PLANT A TREE

When I was a child we had this great maple on our front lawn and I would jump up and grab the lowest branch with my hands then swing my feet around the branch and pull myself up so I was sitting comfortably on the limb. Afterwards, I would rise to my feet and start my ascend. I would climb, climb, climb, climb, climb until the branches were too thin for my childhood frame and there I would sit, in my favorite maple, for hours on end.

What an incredibly peaceful feeling I had in my tree. I was safe in "my" tree. I'd sit on a high, high branch and observe the beauty of the world around me. I'd soak in hours of fresh air that so many kids of today simply have no desire for.

I played in my tree for years until one day my father decided that the lowest branch was hanging too far out over our driveway. He came out with his saw. A long red-handled tree saw. I stood there numb as I watched him decide exactly where to make his cut. First he place the saw on the branch very close to the driveway. I breathed a sigh of relief. Then in a quick change of heart he started sawing the branch off at the trunk. I wanted to yell, "Dad, Stop!" but I couldn't find the words in time. It was too late. The saw had begun it's destruction of my haven. The other branches were just too high for me to reach from the ground. It was at that moment that I lost the ability to climb my favorite tree.

For a while I felt misplaced. I wandered around my yard searching for alternatives. I found one small, interesting looking tree in my back yard with a branch that bent over to the right. I could sit on that branch which overlooked the river but it wasn't the type I could climb, climb, climb, climb, climb, like my favorite maple. Sometimes I sat on that bent branch but it just didn't feel the same. That little tree was too far from the security of my home and it felt dark and second rate to my glorious maple.

I never did find another tree quite like my favorite tree. But I'll keep searching and when I find it you'll know by looking straight up to find me high about the rooftops.

In the meantime, I'll continue to support the PLANT A TREE USA organization whose goal is to plant 18 billion trees to help counter the effects of global warming (see Special Report - Global Warming, New York Times Magazine, April 3, 2006) and ensure kids of the future have trees to climb!

Plant a Tree in Honor or in Memory of a special person in your life (or maybe in honor of a special tree like mine). It's a GREAT Mother's Day Gift.

For more information follow the link below.
http://www.plantatreeusa.com/individual/?promopin=ICFKIDS


Hook Up With Health
hookupwithhealth.wholefoodfarmacy.com