I wasn’t looking to buy earrings. (Ho, ho, ho.) I was just looking at the rack, passing time while my mother shopped for clothes in a boutique in Harbor Springs, Michigan.

But when I saw these silver-colored drop earrings with hints of black peeking through the cutwork, and set with white crystals, I changed my mind. At just under $30, my wallet agreed.

But my mother and I arrived at the checkout counter at the same time, and she bought them for me.

I call these my winter earrings because they make me think of snowflakes, silver bells, and icicles.

They pair nicely with a black-and-white winter sweater my mother bought me for Christmas in 2018, three months after she bought me the earrings.

This year I hope to wear the earrings and the winter sweater while sharing Christmas dinner with my mother.