For any of you who knew my mom, you know that she loved jewelry. The nice stuff, costume jewelry, whatever ... it didn't matter, she liked it all. For as long as I can remember, my mom always wore Christmas pins on her coats during the holidays. She started out with just a few and would pretty much rotate those out. After a while, I began to notice a new one now and then, so she added to her collection as years went on. I remember one Christmas noting how pretty one of them was, and she promptly offered the pin to me to put on my coat too. I said, "no that's okay, it belongs to you, Mom" but thankful for the offer. She said, "Honey, it's okay ... take it. I have one for every day in December."
And that's when it started. That year, I realized how much these pins had come to mean to her, and I went out and bought her the most beautiful Christmas pin I could find. In my family we always celebrated on Christmas Day, but she and I would always open just one gift on Christmas Eve. I gave the pin to her that night, and it became our new tradition to exchange the treasured trinkets on Christmas Eve from then on.
Now, I have all the pins. Really, more than enough for each day in December. But I have Annemarie and Kate with whom to share them, and the memories of a beautiful mother/daughter Christmas tradition. So although today is a sad day for me, I thought it seemed like a good time to celebrate my mom's wonderful legacy! Blog posts are always better with pictures ... here are some pics of her collection, highlighting a few of my favorites.
Miss you Mom! And yes, I'm wearing a pin today, just for you.
With love always -- S
"Find something to celebrate. Then find more. Celebrate with others. Celebrate every single day!" -- author unknown
