Full of Grace

I have worn this necklace for a long, long time.  

It was a gift to help me remember that the ocean will always be a part of me.  From the first time I put it on, I never took it off.  

On February 1st I had minor surgery on a knuckle.  Although I knew it was going to be done in a surgical center, I didn’t think it was going to be a big deal.  I did remember to take off my commitment ring assuming my hand might swell but I had left the necklace on, not even thinking about it.  When I got to surgery, I had to completely gown up which surprised me. Then the nurse told me I had to remove the necklace.  I did but I did not have any safe place to put it.  I stuck it in my wallet, shoved everything into the bag they give you and didn’t think about it again. After surgery I got dressed, stopped a few places for comfort food and a prescription and then went home.  It wasn’t until later that I noticed the necklace was gone.

I retraced all my steps.  I called the surgery center.  I checked my clothes. I checked my car. I was devastated.  Days passed and I couldn’t shake the broken heartedness of the loss.  When I looked in the mirror and saw it missing, I felt more sadness than when I lost my breasts.  My family generously offered to buy me a new one, but it would never be the same.

A month passed and I tried to convince myself that non-attachment was an important thing to learn.  And then on Sunday, Martha was cleaning and found it! It had apparently fallen on the kitchen floor, and then we think one of the cats must have batted it under a counter. It wound up being lodged under a moulding and could barely be seen. Martha said the only reason she saw it was because the sunlight hit it just so and she saw it glimmer.

So this week’s gratitude is all about having such a cherished item come back to me so unexpectedly.  It feels like a miracle that it was found and I am happy beyond happy.