Jewelry for the Girls

For many years, for special occasions, I would get jewelry from my dad.

When I was 10, my dad was away at jump school. When he returned, he had a gold ring that had a heart on it with a small small small small little diamond. I LOVED that ring! I had it and wore it until I was 20 where I lost it when I was babysitting.

My dad gave me my Irish Claddagh ring when I was 12. We were sitting at a restaurant for my birthday and dad offered to go get me some ice cream for desert. He came back with vanilla ice cream in a cup with rainbow sprinkles. In the ice cream was a Claddagh ring and earrings. My little sister thought they were candy and wanted them! I still have the ring and still wear it. The earrings I have but are put away in my jewelry box as they are too small.

I was 16 when my dad came back from Congo, Africa after 2 years, and brought back an intertwined tri-band ring (very fun!) that is red, white, and yellow gold that was made by a child in Africa. And I still wear it!

My dad went to Mexico for work and came back with a gold key and said it was the key to his heart. Still have it...still wear it.

For my high school graduation, I got a beautiful gold bracelet with rubies (my birthstone) and little diamonds. I still have it too.

Everything I wear means something and has a story behind it. Everything my dad gave me had a talk with it. A talk about his unconditional love, how proud he was, how he'd always be there. So these things act as reminders for these great memories.

Well, the bracelet lost a ruby a couple of years ago. I was so upset! But I finally got it replaced. Then, last December, I broke one of the links. I was even more upset! I got it fixed about 2 months ago. They told me that there were some more links that needed secured and that a lot of the prongs were loose. I thought they were just trying to make money!

Well today, I saw that I lost a ruby. I was sad as I took off the bracelet. I know I'll get it fixed. But for some reason, I felt funny being without it. Not for the look or for others to see....I just didn't like being without it.

It's always been a big joke that we were impressed that my dad remembered these occasions AND that the jewelry had to be real gold. I'm allergic to anything else. Hell, even the button on my jeans makes me break out. I can't even wear a watch because the back of it and the buckle make me break out like some mutant.

Jewelry is great...but I treasure the thought and memory behind it even more!