Keeping Them Close to My Heart
My father was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2014. He had the best doctors at Dana Farber but after a long, optimistic, hard fought battle, he began to get worse and cancer won. We lost him in May 2019. Once it started to spread, it just took over so fast. I had never lost anyone in my family up to that point. I’m fortunate enough to still have my great grandfather around who is now 107. So, to lose my father was just devastating. He and I were so close and we talked via text just about every day, even if it was just to say I love you, or have a good day. My dad was the kind of person that made you want to be the best version of yourself because he was just such a good person.
After he passed away the one thing I wanted was his gold chain and pendant. He wore his chain every day for decades and his Saint Christopher pendant on it while he went through treatment. It meant so much to him and although I wasn’t big into jewelry I knew I wanted that reminder of him. I was due to get married just a few months later in September so it was just a very emotional time for me to have this huge milestone in my life without one of the most important people to me there. I mean, he was at my food tasting just a few months before and then he wasn’t. It was a rough time for my entire family.
About a week after I got married, I found out I was pregnant with my first child (my husband’s third) and my due date was actually the one year anniversary of my father's death. I’m not exactly one to be into signs or any of that, most of the time I just don’t notice. But I felt like that was just too coincidental to overlook. I felt that was my dad telling me he knew this was exactly the kind of happiness I needed during this really sad time in my life and man, it could not have been any more true.
My daughter was not born on his anniversary date, but shortly after on May 15, 2020 and she is absolutely beautiful. She is the best thing I have ever done. Just hours after she was born she nestled herself on my chest and her head was right by my father's necklace and even though I felt silly doing so, I introduced them to one another.
I know he would be so proud and he would have loved everything about Adeline. I don’t wear much jewelry, just sentimental pieces. My wedding rings, my diamond studs given to me on my wedding day and now, my father's chain. I saw Tiny Tags necklaces on a bloggers page one day - I thought they were so cute and I really wanted one with my daughter's name on it to hold close to my heart at all times. I felt if I had one with Adeline’s name and birthday on it not only would it be sentimental to me, but I felt it would be a way to keep my daughter and father close even if they never got to meet, right by my heart. Fortunately for me I was lucky enough to win a necklace on that same blogger's page almost two years later and I couldn’t be happier. It’s absolutely beautiful and it’s something I’ll cherish forever and I hope one day my daughter will want to wear this chain when I’m gone to keep me close to her. Even though I don’t intend for that to be something she needs to think about for a very long time to come.
Thank you Tiny Tags for creating such beautiful pieces that are amazing to look at, and also mean so much to those of us that wear them.
- Kayla
