Our Ever-Changing Birthstones…

Sapphire for September

Dear Reader:

I think it happened about a year ago… Lachlan wanted to know about his birthstone… apparently at school a group of little girls had gathered to ooh and aah over a birthstone ring one of them had gotten for her birthday.

I showed him my ring… and told him my birthstone color was a blue sapphire. Suddenly he jumped up and ran to my clear front door where my gift from his other grandmother ( ” Nana”) Marcia Temple ( Mollie’s mom) hung. It is the ” flying angel holding a sapphire bead for September.

Birthstone Angel

” It doesn’t look the same color blue… Boo Boo.” Smart boy… has anyone looked up birthstone colors lately… no matter the month … whatever used to be the ” special gem color” is open to interpretation for as many shades and different stones imaginable. It appears anything goes.

The thought came to be that Native-Americans used colors and symbolisms to recognize newborn additions to the tribe… to community. Older matriarches helped give the newborn a temporary name ( usually a nickname) until the child grew and based on character traits, unusual experiences and valor in battle… were given their ” forever” names.

I think with birthstones… despite the month of birth… letting a young person pick the gemstone they prefer and sharing the reason for the selection and how it best represents them …on a birthday… would give more meaning and special memory …than the horoscope.

So when I saw this concept of picking an object for a birthstone… I was delighted!

So until tomorrow… one’s birthstone should reflect the person in heart and soul.

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

I did it… I actually threw my overnight bag in the car and took off yesterday morning… feeling like a bird flying out of a cage. Nothing short of a miracle getting away. Was thinking it would never happen.

Brooke’s new dining room -She gave her old antique table to her son Riley and family and a friend turned another gorgeous table over to her… no room after a move.

How about my Tigers! So happy!!!
Beautiful!
Heading out to Walterboro yesterday I rode through Poppy and Dee Dee’s resting place to blow a kiss… but before I got there this special flower arrangement made me smile. Who says we can’t take it with us… a love like college football is a strong strong love!

Please keep Ben in your prayers… he is in a lot of pain from the fall… bruised ribs that hurt … just breathing and spinal spasms. Very hard for him to get up and down. Don’t want him falling again! 🙏🏻

About Becky Dingle

I was born a Tarheel but ended up a Sandlapper. My grandparents were cotton farmers in Laurens, South Carolina and it was in my grandmother’s house that my love of storytelling began beside an old Franklin stove. When I graduated from Laurens High School, I attended Erskine College (Due West of what?) and would later get my Masters Degree in Education/Social Studies from Charleston Southern. I am presently an adjunct professor/clinical supervisor at CSU and have also taught at the College of Charleston. For 28 years I taught Social Studies through storytelling. My philosophy matched Rudyard Kipling’s quote: “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” Today I still spread this message through workshops and presentations throughout the state. The secret of success in teaching social studies is always in the story. I want to keep learning and being surprised by life…it is the greatest teacher. Like Kermit said, “When you’re green you grow, when you’re ripe you rot.”
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1 Response to Our Ever-Changing Birthstones…

  1. Gin-g Edwards says:

    Have a good respite at Brook’s…prayers for Ben…

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Our Ever-Changing Birthstones…

Sapphire for September

Dear Reader:

I think it happened about a year ago… Lachlan wanted to know about his birthstone… apparently at school a group of little girls had gathered to ooh and aah over a birthstone ring one of them had gotten for her birthday.

I showed him my ring… and told him my birthstone color was a blue sapphire. Suddenly he jumped up and ran to my clear front door where my gift from his other grandmother ( ” Nana”) Marcia Temple ( Mollie’s mom) hung. It is the ” flying angel holding a sapphire bead for September.

Birthstone Angel

” It doesn’t look the same color blue… Boo Boo.” Smart boy… has anyone looked up birthstone colors lately… no matter the month … whatever used to be the ” special gem color” is open to interpretation for as many shades and different stones imaginable. It appears anything goes.

The thought came to be that Native-Americans used colors and symbolisms to recognize newborn additions to the tribe… to community. Older matriarches helped give the newborn a temporary name ( usually a nickname) until the child grew and based on character traits, unusual experiences and valor in battle… were given their ” forever” names.

I think with birthstones… despite the month of birth… letting a young person pick the gemstone they prefer and sharing the reason for the selection and how it best represents them …on a birthday… would give more meaning and special memory …than the horoscope.

So when I saw this concept of picking an object for a birthstone… I was delighted!

So until tomorrow… one’s birthstone should reflect the person in heart and soul.

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

I did it… I actually threw my overnight bag in the car and took off yesterday morning… feeling like a bird flying out of a cage. Nothing short of a miracle getting away. Was thinking it would never happen.

Brooke’s new dining room -She gave her old antique table to her son Riley and family and a friend turned another gorgeous table over to her… no room after a move.

How about my Tigers! So happy!!!
Beautiful!
Heading out to Walterboro yesterday I rode through Poppy and Dee Dee’s resting place to blow a kiss… but before I got there this special flower arrangement made me smile. Who says we can’t take it with us… a love like college football is a strong strong love!

Please keep Ben in your prayers… he is in a lot of pain from the fall… bruised ribs that hurt … just breathing and spinal spasms. Very hard for him to get up and down. Don’t want him falling again! 🙏🏻

About Becky Dingle

I was born a Tarheel but ended up a Sandlapper. My grandparents were cotton farmers in Laurens, South Carolina and it was in my grandmother’s house that my love of storytelling began beside an old Franklin stove. When I graduated from Laurens High School, I attended Erskine College (Due West of what?) and would later get my Masters Degree in Education/Social Studies from Charleston Southern. I am presently an adjunct professor/clinical supervisor at CSU and have also taught at the College of Charleston. For 28 years I taught Social Studies through storytelling. My philosophy matched Rudyard Kipling’s quote: “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” Today I still spread this message through workshops and presentations throughout the state. The secret of success in teaching social studies is always in the story. I want to keep learning and being surprised by life…it is the greatest teacher. Like Kermit said, “When you’re green you grow, when you’re ripe you rot.”
This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply