Dear Reader:

Finally…the Ya Summer Retreat is here and all of us are beyond happy…we have so much to catch up on, with some birthdays also thrown into the mix….more fun awaits than you can “shake a stick at.”

(Quite honestly…just the idea of hanging with the girls…eating great food, watching old movies, walking on the beach, and sleeping to whenever…always does a body good…I return healthier-in the important ways- than upon arrival.)

I, even, have my first summer read to take with me. I pre-ordered it on amazon.com and it came just a couple of days ago…perfect timing! It is packed and ready to go!

It is Karen White’s latest novel: The Sound of Glass.

I’ve just read a few chapters but I can already tell that the story plot is tied, subtly, to the sea glass chimes that adorn an old southern home (bequeathed, unexpectedly to the main character) in Beaufort, SC.

Early into the story the legend of all the sea glass chimes found throughout the house, porches, and gardens, is told. Especially the one called “Mermaid Tears.”

“The story goes way, way, back, and is about a beautiful mermaid who fell in love with a sailor. To save his life, she calmed a storm, which was forbidden. As her punishment, she was banned to the bottom of the ocean, where she is to this day, crying her heart out for her lost love, and we’re reminded of her every time we find a bit of sea glass on the shore.”

Of course, you know me…I can’t stop with just that…so I started researching sea glass and “mermaid tears.” There are varying versions of the origin of the name… similar in the concept but different in the plot….such as:

Source: Mermaids Purse: “A Little Lesson in Sea Glass” Deborah Leon

A Little Lesson in Sea Glass

Sea glass has been with us since ancient times although we are hard pressed to determine exactly since when.  Glass beads have been discovered in Egypt dating back to 2500 B.C.  Cleopatra favored glass in her jewelry.  Sea glass wasn’t always sea glass as we know it.

Mythology and the folklore of fishermen and sailors say they are “Mermaid’s Tears”.

Neptune jealous for the affection of his mermaids was known to banish a mermaid to the depths of the sea.  Mermaids are known to swim beside sea vessels for guidance and protection and oft the mermaid would fall in love with the ship’s captain, thus banishment, causing the mermaid to weep and her tears would make their way to shore. 

Another tale is of sailors and fishermen drowning at sea causing mermaids to mourn and the evidence would be their tears found on sandy and rocky coasts world wide. 

………………………..

I didn’t realize that different shades of color among sea glass adds or detracts from its monetary value….collectors of sea glass know a “find” when they see it and call it by gem names…like “sapphire” and “ruby”.. to serious sea glass collectors…these are gems in their eyes. Jewelry, decorative bottles, planter sea glass containers, etc. are truly beautiful to look at…

The character in the story who collected sea glass and made them into chimes for her home and garden had this to say about their worth:

“Sea glass looks like stones because they’ve been tumbled about the ocean for many years, which gives them that cloudy look. That’s what I like about them. Any glass that can withstand such a beating without crumbling is something to be celebrated…only a fool thinks all glass is fragile.”

Therein comes the message for the story plot (I suspect)….sometimes people who look fragile are anything but…like sea glass…they can take a beating from life and not succumb or crumble into pieces…but instead pick up the pieces and turn them into something permanently beautiful and melodious.

So until tomorrow…instead of making lemonade out of lemons…go take a walk on the beach and look for sea glass to create something of beauty…a little thing for the memory books…that is what I plan to do these next few days.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* Some of the family ended up in John and Mandy’s pool yesterday-an impromptu gathering… we had lots of big and little mermaids and handsome captains around…

Mandy and Carrie left to go to a friend’s house for a donation party (last evening) for a good cause…they cleaned up well, didn’t they? After a day of sun and fun and kids in the pool.