I had been dating someone for a couple of months and we planned to go to Michigan so I could meet the entire family en masse during Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. It was going to be good to put faces with names and stories. For my part, I did my homework and practiced saying "Shona Tova" (Happy New Year) over and over again so I could get it right.I had been warned about one particular Aunt, who we shall call “G.” Not that she was mean per se; she was just not going to be welcoming. Fiercely loyal to her family, she was not open to the idea of meeting any outsiders. G, along with the rest of the family and I spent the weekend together getting to know me and eating all things sweet.
At the end of the weekend, she told me she loved me and to keep her posted on my future success. Then she gave me the cufflinks pictured in this post. She told me they were her husbands and that I should take good care of them. Her husband had been dead for years, but she had held on to them. Needless to say, we were all a little shocked. She has asked often about the cufflinks to make sure I am wearing them and of course taking care of them. It is years later, but the cufflinks remain one of my prized possessions.
Every piece of clothing tells a story – sometimes boring, expensive, recycled or sentimental... like this one.
-- James
