One of our cherished traditions is of course the Easter egg. But how many know that the Easter egg is part of a long Christian tradition? In reading various histories, I discovered some surprising facts about the Easter egg.

Hard boiled eggs are eaten as part of the Passover meal in memory of the original Passover, a religous significance far predating Christianity. (I have heard that the egg tradition was originally pagan. However, I recently learned that this is unlikely, that the pagan use of eggs arose during the middle ages, long after it was an established Christian practice.)

At one time eggs were forbidden during Lent, and all eggs in the house had to be eaten before Ash Wednesday. On Easter Sunday they were once again allowed. Chickens don’t stop laying eggs during Lent, so the accumulated unhatched eggs had to be cooked and eaten quickly while they were still unspoiled.

Colored eggs at Easter originally had a deep religious significance in Christian churches. The egg is a symbol of new life. The hard shell represented the sealed tomb, and cracking the egg represented Christ emerging from the tomb. Different churches and countries had and continue different traditions around the colored egg. In the Orthodox Churches, eggs were dyed deep red to signify the blood of Christ. In some countries they are dyed green and given on Holy (Maundy) Thursday. And of course there are the exquisitely decorated eggs of Eastern Europe. Traditions surrounding the colored eggs — for example, parents hiding Easter eggs for children to find, egg rolling, and eggs as Easter gifts — are long-established in numerous countries.

I assumed the Easter bunny originated here in America. Imagine my surprise when I learned that it comes from at least as far back as the 1500′s in Germany and was probably brought to America with the Pennsylvania Dutch!

So amid the fun of watching children find eggs and dive into Easter baskets, remember that you are part of a long tradition, much of which is associated with the real meaning of Easter, the Resurrection and new life.

Have a blessed Easter!

P.S. For a fun way of dyeing eggs, check out http://www.progressivepioneer.com/progressive-pioneer/2012/04/natural-easter-eggs-dyes.html#more.

THANKSGIVING — thoughts of turkey and all the trimmings, overeating, leftovers, laughter, togetherness. For some, however, it will be a hard day.  Some are alone, possibly for the first time. Some battle illness. Some slog through financial hardship. A friend mourns a grandchild who has gone to heaven oh, so much too young! Another friend is exhausted from family problems. Still another’s husband is ill.

For our family there is an empty place at the table that will never be filled, a grief that does not end. But that same beloved child we mourn, now in heaven, left a legacy that makes me stop, think, remember and smile even through hidden tears. It is the Thanksgiving Tablecloth.

Karen instigated The Tablecloth before cancer had blighted her life. Each year everyone who is present at Thanksgiving dinner writes something for which he or she is thankful, then signs and dates it.

The tablecloth shows some wear. It is no longer pristine; some gravy stains could not be totally removed, some of the writing smeared. There are more than 10 years of messages on the tablecloth, messages that go through cancer and baldness and hair restored, messages that range from funny to serious, but messages that always speak of faith, family, joy. Some guests were there only once, some each year.  Each left a mark on our lives.

Maria has become both the Thanksgiving hostess and keeper of the Tablecloth. Unfortunately, not all our family will be together this Thanksgiving. Powell has to work. Missy and her family will be with my brother in NC. And Karen is in heaven. But even though there will be loved ones missing, there will be laughter, thanksgiving, and at times a few tears. The tablecloth will be read and signed. And the tradition continues …

But awhile back something happened that changed my outlook regarding New Classics Jewelry. And maybe life in general. 

Once upon a time there was an event I didn’t want to attend. It was a party. I had been to another party given by that hostess — I didn’t know anyone except the guest of honor, and nobody spoke to me. Shy by nature and not overly fond of parties, I had tried to be friendly, but I was totally ignored except for a polite, cool “hello” now and then. The other guests knew each other and were a tightly knit group; I was the outsider. I left that party early, vowing never to attend another one in that home.

But here I was again. Stuck. Again. Hating the idea of going. Again. I was downright miserable! I even prayed that my back, which had been giving me a fit, would be too bad for me to go. And of course the day of the party dawned with me pain-free for the first time in weeks!

I got the answer to my prayer: it was to change my attitude, go to the event, and look for someone I could help in some way. With that change my mood lightened. The dreaded day began to evolve into something I looked forward to.

Guess what — I had a fantastic time! The other people were friendly and fun. I was indeed able to help someone. It wasn’t anything earthshaking. It didn’t solve the problem of world peace. It was small, and fun, and a moment to treasure.

So now my question to people is — rather than “what will you buy from me?” — but “How may I help you?”

That, after all, is why we are all here, to help each other. So do you need some special piece of jewelry? Let me help you find it! If it is something I don’t have and cannot make for you, I will try to find someone who can.

