Today is my birth mom’s birthday. She went by Betty. She would have been 87 today. I wish I got to meet her.
This charm bracelet was given to me by my sister Jill when she came to visit in October 2021. It belonged to our mom. Each charm tells a story, especially (for me) the one that is separate from the bracelet.
Jill told me the following story.
When Mom was in the nursing home, she often mixed up her days and nights and would call me in the middle of the night wanting to talk. I always answered, never knowing if the call might be something serious, though it usually wasn’t. Most of the time, she had the same “good news” she couldn’t wait to share.
She would tell me, with excitement, that she was pregnant. Because of her Alzheimer’s, I went along with her story every time. I’d congratulate her, ask how far along she was, and whether she knew if it was a boy or a girl. She’d say she did know but then ask me which I wanted. I always told her I wanted a sister—that boys were gross. She would laugh every time.
We’d talk for a few more minutes, and then I’d tell her it was time for bed and that I’d call her tomorrow. An hour later, the phone would ring again. She’d be just as excited as before, announcing that she had the baby-and it was a boy. I’d congratulate her again and tell her she needed to go take care of the baby, hoping to go back to sleep.
I always assumed she was confused and was telling me that she was pregnant with Sam as he was younger than I was. That same conversation repeated every few days until her schedule settled back into place.
Once Jill (and Sam) came to know me and my story, they knew that the pregnancy story was about me. When Jill found the single charm of a boy with the bracelet, she figured it was about me. There are already charms on the bracelet for Jill and Sam. The boy head charm was separate from the bracelet in an older plastic box from the 60’s.
When Jill and Sam were sending me pictures of our mom, they sent me one from the fall of 1962. I wrote back that I was in that picture, though well hidden.
It’s been a fun time learning about my family.