wishing bracelet...

Wishing Bracelet

i have said this before, but often times i find myself roped into something without knowing all the details.  my wishing bracelet is no exception. 

one of my oldest and dearest friends, heather, has an exchange student from brazil.  heather lives with her husband matt in moses lake.  she makes the trek to the west side more than any other east sider out there.  well i suppose i don't know that for sure, i only know a handful of east siders, but she does visit a lot.  anyway, heather and matt don't have kids they have pets; mona, pita and oh dear lord i cannot remember the cat's name.  i want to say gandolph but i know that isn't it.  this year they decided to host an exchange student, hanna.

i had the great pleasure of meeting her in early august, when heather decided that hanna needed to see where she grew up.  i received a text from heather while i was out on a really long, therapeutic, mind clearing run.  i wasn't sold on the visit, but went anyway.  after cleaning up a bit, i trekked over to lake stevens to another fellow classmates house.  the distraction of life long friends was exactly what i needed.

a migration to another house and a couple of drinks later, hanna pulls out this enormous bag of ribbons.  the rainbow of colors was incredible.  she asked do you want a wishing bracelet?  well of course i do.  hanna tells me that this is a tradition where she is from and people line their arms with as many wishing bracelets as they can.  i got to pick my favorite color out of the enormous array of colors, pink.  not just any pink but the brightest most noticable pink available.
 

hanna, takes the two ends, wraps it around my wrist twice and then says make a wish....i close my eyes and make my first wish, she ties a knot.  she says make another wish...i close my eyes again and make my second wish, she ties another knot.  then she says make your last wish...i close my eyes for the third time, think real hard, make my third wish, hanna ties the last knot.  as hanna finishes the last knot she gives me the instructions...

you may not remove this for any reason of your own means. 

you cannot tell anyone what your wishes are.

if the bracelet falls off on its own and you've not shared your wishes with anyone...

they will come true.

most of you know that i am rule follower.  i drive the speed limit, i read front to back never jump to the end, i don't peak at christmas presents...rules...i follow them.  so i am looking at my bracelet thinking hmmm i wonder how long this thing will be on my wrist?

the first couple of weeks i really noticed this pink ribbon tied to my wrist.  the ribbon was itchy and annoying.  it was so bright, i tried to hide its presence with other bracelets and long sleeves, but it was august so long sleeves wasn't really an option.  i was constantly futzing with it.  during the first month of wearing my ribbon, i was asked a lot did you go to the fair?  this seemed like such a weird question the first time it was asked.  why would anyone think i had gone to the fair?  oh yeah, i have a fluorescent pink ribbon tied to my wrist, it looks like an all day ride pass, but do people really wear those after they leave the fair like a badge of honor? 

we are now at the end of november.  i have had this ribbon tied to my wrist since the first half of august.  it is starting to break down but i don't think its integrity has been compromised.  if i would've known i was going to be wearing this to my grave i may have chosen a less obscene color, maybe have opted for the nude colored ribbon. i smell it at least once a day checking for any type of odor, so far it just smells like the soap i scrub it with daily.  i have stopped trying to hide it, mostly because i don't really notice it anymore.

from time to time i check in with heather to see if she is still wearing hers and she always responds yes i am and you better still have yours on.  i get a nice little chuckle from her response and answer of course i am.