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Giving my shower a pedicure

December 7th, 2003 · No Comments

Well, not really, but I bet the relative who gave me a pedicure set when I was ten, never imagined I would be using it to fix my shower twenty years later. I remember opening the package one Christmas to find a lovely leather case with zipper, inside filled with nail files, two kinds of clippers and all sorts of implements. At age ten I had no idea how to use most of them. I don’t think I was even allowed to use nail polish. It was a fancy gift for a girl.

More than two decades later, I’m not sure what happened to the nice leather case. Or most of the files, nail clippers and cuticle clippers. Wish I had them somewhere. But I do still have a few of the tools rolling around in my medicine cabinet. They have nice handles and thin metal points, for pushing cuticles back and cleaning under nails. I confess I don’t pay too much attention to my toenails, worrying about their meticulous appearance rarely, only during summer sandal months.

But the other day, we noticed our shower leaking water. I called the contractor who was responsible for the glass, and the president of the company stopped by our house Friday afternoon to determine the damage and solution. I had already found a spot inside the shower that required caulk, and he pointed out to me another area, between the frame and tile, where the caulk seam had split. So after he left, I spent about forty-five minutes kneeling on the floor, stripping out old caulk to prepare the seam for a new seal. I grabbed the first tool I found handy: rather than running downstairs to look for the putty knife, I took the pedicure tool out of my medicine cabinet. It worked well; the handle had a good size and shape that I could grip easily, and the blade was sharp and small enough that I could mostly avoid scratching the shower door and tile while removing the silicon caulk.

I confess it felt fun to add a feminine touch to my home repair: it made it more amusing to me. Hey, why be boring and use a normal tool when a creative choice will do? Might as well use these things for some purpose, rather than just rolling around on a shelf.
Q: When does a mom use her pedicure tools?
A: When fixing her shower!
Made me realize too that I should use my pedicure tools more often – as a treat for my feet!

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