The Locket

Hey all! Have you appreciated all those nice, long pandemic posts? Yeah... I have no excuse for not blogging, other than I feel like no one reads it but my mom. Hi Mom!

But sometimes I like to put stories on here that I want to keep. Maybe someday I'll print out my blog posts and count it as a more interesting journal than the one I write in every night. At least this one has pictures, right?

Anyway, I want to tell you the story of the locket.

Over 25 years ago, my sister Valeri was dating this guy. His name was Brent. I think she was living in Salt Lake at the time. I was still in high school. Val dated a lot (a lot for my family- half of us don't have a lot of dating experience, so when I say "a lot" I mean compared to me) and she brought a couple of the guys she dated home. I didn't like them. I didn't like any of them.  Then one day she decided she wanted to introduce us to her new beau. We met them in Bountiful, Utah at the temple open house. 

I honestly don't remember that. The only reason we know any of this part of the story is because Valeri- also an avid journal keeper- wrote it down. The only thing that I remember is that I liked him. Of all the guys she'd ever dated, he was the only one that I liked. I remember encouraging her to go for it! He was definitely a keeper.   She remembered that in the car he spent a lot of time talking to our dad.

They dated for a few months- and life happened. He decided to move back to Arizona and they lost touch. The next spring I graduated from high school.  For my graduation present Val gave me a locket. It was pretty- gold, with etched filigree and an amethyst.  My favorite color at the time was purple.

Being ever so thoughtful (though, kind of a weirdo) Val put flower petals in the locket. Petals from flowers that Brent had given her. Because I was so sad that they had broken up. I love you Val, but my world was not shattered. I was sad for you, sure... but... hahaha... anyway.. she gave me this locket with flower petals from a guys she dated. It was thoughtful nonetheless. Valeri is nothing if not thoughtful. She never gives a gift that doesn't have meaning behind it. 

Decades later- after marriages, children and divorces, Brent looked Val up on social media to see what had ever become of her. In this time of pandemic they were able to reconnect and get to know each other electronically, forced to keep from meeting because of state lines and Val's work saying she'd have to quarantine if she met up with him. So they kept it long distance, but distance can't kill chemistry.

When she called me and said she'd reconnected with someone from her past, the first hopeful words out of my mouth were, "Is it Brent?" I didn't remember anything about him other than I liked him and yes, I was sad when they broke up.  She was happy to report it was Brent and that they'd been talking for a while. I was all for it! It all happened so fast- but 2020 has seen crazier things happen. They were finally able to get permission to meet up without Val having to quarantine, and the rest is history.

The reason I mentioned before that he'd spent time talking with our dad- was because of how special it was to Val that he'd gotten a chance to meet dad. It's no secret that Val is a daddy's girl and she was totally his favorite, so it of course sad that he couldn't be here to be a part of her big day... but wait, he WAS a part of her big day. They chose to get married on dad's birthday- a nod to him and a way to include him in their happiness.

During one of my many visits home this summer, I was going through boxes of crap I've had stored at my mom's house for years. Boxes of stuff I need to get rid of but can't quite part with.  I was hoping to find the locket in my old jewelry box- but it was not there.

I DID find it hidden away in a music box. I didn't tell Val that I'd found it. She'd forgotten about it.

On the day of her wedding I wrapped it up and gave it to her. The locket that contained flower petals from her groom. 25 years later. I am not superstitious (I'm only a littlestitious) but I think it was meant to be- and this locket was safely guarded all those years, just waiting to be given back to her.  .

I still think he's a pretty awesome guy and I'm glad they were finally able to make the stars align.  I wish them a very long and happy life together!

PS. I caught the bouquet by accident. I had every intention of stepping out of the way- but she threw it AT me and to protect myself my reflexes caught it... don't worry though, it's the 4th bouquet (at least) that I've caught and the tradition hasn't caught up with me yet. I think I broke it.