I Believe in Treehouses

I believe in treehouses.  As a child, I was fortunate to have parents that did as well.  We lived in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in a home with a large yard, tall trees, and that very special treehouse.

Every day after school, I would rush home to change into my play-clothes and wait for the doorbell to ring.  Then would enter my best friend, neighbor, and partner in crime—it was time for play.  But what should we play? Where should we go? The answer was always the same: The treehouse, where everything begins. 

The treehouse could become anything of the imagination.  Some days it was a ship, being tossed along rough waters. It would wreck upon a desert island, beckoning to be explored by a brave pair.  Other days, it was a private jet, carrying two of the world’s greatest spies on their top secret missions.  But then on other days, it was just a home; it was a place in which we raised our “families”.  It was a place that every once in a while, we decided, needed a good cleaning. It was a place in which we prepared four course meals with the finest ingredients.    We were proud of our house, especially the “our” part.  Truly, anything we wanted to happen there, happened.

Since this time, my family has moved away from this wonderful treehouse.  We relocated to a new neighborhood, with equally large yards and tall trees, but no treehouses in sight.  When I go back to visit my old friend, I cannot help but take a glance into that familiar back yard.  From the road we stare at our abandoned memory’s rotting wood. Sometimes we say things to each other like “Those people there now, they are really missing out.” How could they not see this great thing they have before them?

I believe in treehouses, but more importantly, I believe in all of the possibilities they hold.  I believe life, like a treehouse, is full of its own possibilities, and that is what excites me to live.  Travel, adventure, and success lay beside the simplicities of life, all for our choosing.  As I live, I never want to be the person who people look at and say, “They are really missing out”; I want to be someone known for pursuing the possibilities and climbing the ladder, for that is where everything begins.