we were rat poor growing up but my parents had a few precious possessions and one of them was this old elgin wristwatch of my mother. it was a bartered item when my father made a stereo cabinet for his friend, uncle lucas, who was a much sought-after watch smith. over the years it had undergone a number of repairs and withstood many years of use. it is so tiny and dainty and i remember in grade school, slipping it from my mother's bureau to wear it to school. i remember wearing it when i was in university. when i got my first office job, and i was able to buy my own, my younger sisters took turn in wearing it to school, sometimes unbeknownst to my mother. the strap had been broken, too, quite a few times, and always it would end up in uncle lucas' workshop. after my mother died, the watch stopped working and no amount of repair could revive it. but we kept it, to remember her by.
until recently i owned 17 wristwatches it was disgusting! so i had given away the ones that didn't have any sentimental value to me. i still keep a seiko watch, one of the earlier quartz watches that the second mr. summerfield gifted to me whilst we lived in belgium, and a tiny citizen watch that another ex-flame gave me. but this, this is what i value most even though it no longer works. in a way it does as it makes me remember those wonderful times with my mother.
this is my response to the challenge posed by @cottiac to post a personal nostalgia image.
Strong story, Vikki. I love thinking of the watch stopping when your mum passed away. Sometimes things seem to have a soul of their own. Thanks for sharing!
I have a watch of my mother's too- it doesn't even have the strap. I don't know if it works, but the sentimental value is beyond measure. Nicely captured.
November 3rd, 2016
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