A Treasured Rusty Nail

It's surprising how much memory is built around things unnoticed at the time. 

~Barbara Kingsolver, Animal Dreams

My favorite childhood memory was an old mesquite tree found in my backyard.  That tree was, without a doubt, my best friend.  It served as a spaceship, a pirate ship, a jet plane, a get-away-car, a fire truck, a police car, a fort...you get the picture.  Every day was a new adventure better than the day before.  I spent from the moment I woke up until I was called in for supper in that tree. If the imagination could think it, I thought it.  I knew every branch of that tree, every groove, every knot.  There was a particular branch much like the lower left one in the tree above that was the perfect spot for my imagination to see my sisters walking the plank!  There isn't a day that goes by that my mind doesn't take me back there.  It continues to be a calming place for my soul to return. 

When I was 13, my mother sold the house where my tree resided, one year after my father died.  Even though the house held many memories of my childhood, it was the tree I missed and continue to miss to this day.  Several years ago, my family was travelling through my hometown, and we decided to go by and see if the current owners would allow us to view that childhood estate.  They graciously allowed us to tour the home.  I found myself back there by that tree where I discovered a rusty nail that once held the wooden floor of the treehouse I had built.  I removed the nail, brought it home, and placed it in my curio cabinet where it remains to this day.

Life changes and is constantly evolving, but it’s nice to have the security of a place and time that you can look back on and still receive comfort.

Blessings,
Penny