Lanyards

The lanyard. There is nothing that says "conference attendee" quite like a lanyard.

This past week, as I wandered the hotel hosting our annual clergy conference, I kept an eye out for my fellow lanyards. We moved like schools of fish through the maze of hallways, intermittently veering left or right as our schedules dictated. But all the while, silently attached by our lanyards.

I crafted my very first lanyard while still in the Girl Scouts, weaving long, flat pieces of plastic together until the box-stitch pattern grew long enough to wear. As a teenager, I wore that lanyard while working as a life guard, a silver whistle dangling from its metal claw fastener. So many summer days spent twirling, twirling, twirling....

I have since graduated to my adult lanyard phase, when plastic badges and meal tickets replaced my beloved whistle. But every time I slip a lanyard over my head, I can still smell a hint of zinc oxide.

"A life guard doesn't wait for her ship to come in. She swims to it." - Anonymous