Things Girls Leave in Trees
I didn't think too much how life changes. I just snap pictures of odd quirky things my girls do while together. We have a smallish tree in the side yard. Of course that is the main place the girls play. I have watched them play together as if they were twins.
When I was a little girl, I lived in the woods. There was never a time that I wasn't exploring, wasn't climbing trees. So I expected them to climb the tree, fall out of said tree, and play under it. What I didn't expect was what they would leave in the tree.
A stick, a hopping toy, numerous bungee cords, and the occasional bike helmet made it into the tree as it was barren. Pretend horses, dogs, dragons were tethered there at one time. A makeshift fire pit with sticks arranged as a teepee ready for lighting at the tree's base. Then they really got creative...
The large rock is a "calculator". How do I know this? I asked after I narrowly missed getting hit in the head with it as it fell from the tree. I began to wonder if I needed a hard hat every time I heard them climbing from branch to branch. Another rock barely stayed in the tree, and it was a "camera". Each bungee cord and each piece had a role to play in their fantasy world. Each was a new adventure and a new use. The spring held new objects in the tree. A stray tool from Daddy's toolbox "accidentally" made it into the tree as well as a jump rope or two. Every time I looked out the bathroom window, I would catch them immersed into a new game.
When I was a little girl, I lived in the woods. There was never a time that I wasn't exploring, wasn't climbing trees. So I expected them to climb the tree, fall out of said tree, and play under it. What I didn't expect was what they would leave in the tree.
A stick, a hopping toy, numerous bungee cords, and the occasional bike helmet made it into the tree as it was barren. Pretend horses, dogs, dragons were tethered there at one time. A makeshift fire pit with sticks arranged as a teepee ready for lighting at the tree's base. Then they really got creative...
The large rock is a "calculator". How do I know this? I asked after I narrowly missed getting hit in the head with it as it fell from the tree. I began to wonder if I needed a hard hat every time I heard them climbing from branch to branch. Another rock barely stayed in the tree, and it was a "camera". Each bungee cord and each piece had a role to play in their fantasy world. Each was a new adventure and a new use. The spring held new objects in the tree. A stray tool from Daddy's toolbox "accidentally" made it into the tree as well as a jump rope or two. Every time I looked out the bathroom window, I would catch them immersed into a new game.
I took this picture in the Spring. I look back on it and realized with the change in the Spring, this would be the last time I would see a little girl. Each girl slammed headlong into puberty in the summer. No more items were left in the tree. I wonder if this is the end of their climbing, the way each girl would interact with her sister. I wish I had more pictures to freeze this moment. As if I could stop them growing up.
In the end, they left their childhood in the tree as they began puberty this summer. I know it can't be helped. This is the process all children go through. Now begins the demands of technology: iPods, cell phones, Playstations, Wii, iPhones, and laptops. I just wish they would climb the tree one more time and transform into the girls that played in such an intimate way with the simplest of objects.
But, alas, these are the things girls leave in trees.
In the end, they left their childhood in the tree as they began puberty this summer. I know it can't be helped. This is the process all children go through. Now begins the demands of technology: iPods, cell phones, Playstations, Wii, iPhones, and laptops. I just wish they would climb the tree one more time and transform into the girls that played in such an intimate way with the simplest of objects.
But, alas, these are the things girls leave in trees.
Posted by kitterztoo at 11/2/2011 7:06 PM 
Categories: Discovery, Family
Tags: blog kids girls memories picture puberty growing up exploration
Categories: Discovery, Family
Tags: blog kids girls memories picture puberty growing up exploration
Awww...I dread the moment my girls reach the, "I'm too big for that" point. I love your girls. These pictures are also just so wonderful. Much love ♥
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