Monday, February 19, 2007

"It's mine... My own... My precious..."

Another Fun Monday assignment, co-hosted by Karmyn R and an anonymous yet entertaining associate of Marnie's.

It was difficult to come up with just ONE precious thing - and as Pamela commented in the post below, the most precious is my daughter. But that's too easy.

Much like a gypsy (maybe therein lies my heritage, eh, Matt?) - I always wear several gold rings. A total of FOUR on my wedding finger (see the sapphires, Willowtree?), my Texas Aggie ring, my MBA ring, and then, my most prized - I've worn it on my left hand ring finger for almost 21 years.

I received this ring from my grandmother - my mother's mom. Before you get all in a twitter, I'm talking about the only family I've ever known - my adoptive family. My grandmother attended Marlborough School, a prestigious all-girls' high school in Los Angeles, CA. The inscription inside the ring is "BCM 1934," for Barbara Corinne Morrow - graduated in 1934. My grandmother sent it to me shortly before my own high school graduation in 1986. The crest and lettering were once clearly defined; they have worn down now, and the ring has taken on the shape of my finger. (By the way, I had to have a lot of help taking this photograph. It's nearly impossible to take a photo of your own right hand, and I don't have a fancy camera with a macro-lens like Ree's. The ring I'm talking about is the top one in this photo.)

My grandmother was articulate and wrote long letters to me over the years, discussing everything from current events to stories of her past. As the eldest of her granddaughters, even sharing her middle name, I felt very close to her - even though we lived many miles apart. I only saw her a few times after my family moved to Texas in 1976. The last time was during Christmas of 1992, when I flew to California to visit my parents, who were then serving as my grandparents' caretakers. Unfortunately, she was no longer completely lucid, and our conversations were limited by the onset of her Alzheimer's.

I started this post late last night - too late to phone my mom and ask more about my grandmother's past. I knew she had attended college, but couldn't remember where. I found a "missing alumni" entry for Barbara Morrow Weir at the Alpha Phi site, in the UCLA Beta Delta chapter, with a graduation year of 1938. I assume she married my grandfather during her college years. I remember hearing that she had also attended Cornell University, though I wasn't able to access their alumni site for verification.

I am extremely proud of my grandmother, as it was quite an achievement for a young lady to attend college during the Depression Era of the mid-1930's. The ring reminds me of the challenges she might have faced, as well as her determination to receive a quality education. I am honored to wear it each day, and it has given me courage to face adversity as I seek my own place in this world.

Oh! And I'm giving bonus points for those of you who can correctly name the movie character whose quote I used to title this post!

20 comments:

Amy W said...

Beautiful rings...

Is the quote from Lord of the Rings?

Anonymous said...

I'm always too late to comment FIRST with an answer.
So, I comment second with an answer: Lord of the Rings, so there.

Love the rings and the stories that come with them. Such small sentimental pieces with enormous meanings.

(P.S. I love the fingernails. Makes me want to schedule a manicure.)
I will wish you a wonderful week today as I may not have time to visit for awhile. Don't forget where I live... :)

Tiggerlane said...

amy and swampy - thanks for the compliments, and yes...you've got the movie right...but what CHARACTER spoke this phrase?? (and it was in a specific movie of the trilogy, but I won't get that picky.)

Pamela said...

gollum

Pamela said...

you have lovely hands.. yes. I couldn't pull off a hand picture.
The quote would have to be "Hansel, we are saved! The old witch is dead."

My hands were'nt even pretty when I was young.

You will have to post a more thorough story about grandma. She sounds like a great post in process!!!

Molly said...

You have written a lovely tribute to your grandmother. Your post reminds me that someplace I have my mother's high school pin. My mother graduated from high school in 1934 too. She earned her Master's degree from Purdue 40 years later.

willowtree said...

Tiff, Gollum (or smeagal) spoke that line, and although it's not a movie yet, I think the first time he said it was actually in the Hobbit when Bilbo first found it.

Now back to the present. You owe me big time. I've finally cracked the mystery of who your birth parents are, you are the long lost lovechild of Liberace and Elton John!

Anonymous said...

heh heh heh, WT....

Lovely story about your grandmother - and I must say, you have a beautiful manicure too.

Beccy said...

Pamela and Willowtree beat me to it!

Great post, I love hearing about the history of peoples treasures.

M@ said...

Taxi Driver? (What'd I win?)

You are totally "Roma," Tigger.

M@ said...

Taxi Driver? (What'd I win?)

You are totally "Roma," Tigger.

SongBird said...

I don't believe I've ever heard your grandmother story. Very nice.

Angelina said...

I have my grandmother's class ring too and I love it. I don't wear it very often though.

Anonymous said...

I love the way you posted about "Rings" and then used a quote from the Lord of the Rings. Nicely done!

You reminded me of a ring my Granny gave me. I hardly ever wear it because it is just a tad big. Maybe I will have it sized and wear it more often.

Love your post. (Oh and I am sooo not calm about the house. I went to Lowe's on Saturday and got every free booklet they had. I got the front door picked out, yeah!! I got the doors picked out, etc. I hope to start posting photos soon. I am working on getting the houseplans online. It is proving more difficult that I thought it would be.) I am so glad we are going through this together.

Anonymous said...

Ah, I loved this story. What a lovely tribute to your grandmother. :)

ChrisB said...

I had problems trying to leave a comment yesterday so lets hope I have more luck today.

You have a lot lovely rings all with great history. Thank you for sharing

Tiggerlane said...

pamela - you made the obvious guess, but alas, 'twas not he! Thanks for the compliment. I AM encouraged to find out more about my grandmother. A call to my mom is in order.

mjd - sounds like you definitely have a mom to be proud of! 40 YEARS LATER? Amazing! What determination!

WT - The line WAS spoken, word for word, in one of the movies of the trilogy. (Then again, it may have first appeared that way in "The Hobbit," chronologically prior to the scene in the movie, but a different character spoke that line in the film.) And LOL at the heritage solution!! That explains my piano skills (when I'm not sporting nails)!! Now...where are my glasses....

karmyn - thanks - I'll have to follow up on the story, now that I realize how much I don't know!

beccy - thanks, but you still have time! Pamela and WT haven't quite gotten it!

matt - you talkin' to me?!?

songbird - thanks...and here I thought you knew ALL about me!

julie - I can't WAIT to see your door and hear more about your progress! Hopefully I'll post my "revised and drawn by hand" plan next week...the kitchen island design is what is holding me back right now.

melissa - good to see you again, and thanks! Sorry I haven't popped by in a while. Hoping I can catch up today.

chrisb - glad you made it by...and thanks!

Anonymous said...

Very precious indeed! She was quite a lady!

Anonymous said...

Ok then, if it was not Smeagol, then it was Bilbo Baggins (the other long time holder), and I would say that he said it to Gandalf, when Gandalf wanted him to hand it over before he left after his birthday party at the beginning of Fellowship of the Ring.

Anonymous said...

I thought it was Gollum, too (my kids often quote this line).

I checked your Fun Monday post too early last week, looks like I did again, today (but it brought me to THIS one, so that's a good thing!).

Lovely tribute, and I think it's wonderful when a beautiful "thing" reminds us of a a beautiful person :).