I tried to make this Mother’s Day extra special for my soon to be mother-in-law. I contacted all her children and we decided to start a Pandora bracelet for her. It would make gift giving in the future much easier, because if we couldn’t think of anything she needed we could purchase beads for her birthday or Christmas. Everyone thought it was a great idea and they all agreed there would be nothing better to give her for this special day. I showed them my Pandora bracelet so they would have an idea of what the bracelet was and how you could purchase just about any kind of bead. They liked how the bracelet was more fashionable than the regular charm bracelets and it seemed more fitting for older generations.
So each of my fiancés siblings bought a bead or two to add to the bracelet and we presented it with a story for each of the beads. I will never forget the look on her face when she opened the gift. I don’t know who was more emotional, her or I, because I was so proud to have thought of this idea and she was so touched that we would do something that involved so much thought. She said she had noticed my bracelet in the past but never was able to look at it very closely. She didn’t realize you could personalize the bracelet and buy each bead separately.
The first bead my fiancé picked out was the pumpkin. I found this a bit funny but didn’t want to make him pick something else because I knew there must be a good story associated with this bead. He said he picked this bead because Halloween was always extremely special in their home growing up. Usually about a week before the holiday, each sibling would pick out a pumpkin from the garden and they would carve it or even paint it. Sometimes they would each even be able to do two pumpkins if it happened to have been a good growing season. He said his sister never carved hers because she didn’t like to dig the seeds and insides out of the pumpkin, so she would always paint different characters on hers. The one he remembered most was when she painted Snoopy and Charlie Brown on the pumpkin. She was probably the only one who knew what was painted on the pumpkin, but that was what made the pumpkin special. He enjoyed making his pumpkin the spookiest. He said the teeth were the most important part of the jack o’ lantern and he always tried to make them as pointy as possible. After they were carved or painted they would put them on display on the stairs coming up to the front door for all the children to see on Halloween. They also would have a Halloween party for the neighbors where they would dunk for apples and neighbors would also get a chance to carve their own pumpkins.
He wanted to buy another bead for the bracelet, because he didn’t think the pumpkin bead was enough. He decided on the football bead. He was excited when he saw this bead and said it was perfect for his mother. She always loved watching football games whether it was high school or pro football. He said he didn’t think she ever missed one of his or his sibling’s football games in high school and she even went to all the away games.
My fiancés sister decided to buy her mom the pink flowers bead. She recalled the times when her mother and her would go for walks in the woods near their home picking wildflowers. They would also pick the flowers when camping on one of their families several trips. One of her mother’s favorite flowers is the daisy and they liked searching for daisies and bringing home large bouquets of them. They would then split them in two vases, if they had enough, and one vase would go in his sister’s bedroom and the other in her mother and father’s bedroom. These days must have been very special to her, because she now goes on wildflower hunts with her own daughter. I guess she wanted to continue to make this a family tradition. The pink flowers bead actually looks like there are daisies on painted on it, so her mother is sure to enjoy it. My fiancés sister said she was glad to replace this year’s usual bouquet of daisies for Mothers Day with the bead because it was something that wouldn’t die within the week and her mother would be able to enjoy it for a long time to come.
One of his brothers decided on the dog bead for his purchase. He said the reason was clear to him as to why he would purchase this bead. He said they always had a pet dog growing up. He recalled one of his favorites, a beagle whom they named, Duke. He used to take the dog hunting with him in the woods. He thought they had Duke for about seven years. Duke was always one of the better hunters and was always able to tree the raccoons quickly. One day while playing outside with his sister and Duke, Duke ran across the road and was hit by a speeding car that never even stopped to see what happened. It was such a sad occasion for the family and even worse for him because he actually witnessed the occurrence. Duke was hurt pretty bad and ended up dying shortly after the incident. His mother was there to comfort him and the rest of the family and help them bury the dog. She was so caring and understanding. They were able to get another beagle after Duke, but no one could ever replace him.
