Cleaning the jewelry drawer

I cleaned my jewelry drawer this morning and a heavy burden of messiness and memories has lifted. When we moved three years ago into this house, I never really unpacked that jewelry drawer. Oh my, I call it a drawer and it is, but to imagine that it is filled with rare and precious gems is giving it far more than is due. I have not been one for expensive jewelry -- what I consider my most valuable pieces are a few old rings, two cameos, some gold and silver chains, a string of pearls, and a few goin' to court gold earrings. My preferred pieces tend to be silver and I have a few nice pairs of earrings and many, many pairs of earrings -- the kind that in the 70's I could buy on the streets of the East Village for 2 for a dollar. They cost a bit more these days but they are the same quality.

When we moved, I packed the drawer tight so that the chest of draws could be moved as a unit without unpacking it. When we arrived in Madison, I rummaged through to find a few pairs of earrings that I could wear now and then, but I was not at all sure of what I should be doing with the rest of it. I had nothing to dress up for, and raising Julia has not given rise to lots of jewelry wearing occasions.

And then last year after we cleaned out my mother's house, I brought home a few nice pieces of jewelry that she left for me, some of her costume jewelry that I picked, and some stuff that no one else wanted. I brought it home and stuffed it into my jewelry drawer without unpacking it or integrating it into my own still packed jewelry.

And now and then, this past year when I peaked into that draw hoping to find something different to wear, I felt the impossibility of finding anything at all and sure that I had lost most of my favorite jewelry to the chaos. Still, I did not find the time to do anything about it until today.

As I started cleaning today, I realized that I had done a good job of culling what I had before we moved. The cleaning went quickly. I integrated my mother's jewelry, putting some of it away for the girls if either one of them want it.

It was about transformation, it was about acceptance and moving on, something has shifted, and I can be here a little bit more than I was yesterday.