1 Mother 2 Another

When I was a little girl, I loved getting
into my mom’s big armoire and riffling through her jewelry
boxes. She had several charm bracelets, as did most women
who’d been a teenager when she was, and she’d tell me
stories about each charm – one from a visit to China, another
from her first day of school. As she talked, I could picture her
life unfolding around the bracelet, and saw how each charm
represented milestones or memories.


As I started moving through adulthood, I began collecting a few
charms for myself to cover monumental points in my life, and when I
became pregnant I immediately thought of a charm bracelet as a way
to give my daughter something lasting – a sort of jewelry
diary, if you will. So when Maddie was born I bought her a bracelet
– her very first piece of jewelry – with a pair of baby
shoes hanging off it, her initials and birthday engraved on the
back.

Since then I’ve picked up half a
dozen charms – first birthday, first Christmas, first
vacation, that sort of thing – for both girls, and Maddie
loves to look at hers and finger the different charms. Cora’s
quickly catching on, and I’m happy they both enjoy them, even
if it’s simply as pretty jewelry right now.


Maddie’s got her very first dance recital coming up this
weekend – her first “real” performance, if you
will – and I recently had a pair of ballet shoes added to her
bracelet to commemorate the day. I’ll give her the bracelet
before the show, and let her wear it afterwards. I’m hoping
that every time she sees those shoes dangling, she’ll
remember the thrill of being onstage, the joy of taking flight when
the music starts.


And as for me, I’ll see my baby up there and get misty-eyed.
Do they make a charm to commemorate letting go? Not that I’m
ready to buy it yet . . .