Sigh. Less of disappointment, more of a breath in reflection.
I wore this bracelet for the majority of days over the past five years. At the 5 year mark, this past July, I saw a crack and decided to let it sit and not break it. I figured 5 years was a good run.
Today, I had my promotional ceremony for Commander (yeah I owed you that update, more to come on that). I thought about Diego and how he made a point to come in on his day off to attend my Sgt promotion in early 2018.
I didn’t ask anyone except wifey to come, but he did. He said it was a big deal, and he was proud of me (he was good at that). He made sure we got a photo together (he was good at that). It may be the last photo I have of us.. and months later we lost him in duty.
So today, I decide to pick it up and put it on for the ceremony. A nod to one of my great sources of inspiration in my attempts to grow and challenge myself in this career since we lost him.
And in the morning hours, when shaking the hand of one of new people I helped hire, the bracelet was bumped and snapped in half, clattering on the ground.
I found it fitting, poetic, and I smirked.
Always with us, bracelet or not. Thank you then, and thank you now. 🙏🏽
*icing on the cake, one of my team saw what happened and found me a replacement. 🤘🏽