Silver and gold

Hospital stays don't just strip you of your dignity. They can also temporarily rob you of small but important tokens of your identity. The ring that you wear on your left hand to proclaim the vow you made to your partner, for example.

I don't protest the wisdom of having patients remove all jewelry before leaving home for a major operation. There is peace of mind in knowing that it will be waiting for your return, safe and sound where you left it. 

But it compounds the sense of naked exposure you feel when, lying in your hospital bed, you are not able to take comfort in those few keepsakes that you usually wear as physical reminders of valued relationships.

Some people have a special necklace that never leaves their neck because it would feel like a betrayal to take it off. 

For me, the reminders that I am happy to be wearing once again are my wedding ring, three silver bracelets and a silver anklet.

My wedding ring is especially symbolic because of the way that TC and I put it together. Three middle bands with two embedded sapphires and two small diamonds made up the engagement ring that I picked out. Then we added my mother's and his grandmother's gold wedding bands to either side, a beautiful representation of the two families we were bringing together. I wear the side with my mother's band closest to my heart. 

Also close to my heart, I wear three silver bracelets on my left wrist that my mother gave me on consecutive Christmases. My sisters and my daughter also wear their Mom/Grandma bracelets to remember and honor her. I love fingering them as a reminder that we were blessed to have her in our lives until she was almost 96.

And on my left ankle is the silver anklet that my sister Joy gave each of us four sisters (including herself) last fall to remind us of the close bonds we share. 

That's a lot of love to leave on the counter before embarking on a journey in which you need the relationships in your life to strengthen you more than ever.