Crooked Old Tree

When there’s no leaves on the trees I can see the intricacies of how they grow in relation to each other. In my back yard there is a stand of about 14 trees in the corner closest to the patio. I noticed recently, before the buds opened, how the branches mingle. There are mostly younger trees, maples with their trunks growing straight and tall. There is also some type of berry producing tree with smaller leaves. My daughter has always called it the crooked tree and it is fairly old. It grows at perhaps a fifty degree angle and so leans toward the others. It’s bark is rough and a darker color than its neighbors. The branches have grown around, but not encompassing, a couple of the smaller, younger trees in such a way that it looks as if the others are helping to support it, as young soldiers might support an old war veteran stooped with age.

As I sipped tea on the patio after dinner one evening I considered the crooked tree. It stands with its rough barked trunk curving in a couple places creating a snake-like appearance. I estimate the circumference of it to be about 2 feet. I think that if we were to ever cut it down the growth rings would be very close together. How old it is I do not know, but it was here when we bought our house thirty some years ago. How many harsh, cold winters and hot summers it has seen intrigues me. Perhaps it was  there when the house was built, just a sapling in the woods. My town was originally primarily a camping area. It hosted hunters in the colder months, and people camping by the mountain lake to escape the heat of the summer. Generations of chipmunks and squirrels surely frolicked on its trunk and among the branches, and it must have played host to countless bird’s nests. Those same creatures probably took shelter there from the summer rain, and feasted on the berries produced by the tree. As the plots of land were cleared to build cabins, how did that tree manage to be over looked?  I imagine it was silent witness to the campfires that campers had, the marshmallows roasted on whittled sticks and laughter of people relaxing from their workaday lives for a few weeks every year.  It has borne testament to the changes brought by our town becoming a year round place to live and work, the expansion of roads, houses, and businesses. Silently there while my children grew and played with their friends in the shade on hot summer days and in the snow during the winter. Like an old friend the tree keeps me company when I’m enjoying the outdoors.

Sometimes we don’t really think about the landscape that is part of our everyday lives.  I find it relaxing to muse about the life and history of the things around me when I get the chance to sit quietly and let my mind wander.

Banana Memories

It’s funny how an everyday object can bring memories rushing back, causing you to pause what you’re doing to take a little trip into the past.  I realized this recently when making a peanut butter banana smoothie for my daughter; the bananas were fairly ripe, a bit soft with many brown spots on the peel.  My maternal grandfather liked them that way, and even riper than that.  He ate a banana every day, as did my mother with her lunch. I can picture her, sitting at the table for lunch with her plate of tuna macaroni salad or cottage cheese and jello, a glass of iced tea with 2 ice cubes in it, and a banana laid alongside the glass waiting for its turn to be consumed.  I can smell the tang of the onions and slight fishy smell of the tuna, and almost taste the sweetness of the Miracle Whip salad dressing she used to make her salads.  There were many days as an adult that I stopped in for lunch with her, especially on the weekends after my first daughter was born. Lunch was usually tuna macaroni salad and a banana; although sometimes it was tomato soup and a cheese sandwich, or cottage cheese and jello.  If my father was there, he had a sandwich of white bread, butter, chicken roll, and sometimes lettuce, iced tea, and a banana.  There are such fond memories brought up by a humble piece of fruit!

          I always have bananas in my house, and we don’t always eat them before they are overripe so we usually have either banana bread or banana cake either on the counter or in the freezer.  We find that we enjoy the banana cake more than the bread, although toasted banana bread is tough to beat with a cup of tea or coffee.  Speaking of banana bread brings back memories of visiting my aunt at the shore and breakfasting on her screened in patio on warm summer mornings, with the smell of the ocean on the breeze.  She served toasted banana bread with her homemade jelly; most memorable for my husband was the beach plum jelly she made.  I don’t know if it was being on vacation, or the fresh sea air, or a combination of the two but when I make banana bread he always mentions the toasted banana bread spread and beach plum jelly, with fondness both for the food and my aunt.

          Humble everyday objects surround us, each one waiting with the potential to offer us a break from our current reality with a little trip down Memory Lane.  I like that.

Snow Days Are For

Snow days are for sleeping late,
And fresh baked muffins when you wake,
For reading books and drinking tea,
And watching snow fall on the trees,
For homemade soup or maybe chili,
For cartoon watching and being silly,
Whatever you do on your snow day,
You’re not at work—be sure to play!

A snow day is a gift from the universe.  It's an unexpected day off and I think it should be enjoyed.  Sleep in a little bit, have a leisurely breakfast, and spend the day doing things you enjoy that you don't normally have time to do. 

When I was a kid we used to spend a snow day playing out in the snow, playing board games, reading, or playing hide and seek in the basement.  Sometimes I sewed something simple such as a skirt, and sometimes my brothers and I made silly movies.  We had popcorn, and sometimes made pine cones with peanut butter and birdseed on them to hang outside for the birds.  My mother usually baked cookies and it was like a little party was going on.

