Oh how I loved this necklace when I was little girl! It was so jangly, so sparkly, so weird! I mean I was 6, I had no idea what any of the symbolism meant. But my mom did. It is a collection of Italian symbols of good luck and protection. My mother loved Italy, and for a time when she was a young woman, she even briefly lived over there. My grandfather spent most of his professional career at IBM working hand and hand with a Jesuit priest named Padre Roberto Busa, who was based outside of Milan. Together Padre Busa and my Grandfather, Paul H. Tasman, Indexed the works of St. Thomas Aquinas (using room sized computers to store the info) and helped decode and Dead Sea Scrolls for the Vatican. Pretty cool right? My mother was always so proud of my grandfather, as are we all. But my Grandfather was a serious man, not prone to great shows of emotion. I believe, no, I know, that was hard on my mother. She and I were (are) so alike in spirit, SO sensitive, so wanting to be loved, and liked. That's hard to say, but true. It's not an easy trait to have, but Mom, you wore, and I continue to, wear my heart on my sleeve. And damn it, that's ok. Days after my mom passed away, my brother Jordan and I came across some letters written to my mom from her time in Italy, they were from an older man, (and in no way romantic! ) giving her paternal advice on a relationship she was considering (My father? Someone else? We don't know) They were so sweet, so kind. They turned out to be from Padre Busa, who I believe was put in my mom's life to help and guide her. My whole family was lucky enough to have met Padre Busa over the years, he was a remarkable, warm, sweet man, just like my grandfather, but in different ways- they were a perfect compliment to each other. My mother believed in blessings, as I do to this day. She was not terribly religious, I would consider her to have been more deeply spiritual than anything. Ah, and she truly believed in angels. Mom, you are my angel now. I believe it. I know it. I feel it. - Love you forever.
