On this Memorial Day I thought I pull out something from the past that is a treasure from my father-in law who served in the military years ago. What I’m about to share is a rare one. We have a huge collection of shells that were passed down to us from my brother in law/father-in-law.

Way back when my father-in-law was a teenager he joined the air force, eventually becoming a fighter pilot. While he was in the Air force he would travel a lot. On his many travels around the world he would pick up shells either at open markets or walking the beaches.

And now all those shells belong to my oldest child, my daughter. For the time being I’m keeping track of them, making sure they are packaged up and protected.

They are so pretty and have such unique designs. I used to have them out in a glass curio cabinet and everyone who saw them loved looking through all the shells.

I packed them away because they were a lot to keep up with, with dusting, even in a glass case. Living here in a dry desert you always have something to dust. Anyway, thought I share just a small portion of this collection with you all. I figure I will eventually design some sort of wall display case to display them in, like a shadow box with a Plexi glass cover on it. I just haven’t gotten around to that yet.

The sizes of shells range from the size of a child’s pinky nail to the size of a honeydew melon. These shells that I am sharing with you are some of the smaller shells in the collection.

Inside some of the shells are little bits of paper with my father-in-laws handwritten notes about the shells. Sadly most of these little paper treasures are gone from inside the shells. They were stored outside in boxes at one time when my father-in-law’s oldest son was given the shells and he really didn’t want them so they were in storage for years outside by his garage.

I think they are so pretty, but then I love the sea and fish. Both my husband and I are big sea lovers.

Sometimes I think about my father-in-law and wonder about the times he traveled and all the different countries he had gone to, what an adventure that must have been. I know he had some bad memories from his time in the military but he also made friends and had some good memories too. He met my husband’s mother over in Europe, she’s Italian.

My father in law passed away years ago when our kids were little but they got to know a really loving grandpa for awhile. He always talked about wanting grand babies and was so happy when he finally got some, a girl and a boy. My daughter being the oldest was the closest to her grandpa. He passed away when she was around 7 years old and she still carries happy memories of him. I hope she enjoys these shells of his as much as I have taking care of them over the years. They will be a beautiful addition where ever they are displayed.

” Thank you to the brave men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.”