Apparently I have a Bee Problem

This morning I opened a cupboard and burst out laughing. 

I had absolutely no idea how many bee mugs I owned. This made me look around the studio. Bee magnets, bee tea towels, bee ornaments, bee ribbon, bee mugs, bees everywhere. Somewhere along the way, my friends and family apparently decided that if something had a bee on it, it belonged to me. I have to say, they’ve done an excellent job.

Nicknames are funny things. Some disappear, some last a lifetime. Mine is Bee and it's been my nickname ever since I was eighteen. It later became Silver Bee when I was making jewelry, and these days I’m simply Bee again.

What struck me as I looked around the studio wasn’t how many bee things I have. It was how many stories I had about the bee things. Sometimes when I look at one, I’m struck with the memory of the time and the person who gave it to me.

Like the little felted troll covered in bees. He was a gift from one of the first friends I made after moving to the island. Somehow he’s become the unofficial mascot of my studio. Then there’s the little Pa-ta-ti bee. Another lovely memory, this time of two wonderful women who gave it to me as a gift for my birthday.

One last bee story about the little plush bee that buzzes whenever you squeeze him. So when we moved to Gabriola, I thought it would be funny to pack him right at the top of one of the moving boxes. Every time the movers picked it up, or put another box on top of it, Bzzzzzz. Let’s just say they had questions. 😳

When I took a look around the studio, I realized that every bee reminds me of someone. A birthday. A visit. A friendship. A thoughtful surprise.

I may have an alarming number of bees, but what I really have is an awful lot of lovely people in my life.

I’d love to know, do you have a nickname that’s stayed with you over the years? If you do, what’s the story behind it? I would love to hear it.