"Look what I found," she whispered.

"Oooo," I whispered back. "Did you find it in the hallway where I left it?"

"Yes!"

I knew what was in the box, but it was great fun to have her lead me back into her room, where we sat on the floor and hovered head-to-head over her amazing treasure.

She lifted the white lid to reveal a tangle of beaded necklaces, bracelets and tarnished sterling baubles.

The jewelry is not valuable, except in that it belonged to my mother, who never met a QVC "Today’s Special Value" she didn’t like.

You know the old French fashion advice to pause before your mirror on the way out the door and take off one accessory? Mom paused to put on three or four more pieces.

Mom loved to sparkle.

She used to joke that, with my decidedly more low-key approach to personal style, she didn’t even have someone who wanted to inherit her jewelry. [an error occurred while processing this directive]