The ocean was always her place

A husband honors his wife's love of the ocean with a Wyland keepsake that holds just enough of her to come home.

My wife loved the ocean.

She scuba dived, she loved being on the boat, and if we were anywhere near the water, that was where she wanted to be.

She was also a huge fan of Wyland. She loved his sculptures, but I think she loved what he stood for just as much. Protecting the ocean and marine life mattered to her. His work was something she genuinely connected with.

So when I found the turtle keepsake sculpture, it just made sense.

It wasn't something I had to convince myself was right because it was a memorial. I could actually picture her choosing it.

When she died, I knew I wanted to scatter most of her ashes in the ocean.

That part was pretty clear to me. It felt like returning her to somewhere she loved. Her forever home, I guess.

But I wasn't ready to let all of her go.

The turtle has a small compartment inside that holds a portion of her ashes. It's not a lot, and that's kind of the point. Most of her is where I think she would want to be, but I still have this small piece of her with me.

I like the size of it too. It's small enough that I can take it out on the boat with me. And when I'm home, it comes back home.

But it isn't so small that it feels like a trinket. It has some weight to it. Some presence.

There's something about the turtle specifically that feels right too. The ocean, the conservation work she cared about, Wyland's art. All these little pieces of who she was seem to meet in this one object.

Most of the time, it just sits in my home as a sculpture.

But every once in a while, I'll take it out on the water.

And I don't know how to explain this without making it sound bigger than it is. I just like having her there.

The ocean can be her forever home. And a little piece of her can still come home with me.