Thoughtful Gifts - Remembering Ed

The holidays are such a busy time for me, as I am sure they are for everyone. I am just getting around to getting caught up.
 
In addition to the busyness, the holidays can also be a difficult time—especially when it might be the first time spending them without a loved one. (It was our first without my Father-in-law this year.)
 
I like to think that the holidays give us some healing power. As we sit and catch up with our family and friends, I like to use the time to keep the memory alive of those who passed and cherish those that are still with us today. I find it important to honor and remember the legacy of the ones we love, and the holidays just seem like the perfect time to do so.
 
When Carl Welder, who just so happens to be my husband’s cousin, approached me with an idea for a Christmas present to commemorate his late father, I could not refuse. He requested two necklaces, one for his mother and one for his sister, each inscribed with the phrase, “kisses and ice cream”. A lovely idea and an intriguing inscription—I immediately got to work in order to get the two necklaces ready for Christmas.
 
Now that Carl’s sister and mother have gotten their gifts, I wanted to share Carl’s wonderful story of honoring the father they all loved so much.

Carl's Thoughtful Gifts

Tell me a little bit about your father.

He was a geologist and a scientist his whole life and a very left-brained kind of thinker. But as he got older, he became very affectionate and very very sentimental. In his last three years of life he was extremely that way.

The Welders - Christmas 2018

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What was the meaning behind the phrase “kisses and ice cream”

The last year of his life, things had gone way downhill and he was basically confined to his bedroom, his living room, and his kitchen. We kept all trying to tell him that it was okay to let go, I mean he was 91 and had lived this great life—but he just kept bouncing back from a lot of different things.
 
What we realized after a while is that he loved getting and giving kisses from his wife of 57 years and he loved his ice cream every day, so we decided that kisses and ice cream were enough to make any man stay around on this planet.

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Tell me about your decision to make these pieces for your family.

Well, this was the first Christmas without him this year. I knew it was going to be emotional, we were all not really looking forward to it. We chose to go ahead and be in the ancestral home where we had all celebrated before and I just wanted something very special for my sister and my mother to kind of commemorate that first Christmas without him.
 
So, I thought about that phrase and realized I wanted to tie the gift back to that. I was looking around for jewelry here and there and just could not find what I was looking for, so I decided to call and work with you to see if I could create what I was envisioning.

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Adrienne and Polly Ann Welder

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What led you to choose jewelry to uphold that special memory of your father?

Between my sister and I, I think we each missed one Christmas in all the years we were together as a family. So, you know, Christmas has always been a big deal for us. We are always together. I just wanted to honor his death in some way and honor his memory at Christmas this year. Even though he was not there physically, I know that he was there spiritually.

Both my sister and my mother love jewelry—it really was my immediate thought in terms of a gift to them. And I think it’s something that they will always be able to wear, and when they do they can think of him.
 
My mother actually wrote me a thank you card for the gift and said she would be ‘hard-pressed to wear anything else’ after receiving the necklace!

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Can you tell me a little bit about the reaction of your mother and sister in receiving the gift?

You know, there were tears and lots of hugs and love. It really was such a sweet and emotional reaction. Later in the night, my sister unveiled her gift to my mother, a brand-new stereo system with a record player on it. We ended up spending the rest of the night listening to my dad’s old albums on it and just talking about his life. There were tears, laughs, and a lot of memories but I am glad that we were able to get through it together. It was very special.

Tears of Joy Remembering Ed's Life Well Lived

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I am so honored I was able to be a part of this remarkable story of love and family and help uphold the memory of someone so special.
 
Is there someone you want to keep close this year? If so, fill out the contact form and we can start the commission process. Additionally, if you have a story of giving Jewel of Havana jewelry this holiday season, be sure to share your story with us.   xo Ana

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