My Mother’s Favourite Jewelry

My mother didn't have much jewelry: none of great monetary value. But she wore two pieces a lot.

One was a heart-shaped locket that was a gift from my father.

She wore it in her wedding day...

Both their pictures are inside.

The second was a clock “necklace” that she bought to commemorate her graduation with a B.Ed. from the University of Alberta in 1964.

When she finally graduated, she had been teaching for years. Before starting to teach, she completed one year of teacher training. At the time, that sufficed for teaching elementary school. But when she started teaching home economics, she became a high school teacher and needed a degree.

To accomplish this, now that she was married with two children and a full-time job, she spent six weeks every other summer, taking two courses at a time at summer school. That's how she completed her bachelor of education degree.

It took many years to accomplish.

Both pieces of jewelry had a lot of meaning to her: they are well-worn from constant wear.