Peace Offerings

No matter what goes on during the week,one thing remains the same. I know that come Friday, I am probably going to get to see the girls in my family. Somehow that always comforts me and helps me get through my week a little easier.

Generally, when April & Priscilla and I get together, it's to go shopping, or to go to the salon. (Hey, not gonna lie. We're shopaholics.)

Ever since I can remember, the girls have been like my sisters. Especially April, because for a long time, she grew up with me like a big sister. Even in our teen years, when I was a total brat, we were so close. Priscilla was born 9 years after I was. I was thrilled when my Aunt told me she was pregnant, and I remember sitting next to her on the bench outside her house and watching monsoons rolling in, right before Fall was about to start, before the change of seasons. We would sit out there and feel the humid but cool breeze hit our faces. She looked like a grown up, pregnant version of me. And all I could think was how anxious I was to meet this little angel in her tummy.

Priscilla was born and everything changed. I adored her. I wanted to hold her and help my Aunt take care of her, I wanted to hold her hand when we crossed the street and even when she was 7 or 8 and wanted to follow me around and play with my makeup and ask me 24 questions, I still thought the world of her. I watched her grow up into a woman who is self-assured, confident, and not afraid to be who she is. I watched her make some mistakes and pick herself up again, admit her wrongs, and try to do right. I've seen her commitment to changing the world grow and develop.

Yesterday, the last of Nana B's girls went off to college. Three of us...Bernadette, April, and I, all received these cute peace bracelets that Priscilla bought for us to remember her by. Priscilla loves peace signs. The peace signs she always buys, on clothing, and jewelry, somehow remind me of the sixties; the free spirits who defined not only a generation, but who changed and revolutionized America.

I recall giving her tips on how to make her lashes look longer, and what color shadows worked best. I remember all of our shopping trips, and Pris arguing with April over a coupon at Victoria's Secret. I remember batting our lashes at the cute hairstylist guys at our salon, and all the stories and secrets we've shared through the years. She may be going off to college, but I know that this is only the beginning of a life that will define what it means to be a successful woman.

As I looked down at my bracelet yesterday, my eyes flooded with tears as memories came back to me of the little girl with big, pretty eyes and a cute little grin. She's now a woman on the brink of greatness. And whenever I miss her, all I have to do is glance down at my peace bracelet, the same one that links the 4 of us together, no matter where we choose to go. I'll remember her, and how we walked through life not only in style, but hand in hand, celebrating achievements and holding hands through defeat. But most of all, I'll be reminded of the peace signs so present during 1960's America, and all those who transformed a nation and brought about change. And I'll be reminded of the young woman I'm proud of, who will take those same qualities and make her mark on the world.

I remember so clearly sitting with Tia Pati, waiting for her baby, those August winds blowing in...knowing Fall was fast approaching and that soon, everything would change...it was the dawn of a new season.

A new season begins, and this time, the force that is moving that wind?

It's still our Priscilla.


Buy your very own version of our bracelet at Macy's or at www.macys.com. Similar versions can be found at Dillards, Nordstrom Brass Plum department or at select Charlotte Russe locations nationwide.