Painting Nails {The Ordinary Moments}

LP has spent the last five years watching me paint my nails, admittedly not that often. But she would always comment on how pretty my nails are, that she loves the colours and that, when she gets older, she’d love to have pretty nails too.

We’re at the stage where many of LP’s friends have their nails painted regularly – for parties, in the school holidays and just as a weekend treat but up until now I haven’t painted LP’s nails, wanting to delay that stage where she suddenly grows up and wanting to save something for later, when she can ask for it and really appreciate it.

But this summer I promised LP that we would finally paint her nails and she could have matching fingers and toes like many of her friends. She couldn’t have been more excited, knowing exactly when we were going to do it and asking me if it was time to do her nails yet.

So, one afternoon, we all sat down to watch a movie and I painted her nails. I put cotton wool between her toes and told her to keep still – and she did. She sat more still than I have ever seen her sit and she stayed still until her nails were dry – a good chunk of the way into the movie.

So LP has now had painted nails for the very first time. She said how cold it felt when I was painting her nails and I forgot that feeling, that coolness of painted nails for the first time. She was also so aware of the nail polish – holding her hands out in front of her so as to not spoil the polish and being really careful with everything.

The polish didn’t last long – chipping by the following day, but it made one little nearly five year old very happy – and I know it’s something we’ll do regularly going forward. So there we have it, a little girl with painted nails in her life.