The Tumbles and Polish of Sea Glass

Posted byAbPosted inADHD, adoption, adventure, FASD, gratitude, growth mindset, New Brunswick, outdoors, Parenting, Resiliency, summer, travelTags:, , , , , , ,

Picking up treasures on pebbled shores reflected the journey through life’s imperfections.

One highlight from our visit to T’s grandparents in New Brunswick was picking sea glass.

Wonderopolis describes sea glass as pieces of glass smoothed over time by the tumbling of water, waves, and sand.

As glass soak in salt water and get tossed against sand, sometimes over 50-100 years, sharp edges become smooth and glass take on a frosted look.

The glass originates from broken bottles, jars, dishes.

The photo below shows the contrast between sea glass and regular glass.

T spent time every day searching the beach by his grandparents’ cottage for sea glass.

I joined him for some of these walks as I enjoyed the soothing salt water air.

There were sporadic sea glass to be found.

One morning, we drove an hour away to Grande-Anse, a scenic town we visit every summer.

Some homes are right by the edge of the cliff overlooking the bay and look so tranquil!

There is a small pebbled beach next to a wharf where sea glass are always plentiful!

Each armed with an empty margarine container, we spent nearly two hours quietly searching.

It was good exercise for our knees and lower back!

Three generations of guys picking sea glass!

T really got into sea glass this year and did great!

Green, white and brown are the most common.

Blue is rare and red, orange, yellow and purple even more rare.

I found a beautiful lavender glass, which T took credit for when he showed his grandparents! 😆💕

We then enjoyed lunch at a side-of-the-road canteen, while T patiently sorted glass by colours.

For a kid with ADHD, he was super focused!

I focused on my cheeseburger and poutine. 😆

T noticed some blueish-white glass, which he put in the blue bucket. Just beautiful.

T’s Grammy bought a glass jar from the dollar store to display our collective treasure and gifted it to T.

The parallel between sea glass and FASD is not lost on me: shattered bottles, perhaps beer and wine, refined into sea gems as they’re also called.

A part of T’s life will be forever impacted because of prenatal alcohol exposure.

But his sharp edges can be smoothed with support, awareness and understanding.

Challenges that seem rough at the moment look and feel different in hindsight.

Just like sea glass can’t be rushed, life itself can’t be rushed.

Life is experienced.

This treasured jar will sit on the bookshelf in our family room. We hope to add to it over the years and for T to pass this tradition onto his children.

41 thoughts on “The Tumbles and Polish of Sea Glass”

  1. What a great time for everyone looking for sea glass, even as adults it is fun. That was so nice of T’s Grammy to buy a jar and give it to T! He will never forget that that fun trip now. Poutine!!!!!! I was drooling over that picture, it looks so good!

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    1. Thanks Diane! 💕 It was such a fun activity. I’ve been doing this since I first visited 21 years ago. Except my back hurts more now after the picking. 😆

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  2. As a parent of a young boy, I can appreciate the time and attention spent on the finding and sorting of the glass. (No whining of being bored! Though I’m sure I have nothing on you.) What was already a beautiful post was made even better by your reflection on the connection between the glass and T. Very nicely done. 🙂 ❤

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    1. Thank you LaDonna. 💕 I’m not always patient nor understanding but the love is always there. Hope you and your family enjoyed your summer. It just flew by. Back to school next week!

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      1. I hope back to school goes well. I think we all have moments of non-patience and non-understanding. I do always hear the love that comes through your posts.

        I hope you have a lovely day.

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      2. LaDonna, what a thrill it was to see a new post from you today. It’s hard to believe it’s been two years since your last post.

        I’m very sorry to hear about Charlie. Your tribute and photos were lovely and so touching. And congrats on your new start in beautiful Oregon and the work that you are now embarking on.

        I’m not able to comment on your post – maybe a WordPress bug? – so I’m sharing with you here instead.

        Welcome back and please take care,

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  5. What a fun activity (that requires a lot of patience and attention!) to look for sea glass at the beach. It’s cute how T got really into it. You guys got a great haul! I’m guessing that some beaches are much better than others for finding this stuff. It’s hard to believe that summer is almost over.

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    1. Thanks Linda! It definitely requires patience. Yes, some beaches have them more in abundance such as the spot in Grande Anse. I bet baby M will enjoy it as she gets older. And don’t remind me about the end of summer. It just flew by. We have camping this long weekend then that’s a wrap!!! 😭

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  7. “The parallel between sea glass and FASD is not lost on me: shattered bottles, perhaps beer and wine, refined into sea gems as they’re also called.” Your comments about sea glass and FASD so powerful. “The smoothing of sharp edges” … Your words so insightful and thoughtful ❤️

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  8. Beautiful, Ab. I love the sea glass. And the patience to find it — it’s almost meditative, right? I love “But his sharp edges can be smoothed with support, awareness and understanding.” No doubt you and your hubby are doing that for T. So good!

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    1. Thanks Wynne. It takes so much patience to find sea glass which was why I was so grateful and impressed how immersed T was in it. It definitely was meditative and soothing for all of us! 💕🙏

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  9. How beautiful! It’s heartwarming to see how focused T was when he was sorting the sea glass by colors. I can’t blame you for focusing on your poutine instead! 😆 This looks like a very fun activity where the entire family can take part in while being outdoors at the same time. I need children these days need to do this kind of thing more often.

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    1. Thanks Bama. The poutine and cheeseburger were delicious! Do you have poutine in Indonesia (genuine question)?

      It was a really nice activity and I agree that it’s a nice alternative for kids from current distractions like mobile devices!

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      1. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it here. But thanks to Instagram, I won’t be surprised if there’s a place in Jakarta that has poutine on their menu.

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      2. You’ll have to let me know if you see one! I’d be interested if they localize it with Indonesian flavours. 😊 Enjoy your weekend. We’re just starting our Saturday here and the little terror just woke up. 😆

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  11. This is all so beautiful, Ab. Collecting and then sort sea glass, getting a sweet jar to display it in, and then–of course–the analogy of smoothing out the sharp edges gradually over time in the right environment.

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  12. Don’t you love it when kids find something that interests and excites them and while you as a parent know they are learning important skills they just know they are having FUN!

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