Day 6: We Wore Our Love Next to Our Hearts

S and I dated long distance for almost a year.  When we were first together, it seemed too good to be true so I asked for a token to keep with me so I knew it was real.  We didn't discuss what we were exchanging in advance.  The next time we saw one another, S gave me his Superman necklace from the Christopher Reeve foundation.  He said it was one of his most favorite things in the world and it meant a lot to him.  I gave him a key that my dad gave me.  It wasn't my favorite key, but I liked it.  It didn't have any particular meaning to me.  My dad had given it to me because one time I had forgotten my necklace with my favorite key on it at home when I came to visit.  It was just a key had laying around.

My favorite key came from a girls' vacation to Tybee Island, near Savannah Georgia (one of my favorite cities on the planet).  I bought it in an antique shop on the River Front.  It was an old skeleton key to a diary.  I have a thing for skeleton keys and this one was cool because it was so small.  At the time I bought it, I was in an unhappy marriage; buying the key somehow felt like I was reclaiming myself.

After S told me that the Superman charm was his favorite possession, I felt guilty for not giving him my favorite key.  I realized it was a trust thing for me.  What if I gave him my favorite necklace and I never saw him again?  Essentially, what if I gave him the key to my heart and he broke my heart?

On our next visit, I confessed that it wasn't my favorite key and I gave S the real one.  Giving it away was difficult for me, but obviously it was a good risk.  S and I wore our tokens around our necks every day that we were apart.  He even took it with him to Japan after we were married.  It was our way of staying connected.

A few months ago, we talked about giving them back since we're together everyday now, but that didn't feel right.  We made promises back then to stay true and to think of each other often.  Those are promises we still keep.  Even though we don't wear them every day, we carry that connected feeling with us.