More Than Nail Polish

I haven't known Sue and Gracie very long.

They came into my life as the result of breaking three fingernails in one day. Eyeing my mutilated tips with disgust, I checked in to Sue's All About Nails for a makeover. What I gained from that encounter was the first time in my life that I didn't have to hide my hands. I also added several new women and a man to my growing list of acquaintances who are rapidly becoming friends. I am blessed.

There is Sue, a two-weeks-my senior nail tech whose skill at interpreting each break or chip astounds me. "You! You've been texting! I can tell by the way your thumbnail looks!" Yes, she will rant about the careless way I treat my precious new manicure, but she will fix it so I am a happy camper. Sue may appear to be all business, but I have seen her excitement over simple pleasures, her love of music and her pride in her family.

There is Gracie, a delicate Vietnamese flower of a girl, whose gentle hands and artistry with the polish can turn my nails into a canvas. Sometimes I ask her to design my nails for a holiday; soon I will have them done again with flowers and sparkles just because the attention hound in me likes it. When fingernail art can make you beam, you know she's got it right.

There is Sue's husband, a charmer who seems to think he is in charge (silly man) when we ladies all know it is Sue. There is Cindy and her daughter, and recently retired Joanie. I have come to expect to see them on payday Saturdays. When I miss them, something is missing from my week. Sue will come on my whitewater rafting trip; Cindy prefers warm showers to a drenching dunking in the icy Ohiopyle. We'll work on Joanie next.

I believe that small things like a smile, a compliment or a broken nail can bond people like  nothing else can. Who knows if a chance meeting in the nail salon, the grocery store or on Facebook  is the beginning of a lifetime friendship, a spark of love, a passing moment? If we don't take the time to find out--what then? In ten years, I will be seventy. Will I be just ten years older or ten years happier?

I'm aiming for the happier. Every person I meet from here on will be a part of that.