A little love and attention
I told Missy today that I needed my nails painted, that the red polish was chipped. She told me as soon as she had the time she would get to it.
It made me think about 10 or 11 years ago a friend of hers was dying from cancer. She was at home and it was near the end. Missy would go over every day after work and stay for about an hour so that her husband could take a break. Her mother was already gone and she had no children, no sisters, no sisters in law… just a few good friends who would come by. Her husband also had Hospice coming daily and a visiting nurse.
One night Missy came home and said, Tina just doesn’t want to see anyone anymore, she doesn’t want visitors, she let me see her tonight, but her husband says she won’t let anyone else in. I told Missy, let me go with you tomorrow, so we went the next night, I told Missy to let me talk to her for a few minutes alone. So I talked to her and then we went home.
The next day I had a friend come in and cut her hair very short, she had a manicure and pedicure, we had her face waxed and painted all her nails the brightest pink you can imagine. She didn’t need makeup because she was beautiful, but the makeup artist matched her nail polish to a lipstick. I called a friend who worked at a department store and she dropped off some beautiful soft, the softest PJs, nightshirts, and dressing gowns I had ever felt.
That night Missy came home laughing, telling me that it worked. Tina was seeing everyone and had even had her husband call some people to come see her one last time. She died 2 weeks later.
I remember going to the funeral home and giggling when I saw the bright pink polish on her beautiful hands and she was wearing one of the soft dressing gowns I bought. Her husband had told Missy how she was happy at the end and was her old self, she felt beautiful again. Missy then told all the girls at the funeral, all of her other friends why didn’t we think of it? None of us wants people to see us with hair growing on our lip, or our hair just washed and not done. Dying is terrible enough, but to be so sick and feel like you don’t want to see people!
All Missy’s friends made a pact to be better friends, to be there to make sure these things were done, Yes, as Missy says, it’s a chick thing. Just having your nails done makes you feel better, even if you are dying.
Missy is back to do my nails, I think I might change it from red to pink. – Barbara 🙂
The best part of my mom’s story was that my friend asked her husband to put her wedding ring back on her hand. She said she told him as he slipped it on… in sickness and in health till death we part. I remember at the funeral home seeing her beautiful hands, her pink polish, and her wedding ring.
My mom was magic. Missing her today, so I painted my nails pink.