He also purchased the oval lights bead because he thought she needed some jewels on her bracelet. He didn’t think she would want only animal or object beads. What would her friends think if she had this childish bracelet is what he said. Of course what does he know about jewelry or style anyway? He said he didn’t want her bracelet to be boring but glamorous like his mother’s personality. The diamonds should also remind her of her happy marriage to his dad of forty plus years. He said there was never a time when he thought his parents were not happy with each other. His dad was very generous with gift giving and purchasing different jewelry for his mother. She had several diamond pieces and this would add to her collection….even though it is not a true diamond it will still be very special.
The perfume bottle bead was purchased by another one of his sisters because she said at Christmastime she used to always go shopping with the other siblings and her dad. They would look for the perfect gift for their mother and many times ended up purchasing a bottle of perfume from the local drugstore. She thought her mom probably had several unused bottles of perfume because, truly, how much perfume can you go thru each year? She never commented on having too much perfume but graciously accepted the gifts as if it were the best gift she had ever gotten. She thought the only time she wore the perfume was if the children happened to be in her room when she was getting ready to go somewhere. They recalled her splashing it on.
My fiancés oldest sister decided to purchase the stitches bead. She said this bead reminded her of the times when her mother used to sew clothes for her and would always make her younger sisters the same outfit except in another color. She said she always was the one who wore pink because her mom thought that looked the best on her with her blonde hair and blue eyes. She said her mother did this until she was about sixteen and it got to be a bit embarrassing because at that age you do not want to be dressed in the same outfit as your sisters who are eight and ten years younger than you.
She also purchased the happy little bird bead. She said her mother likes to watch birds and likes to see which birds will land on her deck. She feeds the birds religiously, feeding orioles orange peels and mixing up a special potion for the hummingbirds in her hummingbird feeder. Then there are the sunflower seeds and bird seeds which she fills often in the other feeders on the deck. Her mother always liked visiting zoos but hated to see birds locked in cages. She would usually rush past these areas because it made her sad. She thinks that birds should be free to fly and they were not put on earth to be locked in cages. She even once started a petition in the area to free the eagle at the local zoo, but it ended up that the eagle was hurt and was unable to make it in nature on its own anyways. That was the reason it was at the zoo. The bead represents her love for birds.
His youngest brother purchased the suitcase bead because his mother likes to travel. When he studied abroad while in college, in Spain his mother came to visit him with his aunt and cousin. They traveled all over Spain and Portugal. He said the funniest part of the trip was when they took an overnight train from Madrid to Lisbon. His mother will never forget how this was the worst night of her life. This is what she tells people. She says that my fiancés brother and cousin were sound asleep, while she and his aunt were awake all night listening to all the noises on the train, from people in the hallways to someone snoring in the next room. She also recalls feeling every bump. He woke up well rested and didn’t know why they had such a hard time sleeping. When they got to Lisbon they decided to hire someone to take them back to Spain in his car because they didn’t feel like riding the train again was an option. This man took them thru different cities and when they would ask him to stop he would fly right by. The driver even said that one city was closed. He said this trip brings back several memories and traveling is a great way to make memories with the ones you love.
He decided to also purchase the boy bead for his mother. Since he was the youngest in the family he always said how he was his mother’s favorite. He thought she always protected him from the rest of the children because he was the youngest and would tend to get ganged up on by the others. He thought the bead sort of resembled him when he was younger with his shaggy hair that always needed to be trimmed and combed but he would never let anyone do either of these things, at least not very often. The bead also portrays a chubby little boy, which also reminded him of himself growing up because he also was on the pudgy side around the age of eleven. He always thought his mother protected him because of that fact too. He was always bigger than other boys in his class at school. He said she needed a touch of masculinity on her bracelet, so this bead fills in that gap.
This Pandora charm bracelet has a touch of each of the children in the family. I’m sure my fiancés mother will treasure it for years to come. It will be fun talking with the siblings to see what their next plans for her bracelet are and also fun to see which beads my soon to be mother in law decides to add on. She was admiring the hanging birthstone bead on my bracelet because she didn’t have any hanging beads yet. Maybe I will purchase this one for her very soon.
-Judy H. |
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