There are many ways in which we are bound to one another...by relation or by contract...by love and friendship...by happenstance or effort...
If you read my blog regularly, you know that the Southern Man's daughter got married two months ago...it was a beautiful wedding...and for me, was a culmination of the ups & downs/ins & outs of a relationship that began with no designation by either one of us...but rather formed via our connection to the Southern Man...
Though the bride and I are not bound by blood, there have been plenty of sweat and tears, joy and laughter, hope and despair shared over the years. I was as proud as any mama could be of a daughter on that special day...and to know that I was there by choice, a conscious effort on my part to participate and a heartfelt request on the bride's part...made the day all the sweeter.
In addition to preparing the table decorations and other wedding paraphernalia, I had to find something to wear...a simple black sheath would fit the bill...and to add a bit of bling (just a bit!) I asked my friend Jan Reingold of Izanna Jewelry to design a necklace for me...
The bride and her groom are both archaeologists...a 2000 year old piece of Roman glass was the perfect choice for the centerpiece of the necklace...complemented by an African circle stone and a piece of fish vertebrae, it echoed the sentiments of the couple. To establish a connection with the my past, Jan incorporated a few pearls from my mother's cherished necklace...the necklace had broken...to have the pearls re-strung in its original design wasn't my style...but using the pearls as part of this piece, built on a new tradition, seemed fitting...
Here I am explaining the bits and pieces to the bride and her sister...
One chapter ends...but another begins...
all part of the tie that binds family
together...
