So, about those charms at the top of the page.
Like a lot of girls born in the '50s and '60s, I had a charm bracelet that was added to every year at Christmas and significant events in my life. I don't remember how young I was when I received it--I can't remember a time when I didn't have it. It must have been when I was about 5, though, because of the ballet-themed charms (I only took one year of ballet but dined out on the memories for years) and I got my hair cut short that year, too (comb and scissors).
My dad's sisters, who were always well-dressed, beautifully groomed, and bejeweled (and still are) and who were unmarried and had only one niece to dote on until I was 11, gave me the charms. Their first cousin worked in the jewelry business and had access to the finest. And, let's face, it, they just don't make charms like this anymore. You see the jack-o'-lantern and the birthday cake? The tops open to reveal candles inside. The "mad money" cube has a real dollar inside (oh, the times I seriously considered cracking it open and using that dollar!), the purse opens to reveal a teensy coin (it's attached, or I would have lost it decades ago), the delicate ballerina does her arabesque bedecked with sapphires, rubies, and a pearl, and so on. The older charms came with an antiqued patina. I had the Greek charms (bouzouki and pointed evzone shoe) soldered on when I was in my teens. We picked the bracelet up from the jeweler and all the antiquing had been polished off. "We cleaned it, it was so dirty!" the young clerk said to my astonished and crestfallen face.
I have to laugh when I look at some of the charms. The Valentine heart and Christmas charms I get. But a skate? I haven't been on skates since I outgrew my double runners. An artist's palette? I always fancied myself an artist but that was more ego than talent. Same for the ballerina charms. And, did you notice, there's no typewriter or pen? It seems that the charms I requested represented my dreams rather than my reality.
When I was a child I wore the bracelet to any dress-up occasion, which included church, weddings, family birthdays, and holidays. As an only child I was invited to a lot of events that were otherwise attended mostly by adults, and the charms often served as my companions. I would play with the ones that opened and closed, imagine myself as the graceful ballerina dancing to the sounds of the orchestra, or gaze at the heart and dream about meeting my own true love. I would fantasize about spending that dollar.
I love my charm bracelet. It's magical to me. It reminds me of my childhood. It reminds me of my aunts who love me unconditionally and mean the world to me. I wore it as my "something blue" on my wedding day.
It's part of my story. My charmed life.
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