Since I work in a school, I am fortunate to get a snow day every now and then.  Today was one of them and I am enjoying it very much! I baked 2 kinds of muffins, blueberry and apple cinnamon, and made a pan of honey nut cereal treats.  I love baking and a snow day is the perfect day for that.  That way when my husband and daughter get home from work they'll have treats waiting, as well as baked ziti for dinner.  Sometimes on a snow day I make soup or chili, but decided that baked ziti would be better this time.  I plan to spend some time reading, writing, and just relaxing; things I don't often have time to do but enjoy very much.

It is important to do things you enjoy, and have a day once in a while where that is your priority.  Every day life doesn't usually include much time for the things we want to do because of all the things that we must do to keep work and home running smoothly.  There's nothing like forgetting all the "must dos" and just concentrating on the "want to dos" for a day to refresh your mind. Grab some time when it's presented to you, you'll be so glad you did. 

Dreams & Tears

My Sunday morning radio
Plays songs both sweet and sad
Sending my thoughts strolling
Through the youth that I once had
The world "back when" was different
And yet it was the same
We laughed and loved and dreamed.
It all circles 'round again.

I love early weekend mornings when I'm the only one up, the lights are low, and the radio is softly playing mellow songs from the decades of my youth.  I think having time to let your mind wander and reflect on your life is an important part of maintaining balance and perspective on where you are right now and where you might be headed.  The things that you experienced in the past have helped make you who you are right now, whether they were mostly good things or mostly not so good things.  How you responded to those life events plays into your sense of optimism or pessimism right now.  If you can look back on challenges and find something beneficial in them, you probably are an optimistic person in general.  Of course, there are some things that happen in people's lives that are so terrible that finding the good in them is like looking for a needle in a haystack, even if you are an optimistic person. 

I've been lucky enough to have had a life that while it challenged me at times, has not been awful.  I've always been the kind of person who can laugh at life most of the time and see the humorous side of a difficult time.  There have been plenty of times that I was brought to tears, of course.  Tears of frustration, disappointment, fear, pain, and anger have all fallen from my eyes and run down my cheeks throughout the years.  Relationships ending, loved ones dying, and dreams going unfulfilled have all brought me to tears.  I wouldn't be human if I never cried, would I? But I've shed tears of relief,  laughter, joy, and wonder as well during my lifetime.  I've dreamed of things I wanted and when those dreams came true, such as getting married, having children, and reaching a goal, the happy tears flowed freely.

The music playing on the radio in the early hours brings me back to times when I was young and full of plans and dreams, some realistic and some outrageous.  That hasn't changed.  I still have dreams and plans that are by turns doable and impossible.  You never know, though, how things will really turn out except that one day you'll be up early, taken back in time by music, and smiling a little to yourself about days gone by. 

Gifts

          We’ve just experienced the time of year we typically think about gifts.  Gifts we have to give, gifts we receive, ones we like, and ones we don’t.  It’s nice to give and receive a gift, but what about the ones we give each other that aren’t tangible?  Such as the feeling we give someone, or someone gives us or wisdom we receive from someone older or more experienced than we are.  Some of those aren’t noticeable until years later, such as the gifts our parents give us over the course of our lives.

          My parents gave me many gifts throughout my life. They gave me the gift of being safe and cared for.  I had a happy childhood filled with laughter and family.  There were 6 of us in the tiny house we lived in, and we learned how to share and get along.  My parents gave us a stable home life, a refuge to return to when school and later work was too stressful.  My parents gave me the love of reading.  The newspaper, magazines, and books were read daily in our house. I have fond memories of my younger brother and I snuggled up with our mother while she read stories to us, and my father reading me fairy tales and doing the voices of the different characters.  Little Red Riding Hood was one of my favorites to read with Dad as he did a great Big Bad Wolf voice.  My love of mysteries comes from reading the mysteries my father enjoyed once I was a little older.  I cannot imagine any greater gifts than the ones my parents gave me.

          The gift of friendship is important for getting through life; as important as family.  In fact, many people have friends with whom they feel a closer bond than with blood relatives.  We choose our friends, and this is maybe why we can form such strong bonds.  We form friendships usually starting with a shared experience whether it is a shared love of grapes for snack in elementary school, dislike of a certain class in high school, or eating lunch at the same time at work.  Whatever brings us together, we find in each other something we like, it feels good to be together and confide in each other.  We come to count on each other to help us celebrate the joys life brings us and commiserate over the sorrows.  The gift of friendship is one of the best one person can give to another.

          Sometimes we get caught up in the stresses of trying to get the “right” gift for someone we love.  In truth, the best gift you can give someone is your time, and your attention. Presents wrapped in pretty paper with bows are nice, but probably when all is said and done what you’ll remember most are the intangibles that you have received. Whether that means memories of how someone always made you laugh, or how connected you felt to another person, good feelings are the greatest gift of all. In other words, love.