Melissa's Place

Friday Afternoon

It was a hectic week.

It was tiring on several levels.
My cat is sick and incontinent and living with my mom. She needs to go to the vet.

My car got sick and incontinent and, being in a rush to get it fixed before the weekend, we had to take it to the dealership.

The school is being reorganized, effective at the beginning of next week, and we have no schedules or class lists.

None of these things individually are a big deal. Altogether, they just make me want to curl up and have a nap.

So I decided to finally cash in that gift certificate that my loving friends gave me as a bridal gift last June.

The Silvery Butterfly Spa is a spa like none other. You walk in and there's a martini bar to your left with an aquarium that takes up an entire wall. You have a host that gives you a tour and escorts you through your visit. You get your own bathrobe and flip flops. There's a lounge with sink-into-sleepy-bliss cushions and iced tea in a pitcher and wine glasses. There are fish in there too. There's a steam room and a hot tub and a dining room for eating your catered dinner (I had spicy tuna salad and calamari maki). And the room with the pedicure chairs are is a circle, so you could actually easily chat with your friends if you went together. And the best part, I dare say, was the incredible foot and hand massages I got as part of the manicure and pedicure treatments. I actually fell asleep. I'm sure Mrs. Manners would scoff, but I didn't care.

Coming out of the spa, I felt like a brand new woman. Not a woman who just spent $1600 on her car. Not a woman whose fat, old cat is teetering perilously close to the after-life. Not a woman who has no idea what she's teaching come Tuesday morning.

I emerged with my soul rejuvenated, just like the spa booklet promised. So I came home and I made an oil pastel drawing of Picasso's Blue Nude.

And I hung it up in the living room.