The Foot Angel from Vietnam by Guest Writer, RuthAnn Dickinson

Okay, I broke down today and had a pedicure...alright alright, I went for it and had the mani/pedi combo pack. It used to be that my feet were naturally polished and shiny from being a beach bum at the Jersey shore in the summertime. Now that I live in the Midwest, the broken seashells and sand are impossible to come by.

My daughter is my Thursday Pamper-Self-Partner-in-Crime and we were after the perfect summer color for our feet and there it was - Flamingo Pink! Heather and I stood in front of the color counter, barely able to contain our shrills of happiness at finding the perfect color at the exact same time.

We eagerly scurried over to the recliner chairs and plopped our feet into the warm bubbly water. I turned on the chair and enjoyed a deep back, neck and buttocks massage while getting my feet scraped, trimmed, buffed and polished. The Angel that was caring for my feet ( she had to be an Angel to tackle my poor old neglected feet) painted a pretty shiny design on my big toes and I was amazed when I finally peeked at the finished result.

Next was the mani part of the experience. I decided to go with the same color on my fingers, just because I could. My Nail Angel had just spoken with her aunt back in their home country of Vietnam who was having a problem with her old motor scooter. My Nail Angel wanted to buy her a new one, but her aunt refused, instead wanting to fix this twenty-five year old scooter. I asked my Angel how long she has been in America, to which she replied five years. I commented on how well she spoke English and asked if she knew any English before coming to America. She said 'a little', but that it sounded different once she got here, but watching TV and listening to customers had helped her a lot. She and a few other family members came to America to find work and to make the lives of those left in Vietnam better.

My Angel said that she tried to soften her tone since coming to America because of the sharp sound of words spoken in her native tongue and I complimented her on her cute accent and beautiful tone and she giggled and thanked me. Before I knew it, we were finished and I had the prettiest tootsie toes and fingers around. My Angel told me that she was going to send her aunt enough money to purchase a new scooter and her eyes welled up as she thought about her homeland and how much she missed her family.

When I left the salon, I knew that I had been graced with the best Pamper-Myself-Thursday ever, thanks to the Foot Angel from Vietnam. She pampered not only my feet, but more importantly, my Heart. I am so grateful for all that I have and no longer feel guilty for pampering myself, because I knew that an elderly woman in Vietnam is a bit closer to getting a new scooter. Apparently new scooters cost about $300... American dollars. What I received today was priceless.

You can read more of RuthAnn's stories on her blog at RuthAnnsJourney.