Yesterday I got home and was exiting the car when I heard, 'hi dad'. It was Stuey and he sounded close, but when I looked around - no Stuey. Then, 'Dad look up, I'm up here'! And so I did look up into the spindly cottonwood tree (not pictured) in front of where I park my car. There was Stuey way, way up in the tree. 'Dad, it is a great view from up here - I can see the ocean over the house'. Oh boy . .. .
A rush of thoughts came to mind. 'Wow that's dangerous'. Then I thought what if he breaks my pretty tree. And finally I realized - that's a lot better than Minecraft on the iPad.
When I was a kid I used to climb trees all the time. I also used to break a lot of tree limbs and fell out of trees quite frequently. Just like I used to fall through the ice on small ponds and bike without a helmet. I did not always engage in safe play. The upside was that I learned about tree climbing, ice, and rode my bike a lot. I did not do 'electronics'.
And so heart in my throat I said, 'Wow Stuey, that's cool. You really are way up there.' I then convinced him not to climb that particular tree because I really do not want it broken! I also told him, 'make sure to step on branches close to the trunk and always have at least one hold'. 'And don't go too high!' Nothing like imparting a little of my hard earned tree climbing wisdom.
I went inside for a bit and came out after a bit to find Nora and Stuey climbing in the big cottonwood. I yelled up to them, 'Be safe'. Patrick
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