Oak Tree in an Acorn: Fall Leaves

Friday, October 3, 2008

Fall Leaves

Next week, Eve and I are going to do some projects using leaves, so we spent a little while at the Buttercup Creek park this morning gathering some from the ground. The weather hasn't cooled

down enough in our area to make many leaves fall yet, but there were a few on the ground. Eve was making all kinds of connections while we were there; she was saying the words and doing the signs for "tree", "leaves", "cold", "autumn", and "wind" as we picked up leaves and acorns and put them in our bag. She hasn't slept well the past couple of nights because of her poison ivy rash, so she's pretty tired and grumpy during the day, but when we get outside, she is as happy as a lark and somehow we make it through until naptime.

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Why the title, "Oak Tree in an Acorn"?

Well, really it's all about perspective when raising the girls. It helps me to think about the grand scheme of parenting and remember that what we do now affects how our little acorns will grow. Like an oak tree, we want them to be strong in their words and deeds, be able to withstand life's storms, set and reach their goals, and be people that others can lean on and trust.

We have an oak tree planted in our yard that came from an acorn my dad planted in a pot. This acorn came from a huge oak tree that was planted in the backyard of my dad's childhood home. My dad's father also planted this tree from an acorn he found on his hunting lease in the early 1960's. Our tree is thus a family heirloom, a "family tree".

It was the year of Olivia's birth when we planted our little sapling. It looked so very sad that winter with no leaves; it was, basically, like a stick rooted in the ground. Five years later, though, it stands 9 feet tall, and we continue to nurture it and watch it grow. We hope one year it will produce acorns of its own, and we can continue to pass on this family heirloom. We hope to remember it's example of how each acorn has the potential to be an oak tree, and how our acorns, Olivia and Genevieve, will one day, with help from God, become mighty oak trees themselves.