Sometimes parenting can be just a little too much love. LEE HILTON prizes sister Angie away from her young family for a day of pampering on the Surf Coast.
My day started off pretty poorly with a little voice whispering in my ear “Mum, what time is it?” I woke with a startle and looked at my clock. “It’s 5.45am, please leave my room immediately, you may come back in half an hour.” Ugh, why do my little munchkins wake at such ungodly hours?
I dragged myself out of bed to start dealing with the madness of our daily routine of breakfast, making lunches, packing bags and dressing three kids for school and kinder. Seriously, our house is pure mayhem in the mornings. Some days I deal with it better than others, today my precious little pets were driving me up the wall.
The pressure they put on my overloaded brain with their never-ending questions and distractions while I’m trying to get organised for the day is almost too much to bear. Here’s a sample of the inquiries they’ve made today … and these are just the ones I can remember.
Mum, where are my school pants?
Mum, can I have a pink guitar?
Mum, when I’m an adult, what will motorcycles be called? (What the?)
Mum, if I’m a scientist when I’m older, can I also be a hip-hop dancer?
Mum, can you dress me?
Mum, watch this. (Does the splits)
Mum, can you please move the cat off the chair? I want to sit there… (There are eight seats at our table and only one cat.)
Mum, can I have your phone? (x 25)
Mum, can I have a blue ukulele?
Mum, watch this. (Does hip-hop dancing.)
Mum, what is the fastest car in the world?
Mum, can I get one of those necklaces that is a heart that splits in two and you give one to your best friend?
Mum, where’s my iPad?
Mum, can I have a pink rug for my room with love hearts on it?
Mum, can I go on your computer? (x 12)
Mum, is there a hot cross bun in my lunch?
Mum, if I don’t brush my teeth will they wobble and fall out?
Mum, can you put ribbons in my hair?
Mum, where does snot come from?
As I reach the peak of my morning stress threshold, I silently thank our government for compulsory education which requires these little petals to leave the house for school and kinder for the next few hours of peace. And today I’m punching the air as they leave because…
MUMMY IS GOING TO THE DAY SPA! WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOO
My sister Angie has long been on a mission to find the secret to happiness and has recruited me along the way to join her on her mission. Often it involves me being the guinea pig for various methods of lifting the mood. From meditation to mung beans, I obediently try them all and give her my feedback, sometimes willingly, sometimes reluctantly, but when she booked us in for a double treatment at Saltair Spa I was super-enthused to perform this “research”.
Saltair Spa is located on the outskirts of Torquay, so we head to the Surfcoast from Geelong, turn off the highway just before the surf shops and head into a peaceful country setting. As we arrive at the gate of Saltair we are met with beautiful views of rolling green hills and vast expanses of nature, no traffic, no hustle and bustle, a proper escape from the rat race. The stress is dissipating already, ahhhh.
As we enter the retreat we walk past a series of large water features gently trickling away and providing soothing water sounds in the background. We enter the reception and the sounds of soft music and aromas of delightful smelling oils instantly bring a calm to our step. We glide over to the reception desk to check in.
We are welcomed so warmly at reception. Everyone at Saltair speaks in a lovely soft, melodious voice that makes you instantly want to be their best friend. Oh, if only I could get my family to speak like this to each other, wouldn’t life be peachy.
We are escorted over to the luxurious velvety couches in the waiting area for a glass of water and time to soak in the views. I’m already so relaxed. Just being in this setting and knowing no-one will scream out from around the corner “Mum, can you wipe my bottom please?” is enough to make my day. I’d probably be happy if this was all the treatment involved … just sitting in peace, looking out at the world, but there’s more to come. It’s my lucky day.
We’re escorted to our change rooms by our lovely therapists Marde and Alicia. As we walk through the hallways, everything is now dimly lit. The low lighting adds to the calmness of the retreat. We step into our separate change rooms and out of our clothes into the softest, cosiest, whitest robe and some lovely purple thongs (thongs for our feet, that is). And now we are ready for our treatment, the Saltair Signature Massage.
The room is cosy and warm, with two chairs, two foot baths ready to go and two massage tables. Again, dimmed mood lighting with soft background music. We exchange a few pleasantries in softly spoken tones and sink into our chairs. Ahhhh…
First we have our foot bath and our lower legs are exfoliated before we are given three different oils to smell as Marde explains our bodies will tell us which oil we need the most. We both pick the same oil, it’s the Saltair signature oil, developed by Saltair owner Tamara Melis herself, which is designed to invigorate and de-stress. It’s a beautiful, clean fresh aroma which envelops the room and sends us on a bit of a high.
We move on to the massage table which is heated to the perfect temperature. With the weather turning a bit chilly outside, it’s so comforting to lay our tummies down on the warm bed. Cosy under our towels, we are treated to a full body massage. We get the works, back, arms, legs, shoulders, neck and finish off with a scalp massage. I think I managed to stay awake through most of it, but may have drifted in and out of consciousness during the scalp massage finale. I’m pretty sure I didn’t snore though; I know my sister would have told me if I did.
The entire treatment is 75 minutes of bliss. Saltair Signature Massage, we love you.
We are left alone to come back into reality from the trance-like state we have slipped into and slowly peel ourselves off the massage table all floppy and relaxed. Back into our fluffy robes, we float back to our change rooms, all dreamy and a little bit massage-drunk.
The chaos of my morning is but a distant memory, the stress has been completely extricated from by body and I’m a chilled out, cruisey mum just going with the flow.
I get dressed, check my hair, fix up the “Something About Mary” look I’ve got going on after the scalp massage and head back to the relaxation room.
Marde arrives with some herbal tea for us and we sit sipping slowly and taking is the views a while longer. Our eyes gaze up at the beautiful chandelier that reflects in our twinkling eyes as we bask in the afterglow of our treatment. Our mood has certainly lifted from the two wild-eyed, stressed out mums who drove down that highway earlier. We continue to talk in our new soft whispery tones that have now replaced the shrieking psycho-mum voices from this morning.
Research complete and confirmed. Yes, you can definitely find happiness at the day spa, it can bring you back from the brink, lift your spirits and give you the strength to get back in that car and tackle school pickup with a calmness you never knew you had.
Do yourself a favour and treat yourself. Even better, gather up your besties and take them with you, maybe you could make a weekend of it! You deserve it.
Our lovely friend Tamara at Saltair Spa has come to the party to offer Geelong Coast Kids readers a free collagen eye treatment valued at $30 with every 60-minute Babor Spa Facial booked in June. So do you need any more incentive to make a booking? Surely not. It can be your light at the end of the tunnel, your reward for the relentless efforts you make in raising the awesome kids of the Geelong Coast.
Enjoy!
