BRACELET

My wrist feels naked tonight. This morning, after my prayer time, I found a pocket knife in a drawer and used it to cut a bracelet that had been on my wrist for the past 8 years. 

It was a gift from a dear Haitian friend.

Maybe I have been shaped by my love of literature, but I tend to see life in terms of symbols; this bracelet represented my connection to Haiti. And I had planned to wear it until the strings broke on their own. (I wish I knew what it was made of because it is one tough little bracelet.)

I am left wondering why I impulsively cut it this morning.

I didn't do it just to make Melissa happy - but it is bound to do that. (The loose ends would sometimes tickle her skin when we hold hands -which is daily.)

Cutting it didn't mean that I have given up hope of ever returning to Haiti. I am sure I will at some point. At least for a visit.

And it didn't mean that I have finally decided to "move on". I had already "moved on", at least in the sense of not being preoccupied with the past. 

As best as I can discern, I cut the bracelet free today because I am starting to get excited about the material I am reading for my classes, which means I have a growing certainty that I am on the right path for moving forward into this next stage of life and faith. 

And I am making room for whatever comes next.