I am thankful for the trees in my yard.
The other day Wally was visiting and we were taking a Second Look around the yard as he likes to do. When we saw one of the walnut trees, he commented how much fun that he and Theo and their friends used to have with it. The game was to throw a stick up into the tree and the person who knocked down the most nuts won. That made me smile because of the pure simplicity of it. Then we saw the old tree house and remembered all that used to happened up there from battles various kinds to picnics to doing homework. On the way back to the house, we passed by where Theo's tree used to be.* When Theo was a kid, this was his hiding tree because the leaves were so thick that he couldn't be seen from the ground. If we couldn't find him, he was usually up in this tree. Then there were the maple trees and the oak trees and the piles of leaves they made to jump in. Of course, Wally also remembered the stick pick up before mowing, the leaf raking even when they didn't want a pile, and the hauling of the pruned branches. Those things were not quite as fun as knocking down walnuts, but were an important memory also. This was one of the ways he and Theo learned about the value of hard work.
I feel fortunate to live in a place that had trees for Wally and Theo to experience while they were growing up. And for that I am thankful.
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*A few years ago, a sapsucker killed Theo's tree and we had to have it taken down.
Here's a poem Theo wrote about his tree when he was nine.
My Climbing Tree
Up in my tree,
I'm as happy as can be,
Without a care or a worry.
With leaves everywhere,
Twigs and branches in the air,
Up here, there is no hurry.
With wind on my face,
And astounding grace,
Up my tree I scurry.