This is the face of New Classics Jewelry. So please do not hesitate to let me know how we can help you. We are here to serve!

9/11 was my “going away” party. There was a huge beautiful cake, and we were all going to go out to lunch. Then the world blew up … When the first plane hit, someone yelled to get a TV … one person had one in her car, and we turned it on; at that time they thought it was a horrible accident, that a small plane had hit the tower.

We sat watching until time to go home. We sent out for sandwiches, though nobody really wanted them. My cake lay untouched. Finally we each took a piece, I think it may have been for politeness. My boss kept telling me sadly, “I’m sorry.”

We sat there watching until time to go home. I remember being astonished as a couple of people kept their appointments. Didn’t they know? I thought my world was ending. And in a way, it was.

This weekend I was watching a replay of 9/11 on T.V., still experiencing the sadness of that day. Suddenly something seemed to snap in me, and I cried out, “WHERE WERE YOU, GOD?!” All the anger I thought was healed by time came spewing out. And added to 9/11 was the time almost four years later when our daughter Karen was dying. Again I cried out: “AND WHERE WERE YOU WHEN KAREN WAS DYING?!”

Then I begged for forgiveness and prayed for peace. I know where God was. He was right there. He was in the stairwell, he was on the planes, He was in the towers, he was in the Pentagon, he was in PA. And He was there when Karen went to be with Him.

Now I find the anger is gone. There is sadness, there is grief, there is no more anger. There is peace.

I learned some things watching TV this weekend. I learned that Todd Beamer forgave the hijackers moments before his now famous, “Let’s roll!” Last night on a TV show a Pentagon survivor said, “It is my job to forgive. That is not the government’s job. The government’s job is to protect me.”

Some wounds will never completely heal. I will never stop grieving over the loss of my child. And the pain of 9/11 will never end. Our world changed mightily that day. It changed forever.

So I hope that today people will stop and remember, say a prayer. And remember to be thankful that we live in a Nation where there can be forgiveness, a Nation made stronger by adversity.

Blessings …..

Suddenly inspired, I buy all the balloon man’s balloons and Maria, Powell, Missy and I run to a parking lot and release them all at once. It is glorious! We watch until they soar out of sight. Then we return to Karen.

Karen is sitting glumly on the curb — elbows on knees, chin on hands. She does not look up. She announces, “I saw them. I heard someone say, ‘Look at the balloons!’ and I looked, and I saw, and I knew my mother had been there.”

Fast-forward about 10 years. Karen is now in her early 20′s. We have been shopping together and are at Chuck E Cheese. There is a balloon machine by the door, and we each get a balloon. In the parking lot Karen says, “Mom, this is for you!” and releases her balloon.

Another time at Chuck E Cheese, same era. This time I am with Maria. We get balloons — only when I put my money in, all I get was the string and plastic tie ring. So we suck up the helium meant for my balloon so we will have munchkin voices (perhaps a hint as to why Chuck E Cheese no longer has balloon machines) and take our balloons shopping with us. Mine, of course, is only a string. I dangle it proudly. We go back to Karen’s apartment, laughing hysterically. Karen is not amused.

Fast-forward several years. It is Christmas. Karen loves the color purple. If she could, she would paint the world purple. This Christmas Bill and I decide to give Karen the color purple. We spend a week shopping for purple — everything we can find from a purple pencil to a purple sweater and a purple perfume bottle. We have a pile of purple gifts. We wrap them individually and put them into a big box, which we also wrap.

Fast-forward again. What was the conversation, and how did it lead to funerals? I don’t remember. Karen informs me that when I die she is going to release balloons at my funeral. We laugh, remembering the original balloon incident and the later balloon release (which had been a huge step for Karen.)

Fast-forward. In church Karen whispered to me that she wanted “How Great Thou Art” and “It is Well With My Soul” sung at her funeral. I whispered back that I had already chosen them, and since they will be sung for me first, she will be a copycat. We laugh.

Fast-forward again. We are at a Mother/Daughter banquet, and Karen and I are chosen as part of a “newlyweds”-type game. One of her questions is, “What was your favorite gift ever? Her response, “The color purple.” I guessed it correctly. We win the game.

Fast-forward. Another whispered “argument” in church, this time that we will have Pastor Pedro, our music pastor, sing the two songs. Again, I will be first, I tell her, so she is still only a copycat. But she counters that I’ll be the only one with balloons.

Fast-forward again. Karen has found a lump in her breast. Frightened, she tells no one. She finally confides in a friend who bullies her into having a mammogram. Karen goes alone while I, still knowing nothing about the lump, babysit with her two young children. She returns sobbing. It is a large tumor. A quickly scheduled biopsy confirms that she has cancer. Stage III.

