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My Grandmother's Necklace
A gold necklace with a cedar of Lebanon hanging in it. The same one that my father used to and his brother still wears, but with a much different meaning or remembrance. My grandmother got her necklace as a gift from her parents when she turned 21. Actually more as a tradition than as a gift. “Tradition?” everybody asks, well yes. Traditions because my grandmother’s parents were from Lebanon and cedars are famous characteristics in there. Also it is a tradition that everyone in the family gets a necklace or chain when they turn 21. My grandmother remembers getting her as if it was yesterday. And every time we ask her about how her parents gave it to her we hear the same old story. They took her to Lebanon in her birthday to meet her relatives, the city and their culture, and in a dinner with all of the family they gave it to her “in a little gold heart-shaped box” she says. Since that day she never takes it off; I think not even when she is asleep. I think it is because it remembers her of her parents and that it makes her feel a little closer to her roots even though she doesn’t practice the Muslim religion as she once did. My grandmother says that having the necklace makes her feel safe and that she feels like that time when you are use to have something and then when you take it off or loss it and you feel like something is missing. She says it is as important as her wedding ring but I think it is even more important than that. Hearing my grandmother talk of her necklace with such joy and excitement it makes me want to turn 21 already to have my own and see if I can feel as safe and excited as she does.
