Our mom, like many Chinese women, was gifted a jade bangle from her mother as a sign of blessing. Here's the thing about jade bangles: you don't see many women wearing jade bangles today, or 15 years ago when my mom wore it. The reasoning is very simple: A bangle fabricated out of a brittle gem like jade is impractical on many different levels.
But the most inconvenient part is, these bangles are meant to squeeze through your hand and stay on your wrist.
My mom's jade bangle was very pale, unlike my grandmother's, which has a very vibrant green shade. And for as long as I could remember, she's tried to remove it unsuccessfully. No amount of soupy water or lotion could ease the one-half of the handcuff off her wrist, and as a result, she had to learn to move around more slowly and gracefully. Until one day.
I don't remember how it happened exactly. But she most likely was in the bathroom, trying to turn off the faucet or doing some other mundane task, and had gently banged her wrist against the bathtub. And just like that, the jade bangle broke in half.
We'd just came back from school and was eating in front of the TV. My mom walked in with the two broken pieces of the bangle and started looking for glue, tape, anything to attach the pieces back together. Mom, who's famous for showing very little facial emotion, was visibly upset.
For the rest of my childhood, my mom kept the pieces of the jade bangle in a red silk pouch inside the drawer of her bedside table. Through the multiple times we've moved, and the different furniture that we acquired, it has stayed as a constant fixture.
I don't think she particularly liked the bangle, but she'd held on to the broken pieces for years. From time to time I would catch her piecing the two together and could only guess at her thoughts.
What are some of the stories in your jewelry box?
Love,
Seimi
