Once upon A Time

I came across this poem this week. It made me smile. I wish I had known more of this side of Maydene. She made me laugh. She always asked me to pinch her in Relief Society if she fell asleep. I always felt bad when I did, but she would turn to me and smile. I cherish this poem. It's fairly acurate, she read it at our wedding.

At the end her toast to us was:
To the Groom-Congratulations!
You have a lovely bride.
May you long protect her
And keep her near your side.

To the bride and groom: God bless you!
May you lovers be
Throughout the time you spend on earth
And through eternity!

What a romantic.

Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time, way out in the west,
A wise, good, young man,
Chose whathis future life would be,
And then he devised a plan.

First, he would go on a mission
To preach the gospel to others,
And spread the hope of eternal life
To worthy sisters and brothers.

Second, he’d go on to college,
To get an education,
That he could be a stalwart leader
Of family, home, and nation.

Third, and most important of all
He’d choose a worthy bride,
To love, protect and cherish,
And keep nearby his side.

He went on his mission to Florida,
In Spanish he learned to teach.
He taught discussions and then inspired,
All that he could reach.

When he returned to loved ones,
He started on project two.
He started advanced education
To learn what he could do.

When summer came he traveled south,
His future fortune to seek.
When he met the Johnson sisters,
He could hardly speak.

Seven there were, all in a row,
And looking like each other,
Choosing one was impossible
He couldn’t tell on from another.

He worked as a recreational guide
On a mountain top in June,
Where blue skies were and he could see
The twinkling stars and the moon.

One day a Johnson girl
Visited the place.
When he found out she was looking for him
He grew red in the face.

He found her to be exciting and fun
And the summer went by too fast.
They climbed ropes up a mountain
And hiking and swimming were a blast.

They swam and they danced and they sang
Around the campfire songs.
And before the end of the summer
Their friendship was warm and strong.

Horseback riding and picnics
And by the summers end.
He knew she was a wonderful girl
And he had an eternal friend.

Come with me to Salt Lake City
Let’s go to school together.
Let’s find out if this is love
And not just the balmy weather.

She lived at Ben’s grandmother’s house
And worked to save some money.
She needed to pay for tuition,
And also to buy bread and honey.

By the end of the year he knew that she
Was humble and grateful and kind.
And it was not difficult for our Ben
To decide to make up his mind.

There is no end to this story
There’ll be love and joy and laughter.
And may Ben and Katherine live
Happily ever after.

Maydene Bodell