MY TREE

I grew up in the small town of Winter Haven Florida.  It is located in central Florida and famous for Cypress Gardens and The Land of Lakes.

Our little house was located down the street from the local Junior College and across the street from a baseball park which had four baseball diamonds.  The park was not fenced in and we went there to play everyday.

My brothers and sisters and I often walked across the street to play baseball of frisbee or sometimes ran in the sprinklers in our bathing suits in the Summer.

Mommy sent us outside to play so that she didn't have to put up with us and sometimes I stayed close by just to be able to hear her call me or one of the other children.  More often than not, she wanted us to do something.  You could call it stressed out when it came to me because she often called me the most for some kind of chore and it was usually washing the dishes.

I was the youngest girl of the six children and the most reliable.  I knew better than to be out of earshot from her yell when she yelled for me.  It was yelling more than calling. 

If she didn't yell for me herself, she would send my sister outside to yell for me.  She always yelled, "Heather!, Mommy wants you!"  I yelled back, "What does she want me to do now?"  She answered, "She wants you to wash the dishes."  Of course she does.  I knew neither of my sisters would do it even they they were much older and I had to stand on a chair to be able to reach the sink.

So, I made sure I stayed as close to the corner of the park as possible.

I found a little tree not far from the corner and I would lay under it daydreaming of leaving home and never seeing my family again.  As I lay there, I would pull the grass out of the ground and watch the ants walk up and down the tree.  I was careful to look for red ants because they bite the most.  At the time I did not know that black ants bite too, but I found out later that they really do.

I watched the clouds roll by and listened to the small planes fly overhead. I often wondered where flew and how far.  As a young girl I didn't know much yet.   So wondering these things is normal.  

I claimed that tree as mine and nobody could have it; not even my siblings.

Soon I would hear the yell.  It must have stressed me out because I couldn't concentrate on anything else but her yell.

I found a little bit of peace under my tree and wished I never had to leave it.  I wonder what happened to it and if any other little girl ever found herself lying under my tree.

Those day were fond memories but only without hearing, "Heather! Mommy wants you!"