I have this gold heart locket I wear. It is over 50 years old. It is from my grandmother, who gave it to me when I was a babe, on my first birthday — she died just a few months later. On one side it has my name engraved, “Deila” and on the other side is engraved, “Grand Mother”.
I really never wore the necklace as a child, or even as a teenager or young adult. It was a bit of a miracle that it never got lost. I can’t recall when my mom gave it back to me after keeping it safe from little fingers and toy boxes.
But I have been wearing it for years, now. One day, feeling a little blue and troubled, I fished it out of my little box of treasures and put it on. I just wanted something tangible that connected me to my grandma on the other side of this veil. The heart is pretty beat-up and scratched, nothing great to admire in worldly terms.
I believe our ancestors know about us and care about us, that they help us from where they are, in the spirit world. When things in this mortal sphere have been difficult for me I reflect on the fact that I have family here and on the other side, that can help.
When I got the slides from my mom to copy and put into a digital format, I found one of me as a baby, on the day I got the necklace, I presume, because it was around my neck and presents were sitting around me. Somehow, it makes time seem long and yet short; a gold heart necklace that has traveled through time.
My daughter has two little girls, my little granddaughters. I think it would be fun to give them a necklace, one that they can keep and wear when they become older and need to know that their grandma loves them and cares for them where ever I may be. (I hope I am here for a long while, my grandma had my dad when she was 46!)
It just seems like a nice tradition to carry on. So I am in the market for some heart shaped lockets.
