Bracelets and Hulu

When I was a newspaper reporter on my beat (for my two friends), I ripped my left ear lobe. Maybe because I wore gold hoops a la Belinda Carlisle whenever I could or maybe because I was always on the phone getting a scoop (again, friends who know who they are). The moment the hole ripped through my left lobe was uneventful in that there was no blood or pain. It just tore down. I actually had not worn earrings in a few weeks because I knew the tear was forthcoming. So, it ripped. I had dinner that evening at the Elite Cafe with my friend Robin. He is a huge guy. Former Baylor defensive lineman. He screamed when I showed him. I received some satisfaction in making that massive football player squirm.

Then, I said, bring us more rolls. Remember those? How many could we eat and did eat? Bread, gluten, carbs, who cared? We needed those rolls. And, the butter on the rolls. Did Joanna and Chip get that recipe? Will those rolls appear at the new Elite Cafe which won't be named the Elite Cafe?

Since those days, I've cut down on pre-entree bread and butter and experimented with clip-on earrings. Oftentimes, too clunky and heavy. At other times, not cute. I've lost many because the clip loosens and well, they just fall off. 

I gave up on the earrings a year or so ago. I didn't want to mess with them anymore. One day in my future, I will fix my ear. Until that happens, I choose to stack on the bracelets. 

I buy bracelets as souvenirs from trips and vacations. I own green bracelets for Baylor games. (By the way I'm watching us lose our sixth game of the season. This is so hard. I hate losing. I hate not winning a game. I hate that we only scored one touchdown in this game. I hate this season. If only my bracelets were like Wonder Woman's magic cuffs to block passes and knock tacklers out of the way.) I have some bracelets that belonged to my grandmother and my great-grandmother. I also have a copper bracelet from my granddad.

Stacks of bracelets.

For Lee games, I wear a silver bangle that belonged to my great-grandmother, a red suede bracelet  with a sturdy sterling closure and some little trinket of a bracelet that is red rope with a silver cross. No earrings, but I've some cute bracelets.

My charm bracelet is another treasure. It's full of James Avery charms. Some came off dangle rings I had as a pre-teen. Others have been gifts through the years from G, Chris and friends.

I passed the love of bracelets and the need for a James Avery charm bracelet to my girls. Their charm bracelets are as distinct as they are and each charm represents something special about them. They also have a jewelry box full of bracelets -- some from vacations, some as gifts. We also have quite a few of those little rubber bracelets. I try to toss those out from time to time, but they seem to find them in the trash and put them back in their jewelry boxes.

This month is a busy travel month for work. The beginning of the fourth quarter marks a time where the people I coach are wrapping up the year and simultaneously, planning for the upcoming year. The conversations are long and intense. I hear frustration and hope wrapped up together in their comments. I sense a weariness along with the success achieved. They have a responsibility of helping their team members improve skills and achieve goals. They feel the accountability. When I sit across from them either at a conference table or a chair in front of their office desk, I see the stacks of reports and paper work. I notice the handwritten notes and completed forms.

Stacks of work.

When I get a bit tired of the travel and the quick Starbucks protein pack meal grabs between coaching sessions, I fiddle with a bracelet I wear for travel. It's a hook bracelet with two charms. G gave it to me when Chris was born. There is a little shoe charm that represents Chris. When the girls were born, G gave me a charm that is two little girls holding hands. 

I wear it on every work trip. I wear it a lot. The night before a work trip, I lay out my jewelry and clothes. That bracelet is always on the dresser ready to pop on before I head out the door to greet my Uber driver. 

There have been times when the bracelet has come unhooked and it is barely hanging on my wrist. I have left it in a bin at the airport and had to run back to TSA to get it before I boarded my flight. A few times, the charms have fallen off and I retrace my steps to find them. Most recently when that happened, the charms were found in a conference room and 'flown' back to me. Wearing the bracelet is a ritual. I believe I can't travel without it. It's almost a superstitious-type thing where I must have it in order to safely arrive at my destination and then make it back home.

I know that a bracelet doesn't guarantee my safety. It does provide a level of comfort and brings me a sense of peace. 

Planning an outfit around a bracelet or pairing bracelets with a selected outfit feels a bit absurd, when with perspective, the clothes and jewelry I wear do not matter. My intellect, my empathy, my listening and my interest in the people I coach are what matter. My care, my patience, my support and my love I show toward my family are what matter.

At this season of life, I seem to be thinking about my time with my family and friends more and more. I'm prioritizing them over after-work events and volunteer time. I'm trying to find ways to be with family and friends more often. Now, there are so many hours in the day and my fourth parts are typically reserved for my selfish time. But, I do find time in those fourth parts that revolve around family and friends.

I wish I had stacks of time for friends and family.

I wonder if my friends would like to come over for laundry, HEB pick up or clean the shower day? I wonder if they would like to ride with me to pick up Camille from gymnastics on the nights G has games? I wonder if they would like to help figure out the easiest, quickest tic tac toe homework square and then cajole my children to finish it up before the week starts (isn't that what the weekend is for -- getting the homework squares done so we don't have to do them during the week)?

I wonder if they would like to do a 20-minute Ole Henriksen peel, drink a glass of wine and watch The Mindy Project on Hulu. Yeah, I bet they would.

This is a not so much travel week, but it is preparation for a big event that someone doesn't want anyone knowing but the name rhymes with nervous and has to do with a birthday age that is divisible by 5 and 10.

So, if my fourth part planning works out according to my wants and desires, I'll have an evening event with a girlfriend while we finalize my girls' Halloween costumes and talk about how not to have a Sunday event for someone who doesn't really want it even though I will invite people over and we may have strawberry cake.

Stacks of wishes for the one who is never nervous.