Oak Tree in an Acorn: Natural Playscapes

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Natural Playscapes

Like most kids, my girls love the park, but it's not the playscape they adore. It's the park surroundings. For the most part, when we go to the park, the girls hang out by the trees, rocks,

and any bit of water (including stagnate puddles!) that they can find. They definitely prefer God's natural playscape to the man-made playscape of the park. Sometimes it can be tricky for me because I have to be on the lookout for snakes, fire ant mounds, slippery rocks, etc., and now that Eve is also walking around and wanting to explore (usually) in a different direction from Olivia it adds another dimension to the adventure. I'm glad they enjoy nature, though, and like to explore and make what Olivia calls, "discoveries". These pictures are from our visit to Olson-Meadows Park last weekend, and while we were there two hours, the girls were probably on the playscape all of 15 minutes.

During our hike, there were several "discoveries". Olivia found three "horse apples" (I am not sure if this is the correct name for them, but it's the one I always heard growing up in Wharton.) and they did some horse apple bowling down the hills. Eve loved picking pecans still in their hulls and throwing them off the bridge into the creek. She would say "hear that?" as the pecans splashed into the water. Olivia had a grand time crossing a little stream back and forth by balancing on a log. It was a nice morning, and I was glad Brian could be with us on our adventure.

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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.