09/02/2026
Yesterday, I had my first facial ever at Refined Rituals MedSpa and I walked away realizing that what Aurielle gave me was so much more than skincare.
I have dedicated my entire adult life to animal welfare here in Mankato. I love this work with my whole heart, but there are hard days inside an animal shelter. There are long hours, emergencies, difficult decisions, sick and injured animals who need you, frightened animals learning to trust again, incredible victories, and losses that stay with you. It is meaningful, beautiful work, but it can also be heavy on a soul level. This past month had been an especially difficult one, and I think I had simply grown accustomed to carrying all of it.
Then, for one hour, Aurielle gave me permission to put it down.
For one hour, the world became quiet. There were no messages to answer, no decisions waiting to be made, no next thing requiring my attention. I simply laid there and received care. As Aurielle’s hands moved across my face, I could genuinely feel the weight I had been carrying begin to lift.
At one point, I became emotional because one thought kept coming to me: “I haven’t been cared for like this since I was probably a toddler.” For that little pocket of time, I felt like a little girl again, without a care in the world. I felt safe, worry free, and completely free to simply receive kindness and nurturing.
I relaxed so deeply that I actually fell asleep several times. 😂 When I woke up embarrassed, Aurielle told me that it was the highest compliment I could give her because it meant I felt safe and relaxed enough to completely let go. I don’t think she could have known how deeply that touched me.
After talking with Aurielle, I learned that one of her favorite things is providing services to women who spend so much of their lives caring for others. She is also absolutely brilliant when it comes to skincare. She didn’t simply treat my skin, she taught me about it. She explained what it needs, how to protect it, and how to care for it in a way that left me feeling informed, empowered, and genuinely cared about.
But perhaps the part that means the most to me is why I was there in the first place.
Aurielle is a huge supporter of BENCHS, and she generously gifted every single person on my team a facial. That brings tears to my eyes because I know what these people give. I see their long days. I see them celebrate adoptions, nurse sick animals, comfort the scared ones, grieve the ones we lose, and continue showing up on the difficult days.
Aurielle looked at the people behind that work and chose to pour something back into them.
There are gifts that are generous, and then there are gifts that make someone feel seen, valued, and appreciated. This was the latter. ❤️
I walked in carrying the weight of a very demanding month. I walked out feeling restored. My mind felt clearer, my heart felt lighter, and I felt so genuinely carefree and joyful that I literally twirled and skipped down the hallway to my car. 😂❤️
And when I woke up the next morning, my skin was the clearest I have seen it in years. The results on my skin were incredible, but what that hour did for my spirit is what I will remember most.
I have spent my entire adult life caring for animals in this community, and I wouldn’t trade that calling for anything. But Aurielle reminded me that even people who love being caregivers benefit from being cared for, too.
So from the deepest, most grateful part of my heart, thank you, Aurielle. Thank you for supporting BENCHS. Thank you for recognizing my team and the work they do. Thank you for seeing the people behind the kennels, medications, messages, emergencies, happy endings, and hard days. And thank you for giving me an hour where I could set all of that down and simply receive the same gentleness and care that I spend my days trying to give to others.
My first facial ever somehow became an experience I will never forget.
I walked into Refined Rituals MedSpa carrying a heavy month. I walked out skipping. ❤️ -Terri
And if this story inspires you to get involved with BENCHS, we would love to hear from you. Support can look like so many different things. Sometimes it means helping the animals directly, and sometimes, like Aurielle showed us, it means finding a creative way to pour some love back into the people who care for them every day. 🐾
If you are a local business, organization, or community member interested in doing something specifically for our shelter staff, you can reach me at [email protected].
If you are interested in partnering with or supporting BENCHS as a whole, please reach out to our Executive Director at [email protected].
Whether you choose to care for the animals, care for the people behind them, or find a way to do a little bit of both, we are incredibly grateful to have a community that continues to show up for BENCHS. ❤️
