by Esther P. Chase

A Charmed Life Indeed

Purchasing charms for charm bracelets in 14kt gold and sterling silver became a competition between Steve and I when it came to our grandchildren. White and yellow 14kt and 10kt Rembrandt gold charms and sterling silver charms for a charm bracelet or necklace, quickly consumed our funds. When Stevie's son Bear hit his first home run, Steve ordered one of the baseball charms for his sterling silver charm bracelet. Charms to celebrate ballet recitals were ordered by me for Amy Elizabeth's gold charms bracelet. Nothing made us happier than building our grandchildren's silver and gold charm bracelet and charm jewelry collection.

Steve had finally decided to officially retire. He had been consulting at the college the last few years. His friends and colleagues were aware of my penchant for charms and charm bracelets, and they presented me with a customized charm that stated, "The best is yet to be." This is one of my most cherished 14kt gold charms on my charms bracelet.

Despite our children's hectic schedules, we did manage to get all 10 of us together for vacation once a year. My daughter, daughter-in-law, and I always added charms to our charms bracelets for these vacations. One year, we all added seashore charms to our charms bracelets. We didn't want to travel far with the twins, so we rented a seaside cottage.

Steve and I were very content in our retirement, watching our grandchildren grow and thrive. As our 50th anniversary neared, I looked at my gold and silver anniversary charm bracelet and necklace jewelry collection. I smiled as I remembered the many good memories. I asked for Steve's opinion on putting all the anniversary charms on one charms bracelet. He thought it would be better to leave the anniversary charms as they were, since the other charms on that charms bracelet were from the same time period.

Daniel suggested a world cruise for our 50th anniversary. I didn't want to be away from the grandchildren that long. We compromised on a three-week European river cruise. As we planned the trip, I thought of all the charms I could order for my charm bracelets. We planned the trip for two weeks after our actual anniversary had passed, as we were fairly certain that our children were planning a surprise 50th anniversary party.

The surprise party was a huge success. Laura had managed to collect all of our charms bracelets (even the grandchildren's unfinished charms bracelets) and had them photographed to decorate the restaurant. The blown up photographs of all our charms bracelets elicited much reminiscing among our friends and family. Each one of the charms recalled a different memory. My husband's gift to me was one of the 14kt white gold Rembrandt 50th anniversary charms. Even more important to me, was the beautiful display case he had made to hold all of my charms bracelets. The first was my mother's charms bracelet-the start of my family's tradition of charms and charm bracelets. Next, was the charms bracelet I had received on my 16th birthday.

As Steve and I watched our beautiful grandchildren grow, we enjoyed seeing our children and their mates raise their families. We were thankful for our blessings. It is a beautiful feeling to be the matriarch and patriarch of such a wonderful family.

I have had a charmed life. My collection of charms and charms bracelets is invaluable. Photographs fade, but my charms and the memories they evoke shine bright in my twilight years.

I wish you all a charmed life.