Anyone who has Nerves of Steel and has been around me long enough to listen to the incessant rambling knows that for each of my children, I have a necklace. Just one piece of jewelry that I wear to remind me of the journey of bringing each child into my life. I wear them with pride, and when I have one on, I talk about whose necklace it is and how special that child is to me.

The necklaces I wear for Cameron and Zachary’s births are both solid chains. Beautiful, nonetheless, yet durable enough to withstand the rough and tumbleness of boys.

For the baby I miscarried, I chose a delicate birthstone necklace – amethyst (purple) for February, the month that child was supposed to be born. It has a very delicate chain and on the days I wear this piece of jewelry, I remind myself that beauty can be found in some of the most fragile places of life.

For Eliana, I figured I would pick up some jade in Beijing, but the Sticker Shock was enough to make me pass on that idea. Pearls were out as that is what Nathan got me to wear on our wedding day. I had resigned myself to just buying a necklace when we got back to the states. But alas, in the very last shop we stopped in before leaving China, my eye happened to stop on a necklace tucked away in a small display counter. When the not-so-hovering sales lady told me that the Chinese character on the necklace stood for “mother”, I knew this was the one for me! When I wear this necklace now, I am reminded that a little girl named Cheng Hai Bo made me a mother once again – this time, the mother of a girl, who will shape me just as much if not more than I will shape her. The character also helps me to reflect on Eliana’s first mother, who has already played a large part in shaping who our daughter is today – a beautiful little girl.