Pick your precious

I was trying to figure out what to pick for my precious this month and then when I was writing the post for Cate's Baby Shower, I suddenly knew what to choose.  I'm sure everyone knows that this is part of the monthly project organised by Sian, but just in case - pop over here and see who else is taking part!

This is a silver locket that used to be in my mum's jewellery box.  I never saw her wear it, and there is no chain attached but it was something that I loved to look at when I was little and was allowed to rummage through her jewellery.

In it you will see a photo of little Deb and little Gillian.  There's also a lock of hair.   Now, I don't know whose hair it is or why there is only one person's curl but the detective in me has looked at the evidence and has come to the conclusion that it's my sister's.  You see my hair was as straight as the proverbial poker, hers had a slight curl at the ends.  At that age my hair was horrible  ginger and my sister's was brown and clearly mine isn't the sample found in the locket.  I wonder if somewhere along the line, my lock of hair got lost or if an inquisitive young girl may have removed the evidence of just how ginger she was.
You see my mum would always tell me that I had lovely coloured hair (well she would, wouldn't she? a) she was my mum and b) she had the same colour!  But I just wanted to be the same as everyone else.  I didn't want people commenting on how lovely it shone in the sunshine or how glossy it was.  I wanted to be mousey brown.  She told me that as years went by, it would change and darken and she was right.  By the time I was a teenager it was what you call auburn.  I still wanted to colour it.  But my mum told me (and I think she was stretching the truth somewhat) that ginger hair did not take hair dye well and it may end up orange.  Orange?!  I didn't want to risk that so I kept my auburn hair and as I matured I grew into liking being different to everyone else.  So what did mother nature do to get her own back on me for moaning about it for years on end?  Just as I grew proud of it, she started to turn some of those auburn hairs grey.  I shouldn't have complained should I?  Thank goodness for highlights!