Giant Childhood Memories

I have this spectacular memory from my childhood. You know those moments that stick with you and you can still see the play by play, hear
the noises from that day and even maybe smell the air? That’s what this moment in time brings back.

I was probably 7 or 8 and my sister just 18 months older. She was the cautious child, the let’s think it through one. I was the adventurer. I had more of the act now and think about all the things later vibe. We used to play in the woods behind our house daily. We’d go explore, use our imagination and eventually wonder back to the house. On this particular day it was sunny and warm. We had decided we didn’t want to stroll through the woods and opted to have some fun in the backyard.

In our yard stood a big, old oak tree. Now I have to tell you that my sister is afraid of heights. I am too, but nowhere close to her! She’s petrified of heights, something we learned that day. The tree was tall enough where we couldn’t reach the shortest branch. After trying to lift each other up to no avail, we looked around to see what we could use. We spied our big red wood picnic table. That will do the trick we thought! It was already close to the tree so all we had to do was shimmy it in the right spot. It would give us just the right height to boost and wiggle our way onto the first branch. We both got on the same side of the table and swung it around, getting it in the perfect spot to reach that first limb.

Up I went, proudly scrambling up. I turned and helped my sister offering her a hand. After she got up, there was a brief moment of joy. We did it! I We felt the pride in having figured out a way to get our little selves up. I immediately looked around trying to figure out what branch we’d work our way onto next. I scooted around, eyeing which way would work best. When I turned back around, I saw my sisters face. The joy left my sister quickly when she looked down. Now that thrill of getting herself wedged up on the branch had subsided, she started assessing the situation. She realized that there was no easy way to get down. In her mind it seemed like we were fifty feet in the air! The realistic number was probably more like six or seven feet, but we know how convincing our minds are!

She quickly moved from calmly assessing the situation to panic.

“Go get Mom!” she yelled.

I stood up on the limb and worked my way around her. I had 2 choices: dangle off the side of the limb and drop onto the picnic table that we’d used to heave ourselves up or just jump. What do you think I opted for? That’s right, after all I am the adventurous one, so I took a leap! I stood up, and lep right off the side of the limb. This did not help my sister’s already flustered state.

As she sat, frozen on the limb, my little mind wondered if going to Mom was the best idea. After all we did this without asking. We had moved the picnic table. We had climbed the tree. We had, in essence, gotten my sister stuck! I rationed that the best thing was to try to get my sister down without seeking Mom’s help. I tried to coax her down myself. I tried to walk her through how if she just laid on her stomach and leaned her legs over, we could get her down. I showed her how we could use the picnic table just the same way that we had when we got up. I tried to literally talk her down from the tree. She wasn’t having it. Nothing I said was working. She wouldn’t even try! Not one budge!

“Go GET MOM!” she yelled.

I went inside to confess to Mom. To my surprise, our Dad had arrived home from work. We’d been lost in our tree “fun” long enough that I hadn’t realized how late in the day it was. After telling him my sister was stuck in the tree, he rushed out with me. He stepped on top of the picnic table and grabbed my sister, gently and (easily I might say) helping her down. To my surprise, there was no trouble, no grounding. It ended with just a simple conversation about being careful and asking for help when it was needed.

Thirty years later, we still talk about that day. The day my sister got paralyzed by her fear of heights. We laugh at how all she had to do was pretty much lean over and her feet would have practically touched the picnic table! Easy to see when you aren’t in the midst of it.

To this day, that memory pops up when I see a big, mighty oak with an outstretched limb. A limb that just screams, climb me! My love of nature and all it has to offer was instilled young. Moments I treasure. We wandered free and carefree as young kids. We spent hours in the forest, getting lost in its peace and tranquility. This is one of the many reasons why I believe in tree restoration projects for tree management and repair.

Whether it’s planting a tree in your own yard, making a donation to a not-for-profit that leads the charge in tree planting, or buying from socially conscious companies—it all makes a difference. That’s why Diva Prints focuses on being a green business. We want to help you feel good about your purchase. We continually look for opportunities to give back to nature and help restore earth. Because of our mission to be a company that gives back, we have worked with companies such as The Arbor Day Foundation and One Tree Planted, providing corporate donations to their mission to plant trees where they are most needed.

Just know when you make a purchase from Diva Prints, you are helping to restore Mother Earth and all her magnificence!