We don’t think about balloons. Or the color purple.

Fast-forward. Karen undergoes chemo, baldness, illness, radiation, victory. Her hair grows back. She has won.

Fast-forward a few months. Karen has a seizure. They discover that the breast cancer has metastasized to her brain. Radiation again. Baldness because the radiation is to her head, and they tell her that this time her hair might not return. But it does — first a Kewpie doll patch, then a Mohawk, and finally full return. Victory again. The tumor is shrinking. She has won.

A snapshot shows a radiant Karen in her purple Survivor shirt, walking the Victory Lap at the Relay for Life.

Fast-forward a short time. Karen falls. She is hospitalized. It is carcinomas meningitis. She will rally, of course. She always does.

I tell her that I am ordering purple balloons and we are carrying them into the church her first Sunday back. We laugh over what Pastor Hal will say and whether or not we will release the balloons or just hold them. I assure her she will have a standing ovation when we walk in. The church family is holding vigil in the hospital, and I know that she will indeed have a standing ovation.

Fast-forward two weeks. I order the purple balloons for when Karen comes to the church. They will be attached to a cross and released after the burial. At the funeral Pastor Pedro sings “How Great Thou Art” and ‘It Is Well With My Soul.” Karen won. People come and hug us and cry. There are so many people. A little girl announces, “Miss Karen has a purple mansion in heaven.” At the burial there is a storm and the balloons droop. After the storm, after the long gathering at Maria’s house, Bill and I return to the cemetery. The purple balloons have re-expanded and are straining to go free. We release them.

Fast-forward a few weeks to Karen’s birthday. Powell, Maria, Drew (a friend), Bill, the children and I release purple balloons. Karen’s husband Gary declines to release a balloon. But Missy releases one in Maryland at the same time, and we talk to her on the phone. We have attached notes to the balloons. The children’s notes beg Karen to come back. We watch the balloons and their notes soar toward heaven.

Fast-forward 8 months — Easter. Bill and I return to Karen’s grave for the first time since the funeral. We hold each other, weeping. Then Bill suddenly bends down and picks up something from the ground. It is a tiny purple flower that was growing on Karen’s grave. We laugh and cry together.

Fast-forward one more time. It is Karen’s birthday again. Bill and I take purple flowers to her grave. Her siblings have already been there, and the grave is covered with purple flowers.  On the way we had bought one purple balloon. We release it, watching it soar toward heaven.

We watch as the balloon drifts slowly out of sight.

[NOTE: This was written the year after Karen's death. We still go to her grave each birthday and release a purple balloon.]

I have been blessed with so many such gems: an amazing husband, four incredible children, special friends. They all keep me going. However, Karen is no longer here: she went to be with the Lord six years ago today.

Karen was not perfect. (News flash: nobody is!) Sometimes she could be cranky, and at those times she could get snappy. But she had an amazing heart for others. She squabbled with her siblings sometimes but loved them deeply. She loved her husband Gary as well. And she had a fierce love for her children, Thomas and Ree. They were her greatest pride, her deepest joy. She was an amazing mother!

Karen and her family lived with us. Surprisingly, in all the years we only had one spat, and it lasted moments. One year we had three hurricanes back to back. We were in the Florida heat with no electricity (and therefore no air conditioning!) for days on end. People still talk about that awful time — I hear them, and I smile. For me it is a time of sweet memories. Karen and I would spend our days on the shady deck — we did our nails, read books, talked. Karen had (we believed) overcome breast cancer. Her hair was growing back. The children were thriving. Life was good for that sweet, short time. It was a few weeks before she starting seizing and they discovered the brain tumor that would end her life way too soon.

Karen homeschooled Thomas and Ree from pre-school until they were 7 and 8, when she became too ill to continue. I loved listening outside of the kitchen “schoolroom”. When Karen walked into the kitchen to teach her total demeanor changed. Her voice became authoritative and teacher-chirpy. She was TEACHER, not just Mommy. At the end of each school year we would be visited by someone whose job it was to test home schooled children to be sure they were up with their peers. Karen and I would be in another room trying hard to eavesdrop. Each time the children scored light years beyond their peers, and Karen would just about burst with mixed pleasure and relief. She said she felt validated.

Karen was a deeply and totally committed Christian. Her faith was strong, and I have no doubt that because of that, she is with the Lord. We will see her again, of that I am sure. In the meantime I fight the tears and the longing to see her here just one more time!

