It seems to me it must be a rare glittery, pink-and-purple-y
six-year-old girl who's not inspired by Fancy Nancy.
My daughter got some money at Christmas to buy herself a
book, and she chose a set of four Fancy Nancy books. She had looked
at all of them, but I read the first one to her on Saturday. It was
called, Fancy Nancy Ooh La La! It's Beauty Day. In this book, Fancy Nancy
sets up a spa in her backyard; her client is her mom. When I was done reading it, my daughter and I agreed that setting up a spa would be a fun thing to do. So, my daughter immediately set about collecting the necessary items for our own personal spa in the playroom: brushes, a chair, a towel, nail polish, of course, and a few other things.
Right after lunch, the spa was ready for the grand
opening. Except, contrary to the book, in our spa, the mother was the aesthetician and the daughter was the client (I wonder how that happened?). We had the
book on hand so we could follow all the steps accurately.
We decided to skip the squashed banana-and-honey face mask outlined on the “Fantastique Face Mask” page and proceeded to the next step, the “Marvelous Manicure.” I massaged the
client's hands and applied hand lotion. I also snuck in the weekly
chore of nail cleaning and clipping (not listed in the book!), which is so much more agreeable
when one is in a spa than when one is half asleep and ready for bed.
There was a surprising lack of resistance to this activity in this
particular venue! I might have to keep that in mind for future
reference.... And of course, after studying the instructions
carefully, I applied the pre-selected nail polish.
Then, on to the “Perfectly Posh Pedicure.” The book
called for a “soothing sea salt foot soak” that included sea
salt, a squeezed lemon and a tub filled with warm water and marbles.
We had no sea salt, so we made do with coarse salt; we had no lemons
or even lemon juice, so we added a drop of vanilla; a large bowl was
hauled out of storage; and the marbles were procured from a
generous older brother. After soaking my client's feet in the tub, I
also massaged her feet, clipped her nails, and applied lotion and
nail polish.
Lastly, were the cosmetics section (the powders made her
cough) and "The Coiffure." This, like the nail clipping, also has
varying effects depending upon the attitude and timing of the
beautician. Gentle combing and braiding while sitting in the
afternoon sun on a lazy Saturday afternoon is quite a different
experience than trying to drag a brush through tangly hair quick
before the bus comes on a Monday morning!
We had a lovely time at the spa, my daughter and I. We
even traded roles for a bit at the end, and it felt glorious.
As I was massaging her hands, my daughter had remarked
how nice it felt, so nice that it kind of tickled. I knew exactly
what she was talking about. She noted, too, how when she tickled
herself, it never really tickled, and why was that? Why did it have
to be someone else doing it to you to make it feel so nice, so much
better?
I thought about her comment later and about what I hope my daughter will eventually learn for herself. Will she think she always needs to be spa-perfect to be acceptable? Too
often we as girls, as women, or perhaps as humans, feel the need to
drum up some reason as to why we are acceptable or to prove that we
are valuable – to others, to ourselves. And yet it's like
tickling: it just doesn't have the same effect when you try to
affirm your own worth yourself. It always falls a little flat.
Though I struggle in this area myself, I want my daughter to know
that we always have access to that Someone Else who accepts us now
as we are, who sees us as beautiful – spa or no spa, who gives us
value. We only need to open our hearts to accept the immeasurable love
of God.
The Lord your God is with you;
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17
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