Tuesday 6 December 2011

History

A couple of days ago, I got an unexpected letter from my Grandmother. I should probably preface this with the information that my Gran is not the most emotionally available individual. I don't want to say too much, although I have many fond memories of her from my childhood but it is fair to say that we have a difficult relationship at times.

The letter was particularly suprising in that it talked about someone she has never mentioned before. From the sound of the letter, her Aunt Edna meant a huge amount to my Gran and as I've never heard anything about Gran's childhood, it was a pretty big deal to get this long, detailed letter about some happy memories.

Enclosed with the letter was this:


A gold brooch. This was given to Edna, who I think works out to be my Great, Great Aunt, by her Fiance some time before the First World War.

It means a lot to me that Gran gave me this brooch. I have a really small family, without much in the way of history, so having this beautiful antique that has been passed down to me makes me feel a little more connected to the past. A past that had never even been mentioned before now. Knowing my Gran, it won't be mentioned again, but it was nice to get a small snapshot *smiles*

10 comments:

  1. That brooch is absolutely stunning and it's lovely that you got it as a glimpse of a past you didn't know about. Very precious indeed. xxx

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  2. Lucky you! And it's never too late to mend what has been broken - this shows :) What a treasure.
    xo,
    wink

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  3. What a lovely story! The brooch is beautiful :)

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  4. Beautiful brooch! What a wonderful memento, and so lovely to have a family behind it :)

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  5. What a lovely gesture and the brooch is beautiful--I think you should knit a lace shawl to go with it...

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  6. Gorgeous. My mom gave me something similar years ago - a pin from the 1920's that had belonged to her aunt. While I don't wear it often, it means a lot to me.

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  7. Wow, that is beautiful - the brooch and the story.

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  8. Oh how beautiful. My family, while large, has no history. Mom and Dad didn't really have the best of childhoods nor did they have a lot growing up. Leaving Cuba also meant leaving behind any thing like this that they might of had. I do have a medallion that my step-grandmother gave to my mom when she (Lola) married my grandfather. I think it's one of the few things my mom has of her childhood. That, a photo of her parents, a post card my grandparents exchanged and a photo of herself when she was 5.

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  9. That is absolutely beautiful. I wonder what happened to Aunt Edna's fiance in the war. Familly history is precious and I know it may be hard, but do ask questions. I deeply regret that I didn't ask more when the right people were around to tell me.

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Hi, thanks for letting me know you stopped by :D