Anyone who knows me knows a big part of my self-care is my nails. Specifically having them painted or shellac-ed or acrylic-ed or SNS-ed at all times. Very few people have ever seen my “naked’ nails, save my nail techs and the occasional anaesthetist who has made me take the coating off before surgery (which I, without fail, protest and secretly resent them for).
So for me, COVID and lockdown and Stage 4 restrictions, and all of the 100s of ways day-to-day life has changed, oddly, have all come to be reflected and amplified by the fact that I’m walking around in the 2020 uniform of trackpants, ugg boots, a nice top (that looks good on Zoom calls) and totally, buck-naked nails.
And it’s bugging me.
Look, I love the uggs (gonna be sad to say goodbye to them when this is all over actually), but I honestly just don’t feel quite like myself without the pop of colour on the end of my nails flashing up at me as I type this.
I realise this is not earth-shattering stuff, I really do, but that’s part of the problem. I had totally deprioritised this aspect of my life because there was just so much ELSE. The big things were all getting in the way because this was such a seemingly small thing.
BUT, here’s the thing. My nails are my ONE thing. That one thing that I don’t NEED to do. That I don’t HAVE to do. It’s the one thing I do that’s totally for me. Not for friends or family, not for clients, not for staff, not for my business, and certainly not for any sensible, practical reason, it’s just for me and just because I like it.
So instead of beating myself up for feeling vain and selfish and shallow (which of course I spent some time doing), I decided to put my money where my self-care spouting mouth is and invest in a nail system that will keep me in fuchsias, teals and vermilions until well after this bloody pandemic is over and done with.
And you know what? It totally helped.
So simple, so seemingly silly really, but I don’t care. It feels like I grabbed just a smidgen of normality back in my (slightly dodgily done) manicured hands.
So, my question to you is, (now typed with my suitably titled “Fearless” nails). What’s your ONE thing? What’s the ONE thing that this pandemic has messed with that you might be able to get back in some (even small) way?
It’s not going to be exactly the way it was. For example, I’ve never had to fight off the cat before while trying to get my nails done before and to be honest, the results kind of reflect that! But remember, perfection is the enemy of progress, or in this case, polish!
So please, have a think about it. What is pandemic-you missing out on or de-prioritising? And how can you get that back in a way that will restore just a glimmer of normality to your life and to how you feel right now?
Find it and then make it happen!
It will totally be worth it!
Danielle Graber
Director