Cherry Tree

It's been a dreary, drizzly day. I'm sure the ground is welcoming the slow steady rain. And it's been gentle enough that you won't get drenched going outside.......but there really haven't been any breaks, either. We enjoyed driving to Chillicothe today – we did notice that Grand River is up and rolling. More rain came down in the northern part of the state Sunday than what we got.

I came to grips with yet another reality of where I am in life – I went to the Social Security Office this morning and chatted with them about getting signed up at the end of the year and what my monthly payment will be. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it would be a decent amount. I've worked so many low-paying jobs in my life, always pretty much entry level, that I wasn't sure I could count on getting enough to live on. But it looks like I'm okay – and I'm sure that knowledge will make my kids as happy as it does me! As long as the government stays solvent, I'll be okay. And that, my friends, is my Pollyanna statement for today.

We decided to stop at Applebee's for lunch, and parked next to someone we used to work with. It was fun to chat with him for a few minutes. We got home feeling like we really accomplished a lot today. And the day's not over. I, though, think I would enjoy a good nap right now. The furnace in the building was turned back on today, so it's a little stuffy. I got a new toy at Walmart that I need to put together – not really anything fun, but a new rolling laundry cart that needs to be assembled. I enjoy putting things together.

I was that way as a kid, too. One of my favorite Christmas gifts was a Lincoln Log set. I spent a lot of hours with it. Dad made me a little toolbox, and I had a hammer, some screwdrivers and pliers in it, and a few other small tools. I can't remember that I ever actually used it much, but it was nice to know it was there. I did use the screwdrivers to tighten bolts on my bicycle. And I probably used the hammer to crack walnuts in the fall.

I was such a tomboy as a kid. I always hung around outside with Dad. In fact, Mom worked off and on which left Dad as my caregiver. I often went with him to round up the milk cows in the evening in good weather. (I was definitely a fair-weather farmer!) I played in the timber, helped stack wood – sort of. I never got very good at climbing trees, though I wished I could. We had a smaller cherry tree in the back yard, and that was one tree I could climb. I spent hours out there. There was a place up in the tree where I could sit and enjoy things – in fact, there was enough room for two if one of my cousins happened to be with me.

There was a lower branch that was sturdy but springy, and it turned into my makeshift horse. One day exploring in the smokehouse I found some old horse equipment – I think a pair of stirrups and a rope or something that filled in as the reins. That make-believe horse and I covered a lot of territory. I asked for a real horse, but for some reason that didn't go over well. So I stuck with the one in the cherry tree – which didn't cost anything to feed.

That cherry tree was kind of a refuge for me as well. I would go up there and think when things weren't going well. I distinctly remember one time I used it as a refuge from punishment – I can't remember what I did, but Mom started after me. Why I decided to take off, I'll never figure out. But I took off at top speed for the cherry tree and climbed as fast as I could. Instead of coming up after me, which I'm sure she could have, Mom just stood on the ground, looked up, and wisely said “you have to come down sometime – and the longer it takes, the worse it will be”. My mom may be little, but she can be scary. And she was also right – I had to eventually come down, and it didn't bode well for me when I skulked back in the house.

I always enjoyed taking my kids back to the farm when they were little. We got a big kick out of seeing them enjoy the same things I did, climbing the tree, playing with my toys, and so forth. And they enjoyed a big toy I never had – there was a big propane tank in the yard to climb on.