The tree in our front yard, the female maple, has been many things. Cat scratching post, tree climbing challenge, Wiley shade provider, and a subject of academic observations for Mrs. Hoffman’s 2nd graders (both Kevin and Christopher have done this, Matthew is on deck).
Now, it’s a subject of controversy…..the one item causing the most debate in the house. You’ll recall that only a month ago Matthew has learned to climb up into the tree without help
This has led to a rediscovery of climbing the tree by Kevin. Kevin, at Matthew’s age, was not nearly as adventurous as the ‘boy wonder’ is….and, so, never really went to great heights in the tree. Those days are over now…Kevin’s as high in the tree as he can get, so high that he’s boasted of sticking his head out above the top of the tree. Matthew, being the boy wonder that he is, has also made it to these heights (how high, you ask? Matthew’s been high enough to clearly see in the windows on the 2nd floor).
Mom, being a Mom, is freaking out, the thoughts of the potential energy of a boy turning into kinetic energy before suddenly coming to rest 20 feet below on the hard ground. I’ve tried to be a little more understanding, they are boys, it’s a tree, and well, boys will climb trees. We’ve asked the boys, without a lot of force behind it, to please keep their climbing of the upper branches to a minimum.
Last night, Suzanne and I came home from our walk with Wiley to find Kevin as far up in the tree as he could possibly be.
This craziness, climbing to the heights while the parents are away (and may not be around to hear the panicked yell of a kid, the crash of the branches, and the sickening thud as they hit the ground) finally drove Mom over the edge and prompted an edict of no more climbing to the heights.
You’ve never heard the screaming and yelling and complaining that Kevin unloaded on us over this decision (the boy has a future as a lawyer…). I think we were willing to allow high climbing when we were home after a cool down period and a moment of reflection (if you’re so high that the wind makes you move back and forth, you might need to reconsider) but Kevin’s pleading and whining and arguing has everything declared verboten at this point.
Kevin’s pleading and whining? That’s foreshadowing for the next post….Kevin at On Goal.
