Day 319 Giving

October 24, 2015

(If we live with an open and grateful attitude, every day will bring a gift. This is one of 365 gifts during the year I turned 70.)

Shel Silverstein wrote the children’s book The Giving Tree, which was first published in 1964. He wrote about a tree that kept giving to a child, even when he became an old man. The tree provided leaves for the boy to create crowns for imaginative play, became a place to hide for hide-and-go-seek, offered a trunk to climb and branches to swing from, grew apples for the child to eat and later for the young man to sell, and provided shade for a comfortable nap. When the boy grew up, the tree gave its branches to build a house and later its trunk to build a sailboat. And when the boy became an old man, the tree was still able to offer its stump for him to sit and rest

My crape myrtle tree was originally a gift from my father. It is also a giving tree. In the spring, green leaves appear, reminding me of life's promise, a new birth cycle. Its branches offer a perch for birds and their songs travel to me through the window as I sit at my computer. I am hoping that eventually when the tree fills out more, a bird might build a nest in it. Then, in late August, hot pink flowers bloom. Now that it's autumn, it is filled with vibrant orange leaves. In winter, I will find more beauty created by the interplay of bare limbs and clinging snow. This tree gives me pleasure in all seasons.

My gift today is a giving tree.

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> Day 320: Giving

You can find links to my other posts on this project here:
http://bjschupp.blogspot.com/2014/12/365-gifts.html