I thought taking my son Noah back to the beach would help him feel close to his father again.<\/p>\n
After my husband died, sandcastles were the one thing that still connected Noah to him. On the Fourth of July, Noah spent hours building his biggest castle ever and placed a tiny American flag on top.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s for Dad,\u201d<\/strong> he whispered.<\/p>\n Before he could finish, a woman walked over, complained that the sandcastle ruined her view, and kicked it apart into the waves.<\/p>\n Noah stood there holding the flag, heartbroken.<\/p>\n \u201cBut\u2026 I built it for my dad,\u201d<\/strong> he said.<\/p>\n The woman only replied, \u201cIt\u2019s just sand.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Twenty minutes later, a senior lifeguard walked toward her carrying a golden box.<\/p>\n \u201cCongratulations,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019ve been selected for today\u2019s special beach presentation.\u201d<\/p>\n Her smile disappeared when she opened it.<\/p>\n Inside wasn\u2019t a prize.<\/p>\n It was a message that made everyone understand what she had really destroyed.<\/p>\n Because the castle wasn\u2019t just sand.<\/p>\n It was a memory.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I thought taking my son Noah back to the beach would help him feel close to his father again. After my husband died, sandcastles were the one thing that still connected Noah to him. On the Fourth of July, Noah spent hours building his biggest castle ever and placed a tiny American flag on top….<\/p>\n