I grew up climbing trees. Often. I mean, I was ALWAYS up in a tree, either swinging like a monkey or climbing up with a board, a bucket and a rope and I’d make a bench with the board and pull the bucket up with my lunch and a book and I’d enjoy the bird’s eye view of the world down below and pass the endless summer days away. For these reasons, and countless others, I don’t have any issue with my boyz climbing trees. In fact, I encourage it! Daddy-O and I giggle that someday when they’re bigger they’ll realize how spindly and small the trees in our backyard really are, but for now, they claim the trees as their own and can often be found swinging from branch to branch. There are larger white pines that line the edge of our back yard along the fence line and below there’s a walking path. Recently, a friend at church told me he was on a walk and saw our boyz at the top of those white pines! They greeted him and carried on a conversation while 20 feet above the sidewalk! The visual of the VonTrap family comes to mind from The Sound of Music as they’re swinging in the trees and their father drives below them not knowing whose children they were!
Lately, the boyz have been venturing out to greener pastures, or larger trees, in this case. So, the other day the boyz were playing in the front of our house where there are trees in the round about of our cul-de-sac. Our empty nester neighbor was out doing some spring cleaning yard work and to occupy the boyz he gave them an old waterskiing rope from his garage. Thanks, Mr. Schumway. Anyhow… after nearly killing themselves trying to make a zip slide between the trees it the front yard, Mama got to thinking and I was on the hunt for some wood or something that we could drill a hole in to make a tree swing. As I’m gazing around our garage, I’m coming up short. Then a few interruptions later I find myself in our pantry getting snacks for the boyz who are hungry, surprise, surprise. I’m standing there looking around at the shelves and that’s when I spot it – the perfect tree swing! And it already has a hole right in the center of it! It’s my grandmother’s bundt pan! I already had a bundt pan, but when she died, I collected all of her kitchen gadgets as if the were her precious jewels because to me they were! She was known for her many fabulous desserts, especially her poppyseed, cream sherry cake with glazed icing, which she lovingly made for countless bridge parties, sewing groups, countless family gatherings and her grandson in law, my wonderful husband was quite fond of it and she would lovingly make one just for him on his birthday or other occasions when she wanted to spoil him and fatten him up a bit. So I couldn’t part with her bundt pan, but I must confess that I haven’t used it once since I inherited it. There it sits, collecting dust on the top shelf of our pantry, where it caught my eye..
A few knots later, well-a, a tree swing that I know made my Grandmother proud. I finally used her bundt pan and it brought others so much joy! And their Mama, too!
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| See the joy!!?? |
