Tree Climbing

On Memorial Day, after an afternoon family bike ride, my son and I enjoyed climbing a tree in our yard. I loved tree-climbing as a child.

One childhood tree-climbing adventure wasn't quite as exciting as other times, though. I'll never forget the day I was outside playing with my cousins and friend, Claudelle, when we noticed Thaw on the loose in the distance. Thaw, a huge dog that seemed to be the size of a pony back then, lived nearby. As everyone scrambled to get inside the house when we noticed Thaw was running our way -- unleashed -- I decided I wasn't going to chance not making it inside before Thaw reached us. Therefore, I darted up a nearby tree. As Claudelle ran to catch up the others for indoors safety, I told her to let my parents know where I had found my refuge -- in a tree!

Tonight, I just so happened to flip open the book Poetry Speaks to Children and landed on this poem:

Every Time I Climb A Tree

by David McCord

One verse reads:

...And every time I climb a tree
Where have you been?
They say to me
But don't they know that I am free
Every time I climb a tree?

In Freedom,

Penny