Hope

One afternoon last summer, it was Max's turn to mow the yard. Our backyard at the new house is very different from the backyard at the old house-- this one is full sun. There is a small pine tree, some landscaping grasses and an attempt at a berm that is really just a small, dry hill. As Max made his rounds with the weed eater along the fence, he stopped to study a tiny oak tree growing at the edge. It caught his attention because the closest oak tree in the neighborhood is a few houses away. Max is my "noticer". He sees tiny differences and details in people and his surroundings. Leave it to him to see that tiny little tree.

Where Max comes from, oak trees are special. They symbolize something very small becoming something towering, strong and enduring. Latvians use oak bark for medicinal purposes and in tea and still weave together oak leaves for Jani, to wear the wreaths for summer solstice.

This tiny oak was 1 inch tall, truly a baby. Within minutes, Max had dug it up and transplanted it in the center of the yard, marking the presence of the tiny tree with a large wooden stick. "See Mom? Someday it will be a mighty oak".

There it's been all winter long. It's dealt with ice, snow and our dog chasing her ball over the entire area. The marker hasn't moved, but I had questioned if the tree made it through the winter.

I decided to mow the yard today. My mind has been mulling over so many thoughts and there is something about push mowing that tends to just give you time to think. As I made my rounds in the back, there was the tiny tree. It's almost impossible to see it until you're almost on top of it. But the marker is there and  continues to protect it from the mower.

Seeing that little tree gives me hope and it makes me happy. That tiny tree has been seen. It has been saved from death in the fence row and transplanted where it can have a future. It has tiny buds on it-- it's growing and continuing to develop a root system. And I have no doubt it will still be there next summer and the summer after that.