So Many Really Neat People ...

During a recent trip to San Jose, California, I fell in love. I fell in love twice, actually, with two amazing, wonderful women – Tova, owner of Tova Day Spa and Mary, a remarkable massage therapist at Tova. Both of them made such an impression on me that I have thought of them every day since my return a week ago, and mentally send them good karma every chance I get.

First, Tova. Imagine a chic, stylish woman with more than thirty years of knowledge about aesthetics, and incredible taste. Add wit and charm, kindness, honesty, and pure spunk, and you have Tova. She’s the woman you would want as your closest girlfriend; I can picture myself staying up with her until 3am talking about life, drinking very good red wine and eating chocolates. Aside from everything else, Tova is gifted at giving spa treatments – I told her she has the hands of a musician – and a facial by Tova is truly a treat.

There is something “more” about Tova. Not her small stature or her understated, classic dress. It’s her huge personality. In the few short hours I was with her, I learned about her life and her history, and I told her about mine. I trusted her almost immediately and was completely comfortable at all times around her. She also taught me about beauty and how to care for my skin, and made me feel very special. One of the many, many things she explained to me is the difference between moisturizer and night cream. Moisturizer, she explained, is mostly water, for hydrating the skin. Night cream contains important minerals for the health of the skin. She likened it to the difference between watering and fertilizing your plants. Both are important, but they are different.

One thing Tova is not is “fru-fru.” All of her treatments are scientifically designed to make you feel and look better. They are anti-aging and anti-stress, but she frowns at the idea that spa treatments are purely relaxing, without some true medical benefit for the recipient.

While her treatments are exceptional, the best thing for me about Tova Spa is Tova herself. Anyone who has the opportunity to meet Tova – whether at her spa or anywhere else – is a very, very lucky person.

I have visited more spas than I can count. I have had more massages than I can recall, and I have met numerous massage therapists. Since going to Tova, I put massage therapists into two categories: there is Mary, then there is everyone else.

Mary spent 30 years in the electronics industry before deciding to become a massage therapist. She explains that she wanted to “give back” and massage seemed to be a good choice for her. Both her mother and her grandmother did the same type of work and, indeed, it seems to be in her soul. She not only studied massage, but also holistic healing. And it shows. Kindness, goodness, and caring radiate from her, flowing from her core, through her heart, down her arms, through her hands, to her customer. It is a lucky person indeed who receives a massage from Mary.

There are some people in the world who are truly good. Mary is one of them. You feel it when you’re around her. She gave me a poultice massage that was so good, I wanted to cry when it was over. I forgot the world could be that good of a place.

Mary also gave me a holistic view of my aches and pains. My hurt hamstrings signify fear of moving forward, and my aching shoulders result from not being able to accept the gifts I am given. She doesn’t preach it, just says it. Information for us to chew on.

The spa is an amazing place, and I loved being there. But that isn’t what this is about. This is about two really wonderful women who made an impact on my life. I feel truly blessed to have met both Tova and Mary, and am incredibly grateful for whatever mix of fortunes brought me in their paths. Meeting them helped remind me that there are good people in the world, and they make our lives a whole lot happier when we are around them.