Going to the spa is always a blissful experience, but I discovered this week that it’s even more blissful when shared with a group of friends. One of our managers at work took her team to the spa and she had a couple of extra openings and invited me along. I wasn’t sure what to expect as I’d never gone to a spa with a coed group before, but it far exceeded my expectations.
I arrived at the spa to find the party already in progress with a wonderful spread of light appetizers (veggies, fruit, sushi, cheese, and the like) to nosh on between treatments and a selection of juices to keep us hydrated. The team was already in various stages of bliss as some folks were enjoying manis, others had their tootsies deep in the soothing baths of the pedi, and others were cloistered away getting their aching muscles massaged. I was welcomed immediately and escorted to the appetizer buffet. Then I mingled with my friends as they received their treatments. We especially enjoyed teasing the spa virgins (i.e. some of the guys) who were getting their very first manis or pedis.
One of my good friends was getting his very first mani and he was enjoying it more than he’d expected. The funny thing is that one of my other friends and I had invited him to come along the last time we went to the day spa and he turned us down as he thought it was too girly. He was definitely regretting it and promised to at least check his schedule the next time we invited him. As I waited for my treatments, I took time to converse with my coworkers and it was great to get to know them outside of a work setting.
Finally, it was my turn to dip my tootsies in the pedi bath and although I thought it would be awkward getting a pedi in front of some of the guys from work, it wasn’t awkward at all and I turned on the massage chair, leaned back, and let the nail technician do her thing. Even though I’d just had a pedi two weeks before, it felt incredibly good to get my feet massaged and pampered.
When my pedi ended, I was whisked away for a massage. I undressed and laid down under the toasty warm blankets and then the masseuse came in and asked if I wanted a full body massage or just wanted him to work on my back. Since I only had 30 minutes, I asked him to focus on my back and pretty soon the rhythmic strokes calmed my body and spirit and I found myself in a blissful twilight zone where my mind was floating as if on a cloud.
My thirty minutes ended all too soon and it was time to go back to my real life. I got dressed, thanked my masseuse and headed out to say goodbye to my friends. All our hearts and bodies felt a little bit lighter as we hugged and vowed that we’d head to the spa again another day to get rejuvenated to fight the battle that is our daily jobs.
Cairn by Cairn 