This Summer's Bracelet.

(This year's bracelets. The gold one was a gift.)

I make and wear a friendship bracelet or two every summer, and have since I learned how to make them in elementary or middle school. At the end of each August, the threads are fading, matted, and full of memories from the past 3 months.

A friendship bracelet doesn't just add a summertime vibe and personal touch to my warm-weather outfits. It's also allows me to wear a little collage of the colors that are currently inspiring me, and be a little mismatched.

But these bracelets are mainly about the memories. My sisters and I would spend summer afternoons knotting bracelets together, and now my youngest sisters are carrying on the tradition. Last year, my little sister Laura made me a bracelet. It ended up being pretty special, since I wore it through the last few months of being pregnant with Vi. It's in her baby box now, just for fun.

This year's bracelet carries memories of Vi's first experience with the ocean, her first birthday cupcake, countless walks through the back streets of our neighborhood, a Coldplay concert, sitting in the sun at the pool, and ...starting this blog.

It was a good summer.