The Family Charm Bracelet.

There is a link-style bracelet that became very popular in the 1990s... the links are stainless steel with gold accents, and each individual link locks together, sort of like the links on a watch-band.  I don't know exactly which company designed this particular style of bracelet, but it's called an "Italian charm bracelet."  I had bought one of those bracelets for my cousin F up in New York..... she's not really a jewelry person, but the significance of the links (with very personalized pictures and embellishments) make it an interesting accessory, and F is a big fan of such detail.

When I first got the bracelet for F, I had one link for each letter of her first name, and then every other link had something identifiable to her alone.  She absolutely loved it, and began making similar bracelets for other family members.  When that mission was completed, F had the brilliant idea of making a Family Charm Bracelet.... with charms for each of the uncles and aunts, or the cousins, or whoever was deemed charm-worthy for the bracelet. (She was indeed on a roll with the Italian charm bracelets, and still is.)

F searched the Internet looking for specific charms to celebrate each family member, and I decided to do the same on a Family Charm Bracelet of my own.  Searching the Internet sites for Italian Charms gives you unlimited access to every type of charm you could possibly imagine... and if you can't find exactly what you're looking for, then some companies will custom-make whatever you request. The charms are very affordable, with a price range for every budget. Only the solid 14k gold charms will get even close to breaking the bank.

On my Family Charm Bracelet, I used individual letter links to spell out the family's last name.  I decided to honor the children of my grandparents (my dad, my aunts and uncles) on my bracelet. Nothing against all of my cousins, but with one link for each cousin, that would make about three bracelets.

The letters of the family name are gold, set onto the stainless steel links. The link just before the first letter of the name is an Italian flag, because (needless to say at this point) my family is Italian.  For the links honoring each person, I attached them from the oldest to the youngest as they fell into the birth order.

The link after the last letter of the family name shows a ballroom-dancing couple... that link is for my Uncle Larry, whom I was named after.  Larry was an award-winning ballroom dancer... it was his first love and his life's passion.... and it was a pity that his life was so short.

The next link shows the Pearl Harbor Monument, in honor of my Uncle Jimmy who died there when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941.  Jimmy died before I was born, but one of his two sons was my godfather.

The following link is a bright red cardinal, for my Aunt Dolly. The cardinal has always been her favorite bird. I cannot even begin to count the number of times she would call me to the kitchen window in Grandma's house because she saw a cardinal in the bird bath or at the feeder.

The next link is the Chinese sign for Happiness, for my Aunt Edie.  She loved every kind of Oriental artwork, and her home was filled with black lacquer Oriental furniture.  Aunt Edie believed that Chinese women were the most beautiful, the most graceful.

The next link shows the actor Jackie Gleason's face in a full moon--- the logo of "The Honeymooners" television show, very popular in the 1950s and still showing on TV stations all over the country in re-runs ever since.  This link is for my dad.... he loved Jackie Gleason, and loved "The Honeymooners" because Gleason's character was a bus driver for the New York City Transit Authority, the same job my dad held for nearly 40 years.

The following link is a gem-shaped diamond filled with tiny sparkles, for my Aunt Jaye.  Jewelry was my Aunt Jaye's passion.... there wasn't a piece of jewelry that she didn't love, and if it had diamonds or pearls on it, she loved it even more.  Her jewelry collection was an investment and a treasure, something to be proud of, to be taken care of, to be worn and enjoyed.

The link after that is a tiny Lincoln copper penny, for my Uncle Mino. He collected coins for years, and was constantly looking for the rarest of the rare Lincoln pennies.  His coin collection was the most pampered, the most polished... and the most appreciated.  He would sit us down at Grandma's kitchen table and explain each particular marking on the coins, telling us that "Money isn't everything, it's just a collection of metals and paper."

The next link shows a black bowling ball with a few white bowling pins, for my Uncle Tony.  Bowling was his all-time, life-long sport.  I believe that baseball was his first love, but being a champion bowler was easier to achieve and longer-lasting as he got older. Tony continued to bowl until he could no longer drive himself to the bowling alley and get a decent score for his team.

The next link shows a cosmetic case with lipstick and eye shadow, for my Aunt Angela.  She was the youngest of my grandparents' children, and the most adventurous in experimenting with color and cosmetics.  Angela was beautiful without a drop of make-up, as were all of my aunts, but Angela's make-up case and her talent for application made her a stand-out beauty.

The link after that is a German Shepherd dog, for Grandpa's dog "Major."  This huge and gentle dog let my generation of cousins ride him like a horse, dress him up for parties, and play with him for hours without one complaint.  Grandpa taught Major to say his prayers, shake hands, fetch balls that had rolled into the street, and protect all of us kids from doing stupid things. If we so much as opened the gate to leave the yard, Major would bark as if the sky were falling.

The next link is a deck of cards, for Grandpa. He loved playing poker in the dining room with his sons, and he loved to play solitaire at the kitchen table.  He taught every child in my generation the rules of solitaire as soon as were old enough to read the numbers on the cards.  We didn't realize until we were much older that in doing so, Grandpa was also teaching us patience and honesty, as well as the fine art of enjoying solitude.

The link next to that one is a ball of yarn with knitting and crochet needles, for Grandma.  My grandmother could knit and crochet everything, without a pattern.  All she had to do was look at a finished piece, count the stitches, study the pattern, and off she would go to her chair by the kitchen window.  Grandma's delicate hands crafted the finest, most beautiful doilies, tablecloths, bedspreads, shawls.... the list of her handmade accomplishments is endless, and everyone in the family was given such beautiful gifts throughout the years.

I wear my Family bracelet nearly every day...... it is rich in honor and history, it lets me remember my grandparents and their children, and most importantly, it never lets me forget who I am and where I come from. 

 "Family is always family, no matter what happens."