A Baby's 1st Seashell

There are few things I love more in life than the innocence of a baby discovering something for the first time. We are a "seashell looking" family, and always have been. My Mom has a special love for the beach in her heart. It's a love that is contageous, and she has taught all 5 of her children to love and appreciate the ocean the way that she does. Looking for seashells on the beach is just something we have always done. And after 33 years, I still love the excitement of finding a beautiful shell in the sand. Maybe it's the simplicity of something so little being so beautiful. Or the mystery of what creature once used the shell as it's home. The pride of finding an intact shell, unshattered by the strength of the ocean. Or the years of memories that flood my heart as I'm searching for the next big find. Whatever it is, to us it's special.

This trip to the beach we were blessed to have my 2.5 year old nephew with us, and Grandma's heart was in Grandma heaven as she introduced him to the art of looking for seashells. A big storm brought in piles of shells to the shore. And oh the excitement! Not one bucket but two, picking up shells by the handfulls, he couldn't pick them up fast enough. The whole ones, broken ones, pretty ones, not so pretty ones... he reminded me that every seashell is special.

As the buckets filled up and got heavy, he called out, "get the car". His little voice was filled with excitement as he pointed to his footprints in the sand and said, "Jamie's feet". A hard days work for a little boy. With the sun setting, it was time to head back inside. And with that, Grandma had shared her love for the beach and seashells with the next generation of our family.