grandma’s jewelry

my grandmother passed away 5 years ago, later this month.

she had lung cancer and lasted about 8 months from her diagnosis.

she took care of jj when he was just a baby, while i worked.  when she got sick, is when i began to stay home with him and then continued on when ellie was born.

during her final days, my mom and i took care of her at my  mom's house. it was THE MOST humbling experience i have ever had. it was an incredible privilege to have been with her during her final days and hours, and to actually see her take her last breath.

i think about her often and i know that she would've LOVED being nana to my kids. she is truly missed.

after her death, we started to go through her things and separate what we wanted to keep and what we wanted to give away.

she had left my brother her wedding ring, for when the day came for him to get engaged.

she had left me her ruby and diamond pendant, earring, and ring set. i knew that when i saw the set, that i would never wear them. they were very loud, and i am a minimalistic type of person when it comes to jewelry. i knew that someday, i would want to use the stones and make a new piece of jewelry. this past month, i had dropped off my grandma's jewelry with a friend, whose family are jewelers, to have them make something new out of the old. i decided on two rings, one only of diamonds, and one only of rubies.

i just got the finished product the other day, and i LOVE them!!! they are beautiful and i can see myself actually wearing both of them a lot. this way, i still have my grandma's jewelry with me, but it is transformed into something that i will wear more often and hopefully ellie will wear when she becomes an adult. i am so happy with how the rings turned out.