We are all the keepers of pieces of history. These may be small pieces of our very own histories, or at times the fading histories of others. We aren't always issued information about these histories. Which leaves us in the dark, half of the time unwittingly destroying artifacts. It is sad to think about so many wonderful things that have been lost simply because no one said anything, and no one knew any better.
For me, an example of this is a lovely little locket. To me it was a curiosity when I got it. Years ago it feels like, back when I was in high school. We used to go to rummage sales and thrift stores, and I've picked up many lovely curiosities.But this little locket always makes me wonder.Who had it before me, and why did they have it?
I don't have a picture of mine proper to share, but this picture basically shows what it looks like. Mine isn't on a chain like that though. I've got mine hanging from a fake pearl and wire chain because that's what felt right to me. I have a habit of trying to fix old pieces if they feel broken or displaced. And this one I used to wear on a silver snake chain, until I found the pearl and wire piece. It seemed like a good match to me. Mine also differs in that it hangs on a flat hoop detail that reminds me of the kinds used on a brooch charm.
I'll never really know who had it before me, when I got it was long enough in my past that the trail to find out is long lost. But what I have found out makes me feel sad. If it's similar to the one in the picture above, it's a military sweetheart locket of some sort. I wonder what their story was, maybe it was sent to someones Mom or their girlfriend or wife. Someone at some point must have felt a great deal of joy and happiness at owning it.
But what's sad is that at some point in time, someone else felt that it didn't have any significance. So it's significance in that story came to an end and it ended up amongst the flotsam and jetsam of baubles and beads that float between hands and time. It lost it's history, and significance in a storyline. Becoming now, a curiosity I wear at the end of a chain. Something that may seem odd to some, but for me feels appropriate.
I find it saddening though that there's no way of actually knowing where it came from, who felt it was a deserved treat, and what happened to that story. Was it an unfortunate shortened romance? Was it a love that lasted until they both excited together after a blissful time together? Or was it a commemoration to family that they were thought of while their loved one was away.
I'll never really know. All I can do is wonder and look at similar pieces thinking about what they meant to the parties involved in their stories. The past is a funny thing like that, leaving behind little treasures to make us question, small things that are there for no reason other than to pique our curiosities. If you have someone you love, ask them about their treasures. Find out why that silly pin means so much to them. Why do they keep that small ceramic Angel hidden out of reach but just in sight to be seen? What is it about these things that help make them so important?
The memories and the stories that they help bring to mind. That is part of what makes them so important. We all have memories, and we all can have them sparked by something. Find out what the artifacts of the past spark for the loved ones around you, before it's too late to ask them.
