Strength and Love Go Hand in Hand

I purchased a Giving Key necklace just about one year since my mother’s passing. On that day in 2017, my sisters and I had to redefine and transform how to approach and live our lives without the presence of our mom. The necklace is a homage to our mother. Her will to fight her diagnosed terminal illness was stronger than what her body could tolerate. Unfortunately, the physical toll of the treatment wore on her after many months since being diagnosed in late 2016. She had a fire in her that I can never forget. I personally wanted to wear the strength and LOVE necklace in remembrance of my mother and wanted to give it to my sister who then will pass it along to another sister and recycle amongst us. It would be just like Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, but we’re actually blood-related and these aren’t magical pants. I believe this necklace captures my appreciation for my mother, who inspired the strength that lives on in each of her daughters. It also serves as a reminder that you can be strong while feeling vulnerable and ultimately defeated. The strength that I have redefined as a result of these events is from the support that I have received and the support that I hope to give. This simple gesture of passing along this strength and mini key LOVE necklace is to serve as a reminder every day that strength and LOVE go hand in hand, though it is intangible and sometimes hard to find. Often times, you need to take a step back and be reminded and mindful of how there will always be someone there to support you, regardless of if they are here in an ethereal sense or a phone call away. -Paula