Linda’s Beach Glass

Mimi & Paley at Wadell State Beach near Ano Nuevo.

(I stated writing this post back in May of 2023 on a visit to Aptos, to celebrate my mother’s life.) As far as I can remember, my mother Linda, would walk down the beach, picking up beach glass at sunset in the early years of going to Aptos. As the years progressed and the foot traffic on the beach increased, early morning was now the only time to find beach glass. After my mother‘s passing, we found her jars a Beach glass and took them as our own. Not just as a memento or memory, but also because Clem shared her love for beach glass collecting. I sit here writing this post as he walks up to me with wearing my pink hoodie filled with all his find on this return trip to Aptos. (Sept. 2024)

Now, I will admit, this is not a pastime for me, but now, on the anniversary of my mother’s passing back in 2022. I find myself helping Clem find pieces as we walk the beaches, anywhere. We’ve even found beach glass in Idaho on the beachs of Payette Lake. How weird is that! My parents final resting place is now with their own parents in Hayward. In their mausoleum niche we have placed several personal items. When I was working on picking out items, some items jumped out at me because they were items my parents kept, like my father’s military service medal and my mother’s handkerchief made by her grandmother, from the fabric and lace she used to make my mother’s wedding gown. Clem suggested we include some of the sea glass from her collection. I was able to find three jars of the glass in her belongings, which we transferred into nicer containers to keep in our home. I bought a small glassed cube and picked several small pieces to place in the cube. We also grabbed sand from Aptos beach as a connection between glass she collected and my parents favorite place..

Linda in Lake Tahoe in the 1940s.

The sea glass now sits on our mantle and one of our bookshelves. Of course the collection continues to grow. The question on my mind is, what happens to it all when Clem and I are gone. Personally, I think the kids should just cast it all back into the sea from the beach, and let some collector carry on it’s legacy. Yes, that’s just polluting the ocean, but at least casting it from the beach, would limit the chances of it going out in to the ocean. Or they could simply do a midnight stroll along beach and just sprinkle it all along a beach, making it a plentiful hunt day for some glass collectors.

I do understand why people do it, glass collecting is a peaceful practice. I think the reason why I never fell in love with the practice, is I find myself more prone to watching the horizon when I am on the beach. Looking for what is to come, you could say! Even on the day I was sitting on the beach in Aptos writing this post. I remember the walks, I remember watching the sunsets with my mother and father all those years. Even when I think of our family trips to Ptwon and McCall, I enjoyed just sitting on the deck watching the ocean. Though a close second to that are the walks with my parents and my husband.