Jewelry

A few very special pieces of jewelry have been giving me a lot of comfort on this journey:

My sister gave this to me on the last night we were together.  It's Colorado made (!), navy (!) and has "M&M" engraved on it for our first-ever nicknames, Monkey & McGee.  Can you guess who is Monkey and who is McGee??  I'm probably not supposed to shower in it, but I can't take it off.  It's now an extension of my left arm and a reminder of my roots.  (You can find it on Etsy)

This bracelet was a gift from KC & Hannah for my MBA graduation.  It's a bangle with the Dr. Suess quote, "If things start happening, don't worry, don't stew, just go right along and you'll start happening too."  It's a reminder of their faith in me.

Brandon gave me this for my birthday.  It's by an Etsy designer that is friends with my friend Andrea in Denver - you can find her here.  "Peach" is just one of the many things he calls me, whether I'm being super nice to him in the morning or I have some fabricated ailment.  I fiddle with it all the time to remind myself that I am loved.

My favorite Korean, Sarah Yoon (or "Jungah" if you're me or her mother), gave me this for my MBA graduation.  We met and studied abroad and lived together in Italy in undergrad and she is one of my best friends in the world (even though we aren't the best at always keeping in touch and only see each other less than once/year).  This necklace reminds me of that experience and that adventure and that life-long friendships are just around the corner.

My work sister, Jess, gave me this.  She's my work sister because, A - her name is Jess, just like my real life sister and B - just like my real life sister, once one of us walks into a room it's non-stop laughter and I lean on her constantly. 

Jewelry is such an easy way to carry home with you and even though I can't get real hugs from these people, I just have to reach around my neck or wrist to know they're "here" and have my back.