By the Sea

I spend countless time roaming my favorite beach as often as I can.  It is rare that I leave this spot without at least one shell or other memento from my visit.  

We all have a favorite shell and I am always on the hunt for mine.  The moon shell is mine.  Big, little, I love them all.  I don't mind if the bottom half of the shell is missing when I reach down to scoop it up . . . just makes me think of the journey this shell may have taken to arrive here in New Jersey. 

When my children were little, they were always in search of the largest clam shell they could find.  We would take a few back to the house and let their creative juices flow with some paint.  Waterproof, of course.  Yes, after our week's vacation, we would pack them up to bring back home.  Nothing like a painted shell to a five-year old as a remembrance of the beach.  Definitely lasts longer than the always asked for hermit crab.

My children are grown now, but they do keep their eyes out for shells.  When they are on the beach with me and happen upon a shell they know I would love, they still bring it to me silently and drop it in my beach bag. 

I fill my planters with my beach finds, so there is always room for more.  Or I just go get another planter!

We recently had young families come to the beach to visit and I simply smiled to myself while I watched them trudge through the sand laden down with the same things I used to bring to the beach.  So many memories came flooding back.

Yes, when my children were little, we lugged beach bags filled with different sized pails, shovels, trucks, balls and sand castle molds.  Not to mention beach umbrellas, enough snacks to last for days and yes, those miniature chairs our children never sat in.  All of this way before the beach buggy carts were a staple on the beach.

Most of the varying sizes of pails and shovels went right back into our beach bags as we left the beach.  Our children chose their one favorite pail and shovel to use all day long.  And the miniature chairs . . . never to be brought back to the beach again.  Not to mention the sand castle molds.  Seashells and seaweed adorned their creations.

Now it's every person for themselves.  My beach bag has my towel, my book, sunglasses and one water.  My now adult children bring what makes them happy whether it's a book, football or a bocci ball set.  

And, yes, when the grandchildren arrive, we will come full circle.  My beach bag will be filled with countless sand toys.  And, yes, I will be buying more of those miniature chairs.