07.22.19 Oh, the places you'll go (with apologies to Dr. Seuss)

The first six months of this year were expensive and exhausting (although nothing in comparison to 2003). From the first of March through the end of June, I passed through an airport or spent a night in a hotel in Baltimore, Buffalo, Chicago, Durham, Houston, Oakland and San Francisco.

Generally speaking, I really enjoy travelling - and in the couple of weeks leading up to our recent vacation I made an effort to remind myself of that by posting happy memories of past trips and souvenirs on Instagram.

For some of the posts, I went into the way, way back machine...like glass Donald Duck earrings from a trip to Disney World when I was about 15.

I still wear them, especially when attending Crafternoon events with my friend, Emily, who loves all things Disney!

Or these scrimshaw earrings that belonged to my mom and were purchased on a family trip to Boston sometime in the mid-1970s, when my father was attending meetings at MIT for the Department of Energy.


I was a little surprised to see how many pairs of souvenir pairs of earrings I have from the Boston area. In addition to the scrimshaws, I have a pair of beautiful black opals from my cousin's wedding weekend (in 2012!), and multiple pairs from our family vacation on Cape Cod.


I've written about some of my more recent adventures in previous blog posts - like our trip to Rehoboth Beach two years ago (the last time we were able to get all the kiddos in one place for more than a couple of days) - where I picked up two pairs of new earrings, and met my online jeweler friend, Hannah Long, in real life!

Some of the posts were more of a stretch - two weeks turns out to be a long time when you are posting a different piece and place every day.  So, I shared my UVa class ring and jewelry and a few pieces that I took on trips, so they weren't exactly souvenirs.

It was definitely a positive exercise, and reminded me of how much fun it is to see friends, family and new places.  Visit my Instagram, or click here to see my interactive map - and all the places and photos that I posted.

I hope you are enjoying your summer making memories and collecting souvenirs.  Our vacation in Napa was wonderful.  I didn't buy any earrings - but I did pick up a couple of cute tea towels!

Until next time.

07.08.19 Another Chapter

We just returned home from a great vacation.  We spent a week in Napa with my mother-in-law, her grandchildren (our adult children) and their partners. It was wonderful to spend time together and appreciate all the good things that have come out of the last 25 years. 

Some years have been better than others.






2003 was a pretty awful year.

That January, we traveled as a family back to Northern Virginia, where I grew up, to unveil my mother's headstone and the end the "official" period of mourning her death.  I put official in quotes, because it took me much, much longer than that to return to some semblance of normal, and not a day goes by that I don't still miss her.

That April, I turned 40 - and despite the big deal people make about it - I wasn't bothered at all.

My husband - with the help of a few of my fabulous girlfriends arranged a wonderful party - I celebrated, I made resolutions about getting more exercise and vowed to come out of my grief induced shell.

One week later I was in a horrible automobile wreck.  Most of the rest of 2003 was spent in pain, and in and out of the offices of doctors, lawyers and physical therapists.


In December of that difficult year, we had our 10th wedding anniversary - and my husband bought me a ring to mark the occasion. A beautiful anniversary band with ten diamonds, ten points each.  He did it with the help of the wonderful staff at Russell Korman. The ring came from Lieberfarb - a family owned jewelry company that specializes in wedding and anniversary bands.

I almost never take these rings off - except to make meatloaf, matzo balls or challah - and I always get compliments on the diamond band.  But, beyond its sparkle, it is a constant reminder of the strength of our marriage, and how fortunate I am to have such a supportive, generous man as my partner in life.

Fast forward 15 years. You might also remember that a couple of years ago, I joined the Women's Jewelry Association. Recently, they set up an online community called WJA Connect, and asked members to introduce themselves.

One of the members is a woman named Ann Arnold, she introduced herself as having grown up in her family's jewelry business - Lieberfarb.  I sent her a note about my ring, and she replied:

Photo credit: Together, Ann Arnold

Thank you so much for sharing! I am sending your message to my dad, it will make his day! Glad you are still enjoying the ring, it warms my heart. 

All my best
Ann

As we continued our email conversation, I learned that her father is a Holocaust survivor and that with him she has written a beautiful and powerful book - TOGETHER - A Journey for Survival.

Photo credit: Together, Ann Arnold

Ann and her father now travel and tell his story.  They are doing important work ensuring that that stories of those who survived - and those who did not - are never forgotten, and that we must all stand up to intolerance and injustice whenever and wherever we see it.

I'm now following Ann and her father on Facebook and Instagram - and you should, too.

I do believe that every piece of jewelry tells a story, and now there is another chapter in the story of my ring - of a family, and a man who endured far more than I did - but still believes in hope, perseverance, and the need for all of us to stand together.

Until next time.