Thursday 1 March 2018

Memories The Mango Tree

Memories



The Mango Tree
The mango tree - climbing it was our after school activity. There were many of us,
my siblings, cousins and friends from my neighborhood. We certainly enjoyed our
after school activity- climbing the mango tree.


It’s branches strewn around the trunk like a slow moving merry go round.
We all had a spot to perch on. Staying put and relaxing above many heads,
it was a hideout, a cozy escape where one felt on top of the world.


With or without mangoes that was our after school activity. We learned the ropes,
knew the steps that could get us to our spots. There we balanced till we had had enough.


Nature in those days was our friend. We enjoyed other trees too. The guava tree with it’s
sweet smelling fruit. It did not have as much strength, so only a few of us could climb it,
at any one time. That is why it was not much of a friend.


Other things put us totally off that guava tree. Once or twice we found caterpillars.
Those hairy looking creepy things, moving as slowly as snails, froze as soon as there
was movement but we still detested the stillness. In those days nature was our friend and
the outdoors is where we played.

It seems different now, with gadgets as friends, after school activities are odd. I sometimes
wonder if children in my neck of the woods know what nature can give them- friends for life.










3 comments:

  1. Beautiful, Juliette. Friends for life. I love it.

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  2. I wish this for my own children - the knowledge of playing outside everyday after school, pulling fruit from a tree, or even knowing that fruit comes from trees! :) This is beautiful. Thank you for sharing!

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  3. I can see that mango tree, filled with kids. I think there is a story for a picture book in that scene. "The outdoors is where we played"--that was true for me, too.

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