This is my charm bracelet--isn't it neat? I wear it every day.
I got the bracelet and my first charm for my seventh birthday. The charm is a disc that says "Happy Birthday" with the date engraved on the back. I remember my seventh birthday because my grandmother was living with us at the time. She had cancer and died soon after. In fact, we ate my birthday dinner around the card table downstairs, because she couldn't make it up the stairs to the dining room. She was my dad's mother and her name was Myrtle; her husband was Herbert. It always makes me smile. (My other grandparents were Lester and Maude!)
Grandma kept lots of costume jewelry in the bottom drawer of her dresser. I loved opening the drawer and seeing the sparkling rhinestones and shiny plastic beads. She wore wigs too, and I remember the styrofoam heads in her closet with the wigs pinned to them. I think I got my love of dress up from her. That and watching Lawrence Welk. I remember sitting at her feet and watching Lawrence Welk together, oohing and aahing over all the beautiful ladies and their beautiful dresses. Even now, when I see the program on the tv list, I have to tune in for at least a few minutes. I always make Audrey and Emma watch it with me!
Back to my charm bracelet... Audrey just counted for me; I have 53 charms. And each one has a story to go with it.
The girls love my bracelet; it's great for entertaining kids at the doctor's office or at church or in line at Costco. They'll search for their favorite charm, telling me the story that goes with it. They search for the silhouette with their name and birthdate on it, the big bass fish from the Bass Pro Shop in Springfield, Missouri. They search for the states we've lived in, the sea otter from Monterey, and the covered wagon that reminds them of Mary and Laura Ingalls.
I have my favorites too: the dime from the year I was born that I wore in my shoe the day I got married--my something old (although I suppose that since I married at 19, it wasn't really that old!); the tea cup from my mother to remind me of the years we celebrated Christmas by hosting a tea party for all of our friends--hats and gloves, mismatched china tea cups, and every kind of Christmas cookie known to man; the Minnie Mouse that Audrey and Emma bought to replace the one I lost; the Broadmoor Hotel, where Toben and I went on our first date, had dinner for my senior prom, got engaged, spent our wedding night, and have dinner on any anniversary we happen to spend in Colorado Springs; the Eiffel Tower that reminds me of the summer Toben and I lived in Paris after college.
I started a keepsake book with the story of each charm, so that whoever ends up with my bracelet someday will know the stories that go with it. It always makes me so sad to see vintage bracelets on ebay or in antique stores, knowing that each charm meant something special to whoever collected it, and that the story behind it is lost forever. It's been a while since I've added a story, and I need to get back to it.
I love the idea of writing down the story for each charm! Whew! I've got a lot of catching up to do!
Hugs,
Deborah
Posted by: Deborah | September 01, 2008 at 06:20 PM
Love the charm bracelet! So cool, and full of memories. Great idea to have a keepsake book.
Posted by: Lil Miss Red T-Shirtr | December 01, 2011 at 01:50 PM