A "grave" for a dead crab

Children are often fascinated by dead, squishy, stinky, gross things. Maybe all humans are. 

On a recent family holiday, we stopped at the beach. I love the beach in winter. When you aren't focused on swimming or on how the sand is so hot that you feel like your feet might blister, you start to notice other beautiful things. 

You notice the tiny shells that scatter the shoreline - inspecting their rainbow colours and their unique and interesting shapes. 

You notice the driftwood gathered in small piles

You notice the way the waves move

You notice the dead crab claws on the sand

Well, at least that's what my thirteen year old daughter noticed. 

And I was delighted that she did. As anyone who has teenagers knows - play rapidly disappears. Suddenly they are a new human being, often wrapped up in digital technology and other things that don't feel quite so innocently playful anymore. 

Watching her with the dead crab claw... and then watching her find more dead crabs and crab body parts, was such a delight. 

And then, while inspecting some driftwood with my husband, I noticed her carefully collecting shells and arranging them on the sand. She stood up a few moments later and said "I made him a proper grave." She had buried a dead crab under a "grave" adorned with shells. 

It might seem like nothing much, but this moment of playing with dead or gross things reminded me that at heart we are all playful, curious, wonderous human beings who are connected to the natural world. Seeing my make-up tutorial loving teenager crouched in the sand with a crab claw made my day. 

So, when children are interested in the dead thing, or the gross thing, or the stinky thing... pause and notice their curiosity and their wonder - it might just stop you from saying "ewwww!"  **Of course, children's health and safety is key - always use common sense and appropriate hygiene practices!