"Saving Face" ... My Wife's Surprise
Posted: Saturday, May 05, 2007
by James P Krehbiel
Krehbiel Counseling
My wife decided to plan a brief weekend get-away for our anniversary. We decided to stay in a beautiful resort which was nestled in the foothills of West Tucson . It was the kind of resort where every time you turned around someone from the hotel would ask, “Is there anything I can get you?"
Since we were staying in a spa-like resort, Andrea decided to surprise me with a very unique gift. Mind you, when my wife says she has a surprise for me, I get very worried – this time was no exception. Andrea decided to contact the hotel spa in advance and arrange for me to be treated to a facial.
During our anniversary stay, I began asking my wife about what I was in for with this facial business. I was definitely moving into the unknown and needed some reassurance. Would it be like a massage? Would there be weird music playing and incense burning? Who would be doing this to me and what plan of action would this event take? Would the masseuse put mud on my face? How about vegetables on my eyes? It all seemed rather scary. My wife sensed my apprehension and humored me about it.
I decided that I needed to do what I tell my patients to do – “take those deep breaths and let it all out." I was afraid that other men would see me enter the spa, so I decided to have Andrea escort me to the spa center. You would have thought I was preparing for emergency surgery. While Andrea waited in the spa center, I was escorted by a gentleman to a locker room where I prepared for my adventure by putting on a robe and a pair of flip-flops. The gentleman then brought me some green tea as I waited for the arrival of the “facial masseuse." A delightful, charming young lady came to the door and said, “Are you Mr. Krehbiel?" Nobody’s called me Mr. Krehbiel since my teaching days and very few people ever pronounce my name accurately. She had my interest. She was the master healer. The goddess of facials!
We walked down the hallway to a tiny room. I lay down on a massage table and waited for her to enter. The rest of the experience is rather foggy. I do remember that she put all kinds of creams and oils on my face, as well as my feet and hands. I recall that the room was steamy. She had the weird music playing. She talked calmly in a soothing voice. I was mesmerized. The facial lady moisturized my feet and hands and then placed them in plastic bags. My limbs had never been in plastic bags before!
When I left, Andrea saw my new face - a softer, gentler, glowing looking me. Even though I don’t remember each step of the procedure, I know it involved creams, oils, steam and wraps for my hands and feet.
I told my wife to never tell anyone about my spa experience. But she had already told her best friends. Now I have to live with any fall-out to my reputation. Now I have to face everyone with my soft, smooth, glowing, younger looking skin. Now I am a facial-loving man. Pity me!
James P Krehbiel, Ed.S., LPC is an author, freelance writer, and a nationally certified cognitive-behavioral therapist practicing in Scottsdale , Arizona . His personal growth book, Stepping Out of the Bubble is available at www.booklocker.com . James can be reached at www.krehbielcounseling.com .
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Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)This is a delightful article. Well-told and most enjoyable. Why James, I do believe you still have that glow that only a facial and a lovely wife can give! Thanks for "saving face" and sharing with us!Avis, Only when I use my Ahava cream says my wife! Thanks for reading my silly article.
Made me laugh out loud! But I'm now curious - what IS the correct way to pronounce "krehbiel"?Jean, I am glad that you got a good laugh from reading my story. Ok, here goes, when I was a teacher this is what I told the kids. My name is pronounced as K as in Crayon, B as in Bumble Bee, and Ill as when you get sick. cray-bee-ill. Now the crayon doesn't make sense cause it doesn't start with a K, unless you are teaching phonics of course.
cool. sue thom
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