It Begins!

A dear friend gave me an elephant ornament for Christmas. Her gift came with an elephant story typed on a postcard which ended with the words, “Thank you for being my elephant.”  My friend left soon after for her 4 month escape from our Colorado winter to the beach, and I remained profoundly touched by those words for weeks after receiving her gift.  

I couldn’t stop thinking about it. 

“Thank you for being my elephant.”

Some mornings I’d wake up with tears in my eyes, touched by my friend’s sentiment.  I felt loved and protected so deeply, that I initially couldn’t process what those words meant exactly.

“Thank you for being my elephant.”

We are Survivors.  Our friendship started in 2014 after we shared our assault stories over a cup of coffee.  Though we come from wildly different backgrounds, we bonded around each other’s trauma, and in the 10 years since, our sisterhood has blossomed.  I am honored to be her elephant, and know that she is and has been mine.

 “Thank you for being my elephant.”

I started to wake up thinking about other friends who feel like “my elephant” to me.  I thought about making elephant charms and sending both them and my elephant story as gifts of gratitude to those people who make up my circle, to those beloved who are my elephants.  In my struggle to be whole, in my struggle as a Survivor, I have had a family of people support and love me. 

My gratitude for the fierce nature of my family’s care fell over me in waves, both overwhelming and wonderful as I obsessed about how to meaningfully tell each member of my family these few words:

“Thank you for being my elephant.”

I will send charms and my elephant story to each one, for sure, but it also occurred to me that they might each have their own circle.  I wondered if each one of my elephants had their own “family” they would like to thank for being their elephant.

And so, Thank You For Being My Elephant began. 

And the circle continues.