Charm Bracelet Charms Mark My Life

I have been collecting charm links for years. It started when I was in 6th grade. Like many other 6th grade girls, I just couldn’t get enough of charm links, or anything else that sparkled for that matter. I had a tiny little harmonica that actually played three notes of music, a half dozen fluorescent key chains shaped like monsters which I had bought, three for a dollar, at a knick-knack store with my girlfriends, a little half of a heart shaped locket which I shared with my best friend Kirstie, and many other charm bracelet charms dangling all from a single, cumbersome chain around my neck which would clink, jangle, and rattle as I walked along.

I even had a few Italian charm bracelets which I was able to purchase at the flea market. I had an Italian charm bracelet a pretty picture of the little mermaid, my favorite movie at the time, and another one had little fake momentos of the Eiffel Tower, the Leaning Tower of Pizza, the Grand Canyon, and other popular tourist attractions in a circle around my wrist. I used to look at my Italian charm links and dream of places far, far away.

My favorite charm links were always the sparkly, shiny ones. Originally, I liked dayglo and rhinestones, charm links shaped like puppies with great big eyes, or little pewter dragons with crystals embedded in their faces and claws. But later on, I was able to afford more extravagant tastes. By this time, I needed a new, more heavy duty chain as my charm links collection was growing beyond the carrying capacity of my neck! I hung all my charm links from a spot on the wall above my mantle piece, arranged in chronological order, and began to acquire new ones.

Some of them are ridiculous, so ornate and special as to not properly make charm links at all. I have one charm link which a friend soldered together for me out of a hair club with red and orange jewels embedded in it in a complex rosette pattern, really much too extravagant for every day wearing. I know it is tacky, but I like kitsch, and looking at my charm links all in a row provides a sense of continuity in my life. There are so many memories embedded in that long, silly, chain of dangly sparkly things that I can stare at it for hours, thinking about my life.