What Really Matters


He was angry! He was fire-spitting angry. The way he yelled. I had seen part of what was happening. My four-year old son and his four-year old daughter were climbing in his green apple tree.

It was still a young tree as this was the first year it was producing fruit. They were climbing with their light weight bodies and so the tree wasn't being damaged. Our 'neighborly' relations were strained anyway.

The house we had moved into the year before had sat empty for two years. Me thinks he was hoping to buy it and own the whole block. He and his family weren't active in Church and they had the worldly focus of getting toys. Horses, camper, trailer, etc. Not the same for us. Those were dreams we'd given up long ago. Our focus was raising our family. Getting our kids to be friends, find friends and mostly to learn to be responsible individuals and citizens.

Later in the day, when the kids were long out of the tree he called-yelling. I heard his voice in stereo. Over the phone and through the windows. Was my kid over there today? Yes. Climbing in my apple tree? Yes. Well, he picked my apples and because they aren't ripe he bit them and threw them down on the ground-wasted.

Funny that. That four-year old is nearly 30. The tree owner has since then bought the small parcel of land beside his, moved his fence line, annexed his back yard (with the apple tree) into that land, built a gas station and moved from the house. The new owners could care less about the apple tree.

Such vehemence and what a sorry and sad excuse to not be neighborly. Somehow we need to just get over how great and wonderful we are and our landscaping and get on with life.

Did I teach my kids not to trespass on others private property? Yes. Did we have a neighbor who had a fit and a half if you walked across their lawn? Yes (they planted rose bushes all around the border of their lawn to keep people off the lawn). Did I teach my kids the concept that when they were newspaper carriers they were given permission to go to the peoples houses but they should verify it was okay to go across their lawn before they did it? Yes. If you have permission, you're not trespassing-but remember it is still private property.

When the four-year olds were climbing in the tree it was with both mother's permission-they were playing. Neither of us knew that the kids were picking the little green unripe apples. Oddly though he could blame my four-year old but I'm not sure if he knew his was part and party to the escapade!

Sorry old tree. Wonder what other stories it has to tell. On second thought, it probably watched their dog Max climb my fence and get my Buffy in a family way. I probably don't even want to think about that one!

Moral of the story? Cool your jets. People and relationships are most important. Simply having a conversation about did you notice your son playing in my tree today? Yes, he was with your daughter. Oh, well, we better watch them closer. They picked nearly all the unripe apples off and this was the first crop from that tree and I was really looking forward to them.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FAVORITE CHILDHOOD SONGS

My favorite childhood songs were the ones my mama taught me. 1) One day as I was seated on the subway, my high silk hat, my high silk hat; I laid it on the seat beside me, my high silk hat, my high silk hat; A big (sung in deep voice) fat lady came and sat upon it, my high silk hat, my high silk hat (sung in high pitch tiny voice); A big (sung in deep voice) fat lady came and sat upon it, my high silk hat, my high silk hat (sung in high pitch tiny voice); Christopher Columbus now what do you think of that? A big fat lady sat upon my hat! She broke my hat, now what’s the joke? She broke my hat, now what’s the joke? Christopher Columbus now what do you think of that? 2) The golden sun sinks in the west, Great Spirit calls all scouts to rest. We’ve had our work, We’ve had our play And we have lived, The true scout way. Upon my honor, I will try, To do my duty, To God on high, To help all other people out, And live the life of a real Girl Scout. 3) I had a little parasol long, long ago. A ...
Read more

The Measure of a Man

I loved this song. It was sung by Brett Raymond and it gave me a tremendous sense of where young men need to center themselves. The whole tape (yes, I have a cassette) is great, but this song speaks volumes. I played it often when my boys were teens-as much for me as for them. My youngest son even sang it at a program once-ah heaven-maybe some of it was getting where I really wanted it to go! The Measure of a Man comes from the album of the same name. It is by Clive Romney and friends. I have the hologram sticker that came with it. On the back of the jacket to the cassette case it says: "Though beautiful in any light, this holographic cover is most beautiful when viewed by the light of the sun. Life, likewise, is most beautiful when viewed by the light of the Son. Try it!" Is it the width of your shoulders how tall you stand Or how far you tip the scale The size of your biceps the strength of your hands Your prowess in games of skill Is it the style of your hair, the way that...
Read more

Riddley, Riddley Ree

Image
Riddley, Riddley Ree, I see something you don't see. And the color(s) of it is(are): (list goes here). My mom used to spend hours (it seemed like to me) with us kids playing this game. She'd pick an ornament on the tree and start the game. Sometimes the other kids would play for a while. I would keep playing and playing. I loved the game. When I became a mom I would play this same game with my kids. I found it fun to continue the tradition and I found it useful to keep the kids entertained. Of course with my kids we had to come up with rules. They pushed all kinds of boundaries. So there were rules like the lights don't count, the stand doesn't count, only the ornaments count, you can't switch which ornament you were thinking of just because someone guessed yours on the first try. The only rule my mom ever had to use with us was if no one guessed it after a reasonable time, then you got to pick another ornament and do it again. Mom seemed to have infinite patience w...
Read more