The little girl and her mother were sitting on the bed, holding a cuff link box. "This was your grandfather's," Mom said. "It contains something men used to wear much more often, called men's cuff links. They were jewelry that held shirt cuffs together." "Can we look?" the little girl asked. "Sure," Mom said. And they began their exploration of the meaning of a life.
Tucked inside the box, they found first a pair of sterling silver cuff links. Grandpa's first pair. He had put them on his brand new cuffs when he was a young man, heading in to interview for a job at the county clerk's office. Since he had grown up on a farm, this was his first shirt with cuffs and his first jewelry, but he thought it was important to impress. He got the job.
Next, among the mens cuff links they found a pair of diamond cuff flinks. These, the mother explained, were the cuff links he wore at his wedding to your grandmother. He had never owned anything like them and they were as special as the wedding day itself.
Nestled next to the diamonds was a pair of antique cuff links shaped like a dragon's head. Grandpa had worn these when initiated into his fraternal society. He spent a lifetime doing charitable works through this men's group, including buying and furnishing books to a children's library. When he died, the organization created a special salute to "Grandpa and his BookMobile." No one would ever forget his good works.
Finally they came across a pair of vintage cuff links that looked more worn that the rest. These gold cuff links had thinned with use and the clasp seemed barely to work anymore. These were his favorite pair. He wore them every Sunday to church. Even when button-down shirts came into fashion or men went to church in golf shirts and NFL jerseys, Grandpa insisted on his starched white shirt and these gold and diamond cuff links. Grandma had given them to him. Nothing would ever replace them.
"Wow" said the girl. "You can tell a lot about Grandpa from this box." "Yes," said her Mom. "It is a life well-lived. And now the box is yours. Just be sure your life story is as strong and sweet."
