The Tree I Almost Didn't Notice
When we moved to the Santa Cruz Mountains in 2002, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the place. The house, the mountains, the view stretching out over Silicon Valley. There was so much to see that I barely noticed the enormous old oak tree standing right in front of our door.
But eventually, I noticed its special branch. It stretched out from the old oak at just the right angle for a swing. So, for my birthday, I asked Jim to put one up.
It was around the time our daughter and granddaughter had moved back to the area. My little granddaughter spent Wednesdays with me, often staying overnight before going to her tiny mountain school. Soon she and her friends were flying through the air on that swing. So were my friends. So was I.
More than twenty years later, I still sometimes climb onto it and swing. Out go my legs toward Silicon Valley. Back I come toward my mountain. Back and forth. My swing to freedom.
And there was another kind of freedom happening then. The Dot.Com world where I'd spent so much of my career had crashed. I started Addison Marketing mid-crash, in 2001, and began creating a life outside of corporate overhead and politics. Moving to the mountain a year later became part of that great change in my life.
If you look closely at the photograph, you'll see three green rocks protecting the base of the tree. They're Mariposite, brought home from the two years I lived in Mariposa, California, where our daughter was born and I worked at Sierra On-Line. They used to be one big rock. Apparently, our circular driveway is irresistible to people who need to turn around, and over the years, that rock has been hit enough times to become three. Now all three stand guard around my old oak.
Funny. When I first arrived here, I barely noticed her.
Twenty-four years later, I can't imagine this place without her.
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