When my husband was on his first deployment to the Middle East, he purchased some precious stones and brought them home to me. They were beautiful. I put the stones in a little cloth pouch and placed them inside my jewelry box. Within two weeks of my husband's return, we were in full PCS mode. Each time we PCS, I take what valuable jewelry I own with me, rather than have it packed and moved with the rest of the household goods.
A few months ago, I was transferring my jewelry from the old jewelry box to a new one. When I reached the drawer where my little boxes and pouches are stored, I felt something inside one of the pouches. I opened the pouch and there were my five year-old stones! After the chaotic move, I had placed the pouch in the drawer without removing the stones, and I forgot about them. Duh...
I immediately took some of the stones to the local jewelry store and had a beautiful ring made. I wear it all the time.
There have been occasions during moves when I've unpacked boxes and said to myself, "oh, I forgot about this," but I have to confess, I've never mistakenly put something with such sentimental value away and forgotten about it for FIVE YEARS. I did beat myself up over the incident for a while, but overall, I was just thrilled to rediscover the stones and finally be able to enjoy them.
A bit off-topic, and worthy of a separate post, but my husband's deployments and our world travels have filled our home with items that we wouldn't be able to afford, and would never possess, if we weren't a military family. Gems, silk rugs, silver, hand-woven baskets and so on. There are interesting stories and important reminders attached to each of the items we've been able to acquire overseas.
Have you ever stumbled across a hidden treasure well after a PCS move?
Photo: Pouch and ring.
