The Branch

This is Emma's "branch." It has been with us since around October. When she first acquired it, she tried to bring it in the house, so that it wouldn't get cold. If you even look at it funny, she gets protective.

This morning, Matthew kept trying to look out the blinds. I opened them and asked what he was looking at. He said he had to check on Emma's branch. "We planted it in front of the clubhouse." Oh, planted? Emma comes into the room and he tells her he can't see it. (Wrong angle from the window.) I opened the door so they would be able to see it. Emma shrugs, "Nope, it hasn't grown." Matthew, jumping around, "Oh, it did a little, Emma. Look there's a leaf!" LOL If you look close, you will find it. It's hard to see, because it's brown. I tried editing to make it stand out more, but I don't have sophisticated enough editing materials.

Maybe we'll have a tree come spring?? You never know with her. haha

This all goes back to some connection she seems to have with nature and all things organic. (I won't say tree-hugger this time.) I can't find the words to explain it. It's like she "feels" with nature. Does that even make sense? I don't think I'm doing her justice here. Example: as you start up the hill towards our housing area, there is an area that in late summer was starting to be cleared of trees. This clearing provided a great view of the inlet and we found out a small park was being built. (Yeah, let's picnic where the bears hang out!) A LOT of trees were cut down and stacked on the side of the road. People with permits were allowed to cut and take for firewood. The first time we drove by, with accusation in her voice, Emma asked, "What are they doing to those trees?" I told her. She was dismayed. "They can't do that! Those trees are living, and they are hurting them!" Same scenario everytime we drove by, which was every time we went somewhere. Uhhgg. It might have been comical, except that she was truly upset. Don't laugh, because I don't know how else to explain it, but it was as if she were internalizing the tree's hurt as her own. She was hurting too. Cal and I both love nature, and being outdoors. We are also very much in favor of preserving nature, but I just can't feel the pain of a tree. Maybe we had a tree-hugger (oops, I said it) in the family a few generations back?

The night before New Year's Eve, Cal was seasoning a brisquet to smoke over night for dinner the next evening. Emma meandered into the kitchen and wanted to know what he was doing. Do you think he could've said, "I'm seasoning this meat to cook?" NO! He just had to say, "I'm seasoning this meat from a cow, so we can eat it tomorrow." Oh, he likes to rub it in. Cal! She's five! I know, I know....some day she will put two and two together, but someday could've been when she had matured and could deal with the situation without WHINING all night about how we just can't eat animals. Thanks Cal.