True story

As my mom grew more financially secure as a single mother, she used some of her disposable income for things she had always wanted. Jewelry. Diamonds. She bought herself a pair of diamond stud earrings.

When I was about 10 or 11 years old, we were robbed. The thief took our stereo, a bicycle and a few smaller items. My moms diamond studs were discovered missing a few days later and we all just assumed that they were lost in the robbery. She usually hid them in her cold cream jar, but she thought that perhaps she had forgotten that day.

Fast forward about 6 months. I had nothing better to do so I hung out at home and got “recruited” to help clean the house. I cleaned the front room while she worked in the kitchen.

As I was sweeping the hard wood floor, I looked down and couldn’t believe my eyes. Down at my feet, on the freshly swept floor, was a pair of diamond studs. Sitting side by side.

I wasn’t sure what I was looking at. They were a bit dirty but I recognized them as hers. I just couldn’t process how they could have come to be where they were. It took me a bit of time to shake off the dismay.

I called out to her and just asked her to come to where I was standing. As she approached, I simply pointed down and said, “I think those are your earrings.”

She looked down. Without missing a beat, she bent down and picked them up. She turned them over in her hand, then pocketed them. “Your grandfather must have put them there,” she said. And walked back into the kitchen.

My grandfather died in 1938, when my mother was still a child. But it made perfect sense to me.