The Bark Collection

You never quite know what will attract a person's attention or how long that something will stay at the forefront of someone's mind. In the same fashion, you never know what thoughts go through someone else's mind until they express those thoughts and you just listen.

Thomas has been talking for days about a tree that fell behind Amelia's school. I hadn't really paid attention/understood the big deal until I just listened today. There's a branch that's maybe 10'+ on the gravel walkway where we pick up Amelia.  We've passed it a few days, but today, he got to make his wish come true. He was able to grab a chunk. Earlier in the day, Thomas talked about how he needed a special box to collect bark, and how he needed to go around and collect bark that was falling off different trees because he wanted to see how some were alike or different, and to learn the kinds of bark on all the different trees. He wants to make sure that whenever we travel to different states, that we make sure to bring home some bark from the special trees that grow in those places.  He said he would like to have a book to make some notes about the trees the bark comes from. Of course, on the way back to the car with his precious bark specimen, he proclaims to the group of (older) kids, adults, crossing guard, and siblings, that he FINALLY got to start his first collection - his collection of "tree skin."  You can imagine the chorus of people who chimed in, "It's called 'bark,'" as if he didn't already know that.  I think he was just trying to use the non-technical term for all the other newbies who aren't familiar with "bark."

On the way home, he treated it gingerly and talked more (and more and more about it) but was interrupted (shocker) by Amelia who told him how he could use it in a much better way than just putting it in a box.  Her idea was to paint it white, get another matching piece, tap it to the top, chip off 2 little parts and bend them to make a T so that the bark could become a see-saw for little dollies.  After taking a breath, she added that she and grandmama would need to sew some seatbelts for the dollies so they wouldn't fall off the bark see-saw.

The whole time she was explaining this, I struggled to contain my giggling.  It was so characteristic for both of them to have these "plans" for something so simple.  John, who gets practically no airtime with his older siblings in the car, was thinking, but not speaking just yet.  I look forward to hearing his ideas about Thomas' bark tomorrow.  My guess is that he will want to get to school early before the crowds, drag the tree to the woods, and toss it down into the gulley where all the other tree limbs are.  He'll likely want to bring his wheelbarrow and transport any bark scraps back to the woods, and remove any indication that the limb was in the walkway.  He'll probably even look around long enough to determine the tree the limb broke away from and point it out.  But for now, all he has done with it was to walk by, and in devious little-brother fashion, break half of it and giggle, which sent The Collector into a tearful hysteria. I must go find "the box" for the collection now because he's a persistent little guy.

Edited to add: John shared his thoughts about the bark today.  He said, "Well, Thomas, you really don't neeeeed to collect it and keep it.  You should just leave it outside." You can imagine the rebuttal to this opinion.  John continued, "Well, you definitely shouldn't leave it on the floor in the living room. You left it in the floor so I stepped on it."