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It has become a bit grimy, what with all the handling. I suppose it is laden with germs, if you are one to ponder those things. The bright green ribbon, inscripted with brown lettering "From the Mr. and Mrs." (once emblazoned with gold glitter, mind you!) came from a wedding. That was probably a no-brainer. The rest is mom-heart-stuff.
My Marine was coming back to our home state from his training in California just long enough to be the best man in a wedding. A Marine-comrade of his was to be married in a town about five hours from our home town. I take advantage of every opportunity to hang out with ANY of my kids, but I do take a little more effort when my Marine is this close to home! When I learned he planned to come home after the wedding, I decided he should have a car. That way, he would not be a burden while there, and he could come home at will. So I drove the five hours to meet him at the airport, taking a bus home from there.
A few days later, the Marine came home for his brief visit. When he returned the car, he handed me the keys with the bright green ribbon attached. He explained that the ribbon had been tied around a wedding announcement keepsake, and that he just tied that ribbon onto my keys while sitting at the reception. When he flew back to his base, I didn't have the heart to remove the ribbon. I suppose it represented more than a joyous union between two young people -- that is so encouraging to my heart all by itself! It also represented one of the many friendships my son has formed -- the life-long kind -- with a fellow Marine.
If I were to be totally honest, the ribbon was in my son's hand, something he absent-mindedly tied to my keys, but he had held it for that time. I am not superstitious, I do not believe there is anything more than a mother's sentimental heart about holding onto that ribbon. But I have gained an added benefit. For the naysayers who smirk and say to rid myself of that 'germ-trap', I have to tell you this: NUMEROUS times, with arms full, running errands in my usually hectic pace, those keys have slipped from my hand, only to be snatched at the last minute by that nasty ol' ribbon. Many times, I've reached for the key rack and missed, but the slowly fading ribbon caught on the key hook at the last second. Other times, buried in a sea of much-necessary "stuff" in my oversized purse, the brightly colored ribbon is easily spotted, eliminating the removal of said "stuff" to find those keys.
All in all, I love the little reminders generated by keeping that nasty ol' ribbon around. Besides, it matches the Hawaiian statuette on the dashboard of my car and the plastic lei on my rear-view mirror...oh, haven't seen those yet? HA HA! You will...
From the heart of a Marine's Mom <3
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