Friday, March 14, 2014

Trinkets and Treasures - No. 12

It's been over a year since I posted anything in the Trinkets and Treasures category. I guess that series had slipped my mind until last Friday, my younger daughter's 50th birthday. I wanted to give her something special to mark the occasion, and the item that came immediately to mind was this garnet ring that once belonged to my mother:


Here's a picture of Mother (during her blonde years, about 1954) wearing the ring as she sunbathed beside the swimming pool at Fassnight Park in Springfield, Missouri:


The ring was custom made for Mother, a copy of one that belonged to her grandmother, Dora Hetherington Elliott. For years after Mother's death I wore the ring on special occasions that she might have attended had she still been alive and other times when I simply needed to feel closer to her. Its gold band is so small that I had to wear it on my little finger, but it fits Kelli's ring finger perfectly--just the way it fit Mother's.

Kelli and I both cried when I gave her the ring, the photo of Mother wearing it, and a handwritten note about its history. Through her tears she said, "Did you ever think I'd get old enough to care?"

Yes. I knew she would.

5 comments:

  1. That ring really is a treasure!

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    1. Betsy, it sure is. As jewelry goes it isn't an expensive piece, but it's priceless in terms of sentiment.

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  2. I love that it means as much to Kelli as you hoped it would. So many times that is not the case.

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    1. Annette, I think there's a turning point in each of our lives when we develop an appreciation for the people who came before us and paved our way in the world. It happens at different times for different people, but it makes me sad to think some people might never recognize that special connection to their ancestors.

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