GIVING PROTECTION

I was sitting in the living room spinning a gold scarab bracelet around my wrist when my husband Steven came into the room. “What are you up to?”

I held my wrist out. “Do you remember this?”

Steven came over to look at the bracelet of carved scarab beetles in different colored stones around my wrist.

He looked confused. “I don’t remember giving you that.”

“You didn’t.” I began rubbing the beetle carved from a tiger’s eye stone. “My Mom bought it for me.”

Steven nodded his head. “That’s nice. What made you put it on now?”

“I was thinking about this time of year when everything is coming alive again and the story of when she bought it for me just popped into my head. I went to look to see if I still had it.” I smiled as I held out my wrist again. “And I did!”

“Well, I’m glad.” He was ready to walk away when I stopped him. “Don’t you want to hear the story of when she bought it for me?”

Steven stopped and I noticed only a second of hesitation before he turned around and sat on the couch and smiled. “Sure I do.”

I settled back in the couch. “Well…” I admired my bracelet again. “It was the weirdest thing. One day, when I was a teenager my Mom, out of the blue, said, ‘You need a scarab bracelet.” I began to shake my head. “At that time I had no idea what a scarab was let alone why I needed a bracelet of it.” I looked over at Steven and smiled. “But you know how I feel about jewelry.”

Steven nodded his head. “You do love your jewelry.”

I looked back at the bracelet then back at Steven. “So we went to the jewelry store and the next thing I know I’m looking at these weird little beetles carved out of stones, set in gold.”

“Well, that’s a special memory.” Steven said as he patted my knee and started to get up.

“But why did she think I needed this?” I asked. “She knew I usually only wore silver.” I looked over at Steven. “I still do.”

Steven shrugged his shoulders. “Well, we’ll never know now.”

“That’s true, but…” I held up my phone. “I looked it up and when you give a scarab beetle it symbolizes good fortune, hope, and restoration of life.”

Steven started to laugh. “Do you really think your Mom knew that meaning when she got it for you?”

The look on my face had him stopping in mid-laugh.

“I’d like to think so.” I said as my son Alex came into the room. “Hey, do you want to hear the story behind this bracelet?” I held out my wrist for Alex to see.

Alex looked over at his Dad who was slowly backing out of the room.

“Hmm. Sure.” he said down on the couch. “If it’s not a really long story.”

“It’s quick.” I said as I repeated the story to him. When I was done I looked over to him. “Do you still have the scarabs I gave you?”

Alex looked confused. “They’re hanging on my bedside lamp. But I didn’t know you gave them to me. I thought I got them when I was a kid at Allaire Park.”

Now I looked confused. “I got them at the Metropolitan Museum of Art when I toured their Egyptian wing.” I shook my head. “Why would they sell scarabs at a Colonial village?”

“Beats me.” Alex shrugged his shoulders. “But now that I know what they are and what they mean…Thanks.”

“So…” I had to laugh. “You’re welcome.”