March 22, 2017 – Talisman – second generation

          When I told my mother about going to college at the interesting age of 35 she sent me a talisman for good luck at my studies.

          During World War II, my mother rode the train into Boston to attend Burdette College.  She was given two Chinese coins for good luck in her studies.  I don’t know who gave them to her and I doubt she can remember now either, but she said they had brought her good luck while in college and she sent them on to me to carry while I was going to college.

          I immediately slipped them on my key ring as one has a hole in the center and the other has a square in the center.  One is silver tone and the other is bronze tone and they are well worn and smooth to the touch.

          All through college they were a subtle reminder from my Mom to “do well”.   Just touching them daily as I left the house locking the door and then later at the college tossing them securely in a pocket of my book bag, she was with me every step of the way, even though she was hundreds of miles away.

          They did the trick – I graduated with 4.0 average and I am proud of my AA, two year degree because I worked hard and had a lot of fun at the local college.  It might not be as impressive as a 4 year degree or a Ph.D. but my mother had a wonderful saying when we were kids:

“No one can take your education away from you.”

          It is part of me and I don’t kowtow to anyone when I let my education show.  Others feel that is a case of pride instead of humility and should be considered a sin.  Me, I think it is a sign of self-confidence and I hold my head high.

          Upon waking this morning the thought of those coins just popped into my head.  I went and pulled them out of the drawer.  They are tied to the key of my Mom’s house with red plaid, grosgrain ribbon.  The same house key that was given to me on my sixteen birthday which was my parents’ permission to start dating.   Two of the biggest milestones in a woman’s life – college and dating and mine were unusually reversed in chronological order.

It’s amazing the unknown stories your everyday objects hold.