Gotta Love Her . . .

I love my mother dearly. I have to. She's my Mom.

She's generally a very kind, generous and caring person. That's one of the things I admire about her. I've received a gift from her that has me scratching my head.

Last week, I got an email from Mom telling me that she was sending me some "drops" (which I took to mean "pendants") that my grandparents had given me and she thought I should have. I had no idea what she was talking about, couldn't remember anything of the sort. So, the box arrived yesterday. There was a puffed heart pendant circa 1986, a funny looking pendant which looks like fake ivory with a boat etched on it, a Girl Scout pin, and a bracelet.

The puffed heart made me giggle. It looked great with my Units outfits!
The boat thing is just plain bizarre - I have no memory of it.
I never made it to Girl Scouts, so I'm not sure where that pin came from. I changed schools the year I was to move from Brownies to Girl Scouts and the church choir met the same afternoon. So, church choir won.

The bracelet almost brought tears to my eyes. It is one that my mother used to wear often. My father brought it to her from a business trip to Africa in the early 1980s. I still sometimes wear the necklace he brought me from the same trip.

It's been over five years since she left my father. I don't understand why she can't just say something like "I think it is more appropriate for you to have this now." Instead, there is no reference to it at all. She did the same thing with her pearls. They were my "something borrowed" for my wedding. When I tried to give them back, she said I should keep them with no explanation. I imagine that was her plan all along.

The fact that my parents are no longer together is harder for me than it should be. These sorts of reminders drive me nuts. My mom's attempt to slide this bracelet in with the other random contents of the package frustrates me. Why can't she be direct about it?

I'm wearing the bracelet today. I've decided that I will be happy that I have it, not frustrated about the way I received it.