I Need A Maple Tree

"Busy" seems to be an understatement lately. Since taking on my ultimate dream job of coaching High School softball, I find myself juggling daily life even more. I get caught up in trying to catch up instead of making the most of the moment. Guilt is a common emotion as I worry about how much time I'm spending away from my two little boys. I think back to my childhood and wonder were "big" people really this busy all the time? It didn't seem so back then, and it doesn't seem so now looking back. So what am I doing wrong? Maybe I'm just plain worrying about all the small stuff too much. Maybe we aren't getting the quality time that we need when we are all together. We need a Maple tree!
Thinking back to when I was a kid "big" people were busy and they did have a lot on their minds, but somehow we still managed to find time to just hang out under the Maple trees in my Granny's yard. You couldn't find cooler shade on a hot, Summer day and the grass beneath those trees were like cool blankets. I remember the guys coming in for dinner break while baling hay to have a sandwich and some lemonade under those trees. Paw Paw would put a chair in the shade while I played nearby and whittle on sticks that I would find for him. He could make the sharpest point I ever seen. Nothing can beat sitting under those trees and snapping beans and shucking corn picked fresh from the garden until the lightning bugs danced all around. Have you ever smelled freshly shucked corn on a still, starlit sky? It's one of the best things ever!
One of those old trees recently became diseased and had to be cut down. It was a sad thing to see all cut to pieces lying in the yard, helpless and dead. Where will all the whittling and shucking take place now? It will never be the same, but in my back yard is planted a red Maple. I think it's in the perfect spot to teach my boys how to make the sharpest points ever and to snap beans we've just picked from the garden. It's most definitely in the best spot to sit under at night and watch the lightning bugs dance. No, it will never be just the same, but maybe it's just what we need.