i’m not sure what it is, but people in my family-my grandmother, my mother, myself, and now scout…we all collect rocks. sometimes they’re interesting rocks, sometimes they are nothing more than pebbles, but they end up in our hands or pockets and find their way into our homes, added to the little piles that can be found in various out of the way spots.

i believe the tradition actually started with my grandfather-my mother’s father. i’m not sure why he did collect these little mementos-well, for that matter, why do any of us?-but the point is i always remember speckled rocks holding doors open, peppering windowsills, or piled up on tops of dressers. he had found them on beaches from family vacations, from the fields when he plowed, or sometimes they were just things that he happened upon.

but for whatever reason, he did, and now we do. scout has somehow picked up on this tradition all on her own and has added her own twist to it.

this milk bottle is full of pebbles that she has collected, but not for herself…for me. they’re mostly from the pea stone patio out our back door, so no great mystery as to where they were gathered. on a regular basis she stops on her way in to the house finds a pebble that suits her fancy, and hands it to me, saying “here, mama, this is because i love you.”

how rocks became associated with letting someone know that you love them is anyone’s guess, but i’ll take it. but this milk bottle 3/4 full of pebbles sits on my desk and makes me smile whenever i see it.

and she has brought this tradition on family vacations, too.

these are rocks that she collected from the beach on our first real family vacation. she had never seen the ocean before, but what soon caught her attention were all the pretty rocks and pebbles dotting the beach. notice there are a couple of broken shells in the mix, but hey, nobody’s perfect. she brought these home to share because, as she said, “i wanted to give them to people i love”. again, the rocks=love conundrum, but nobody seems to mind.

i have a lovely display of rocks in my car, peppered with old dandelions, as well.

these are mostly collected from driveways, parking lots, and our visits to the lake. she’s always on the look out, that girl.

i’m sure when bug gets a little older i’m sure he’ll probably jump on the rock bandwagon as well, and even this means that our house will definitely face the threat of being overrun by rocks, i wouldn’t change it for the world.