Gran’s jewelry box stayed in the bottom drawer of Mama’s dresser. I think itade her sad. Mama’s fancy black jewel box was displayed on the top. Now, Mama is gone and her house has been sold. My sis has her black, musical jewel box and I have Gran’s white one. It will stay in my closet with my jewelry tools.

Every time I open it I feel the past seeping out. The inside of the box smells like Chanel powder. That is the Aunt Ethel and Gran auroma. Mama did not have a signature fragrance because many perfumes made Daddy sneeze. I think of this, too, when I smell the Chanel.

This box full of unusual, vintage costume jewelry. I remember these pieces being worn by my Gran, Aunt Ethel (in photos) and Mama.  I have converted some clip-on earrings into pins or pierced earrings. I will wear those.

Some of these pieces are broken, but have salvageable parts. I have tools to work on these. Little by little I will fix them or let them go, just like I have done with my plants. It is a necessary purging process. We cannot keep lugging the past around in the present and dragging it all into the future. That is referred to as baggage, not treasure.

Here are the photos of some of the old pieces of costume jewelry.  I find them interesting. They will probably look familiar to those of you who have inherited your grandma’s or mother’s jewelry.

Gran’s jewelry box does not take up much space in my house. In my mind it looms large. I hope I will do right by its contents. There are quite a few things that I inherited that seem much bigger than their actual size. They have a presence. Sometimes good, other times not.

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