A LOVE STORY...

 

 

 Long ago and far away,

Or so the story goes,

There lived a curious little girl,

With pigtails that ended in bows.

 

Rain or shine, warm or cold,

No matter what the weather,

She'd get her can and off she'd go,

Looking for some new treasure.

 

She'd dig, she'd hunt, she'd scavenge about,

Looking for just the right shard,

Of glistening, sparkling, wonderful glass,

In the trash piles in her neighbors' back yards!

 

Her "bestest" piece was a deep, deep red...

She loved it the most by far,

Her mother never had the heart to reveal,

It came from the back of a car!

 

And the years went by, as they are wont to do,

And the little girl grew older,

Her passion for glass never faded at all,

In fact, it just grew bolder.

 

Earrings and necklaces and bracelets and rings,

Paperweights, crystals, and such,

Of glistening, sparkling, wonderful glass,

That she loved to look at and touch.

 

Flea markets became a new hunting ground,

Reminiscent of the "trash piles" of her youth,

She could dig, she could hunt, she could scavenge about,

As she wandered from booth to booth.

 

It was at a flea market one morning in May,

She found a brand new pleasure,

There was a table with old necklaces and beads,

She'd found her "grown-up" treasure.

 

She took them home and took them apart,

Restringing them bead by bead,

Glistening, sparkling, wonderful glass,

It fulfilled an innate need.

 

And the years went by, as they are wont to do,

She became a wife, a mother, a teacher,

An environmentalist, a conservationist,

And a "stand on tiptoe" star reacher.

 

But lives change....and people do too,

And she found herself on new ground,

Divorce, freedom, fell in love again,

With a new husband she was Tulsa bound.

 

She missed her family, she missed her friends,

But happy and "nesting" was she,

And then she spied a neat little ad,

In the Journal of Lapidary.

 

A Bead Society right here in Tulsa,

Could it possibly be?

And so she called and was delighted to find,

They met at the library.

 

So off she went on a Wednesday night,

In the beginning of September,

She met new friends, learned new skills,

And became an O.B.S. member.

 

And the years went by, as they are wont to do,

Filled with both great sadness and new blessings,

Cancer took her beloved Stan,

But, as always, her Angels were watching.

 

She stayed in Tulsa...she was teaching again,

She was lonely, but it put money in the bank,

And so her Angels came up with a plan,

They blessed her with a man named Frank!

 

Frank was a rascal…he made her laugh!

He brought great happiness and joy to her life,

Down on his knee he offered his heart,

And in December they became husband and wife!

 

Dogs and cats…husband and wife,

They strolled through life together,

Holding hands all the way,

Loving one another.

 

And the years went by, as they are wont to do,

And once more, her life has changed,

Retired now with freedom to spare,

Her "studio" needs rearranged!

 

Garage sale the "Teacher Stuff",

Dust off the beading table!

Look out world…Here she comes!

Jewelry with the "Southwestern Echoes" label.

 

So now her story has come full circle,

It ends where it began,

With glistening, sparkling, wonderful glass,

Once treasured in a little girl’s can.