History

My grandma arrived this morning with gifts, as per usual. This time around, though, the gift wasn't a bathing suit or a top, a book or a watch. It was hundreds of years of family history in one little box.

This diamond first belonged to my great great great grandmother Raquel. She gave it to her eldest daughter, Anna, who gave it to her eldest daughter, Sara, who gave it to her eldest and only daughter, Liliana, who happens to be my grandmother. Lucky enough for me, my grandmother for some reason decided I would be the next to inherit this little treasure, perhaps because I'm the eldest granddaughter.

And so it has skipped a generation. Tears and a small box in hand, my grandmother ceremoniously took out this beautiful necklace and put it around my neck as the rest of my family sat on the kitchen counter looking on.

I'm not sure that it matters how much it's worth or even how absolutely perfect it is... But I'm overwhelmed. I'm overwhelmed by the tradition and history embedded into this piece of carbon turned to stone.

What did these women, whose blood I share but whose lives I know little of live through with this jewel around their neck? What sights has it seen? What experiences has it known? What hurdles has it gone through so that today it sits around my neck and not another eldest daughter's?

It's kind of crazy how such a tiny object can encompass so much.