Mom's Jewelry Box

I love jewelry. Ask my husband. Whenever we go on a cruise, we I get something at Diamonds International, just a trinket, which I don't need. And, I don't wear an excessive amount of jewelry -- my wedding ring, my engagement ring, and another ring, and maybe a necklace. Oh yes, my diamond tennis bracelet never gets removed, not even for showers, so I really forget about it.

Anyway, this love for jewelry comes from my childhood. Mom had a jewelry box on her vanity and it was loaded. It had a lid that when lifted, lifted another tray, so it was, in effect, a double decker jewelry box. It was in the center of the vanity, right under the mirror.

Mom received a lot of "scatter pins", beads, costume earrings, etc., for gifts from parishioners. The coral rose pins above are representative of "scatter pins" and my mom had this particular set, which I loved.

I would ask which pair of her earrings I could wear when I was playing, which beads I could wear, which of her high-heels I could wear, and then I'd wrap a baby blanket around my waist, thus giving me a longer dress, like an adult, and I was a mommy. It was so much fun, and such a nice remembrance of my mom and her willingness to share anything with her children.

I loved, especially wearing her earrings. Pierced ears were never an option. Poking holes in ones body is spoken against in Exodus, in the Bible, so there would be no ear piercing in our household, not that I was interested in having that pain inflicted on me just so I could wear earrings.

Of course, back in the 50s and 60s, pierced ears was not popular, but screw on or clip on earrings were, and they were inexpensive. Mom had more earrings than she could wear in a month, even if she wore a different pair each day, which, I suppose, is why she didn't mind letting me play with them.

I just gave my daughter several pairs of clip-on earrings. I don't wear earrings anymore unless we're on a cruise and I'm formally dressed. So, I've passed on my earrings, and the few remaining earrings that belonged to my mother's as well.