24 Days of Thanks: #22

In case you're just tuning in...

This month, I will be reviewing all things I'm thankful for, leading up to the most thankful day of the year...Thanksgiving of course.

(Just a reminder, I'm counting down, but in no particular order of importance.)

#22. Good luck charms.

When I was little (maybe 5 or 6 or somewhere around then, my memory isn't so good and those years blur together a little), my Mom had surgery. Before she had that surgery, I decided to craft her a ring made of the prettiest plastics beads I had ever seen. I gave the ring to her and told her it would bring her good luck during her surgery and of course that I loved her. (Again, maybe my exact words were something slightly different, but that's the gist.) Anyway, she came through the surgery fine and dandy and made a full recovery.

Years later, I came to find out that my Mom still had that ring. It was when I had to take my first business trip ever, and I-had-to-fly...by-myself. **News flash...Melissa is afraid of flying...a little less today, but I still do harbor the ridiculous fear.**

Anyway, this was just a few years after 9/11. I had not flown since before the horrendous attack on the world trade center, let alone, now I would be flying across the country to Portland by myself. I was utterly petrified and a ball of nerves. That's when my Mom said...I have a little something for you. It brought me good luck once. I think you'll remember it, and now it can bring you good luck. And she handed me the ring. I think I burst into tears. From delight that my Mom still had the ring, and like the great Mom she is, was willing to loan me her personal good luck charm. So, I tucked the ring into my wallet, and carried it all the way to Portland and back, and then some. And, I was fine. I actually ended up holding on to that ring for a little longer, and over the last several years, it's been passed back and forth between my Mom, Grandmother and I, on occasions where it was most needed.

Along the way, I've picked up a few more of my own good luck charms - a gem stone from my Mom and two locket necklaces from my husband and his family. I carry them every time I travel now. My fear of flying has lessened...maybe because it's just more frequent, but I always have my good luck charms, and my family close at hand. And if you ask me, that's what it really is...it's not the item itself, but the meaning behind it, and knowing there is someone always there if you need them.