When I was a small boy my father pointed at a tree in his mother's yard and said, "I planted that tree when I was a boy." I looked way up at this tree that was thousands of feet tall, taller than even Grandma's house. I couldn't imagine how he ever could have put that tree in the ground. He was an amazing human being.
When we first moved here 20 years ago I planted a sapling red maple that was barely taller than me. It took a couple of years to take root and has bloomed to a glorious 5o feet tall. This evening, I climbed that tree with Doc. It was the first time I'd been in it's branches and while we perched together high aloft I told him how I planted it so many years ago.
"You must be so strong, Grampy," he said.
Oh, to learn how large a slice of being the grown up is all smoke and mirrors.
