By Stephen C. Schultz
The clouds were low and gray. A few
drops tapped the bill of my hat as I pushed the mower along the edge
of the sidewalk. The smell of damp cut grass filled the air and a
slight breeze blowing from the west let me know a rain shower was on
its way.
It was the middle of the morning and I
felt a bit of pressure to get the lawn mowed before the storm rolled
in. So, I was focused and moving at a little quicker pace than
normal. I looked up and saw three of the neighbor kids climbing in
one of my trees. I kept the mower going and moved closer to the tree.
On my way towards them, they noticed that I saw them. They looked
away and then glanced back at me with that childhood curiosity that
screams;
“Is he going to tell us to get down?
Are we going to get in trouble? Will he tell our parents?”
In the fifty feet it took me to get to
the tree, I also had a flood of thoughts. I recalled many instances
in my childhood climbing trees and having make-believe adventures
around the neighborhood. I remembered times playing in the neighbors
yard, riding bikes up and down the sidewalk complete with Evel
Knievel jumps and taking adventurous trips to the reservoir with our
Red Rider BB Guns!
As I got closer to the tree, I turned
off the mower. I stepped to the base of the tree and looked up. They
didn't say a thing. I let the awkwardness hang in the air for just a
bit more then I said,
“I love climbing trees! I used to
climb tree's all the time when I was your age!”
The three boys relaxed a bit and one
said, “Yeah, it's fun! I climb trees at my grandmas house!”
I then asked them,
“Do any of you know first aide?”
They looked at me quizzically.
I explained that first aide is what you
do when someone gets hurt. If someone fell and scraped their arm or
fell and broke a leg. This is what you do to help someone who is
hurt. I mentioned to them that sometimes accidents happen. Sometimes
things go wrong even when you are being very careful.
One boy piped up and said, “Yeah, but
we know what we are doing!”
I replied, “I know you do! You guys
are great tree climbers! But, there are lots of grown ups who know
what they are doing when they drive a car. Sometimes even they get in
accidents.”
I mentioned that it might be a good
idea to have a plan if someone got hurt.
“We don't have a plan!” the
youngest boy piped up!
I told them I was going to finish
mowing the lawn. If someone fell or got hurt, they could come get me
and I would help. That could be their plan.
I turned toward the mower and started
walking away. One at a time, they came down out of the tree. They got
on their bikes and road down the street. About five minutes later
they were riding their bikes back towards the tree. They had a
blanket and a little bag. They spread the blanket out on the grass
under the tree and pulled some POP Tarts (A breakfast pastry you put
in the toaster.) out of the bag. They sat on the blanket, under the
tree, eating their little snack!
There really isn't some insightful
message or parenting tip in this story. It is simply an experience I
had with three young kids in the neighborhood that I thought I would
share. If nothing else, it allowed me to think back on my childhood
and recall some of the memorable adventures I had as a kid.
What are some of your adventures from childhood? Feel
free to comment and share!
Comments
Steve,
This is wonderful.. Thank you.
On the street where we lived for 30 years there was a big oak tree that was the domain of all the neighborhood kids. With about 25 or 30 kids in the neighborhood, there were always a few kids in the tree. One day a new family bought the house where the tree was and told the kids that they were no longer welcome to play there. It was a sad day for all of us. That family ended up moving within about a year and the new neighbors returned the tree to the kids. Happy ending. Kids and trees do belong together.
MM