Beach Pictures #2: First Shell Collection

It's guaranteed to pull at your heart when your little daughter brings you every single little fragment of shell that she finds close to her saying sweetly: "Pwetty shell, Mommy! 'Nother pwetty shell!" Her voice is filled with wonder. Every one is beautiful and special . I take them in my hands and look through her eyes at these tiny pieces of the loveliness in the world -- smoothed by sand and waves, softly golden and rose and cream. "Thank you, sweetheart, they are beautiful," I say, and I mean it. Every last bit.