Worn With Love

There’s a photo of me as a toddler, it’s one of my favorites. The corners are rounded, the paper is hatched with a matted texture and the color looks like it’s been sitting in oil for 30 years. I’m probably close to three years old, in my diaper sitting on my mother’s vanity, covered in her makeup and powder is smeared all over the mirror. When I think of my childhood, I like to think of this photo because it is peaceful and fondly reminds me of life back then.

From a very early age, I have loved snooping in my mother’s things. I’d try her jewelry and shoes on, making sure to leave most of it where I found it, especially the heirloom necklaces, bracelets and rings that belonged to the women in her life that meant the most to her. From a small child until a grown adult I can remember holding and wearing these pieces, time capsules that held so many stories of lifetimes of strong women. I wear them to this day and believe that they are representative of the love that binds and holds a family regardless of age and time and life on this earth.

When Zoe was born, so many feelings rushed into my head and heart. I somehow felt like I was destined to have a daughter to continue on a legacy of women that began so long ago in Greece. Evangeline and Zoe are both named after my great Aunts on my mother’s side of the family, something incredibly meaningful to me. I thought about passing along these pieces of jewelry to my daughters, realizing that I’d like to have some of my very own to pass along to them as well. Slowly I’ve begun to find really special gold chains, charms, rings and bracelets that I love and wear so often that I really don’t take them off. They’ve become a part of me, so much so that I will truly feel like they are part of my children as well. Helen Ficalora was a brand that I longed for after I saw a fellow mother in Jack’s preschool class wearing her charm and chain pieces. I scrimped and saved and eventually began to build my own legacy of trinkets, growing with my family to include charms with the initials of my children and even a paw print for Theo and Charlie. Helen’s pieces carry a certain weight that feels like heirloom jewelry; they are of the finest quality gem stones and 14K to 18K gold. There is another, finer chain that carries a birthstone for each of my children that sits right on my clavicle, it is simple and yet so lovely, I never worry about them matching with outfits.

These charms are close and quiet when I hold my babies, Evvie plays with them while she nurses, Beau holds them in his palm as I rock him to sleep some nights. It’s familiar to them and certainly moments in time that I won’t ever forget.

Motherhood embodies me as much as I embody it. The moments I remember from my childhood involve tapping into the beautiful parts of my mother’s life and her relatives, feeling close to her and to them. I feel so fortunate to have these pieces of theirs to wear, keeping her and them close to me at all times, and having gold jewelry that is mine alone is meaningful, too. It’s a peaceful sense of self knowing that I will someday give my favorite heirloom necklaces and rings to my daughters and granddaughters, too.

In honor of Mother’s Day, Helen Ficalora and I have partnered to gift a diamond Mom charm to one of my lovely readers.

To Enter:

Let me know which piece of Helen Ficalora’s that you are most drawn to, and leave a comment below telling me about it. You can also get extra entries by following Helen on Facebook and Instagram and then leaving a comment saying so. Contest ends Wednesday, May 6. Winner will be chosen randomly.

Disclosure: This post is NOT sponsored, but I was given a few Helen Ficalora pieces for inclusion in this post. For more information on her jewelry you can call her at 877-754-2676. All opinions are my own.