Quite literally. This morning I gave my daughter a pair of small gold hoop earrings that belonged to my mother. As soon as the clasp closed, I knew they were more than perfect.

My daughter’s ear piercings have always been sensitive. They start to close up and get infected quickly and then really bother her when we change from one set to another. But then all of her sets are cheap Wal-mart or Claire’s earrings, with the exception of a very precious couple of pairs, hand-made and given her by a friend.

When I was a girl, I remember… no, actually I don’t really remember. I remember my mom telling me – and that makes up the memory – that apparently my ears were fairly sensitive also to anything that wasn’t gold. Puberty changed all that and now I wear anything I like – cheap or expensive – with no living memory of any bother. (This is where I start to wonder if I’ve found the unconscious reason why I don’t like to wear gold anymore.)

I wasn’t completely sure however if this was my daughter’s difficulty. It was curious to be sure, but then it didn’t seem like a straight shot had been made from front to back of her ear, so I was considering other solutions such as letting the holes close and letting her re-pierce them when she was ready. Mom isn’t here to ask either, so thank goodness for girlfriends. I asked one who happens to have the same sensitivity still that I did only as a child, and she was able to fill in the blanks of my memory. Yes, that’s what sensitivity is like and no, it’s probably not a problem with the holes. She recommended gold hoops. The precious metal to allay the infection and the hoop in order to be able to move the earring back and forth within the piercing and keep it open. Made perfect sense to me, and I filed it away in the “Do that next time you are at the mall” folder.

I have so few things of my moms. One quite unique amethyst ring that I wear always, a wooden nativity set, four quilts and the rest of her very small collection of jewelry. And this morning as I paused unexpectedly long over the box that contains her jewelry, I realized with joy, a grin and an eye turned upward that she had owned several pairs of small gold hoops not being worn because her daughter of supreme silliness prefers silver. Thankfully, her grand-daughter adores gold earrings and looked every inch the angel, going off to school with hair braided back so as to not cover up the loveliness of generations glinting in her ears.

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