To quote Lloyd Christmas: "I hate goodbyes!"

I lost a little piece of me yesterday.

Two summers ago, I made myself a necklace during my lunch break of a professional development workshop. It started out as nothing too special—just some stretchy string and little turquoise beads creating a simple choker. However, I loved it, and it immediately became an important part of me. By the end of that summer, I even had a tan line around my neck of where it sat. But, since I never took the necklace off, it didn't really matter.

That necklace and I went through a lot together. I wore it everywhere—to work, to weddings, running, to the pool, in the shower, to sleep, to baseball games, on road trips, in mud races, through airport terminals—you name it. My turquoise treasure NEVER left my neck.

Until yesterday.

I had noticed that the strand was becoming weaker by the day, and I figured it was only a matter of time until it met its demise. But, it was one of those things that I thought would just never happen. I wasn't quite ready for reality just yet. I didn't want my neck to be without that perfect circle.

Scattered pieces of my heart

But I cannot control fate.

I had just taken a shower, and I reached my towel back to dry the back of my neck. There was a weird snap, and I put both of my hands on my neck hoping that the horrific thing that I thought had just occurred was nothing more than an over-exaggerated imagination.

But I knew better than that.

I carefully removed the broken necklace and just stared at its lifeless state in my hands. Some of the beads had even stuck to my neck as if clinging for more time. I looked in the mirror to see a neck that looked completely barren and boring. It was a sad moment.

There are things and people in our lives that come and go. They impact us while they are here, but then they are gone just as quickly as they came. Sometimes we just have to learn to say goodbye and move on with the realities that we face.

Now is one of those times for me.

I have more stretchy string and more beads, but I doubt I will make a replica. There's just no replacing such awesomeness.

Cloth rings last forever, right?

The good news is that I still have one piece of "jewelry" that has outlasted all: a cloth ring that I've been wearing since I was a junior in high school. This one might be a story for a different day, but let's just say that it used to be bright orange, and it's made a permanent indention in my finger. The only way to get this thing off would be to cut it, which I definitely will not do.

I guess I'm sort of hoping it's made of magic cloth that lasts forever, because this is one goodbye I never want to say.