An Heirloom

On Thursday I went to a Relief Society birthday party.  The Relief Society, whose motto is "Charity Never Faileth", has been around for 170 years.  At our party dinner was provided, and we were asked to wear an heirloom if we had one that could be worn.  A few were brought and placed on tables.

When my Grandma F. passed away, one of my aunts gave me a necklace that had belonged to my Grandma.  It was a bee on a chain, and it did not look very beautiful.  It was kind of a copper color.  I knew of no story behind it, and had never worn it.  I did not get rid of it though because it belonged to my Grandma.  That is the only heirloom I have to wear and so I got out my computer and tried to do a little research.  Here in the Beehive State, in a church who has a group of girls called the Beehives, I knew that bees are often significant.  I wondered if perhaps this was some jewelry that my Grandma had received because of some service she had done in the church, or for some milestone she had reached.  I could find no history of church jewelry, and decided to look more closely at the necklace itself.  When I squinted at the very small letters on the back, I found the word sterling. 

I have sterling silver cleaner and went to work.  Here is the result.

Derek insisted a picture of me wearing the necklace was required!

The more I thought about this necklace, the more thankful I felt to have it in remembrance of my Grandma.  She worked very hard, like bees do, and even when she was in her 80s she could outwork many who were younger.  It was hard to keep her out of the trees at pruning time and off of the roof where she would go to clean the gutters.  She would pull garbage bags full of weeds and wonder why she was sore!  She worked for years and years in the Primary (over 30 years I believe) and was a Relief Society President herself at one time.  She served one mission before her marriage and one after my Grandpa passed away.  I can still remember feeling sheepish one summer morning when  I was about 17.  I woke up and looked out my window and could see that, while I had slept, my elderly Grandma had been working in the garden! 

Saturday after the Relief Society party, as I studied this necklace some more in the sunlight, I could see on the back where Grandma had scratched her initials.  The initials used were those of her maiden name, so it is possible that she got this necklace some time before she got married in 1934.

I have found myself being very thankful for this years Relief Society birthday party.  It caused me to really look at what I had been given.  Discovering the beauty in my heirloom has reminded me of what a treasure I have always been blessed with in a Grandma who loved her family (including me), and her Savior, and who knew how to work hard, even when she might not have felt like it.  I am thankful for my Grandma and for something to remember her by.

Grandma with my Sister Tina (On the same visit that made me feel sheepish I think)