Monday, May 9, 2011

life lesson learned at the nail salon

Sitting in the nail salon I noticed a man across the way.

Men in my nail salon are normal, but it was how much he was talking to the nail tech that peaked my interest.

He was older, dyed his hair black, was getting a manicure and was talking the nail tech's ear off.

I couldn't hear a word, but came to the conclusion that he had money and was lonely, as he wasn't wearing a wedding ring.

***

After my pedicure I headed back into a private room to get my eyebrows waxed.

The woman who was doing this man's nails did my waxing.

She gave me the scoop on him before I even asked.

***

She told me that his kids are grown and that they now have families and children of their own.

She told me that he has a lot of money.

She told me that his wife, the love of his life, got sick and died last year.

She told me that he belongs to online dating websites.

She told me that he sent a nice woman flowers on Valentine's Day only to receive them back from her.

(She sent them back to him!! How rude.... and I've never heard of someone doing that ever!)

She told me he's heart broken and lonely.

Here's the kicker...

She told me that he worked hard his whole life, spent many long days at the office and missed much family time.

She told me that he worked so hard to provide a good life for his children.

He saved saved saved so that he and his wife could enjoy their retirement and travel the world together.

Now that she's died and his kids have their own life, he is extremely wealthy and has no one to share his life and his retirement years with.

He worked hard.

He provided for his family.

He saved his money.

He thought he was providing a solid retirement for him and his wife.

He thought he was doing the right thing.

He never lived life.

He worked so that he could live life in his older age.

And now that he has the time to go out and live life, he has no one to live it with.

***

What a life lesson to be taught at the nail salon...

31 comments:

  1. How sad!
    Makes you really think hard about how you live your life!

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  2. Wow, that is incredibly sad! Just kind of puts things into perspective, tho....thanks for sharing!
    Jenn @ Going the Distance

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  3. I feel like I'm reading a story in a Chicken Soup Book! Excellent writing : )

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  4. Wow, that is such a sad story. Poor man! I can't believe that the nail tech told you all of that! That's why I don't talk much when I get my nails done. Also? I can't understand most of what they say to me at my salon. So, there's that. This man's story- that is exactly why I don't make my job my whole life. I'd rather spend my time with the people in my life who matter, not the people I could care less about. I leave at 4:30 on the dot everyday. It's not going to get me the CEO job, but I don't want that anyway- I want MY life, not to give it away to someone else. Like this story shows- what good is making a fortune if you have nobody to share it with? Also? My job is boring.

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  5. thats a really powerful story though. :)

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  6. This is a good daily reminder, thanks for sharing! :) Live life to it's fullest. :)

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  7. omg that is terrible for him. i kinda got teary eyed reading this.
    makes your think to youself that we gotta live life now and not keep prolonging it for the future, because none of us know what the future will bring.
    my brother always said we need to live life to it's fullest...and it is so true. it can be taken away in an instant.

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  8. I was totally expecting for you to say that you saw some grotesque like a tech sneezed then wiped her nose and continued to give you a pedicure or something LOL

    I say there is still time for that man to meet someone! As the Bieber would say NEVER SAY NEVER! hahah super cheesy but true!

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  9. Aaghhh that is so sad. It really makes you stop and take a look at your own life.

    My life lesson at the nail salon today was...my nail tech telling me how she had a bladder infection and didn't know what to do. I informed her to start with Cranberry juice. ha ha

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  10. I learned a life lesson too this weekend. It has truly made me thankful for my life, husband and the decisions we have made.

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  11. Oh! I feel so sad for him! I just can't imagine feeling what he is feeling...poor guy. Definitely a life lesson though!

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  12. Awww this brought tears to my eyes! I sure hope he can live out the rest of his life to the fullest!

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  13. Wow, this just gave me chills! Definitely something to think hard about - thanks for sharing!

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  14. Wow. I feel so sorry for the guy and I don't even know him. It def makes you want to live for today!

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  15. Ugh that is SO sad! :( Poor guy! It definitely is a good lesson to think about, I think we have gotten so scared of not having a retirement fund that a lot of people go overboard and forget to enjoy life and those they love now! Thanks for this post! I needed to hear this!

    Hugs,
    Erin

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  16. Oh my gosh that is so sad! :(

    Definitely makes you think twice about ONLY saving for a "rainy day" and not enjoying life. Poor guy. :(

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  17. Oh, this is so sad. I hope he finds someone to share it with.

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  18. It is so true ... no time like the present. I hope his children start making more time for him!

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  19. This might be my favorite post you've done so far!! I absolutely loved reading this story and think the lesson is so important too.

    :)

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  20. I love this story. Oftentimes I catch a lot of crap for saving all my money only to 'blow it' on vacations... but that's what I want out of life, and I don't want to wait until I'm financially secure or whatever!! Thanks for sharing this and reinforcing my beliefs so to speak hah

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  21. This is such a touching story.. it brought tears to my eyes. Thanks for sharing, we all need to try to remember to "live"!

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  22. Thanks so much for sharing this, Kate. I reblogged it and it will post tomorrow, linking to your post. I hope you don't mind, I just think that it is such a great lesson to remember. Each day is a blessing, and we have to live each one the best we can.

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  23. I totally agree. I tell this to my husband every day...yes, you need to work hard to support our family, but not to the point where you work more than you see your kids. Because at the end of the day? They care much more about the time you spent with them and not the money you bring in. Loved this.

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  24. Oh my gosh... that is SO SAD!!! :( Life lessons like this are so important to remember! You have to enjoy every day you get with the people you love!

    Just found your blog btw! New follower!

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  25. I'm so happy that I stumbled upon your blog and I'm grateful for the story that you shared. There are lessons to be learned in everything we do.

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  26. I came your way via Lacey in the City and am so glad I did. Even though I'm kind of crying - this is a great lesson for all of us to learn. I'm sitting at my desk, totally stressed out and was not going to take a 5 minute break to sit outside. Guess what? I'm going NOW. Thank you :)

    xo,
    Carrie

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  27. Here from Lacey's blog--feel teary now. What a sad story. You're right that there is a lesson to be learned, but I so hope this man finds happiness (and that the woman who returned his flowers never receives flowers again!).

    Following your blog now; look forward to reading more.

    Claire
    http://bicoastally.blogspot.com

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  28. Perfect. I recently have had that wake up call in my life, and I could completely relate to this. Thanks for sharing - truly inspiring.

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  29. Wow, this brought tears to my eyes! That is so sad..I hope he finds happiness and someone to share his love with!

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  30. Holy crap - I can't believe that woman sent him back the flowers!! How rude!

    Anyway, this completely confirms my theory that we need to live each day as though we were retired already. This notion that we should work hard now and save our time and money for retirement later is absurd.

    We should be living today to the fullest, not waiting for tomorrow. We should living our dreams, going for what we want, and shaping our lives to resemble what we hope for. We should never wait until retirement to do all that because retirement may never come, or like this man, we might get there and have no one to share it with.

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  31. Kenny and i have always agreed that we will do things now! I dont want to wait for someday, because I am not promised someday. I want to work hard, but play hard. I was my boys to have a fun life and I want to be a part of the fun with them. Unfortunately we do not have a big savings, but thats because we choose to do things now. My mom thinks I'm crazy, but she also did things the way this man did and my Dad cheater on her, she hates him, and her kids cant stand her. How is that for life? I know exactly what I am doing.. It works for us! :)

    Thank you for sharing! <3

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