My sister Joyce gave me these earrings to wear in her wedding in 1969.  That marriage has ended.  But I still have these lovely earrings and am wearing them today.  For me, they symbolize something enduring:  My sister’s love, my faith in life, my dedication to joy.  While the occasion for which she gave them to me might have resulted in divorce, it also gave her a beautiful daughter, my niece Lisa Corley Davis, a gift of unassailable beauty.  When I wear these earrings, I cannot help but think of my sister and my niece, and the thought of them pulls a smile to my face regardless of what else I might be facing.  Because of these earrings, I don’t associate the color blue with sadness, but with the comfort of family and the peace of knowing I am loved.