05/27/2026
End of school year party. I'm standing there sweaty from running from the overflow parking lot to make it on time, swatting away mosquitoes that threaten to eat me alive, trying to remember to swing by the nurse's office to pick up Lexi's EpiPen (spoiler alert: I forgot).
And then I spot it.
My friend walks up wearing her Grit & Grace necklace. That gorgeous lion perched on a natural pearl. Within minutes another mom comes over to me, points at her neck, and says "I need that. Where do I get it?"
The story behind this necklace IS mom life.
A lion for the inner courage it takes to navigate the day to day. The stomach bugs that took out the whole family. Treating chigger bites in unspeakable places. Packing the lunch, signing the form, refilling the prescription, showing up to the thing.
The school year that somehow took forever and went by in a blink at the same time.
The pearl for what happens when you keep showing up anyway. Pressure. Layers. Beauty that only forms because of the hard stuff, not in spite of it.
Here's the thing I have to tell you though. The pictures do not do this necklace justice. I've tried. My camera roll is full of evidence that this piece refuses to be photographed properly.
In person it stops people. On a screen it whispers.
The other thing I love. Because the pearl is a natural pearl, no two necklaces are ever the same. Yours will not look exactly like hers. Or mine. Just like our stories. 🦁🤍