A Charming Day

One of the first places I discovered when our family went "online" ten years ago was the Homeschooler's Curriculum Swap. Since I was still homeschooling my (now grown) daughter at that time, the site intrigued me. At first I assumed by the title that it was merely a place to exchange used curriculum.

I quickly discovered the Swap was about so much more than curriculum. It has a message board forum made up of a warm and friendly group of homeschoolers with likeminded christian values. If you are looking for such a place, whether it be for moral support in your homeschooling venture, expertise and advice of seasoned homeschoolers in making curriculum decisions, or simply a place to make online christian friends with whom you can share and laugh and be yourself, please do stop by. I am sure you will be made to feel as welcome now as I was ten years ago.

Amy, from A Redeemed Sheep, suggested we experiment with having Swappie theme blogging days, where we all post about a particular theme, then sign the Mr. Linky on her blog. We're starting with a charm bracelet theme, which, as it turns out, not too many Swappies own or have ever owned. We'll probably consider a wider appealing subject next time.

If you own or have owned a charm bracelet, even if you're not a Swappie, please consider yourself invited to post and share about it on your blog; a picture, or simply your memories of it. We are not a closed club!

Despite my verbal approval to Amy of this idea, much to my embarrassment, I forgot it was supposed to be today. Worse, as I began to scrounge through jewelry boxes and drawers, my old charm bracelet seemed to be no more!

The first place I looked was in this lovely old chest my grandmother gave me the day of my (bio) dad's funeral. It had belonged to my grandpa, who I don't remember, as he died when I was two. I've always been told that had he lived, I'd have grown up with the name Candy. He dubbed me that, and everyone else followed suit. The name died with him. I can't say I'm sorry about that.

Let's see....there's my old cat eye glasses I wore in elementary school. Well, I was supposed to wear them, but rarely did. There's the little plastic mirror that was part of a set. It was a birthday present one year and I was terribly proud of it. There used to be a matching brush and comb with it.

The plastic box in the upper left corner of the chest has my last set of Jacks and ball in it. I was a Jack playing machine! I could spend hours playing alone or with a friend.

The dainty hankie with the crocheted edge belonged to my Nanny (Mom's mom). She always carried pretty hankerchiefs.

The tiny pink bow next to my Jacks was the one glued to my daughter's head the day we brought her home from the hospital. The nurses tipped me off that K-Y Jelly works great for gluing bows to baby's heads. I discovered that bow in my late husband's wallet when it was returned to me after his accidental death. Someday, I'll give it to my daughter. Though you can't see it in the picture, a small white new testament is in there that was given to her at her birth. I'll probably put the bow in it and present it to her on her wedding day.

My grandfather's old chest was a bust, so I moved on to the drawers of the old treadle Singer sewing machine which used to belong to my hankie carrying Nanny. My mom learned to sew on that machine, and what a seamstress she was until arthritis robbed her of that joy.

The drawer was full of vintage costume jewelry, but no charm bracelet.

Here's my old band medals. Nothing spectucular to see here, so let's move along, folks.

Aha! We're getting somewhere now. Still no charm bracelet, but I did find some of my old charms. Why they aren't with the bracelet is beyond me. The two tiny pics to the left are of my daughter and my son. The gold aspen leaf was one I picked up on a vacation with my folks to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, as a teenager. The Oklahoma one was a token of the state of my birth. I can't remember where I got those others. Well, I ididn't come up with a charm bracelet, but it was fun digging through old mementos today.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

~Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV