Garden Road - TheTree

The trees were just leafing out - that apple color green of early spring.  The tree was a most beautiful tree and I had wanted to climb it for some time.   With bright sunshine and skies of blue the day seemed perfect - just the background for this adventure.

This tree pictured is on the grounds of the golf course where I sometimes play.

 

The tree stood apart from the woods in the field at the far back of the twelve acre property.  It was a perfect tree to climb as it grew out of a low bank and the lower branches were easy to access.  It was probably 30 or 40 feet tall but I wasn't thinking of that at the time.  Of course, my two sisters and Jude had accompanied me to see if I really would climb all the way to the top.

As I started up the tree, it was easy going and I climbed pretty fast.  Up and up I went and the kids on the ground were yelling at me to stop and come down before I hurt myself.  I looked down and Margie, Gayle and Jude's faces looked very small from where I stood on those slender branches.  The view, though, was just as I thought it would be - s p e c t a c u l a r!  It seemed as though I could see for miles and I wanted to take it all in. I stood there enjoying the view for a few minutes when I heard,  "You'd better come down now," from Margie in all her 8 year old wisdom.  "Okay, I'm coming," I said.

Looking down was not half as fun as looking up and out and I was having second thoughts now about how I was going to get down.  It seemed as though the branches I had just climbed up were shrinking and now were looking so fragile I was certain they would never hold my weight.  I leaned against the now very slender trunk and looked down again and the more I looked down the more fearful I became.  The kids were now hollering up to me to come down.  "I can't!" I said, for now I was holding on for dear life as the treetop was swaying with my every move.  "Come on, you can do it!" they all yelled encouragingly.  What was I going to do?  I tried to put one foot on the now, seemingly very teeny, very skinny branch just beneath the one I was standing on and I felt it give slightly and I quickly lifted my foot.  I was back to where I had been - frozen with fright and now saying, "I can't get down,"  which was not the thing to say to my little sisters!  "You have to go get Dad," I yelled, "he can get me down."  Just how he was supposed to do this, I didn't know but I was positive he would find a way.

Soon, Dad was standing below me.  "Come on,"  he said calmly, "put one foot on the branch just below you and you can begin to climb down.  "No," I wailed, "I can't - it'll break - it's too small to hold me!"  Dad just smiled and said again, very reassuringly, "yes you can.  You got up there on those same branches, didn't you?"  "Yes," came my  quavering reply.  "Well then, just back down the same way you climbed up."  He sounded to sure of himself and he WAS my DAD after all so I knew I could trust his judgement.  Slowly I put my foot and then my full weight on that very same fragile-looking branch and sure enough it held!  By this time, I was wiping away the tears and slowly backing down that tree.

I'm glad I climbed it even if it did almost get the better of me.  However, with my Dad ready to catch me if I fell, I knew everything was going to be all right with me and my world down that Garden Road.