March 5, 2012

Motherhood & Manicures Don’t Mix …

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They just can’t stand up to the tough work of diapering little bottoms and scraping day-old oatmeal off of dishes. They weren’t meant to get the stubborn knots out of tiny shoe laces or dig around in the hidden spaces of a mini van to find the toy dropped by a screaming two year-old.

This is the state of my nails two days after a home mani with base and top coats. TWO DAYS!

Sometimes I feel like me and motherhood don’t mix.  Like yesterday.  The day started off with a moody tween girl whining and grumbling about every single thing and ended with a certain eight year-old getting caught in a big fat lie and a teenager realizing he had totally blown of a major assignment that was due today but mad at me for reminding him. By the end of the day I felt a bit like the two-day old manicure. Chipped to shreds, not looking so good, ready to be removed.

Such frivolity.  Such joy.  Such fun, this thing called mothering.

I’m sticking with pedicures from now on.

How about you? Do you manicure?

PS. Don’t judge me for neglecting my cuticles.

9 comments:

Apis Melliflora said...

I usually only manicure will full polish for weddings. Otherwise, I struggle to keep up with moisturizing and cuticle maintenance.

I only pedicure in the warm months.

On the analogy, yes indeedy, motherhood can wear us down and chip away at our spirits at times.

Aiketa said...

I don't manicure except from on special occasions or when I don't have school. Medical School & Manicure don't mix.

And as Apis said, I only pedicure during Summer or when wearing sandals.

AllisonK said...

cuticles? I'm suppose to take care of those too.

My nails are short, always because you are right motherhood and manicures don't mix.

I loved what you said about being chipped down by the end of the day. So true.

lee kriel said...

nope. no manicures for me. my main objectives are to keep my nails short. keep them clean. keep my hands moisturized. and only use polish for special events. (a very light shade....or a very dark shade depending on the season. dark looks great on short nails!)

mani's in the summer months sometimes. again, very light polish.

(lately my logic is to spend more on my face than on my feet....slough off all the dead cells on my face vs. my feet, which no one really looks at as much as my face!)

lee kriel said...

oops...i meant pedi's instead of mani's!

The Queen Vee said...

No Pedi's, no mani's for this mom/grandmom.

My feet would be much happier if they were pampered twice a month but I'm too cheap!

Nail polish does not stay on my fingernails which I keep short.

TracieCarter said...

Amen!!! I have often felt blessed to think on this analogy - particularly when amazed at how good my hands feel about three days into a trip without kids! That means I'm not doing dishes, sanitizing surfaces, scrubbing toilets, wiping bottoms, and washing my hands every time I turn around to keep all the germs at bay! Motherhood does indeed wear us down and our hands are often the proof. But they get the best jobs too -- holding a sweet face close for a big eye to eye smootch, tickling an armpit to get get that good gut laugh out of a stubborn kid, giving back scratches to a hard working hubby to show how grateful I am that I get to be home with our family, holding up a good book until the eyelids fail, and sharing this great ride called life online with lovelies such as yourself! If my hands were pretty, I'd have to wonder at my usefulness in this stage of my life :)

Janie said...

Pedicures are the way to go. I have a bad disc in my back right now and can't bend over, I totally justify a professional pedicure! Manicures do not last! I usually notice how bad my nails look on Sunday morning when I'm pressed for time. I really need to notice them on Saturday!

Lori said...

Tracie~ You're spot on!! What a beautiful comment. :-)