A Peck of Gold

High Above

I love trees. The first tree I climbed was a magnolia. The limbs were wide and ancient and held me up to the clouds. I kicked off my shoes, and let them tumble to the ground. The bark was cool on my bare feet, as I climbed and explored like a monkey. Ruby red seeds in prickly pods fascinated me, and I plucked them out and rolled them around in my palm, and absently wondered if they tasted like cherries. I wasn't brave enough to try after all my mother's warnings. So instead, with careful aim, I flicked the seeds at the sky, and watched them arc through the air.

I was home.

Much of my youth was spent in those lovely heights. The solitary sycamore in our woods, the gentle mimosa near our drive, the sticky pines at my cousins house, these were the haunts of my childhood. The different textures and colors make up a patchwork of my memories.

Trees evoke all kinds of feelings in me. Those faraway on a hillside make me hungry. The green canopies look so good I want to eat them, like I was a giant munching broccoli. Live oaks, with their knotty roots and reaching branches, make me feel safe. Their trunks too large to wrap my arms around, so still and stately, make me want to sit, and think. Cypress trees, with their woody skirts and knobby knees, charm me. I think of music and dancing ladies and laughter and I want to twirl until I'm too dizzy to stand. Mimosa trees, so unassuming and graceful, make me drowsy. I want to lay under those pink purpley puffs of flowers and watch the wind blow through the branches, feel it through my hair. I can close my eyes and feel it right this moment.

It’s silly, maybe. But that’s okay. Trees make me happy, and I can smile when I say that, because I know it sounds a little goofy. We all have things that center us, that calm us, that make us happy. It doesn’t have to make sense, and that’s part of the joy of it. It just is. All you can do is give in to it.

On that note, I bid you all a good weekend. Enjoy the things that make you happy, because life is short. And if you're near the bad weather, be safe.

See you Monday.