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.
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.