a link in the chain

 

 

Two birthdays ago, my sister- in-law Krista gave me the bookmark that is hooked over this aluminum vase. The bookmark has a golden hook to insert into a book, and a chain of pearls and golden beads to dangle along the outside spine. The chain ends with a tiny locket shaped like a bible. It's a lovely bookmark, and I enjoy using it, but a couple of things make it even more special to me. First, my sister-in-law made this

bookmark for me. To me, handmade gifts show a measure of thoughtfulness and care that store-bought gifts often don't. I know that as she selected the components of this bookmark and put them together, she was thinking about me. Krista "customized" her gift by inserting the bookmark into a book that she had chosen for me. It happened to be The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry., I very much enjoyed reading this novel. Looking at this bookmark will always bring it to mind.

But the real reason this bookmark is so special is the components from which it was assembled. Krista's mother - my mother-in-law - had given Krista a box of trinkets and nick-knacks from her mother and mother-in-law - Krista's maternal and paternal grandmothers. Krista took apart some of those things and reassembled them into this bookmark. The tiny bible locket belonged to my husband's paternal grandmother who had passed away before I was born. The pearls used to grace the neck of my husband's maternal grandmother, whom I met when my husband and I were dating, but passed away before our marriage. I know this because Krista was kind enough to include a note explaining this to me.

This bookmark isn't just a reminder of my sister-in-law's kindness in making it for me. It is a link to women two generations back, uniting me in a chain of women that flow back through the ages, and forward through ages to come. Someday i will pass it on, either to one of my daughters-in-law or to a granddaughter.

And the chain will remain unbroken.