Charmed, I’m Sure


I go through fashion phases and one involves wearing a plain black T-shirt or tank with a cardigan or jacket—complimented by a bold necklace. Perfect for this: some fun charms given to me by my mom, which I wear on roped chains or leather cords. Here’s a typewriter charm from mom I recently found at the bottom of my jewelry box. A friend told me that her son saw a typewriter in a shop window and asked about what it was. Before computers, kiddo. I’m sure he’s asked her about record players, too. To add to my collection, I’m searching on eBay for an old record player charm and found some adorable boom box ones. I see a boom box and I think of sitting on the front stoop at my friend Lisa’s house, blasting “I Love Rock and Roll” by Joan Jett until Lisa’s mother shouted from inside the house that we needed to turn down the volume. Oh, the good old days. I’m bidding on boom box and jukebox charms now…

 

Knock at My Heart: Charmed

Looking at the contents of my mother’s jewelry box has always been a treat. Oooh, pretty jewelry. She’s got a minimalist style—her constants are her wedding ring and my grandmother’s diamond pendant necklace—so the other pieces only come out for occasions. I have always viewed the jewelry box as a treasure chest and especially love the charms, which she began collecting as a teen and wore on a chunky gold charm bracelet. She wears the bracelet occasionally now without the charms and recently asked me if I wanted any of them. (“You’ll get them eventually,” she said. “If you want them, you might as well take them now!”) It’s hard to pick favorites, but I might have to say it’s the gold charm affixed to a rectangular plate; it’s a heart with a banner that reads, “Knock at my heart.” My father gave this to my mother when they were still dating and the charm originally had a knocker on it that was removed by the jeweler when it was attached to the plate. This peaked my curiosity and a quick search on eBay brought me to a version of the original charm in silver. The knocker moves (it really knocks!). So now I’ve got both versions.

Oh, and one more thing: Both my parents asked about the “when they were still dating” mention. Well, they’re married now so they’re past the dating stage. But it’s definitely worth noting that they’re still married. Happily, too.