As a child, I always enjoyed clambering up
the nearest chair, table, or couch. Indeed, my mother told me a story about how
she found me holding on for dear life one day after the chair and various
accouterments I’d piled on top of it gave way leaving me with only a shelf to
grasp.
So, it was not unlikely that I would strike
up a friendship with a tree. Yes – tree. You see this tree was special in many
ways. Set deep into the back of our yard, it offered me privacy, while still
being in my mother’s sight. It’s
branches offered shade and a place to call my own. I spent many an afternoon in
that tree as I grew from child, to adolescent, to teenager.
Stretching out from a few feet above the
ground, the first branch, sturdy and strong, offered a good foothold. Winding
around to the right, the second branch was the most fun. Grasping the trunk, I
would stretch until my legs could hook around and then I’d swing the rest of my
body onto the beckoning limb. Sometimes I’d just sit there awhile, and sometimes
I’d swing around and hang upside down, swinging back and forth. (No way could I
do THAT now.)
About 2 ½ feet above my swinging branch was
a group of four branches that formed a perfect pocket to sit in. Ensconced in these
branches I pursued my love of books. I read all the Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys and
Cherry Ames books I could get my hands on. I read The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, and The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper. I devoured book after
book after book. In high school I read David
Copperfield by Dickens and The
Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne.
I studied biology, learning the different
parts of the cell – mitochondria, ribosomes, cytoplasm, vacuoles… and I did my
math – Geometry proofs. Adjacent angles in a parallelogram add up to 180
degrees!
In my climbing tree I experienced peace
and tranquility. Nature was my music, and the tree my confidant. Loyal
to a fault, it never, ever told my secrets.
Love the pocket in your tree where you pursued your love of books. I read Cherry Ames too, and planned to be a nurse until a summer working as a Candy Striper ended my nursing career.
ReplyDeleteLove the memory of your climbing tree--takes me back to mine. What a great slice.
ReplyDelete