Chasing Grace

I remember when I was a kid, we lived with my grandparents (my father’s parents) for a while. They had a beautiful pine tree in their front yard, and I used to climb it. This drove my mom nuts, because the tree was about thirty feet tall, and I would climb as high as I could go. There was a perfect ’seat’ near the top of the tree. It was quite comfortable and I could spend a lot of time up there. I could have if it wasn’t for my mom.

Somehow she would always know when I was up there, regardless of how careful I was to make sure she was nowhere in sight when I would climb. (How do mother’s do that?) I would be in my tree-seat, minding my own business, and she would suddenly be at the foot of the tree shouting at me and demanding that I come down this instant! I couldn’t see her from where I was perched, so I’d always be startled and I’d climb down right away. Once on the ground, she would lecture me about safety, and how she was sure I would fall and get hurt. I would protest that I knew perfectly well what I was doing and there was no way I would fall. A ten year old know-it-all. Is there any other kind?

One particularly beautiful afternoon, I was up in my tree-seat, enjoying the day. It was so peaceful and the sun was so warm. I breathed in the scent of pine and sat back. I imagined I was in a throne at the very top of creation. There was a gentle breeze and the tree swayed gently. I heard birds singing and I felt as though I’d escaped everything. I became so relaxed that I nearly fell asleep. Now wouldn’t that have been a drag, to doze off, fall out of the tree and prove my mother right? But I didn’t, and though she didn’t catch me that time I remembered her warning and decided she had a point. Of course that didn’t stop me from future climbs, but I didn’t climb so often and didn’t stay up for as long. Eventually we moved out of that house and into one of our own.

After my grandparents left that house, one of the first things the new owners did was cut down the pine tree. It was such a sad moment when I saw that it was gone. But I’ll always remember it fondly as my refuge and a hiding place from the world.