7/4/11

No matter how hard you try to screw up your kids, somehow they manage to become incredible people. (Who knew?)



My sister and I often love to walk the beach. She lives in Mystic, Ct., and we steal away to visit her as often as we can during the summer months.




She gets up early and packs the pool bag, the cooler and the chairs. She manages to make enough noise to wake the dead, all the while peeking into my room many times to be sure she's woken me up.




We feed the kids (if they are with us) and make our way to Misquamicut Beach in Rhode Island. It's only a twenty minute drive, but the beach offers great waves, sea shells and the one thing we treasure; sea glass.



After spreading the towels on the beach and arranging the chairs and coolers, the kids know that K and I will begin our walk.


The fact that we get there right after the rooster crows, ensures that we are probably among the first visitors of the morning. We always begin our stroll smiling and patting ourselves on the back for managing to find the same prime spot every single time we come. (That's cause everyone else is SLEEPING for God's sake.)




We walk with our heads to the sand, managing to follow the line where the freezing cold tide rolls into a paper thin film at the sandy edge of the beach. She's trained my eyes to scan to and fro, all the while searching for a faint glimmer of glass.




We've made these walks hundreds of times over the years. When she lost her dear boy, Sassy and Golden Boy and I made the cold walk that February, desperately searching for some memories to wrap ourselves in. It was the one places we found some comfort...




And yet we come here again, scanning the beach and laughing with each other. We fool ourselves into thinking that all is well with the world, and we do have moments when we believe just that. We continue our quest for sea glass in a sea of comfort and love.




Sassy took a trip to another beach recently to visit her boyfriend.. I sat with her on the floor of the bedroom as she unpacked and shared all of the things she did with him, and his amazing family.



She reached into her suitcase and pulled out a tiny purple package.



"Here, I got this for you. We looked and looked and looked for something, and when I thought I would't find ANYTHING, I saw these, " and she handed the package to me. She smiled a knowing smile, and then turned and continued her unpacking.


I was shocked- because I always insist that they never waste money on any gifts for me when they take little trips. And usually they LISTEN. (That might be the only time they do...)



I carefully unwrapped the package, and held the earrings. I felt tears as I realized what they were.




They were earrings, all right. But they were made of sea glass. Beautiful, imperfect, cloudy sea glass.






Damn. She got me.



Right through the heart, she got me.

33 comments:

Lynn MacDonald said...

Awwww...I know what you mean. Mine are awesome in spite of me being their mom.

Cheryl D. said...

That is beyond sweet!

This post made me cry.

ChiTown Girl said...

What the hell is wrong with that kid?!?! How dare she make her momma cry like that?! No wonder you call her Bitchy.

Ok, now on a serious note, what a great kid you got there. Obviously, it's because she has such a great momma!!

Shelley said...

What a great kid. Happy 4th to you and yours.

Karishma said...

awww. that walk made me feel good too!

Brian Miller said...

smiles. you done something right VM...

Mrs. E said...

Beautiful! And does she know you or what?!!

Trooper Thorn said...

At what age does this lack of selfishness start?

Everyday Goddess said...

me too! pass the kleenex, but what a sweet sweet post.

SkylersDad said...

I am beginning to think you may have done a fairly decent job of raising her! ;^)

Gigi said...

Oh that Sassy!! She made me cry! Good job, mom!

Alexis said...

Kids, eh?! Can't live with 'em....hate it when they go....darn kids.....

Sharon Rose said...

Oh, that is a treasure. You raised her well, Mama!

Jill said...

oh she got me too ...

tears here - what a lovely, special gift!

So. Cal. Gal said...

Aww! She's a good kid. I love it when someone goes on vacation and brings something back for me. It lets me know that they were thinking of me.

jen said...

so lovely. it's a funny thing how throughout the interwebs i've read stories of people's interest in sea glass or fairy tears. and how often these little findings are in rememberance of a lost child.
i've always found fairy tears on the shores of lake superior. and i've always pocketed them in memory of my babies that were taken from me much too early.

That gentleman's lady said...

What a lovely, thoughtful gift!

And more importantly, what a lovely, thoughtful person :)

Leslie said...

I love this whole post...your love for (and irritation at) your sister, your kid's love for you, the earrings.

But...again with the spooky...Younger just came home from a trip with a pretty necklace for me. Not sea glass (because finding sea glass in Colorado would be difficult best), but a very pretty little thing.

Mrs Catch said...

Oh, that made me teary. Such a sweet gift.

DawnA said...

And it's the little things that make you so glad to be a Mom! How sweet and thoughtful.

McGillicutty said...

How lovely....its always the sentiment and not the actual gift, altho the earrings are beautiful...you'll have a little smile everytime you wear them. Precious!!!

Scary Mommy said...

Seaglass is special to me, too. You done good, my friend.

Can't wait to see you!!!

shrink on the couch said...

and right through the earlobes! I love them. Big fan of jewelry made from found objects, river stones, etc.

K Dubs said...

Gorgeous!! And sometimes, she's not so bitchy, huh? :)

Notes From ABroad said...

Wonderful ... she is a good daughter :)
I love sea glass and wish I had jars or at least a bowl full. I guess I should be near a beach, huh?
besitos.

Rima said...

I love this. You done good, Vodka Mom!

Christine said...

Some people just can't see the magic in "beach glass", we collect some, every time we are at a beach.

Dawn said...

(Crying)
Gotta love it when kids show how MUCH they REALLY do KNOW their Momma. :)

Joanie said...

Isn't it great to know you raised them right, when they do stuff like that? Validation.

Our Crazy Life said...

What a sweet thought!! Now, a question from someone who lives in a desert and hardly ever gets to the beach- what is sea glass? I see the star shape on the picture, does it just come like that or is that a design put on it? Whatever it is, they are beautiful!!

Melissa B. said...

She's a keeper, all right. And so are those earrings. Your post puts me in mind of my SIL and me over the years. We've walked the beach in the OBX about 100 times, too!

That Janie Girl said...

How sweet! Those are pretty, I didn't know what sea glass was.

Of course not, living in the freakin' desert like I do.

I can however, get you some earrings made out of petrified cow shit. Will that work? They won't smell, because , you know, they're petrified.

What? No, you say?

I'll have to think of something else, then.

acne treatment said...

Its all really nice and great by me as I get nice needs from here related to me to know more about skin care facts that how to make it free from acne,visit these.