She Asked to Be Buried With It

The story of a necklace, a grandmother, and a final wish that stopped me in my tracks.

I have made thousands of fingerprint necklaces. Each one is special to me in its own way. Each one carries a story I feel honored to be a small part of. But every once in a while, a story comes back to me that stops me completely. That makes me put my hand over my heart and just sit with it for a moment.

This is one of those stories.

My friend Meagan came to me wanting to make something truly meaningful for her mother-in-law. Not flowers. Not a candle. Not something that would be beautiful for a week and then quietly forgotten in a drawer. She wanted something that would make her feel seen and cherished in a way that only a grandmother who pours her whole heart into her grandchildren can truly understand.

So, we made her a fingerprint necklace. Engraved with the actual fingerprints of all her grandchildren. The same little fingers she had held, kissed, and watched grow. Captured forever in a piece of jewelry she could wear every single day and feel them close to her heart no matter where she was or how far away they were.

She loved it. That part was expected.

What was not expected was what Meagan shared with me a while later, after her mother-in-law had passed away. 

In her final days, Meagan's MIL found a quiet and private moment with her. They had already talked about the practical things. The hard things. The wishes that families have to discuss even when their hearts are breaking just to say the words out loud. But in that tender, sacred moment, she looked at Meagan and made one more request.

She asked if it would be okay if she was buried with her Love Talla necklace.

So, she could keep her grandchildren close to her heart. Forever.

When Meagan told me that story, I felt the hair on my arms stand up. My eyes filled with tears before she even finished the sentence. Because in that moment I understood something about what we do here at Love Talla that goes so far beyond jewelry. We are not just making necklaces. We are making the thing someone reaches for when they need to feel connected to the people they love most. We are making the thing that brings comfort in the hardest moments of a person's life. We are making something so meaningful that a grandmother, in her final chapter, wanted to take it with her.

I still get a frog in my throat every single time I think about it.

If you are trying to find the perfect gift for the grandmother in your life, the Mimi, the Gigi, the Grandma who says she doesn't need anything, the one who is impossible to shop for because she already has everything, I want you to hear me when I say this.

She doesn't have this yet.

And there is nothing, not a single thing, that will make her feel more loved than wearing the fingerprints of her grandchildren close to her heart every single day.

This Mother's Day, give her something she will never take off.

Give her something she will cherish for the rest of her life.

Give her something worth keeping forever.

Have a Love Talla story you want to share? We would love to hear it. Reach out to us at lovetalla.com or DM us on Instagram.