Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Are you sentimental?

"So won't you please play a song, a sentimental song
For my sentimental friend over there
We've been so long apart, make it go right to the heart
Of my sentimental friend over there
Bring the tears to her eyes, help to make her realise
The love we had was just beyond compare
Then if the time is right, maybe I'll hold her tight
My sentimental friend over there"

An extract from Herman Hermit's My sentimental friend

Just the other day, I was at the jewellers to collect something. A friend of mine was there with me. She had brought along a big bag of her gold jewellery for the jewellers to value. It was worth some $9000!!! I couldnt believe it. She had with her necklaces, rings, bangles, pendants etc .. all by the dozens. Some of them belonged to her daughter ie gold trinkets that were given to her daughter when her daughter was born. The rest were hers, some she had bought herself, others given to her by relatives during her wedding. She reckoned that since she was unlikely to wear them anymore (she finds them too old fashion), and since the price of gold is at an all time high, this is the best time to sell them and use the proceeds to buy new "bling".

I thought to myself: "Hmmm...what a great idea. Maybe I should do the same." You see, during my younger days, I would always buy myself some gold every few months. I have necklaces from my first pay packet, diamond rings from my first bonus, bracelets from my second pay packet,....you get the drift. Now my safe boxes are full of such things which, come to think of it, some I would never ever wear again. So off to the safe box I went. I picked up quite a few items which I know I will never ever wear again. These should get me quite a bit of cash, I thought. Then I can buy myself that .....my mind drifted to all those beautiful jewels I had been eyeing.

I left the bank empty handed. I just couldnt imagine trading it for anything, no matter how much I want those new things. I can do without them. You see, I need these "old" things to remind me of the good ol' days. I need to be able to reminisce about when I first earned enough to buy myself that coveted item. I need to be able to show and tell my kids about them. I need to be able to pass some of them down to my children when the Lord calls me back to him. It doesnt matter if my kids may never wear them, I just hope they wont trade them in, and will keep them and pass it on to their kids ....sort of like a family heirloom. I still have the bracelet my grandmother gave to me, something to remind me of her since she is no longer here with us. I still keep that huge "olympic" gold medal my hubby's grandmother gave to me, even though I will never wear it cause it causes my neck to hang. I did not even know her that well - I probably met her something like 4 times, before she left this world. I still keep all those kiddy anklets, rings etc that were given to my kids at birth, though it cant fit them anymore. The list goes on. But I feel obliged to keep them all.

You know why? Because I am a sentimental fool. Are you?

6 comments:

iml said...

Yes! every inch of it. Had the same thoughts too after reading the papers on the price of G. All those never wear again trinkets of mine/children's still in the original packets/boxes. Did not have the heart to do it cos' there's a story behind every piece. Mushy mushy we are.

Bkworm said...

Yes, I am a sentimental fool all right. Very soon, I'll need to rent a warehouse to store away things I just can't give up/away because they mean too much to me. Sigh!

eastcoastlife said...

haha... I was thinking of trading my gold too. Just last year, my mother-in-law gave me all her gold which she had skimped and saved to buy. Her gold jewellery is so old and outdated, I won't wear them for a million bucks. And I had to get a safe deposit box to keep it.

I dunno. I'm still thinking about it. I'm a practical person.

btw, my photos are never photoshopped... becos I dunno how to use it! hehe....

NomadicMom said...

Errr... I am guilty of getting rid of some of my "marriage" gold lah. Of course I kept those like from MIL lah.. but those auntie and yi-mah-ku-cheh ones I traded in for a nicer and more modern ring.

bp said...

I'm another sentimental fool, and understand fully why you left the bank empty handed. But I need to be less of a hogger when it comes to clutter (not gold or silver)! ;p

doc said...

oh dear, am i the only guy around here to admit being sentimental? that was the song i dedicated to my penpal 3 decades ago. it's still on my iPod playlist.

music those days were simple yet the lyrics brought a strong message.

btw, the only gold i have are a ring & a chain but i won't be trading them anytime soon.