And then there are the pearls given by a love, unprompted, to show how yearned-for you were during a long time away. Wear those without thinking too hard about it. Wear those lots. A guest post by Angie Caven.
I was introduced to pearl by the mother of the two children I regularly babysat during college. I was 21 years old and about to marry my high school boyfriend, Trav, a month before we’d planned because he was leaving early for his deployment to Iraq. The original wedding plans had been made, dress had been ordered, invitations ready for the mail, and we were to get married October 1! But a quick visit to the Armory one afternoon changed that plan and it was time to come up with another. Trav’s mission was being bumped up three weeks and he was to report the morning after our wedding, so his officer advised we “get married quick” so we could do all the proper paperwork before they left. As I explained my new predicament to the mother of the children I watched, I could see her wheels began to turn. The next time I watched the kids, Liz had a cute box wrapped up for me with something blue, something new, and something borrowed. The borrowed were the pearls she wore for her wedding! I was honored. But, at the same time, unsure. The only people I knew who wore pearls were my grandmother and her friends.
The Tuesday came that Trav and I got married under a weeping willow in Sibley Park (which is no longer there, hope that’s not a bad omen) and I proudly wore the borrowed pearls with my stylish Hawaiian pink dress.
A pink park bride.
Fast forward to Trav coming home from his apparent modeling tour…
Modeling Trav.
And the gift he brought back for me were pearls he purchased on leave in Qatar. I loved the gift but wondered when and where I would wear these beautiful pearls. I saved them for special weddings and parties, but soon those started to become few and far between. We have now had two children of our own and spend a majority of our time on the river, hiking the local woodlands, and camping. These aren’t the typical places, the wildlife don’t seem to notice and give compliments. Being inspired by Ann’s April Pearls, I decided to simply take the pearls out of their red velvet box and just wear them. Now my youngest, Abigail, who doubles as my late night photographer, also appreciates a strand of pearls and twirly dresses, wherever she goes.
Photo by Abigail.
Angie Caven is an outdoorsywoman, a potter, and a mindful military spouse. For a while we worked together at the Arts Center of Saint Peter. Lotsa the neat new stuff happening at the Arts Center? Basically Angie’s ideas in the first place. She’s too classy to post that. But if there was a “Like and Also Originally My Idea” button, she would be entitled to click it. Thank you, Ang.
Tomorrow: Cynthia bounces back from a Lutheran fashion upbringing.
ann rosenquist fee 