Remember Your Charm Bracelets?
Author: Hallidae Thomason

Most little girls have a best friend growing up. Sure, they
have other friends, but none that quite compare to their one
and only best friend. Do you remember your childhood best
friend? Mine was Ava. She lived just three doors down from my
house and we became friends from the day she moved onto our
street. It wasn't until a couple of months later, however, that
we became best friends. I remember the day we stepped up our
friendship from 'friends' to 'best friends' because it was the
day we exchanged charm bracelets with each other.

Our charm bracelets were the symbol to us and to all of our
other friends that we were two of a kind. We still liked to
play with other kids in the neighborhood, but it would always
be Ava and I that ate dinner at each others houses or spent the
night together on Fridays. Every night before we parted ways we
planned where to meet the next morning. Our days were filled
with hour after hour of exploring, playing house, playing with
dolls, and having kickball games with our other friends. The
summer Ava moved to my neighborhood and we became best friends
we saw each other every single day.

Our charm bracelets were great because they kept us connected
even when we could not spend every hour of every day together.
At school that fall Ava and I were put in separate classes so
we could only see each other at lunch time and on the
playground. One the first day of school Ava and I exchanged one
of the charms on our charm bracelets to that we could remember
each other throughout the day.

When my family and I left to vacation in California later that
year I said goodbye to Ava on her front porch. I promised that
I would bring her back something special for our charm
bracelets. For some reason, that promise was enough to make the
ten days we were apart - the longest we'd been separated since
we became best friends - more bearable. As soon as I returned
from the trip, I rushed over to her house and gave her the
special charm I had chosen to make our best friend charm
bracelets even more full.

In the years that followed, Ava and I filled our charm
bracelets with so many new charms that there came a day when
our charm bracelets wouldn't fit anything new on them. It was a
sad day the day we filled our charm bracelets. It was an even
sadder day when Ava's family moved far from mine right after we
graduated high school. We separated with the promise to wear our
charm bracelets every day until we met again.

And though I haven't seen Ava since the day she moved and the
charm bracelets we shared quickly became a thing of the past, I
think every kid should have a best friend and the
charm bracelets to prove it.


About The Author: Hallidae Thomason enjoys writing pieces on
some of her favorite memories from childhood. Learn more about
charm bracelets at http://www.allcharmbracelets.info