things lost and found

When I was little, I would explore all the nooks and crannies in the spare bedroom at my grandma's house in Winchester.  The chest of drawers was full of treasures--rose-scented lotions, candles, shiny makeup compacts, old business cards, sachets of potpourri, all fascinating to a little girl. 

There was one trinket in particular that caught my eye and I begged my grandma to let me keep it: an old skeleton key.

My grandma's house wasn't old enough to have locks that would need such a key and I assume it likely came from the house my dad grew up in, making the key that much more mysterious. 

I wore the key around my neck on a chain for years, throughout high school.  When my grandma passed away in the summer of 2008, the necklace became a talisman.  I used it to carry her love and light with me and I rarely took it off.  One night, I came home from spending time with friends and the chain broke, the necklace finding its way to the floor.  I haven't seen it since.  And I was heartbroken. 

Today, Ashton and I wandered into an antique shop called Alaska Picker in Palmer.  We found a box of old skeleton keys, which I dug through until this one jumped out at me.  Of course, it's not the same key that I found all those years ago in my grandma's house, but it is nearly identical.  

This key, like its predecessor, will be hung on a chain and worn around my neck, to serve as a reminder of things loved and lost, and of the light my grandma brought into my life and childhood.