Moments

It is a cliche that the moments of childhood pass too quickly, and as I have often said, cliches become cliches usually because they are true. It is too easy to dismiss something as cliche without examining it's value. Having said that, I wanted to get down a classic moment with the kids the other day, which was climbing a maple tree. Maple trees hold a special place in my heart, as a maple was my favorite climbing tree as a kid in Darien, CT. I think it was a sugar maple, but I can't be sure. Anyway, the kids started to try to climb the red maple in our yard, but were having a hard time because of the height of the start branches, and the density of the branches once they got up. So I got a ladder to help, and we trimmed a couple of small branches to make it easier to get up. L got up and immediately found a perch where she could lean back, and just had the best smile on her face. There is something about sitting in a tree that makes you feel good. H climbed up a bit higher and talked about what she could see from her perch. She thought it was really cool that she could spy out and see a long way. The feel of the bark, the smell of the leaves, the feeling of being king or queen of your little world when you are up in the tree....nothing quite like it. Whether these moments pass quickly (and they do), I realize I want to remember them, which is one of the brilliant things about a blog.