gym, watering and working in the garden, etc. Would I have to curb my activities?

I found myself wondering how long the French manicure will last. Then I began to tabulate: $33 every other week or do you pay just for the tips, so I went to the website and I found I could not understand the language. There were like 18 different types of manicures. One was only $12, so I said to the husband, “I wondered if I paid too much for the manicure.” For me, it was definitely “manicure as a second language.” I thought about it once a month $40 including the tip for 12 months =$480. Whew. As a treat, it is nice but then as a writer behind the scene I began thinking of those who have a French manicure each month and I wondered how some of them could afford it. I think hmm, and my mind began thinking of mysteries and reading a good book or maybe writing one.

He laughed, and said, “But you like it. So it is worth it.”

Yeah, but some of those ladies still scare me a little with their long daggers and I find myself wondering if they can understand the menu and the cost, are they ahead of me in this game? Thanks for listening. We will see how long the manicure lasts in this working girl’s life. For the second language, I enjoyed learning about the rewards today. Thanks for listening!