A Most Amazing Gift...

Tonight I was overwhelmed by a gift that I was truly not expecting.

Quick background...

Our family's oldest and closest friends (who we consider extended family--calling them Aunt, Cousin, etc) had a nice Sunday bbq get-together today. It was at my Aunt's mom's house...coolest lady out there. So funny and was the closest thing to a grandmother I ever had. She lost the love of her life a year and a half ago. He was quite the gentleman. Life of the party, quick wit, LOVED to dance and do a little flirtin' with the ladies...always had a devilish grin on his face. As long as I've been alive, these folks have been a part of my life.

Ironically, having said all of that what I did not know until just a couple of years ago was that Mr. C was a jewelry maker!

When he passed, Mrs. C kept his workstudio the way he left it. And knowing that I create jewelry now, had offered to give me a few of his tools. I knew going down there today that I might come home with a pair of pliers, maybe a polishing cloth...

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

What happened made me more than speechless.

They opened the door to the studio, this little room that he created just the way he wanted it. Perfectly organized--tools everywhere--and drawers and drawers full of supplies. Beads, sterling silver, findings, bags, gemstones, cultured pearls from decades ago, carvings, full oxygen tanks for the blowtorch, soldering guns, you name it, he had it.

And they offered it ALL to me.

ALL

It was like telling a 5 year old, "here is the key to the candy store--go nuts".

I didn't know what to do, where to start, how to go about this. I NEVER expected such a gift!

Once it sunk in, all I could think of was, "ok. How do I cut this room out of the house and strap it to the top of the car?!"

It was amazing. Going through everything he had, every time I picked something up, I found something else underneath. He had it all. I'm still in shock at how much I found (and thinking of what I may have missed!).

I took what I could today. Lots of beads and findings. A few pairs of tools that I so badly needed. They were very surprised I didn't take more, but again, I was completely overwhelmed by what had just been presented to me.

Mrs. C kept saying, "you come back and get more, whenever you want. It's yours and you know what it's all for--I don't!" lol

Even as I'm writing this, I'm still trying to wrap my head around what happened today.

But I'm doing it with a big smile and a lot of love in my heart.

Wow.



Until next time...