I miss Karen. I miss her laughter. I miss her friendship. There is no longer anyone to pop into the room and say, “Mom, let’s go get a manicure!” or “Let’s go get a milkshake!” or “Let’s go shopping!”  or “Do you know what Thomas and Ree just did?!” There were so many fun times. I miss the conversations as Karen poured out her heart or we solved the world’s problems. I miss the silliness of chatting with her on the computer or phone even though we were at opposite ends of the same house. I miss watching TV with her. I miss playing games. I miss watching the children with her, laughing over their antics. I miss doing crafts together. Oh, I miss, I miss, I miss!

Even after six years the tears never seem to stop flowing. There is a hole in my heart that nothing on this earth can fill. It is the hole a mother has when a child has left this earth. I am thankful for that certainty that I will see her again. I am also so very thankful for my other gems.

I love each one of you so very, very much!

The Life bracelet is in honor of people who have walked a hard road by choice: these are the women who have chosen Life. In many cases the choice meant inconvenience. In some it meant difficulty, in some downright hardship. For some it meant going against the tide, choosing Life even when that choice would mean parenting a child who was challenged in some way.

These women have made the heroic choice, and we applaud them!

The choice to give life instead of (a sometimes easier) death is indeed, in many cases, heroic.

At New Classics Jewelry we stand with these women and the children they have chosen to bring into this world.

(We also have two pro-life Awareness Angels; the Awareness Angel page is arranged alphabetically, so you will find them near the bottom of the page.)

Yesterday was the long awaited gemstone show, and it was not disappointing! Some highlights were:
- unexpectedly running into a special jeweler friend, Chris, who is always a joy as well as being a very talented jeweler!

- falling even more in love with gemstones — oh, they are so beautiful!

- buying gemstones, planning new designs

- spending time (and all my money) at my favorite gemstone booth.

We got so many beautiful things! Beads from such exotic places as Indonesia, Madagascar, Mexico, Australia, Africa — and some from parts unknown (by me.)

So many exciting stones. I was surrounded by them! This time I ignored the bling and went for God’s creation — shades and colors of nature, so many of them, no two alike. There are browns, blacks, tans, reds, greens, blues, grays, even cream — the list seems endless! I have to admit that I wanted them all!

Alas, I had a budget. Bill set it — seems he’s also interested in such mundane things as groceries and rent and gas to get home from the show. I am proud to say that I painfully stayed within my budget — in fact, I was $2 under budget!

And we won’t mention the fact that today I went to a website to check on the things I didn’t get ….

Yet.

Why do you buy jewelry gifts?

What special occasions prompt you to consider jewelry-gifts? Birthdays, graduations, anniversaries, graduation and Mother’s Day are what first come to mind.  Of course a thank you gift is always in order. There are also events to be remembered like religious celebrations (for example Confirmation, First Communion, Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah.) A prom warrants the purchase of jewelry, as do such events as a wedding , Quinceanera, or a Sweet Sixteen party. 

Hey, how about a teenager who has just gotten her first driver’s license or her first car? Is your best friend going on an exciting vacation? Send her off with a distinctive piece of jewelry! Is your friend moving away? That special bracelet you give her will keep you in her mind! How about someone who just got her first apartment? A promotion at work?  An honor? A new baby, or an adoption? These are events to celebrate!

And how about a first clear cancer test?

Sometimes things happen in a person’s life that are difficult to deal with. A meaningful piece of jewelry can help someone on a particularly rough road. At New Classics Jewelry we have a range of awareness bracelets to honor or remember them, and we offer Angel Awareness bracelets for just about any cause.   

Sometimes you just want to tell someone she is special. What better way than with a piece of New Classics Jewelry? One of the most meaningful gifts I received is one that a friend gave me because she knew I was having a hard day.

Whatever the occasion we’ll be glad to help. If we don’t have what you need just contact us, and we’ll work together with you to create something remarkable!

How many jewelry gift occasions can YOU think of?

Did you know that we can replace regular clasps with magnetic ones? And we can replace ear wires with clip-ons?

There are still a lot of people who do not have pierced ears, and clip on earrings are oh, so difficult to find. When you do find them, the designs are extremely limited. We can take care of that for you!

There are also a lot of people who through age, illness, or other problems cannot easily manage regular necklace and bracelet clasps. Magnetic clasps are a great answer!

One friend shared with me at lunch today that she rarely wears one of her favorite bracelets because the clasp is so difficult to manage, and she has NO physical problems! Well, we can take care of that problem, too!

Not only can we replace clasps with magnetic clasps, but we have an array of gorgeous clasps. We make a sweet hook and eye clasp ourselves. And we have a new supply of stunning toggle clasps.

Sooo, not only can you opt for clip-on earrings and magnetic bracelet and necklace clasps, we can also replace those clasps that are just plain a pain to work. Just let us know …