Fun facts… 8 to 72 months (6 years!) to allow a pearl to form in an oyster, as much as 8-10 years to form top quality pearls.

On average only 50% of pearls will be marketable, and less than 10% will be considered top quality. (pearl-guide.com)

Pearls are harvested during the winter months, when the metabolism of the oyster has slowed. The pearls are extracted, cleaned, polished, sorted by quality and size… and THEN bleached, heat treated or pinked. Basically chipping away of all of the crusty stuff to determine the true color and value.

SO…. after what could be as much as TEN years of living in a shell, dealing with grit and grime and pressure, the pearl is suddenly extracted and exposed to a whole new world…. and then PROCESSED and JUDGED.

Reading about this entire process resonated with me.  As I face a new season in my life, I wonder… after all of the grit and grime and pressure of daily life trying to raise four kids, work, stay happily married and relatively sane … Suddenly I find myself scooped out of my little world and facing all new pressures. After 27 years of active parenting, now what? I struggle with grieving the end of this season. But I’m also excited to spend some time and energy on me and new possibilities. It’s stressful, exciting, and scary. But seeing this as a harvesting, a time when I get to take all of those life lessons and bring them forward into new roles, new adventures, and new relationships…   that reminds me of the potential. Even the legacy, the strength and depth that can come from all of the pressures of before. I hope I see this Pearl season as my chance. And I hope to make this a “top quality” time in my life…

But please tell me why does the harvesting have to be during a season of slow metabolism?!!!)