Oak Tree in an Acorn: Playdate with Tonra and Ethan

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Playdate with Tonra and Ethan

With Olivia in Kinder this year, it's a rare day where she can have a weekday playdate, but lucky enough she was off Good Friday, so we got to spend the morning at the park with good friends Tonra and Ethan. Tonra and I met in our neighborhood almost 5 years ago when she was pregnant with Ethan and Olivia and I were on one of our morning strolls around the block. She was nearing her due date and Olivia had just turned one. We had easy conversation that day and ever since. I'm truly blessed by her friendship and I'm praying that once we move and life gets busy we don't lose touch. She is such a dear and special person.

These two spiders are just waiting for the flies to arrive.

Ethan and Genevieve share a picnic lunch.

Olivia is so happy to have a day off from school.

Ethan made Genevieve's day by sharing his box of "Walle" raisins with her.

Playing Transformers and Playmobil turns out to be more fun than the playground.

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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.