My daughter slipped a hand into the cardigan pocket and found a velvet pouch and a yellowed note in my grandmother’s delicate script: “For when you need me most. —Grandma, love.” Inside was a thin gold locket.
With shaking hands, I opened it: one tiny photo of baby-me in her arms, the other of her warm, familiar smile. Tears blurred my vision as I realized I’d once dismissed this gift, never knowing what she’d tucked behind the yarn and stitches.
I thought of her saving for weeks, knitting late into the night with sore fingers just to give me something from the heart. My daughter fastened the chain and pressed the locket to her chest. “She must have really loved you,” she whispered.
I could only nod, silently promising to honor the cardigan and the lesson. The best treasures aren’t wrapped in glitter—they hide in plain sight, waiting for us to recognize their worth.