She Sells Seashells

As I was turning the corner on my bicycle, from a distant glance I saw my daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter Molly heading to our front door. I was so excited and happy, I jumped off my bike and ran up to them, beaming from ear to ear. I hugged and thanked them for coming to visit.

I was hoping they would surprise me, and they did! My mom, Molly's great grandma, was also visiting as she was up from Florida. My mom had not seen Molly since December. She would be thrilled.

The first words I heard from my 2-year-old granddaughter were, “come on, Bea Bea. Let's go play.” She took my hand, pulling me and saying, come, Beb, let's go play. I love you, Bea Bea.”

It does not get any better than this. I live for days like this. Generations of family under one roof for a day spells L-I-F-E on my Scrabble board.

Off to the beach we went. As Molly made her first 2010-foot prints in the sand, I watched each step thinking this would be a glorious day, and it was. I had time alone with Amy and Molly and we played in the sand like I did with Amy 32 years ago. We made sculptures, we found sand crabs, and we ran back and forth to the sea without thinking about anything else other then the moment and watching the most adorable 2 year old experience the beach as a 2 year old.

I f you wish hard enough, sometimes your wishes can come true. My mom is still talking about her day at the beach, as am I and as is my daughter— and so is my granddaughter Molly. It is almost like saying five times fast, she sells seashells by the seashore, and everyone is still laughing.

After the children left to go home, I heard my neighbors singing “Old McDonald” with their great grandson. I ran inside to get my puppets and before I could turn around, my mom, who is 83, my sister and I were singing through the bushes with our puppet show. The father of the little boy yelled out, “Whatever they are drinking, I want some!”

I will have a visit with Molly over a glass of wine anytime! A cup full of love was my high for the day.

Arts and Crafts with Grammy: Making a Seashell Frame
Have your grandchild place the seashells on a simple wooden picture frame. Then you glue them in place with a glue gun. After the glue has set, display your grandchild's favorite beach photo, which he or she selected, in the frame. You can use a theme, like the Fourth of July, and paint the shells red, white and blue.