Present Day

Occasionally, someone will give you a gift so wondrous that you have no way of paying it back, have no words with which to adequately thank them and have no idea how you became so lucky.



I totally got a gift like that yesterday.

My lovely friend Anneliese recently lost an aunt. Dealing with the loss of a loved one and a sudden influx of her aunt's objects, Anneliese had a sad heart and a full home to somehow clean up.

So, she chose to do the most beautiful thing: Allow her friends to sift through her aunt's jewelry.



And now I have a Ziploc baggie full of gorgeous items that were much-loved from a gorgeous aunt who was also much loved.



A while back, I swore off "bullshit jewelry": the cheap, bright sparkles they sell on the clearance racks of department stores. While decorative, these pieces felt empty and their lack of meaning made them seem ugly to me.

These gifts from Anneliese are the opposite of that: these are rings and necklaces that have a story and a worth outside of the shine of their rhinestones.



And, whenever I wear them, I will think of the fabulous aunt I never got to know and the great acquaintance who transformed her personal tragedy into a gift to her friends.

And that is beautiful.