Charmed, I'm sure.

I had to jump on the charming bandwagon started by ceridwen, chaiselongue, kendall and evergreen last week.

This was my mom's charm bracelet, probably ca. 1940 - 1944. I loved taking it out of her jewelry box when I was a child and playing with all the charms, especially the ones that had moving parts. When she died, I asked for the bracelet and a couple of my favorite rings, and the bracelet has been part of my altar for a number of years.

I so wish I knew the story of all the charms. Some of them I can guess at, some of them I've made up stories about. There's a poignancy to it, because I suspect many of them were gifts from mom's first husband who died in France in WWII. There are a lot of hearts, a couple of French souvenirs, and several baby items (a buggy and a high chair, a toy scooter). Mom gave birth to my oldest sister shortly before her husband, Jack, was killed. Sadly, he hadn't heard about Jackie's birth before he died.

The charm that is most heart wrenching to me is the Western Union telegram - it opens to say "I Love You," and makes me think of that other awful telegram that she received in November of 1944.

Look at it large for detail, or you can see photos of some individual charms here.